JAWS Right In Front of Me

Check out my thoughts on JAWS new track over at Popped Music!
https://poppedmusic.co.uk/2016/09/13/just-listen-jaws-right-in-front-of-me/

Jamie T Trick Review

After taking a five year hiatus from music, Wimbledon’s Jamie T made his return to the scene with his excellent 2014 album Carry On The Grudge. Thankfully Jamie hasn’t made us wait half a decade for a new album again and is back with Trick, his fourth LP. Trick masterfully meshes together multiple styles that he is well known for, not deserting the softer Indie of his last effort but reembracing the punk and rap fused sound that won him so many fans back in 2007. The result is a fantastically eclectic offering that takes the best elements of his previous three albums, with some of the sharpest and smartest song writing that he has delivered so far.

The genre dodging opening track Tinfoil Boy is a wild departure from Jamie’s previous songs and gives the album an unexpected beginning, being the most rock-heavy track he has produced yet. Bringing to mind both Arctic Monkeys and Slaves, it begins with a smooth Alex Turner-esque verse only to plunge into a chorus which oozes pure anger and paranoia.

Devotees of Jamie’s older musical style are well served by the sample filled tracks Drone Strike and Police Tapes, the kind of hard hitting, politically charged tunes that flavoured his first two albums.

The excellent Power Over Men is a slick and atmospheric track telling the dark story of a femme fatale and builds upon the style of indie pop that was prevalent in his 2014 album. With a suitably haunting chorus and an attractive and catchy hook, the song is as mysterious as alluring as its character.

Album highlight Tescoland detracts from the darker aspects of other songs on the record with its bouncy fusion of punk and reggae, and has echoes of the themes of British cultural identity and home comforts explored in Blur’s Parklife album. Sure to be a new live favourite, the track packs a cracker of a chorus that is destined to be loudly belted out by fans at future gigs. This same light hearted sense of fun is all over Robin Hood, a catchy and cheery song that is clearly a loving tribute to Jamie’s heroes The Clash.

Closing track Self Esteem is the most personal on the album, a reflective and moody song that finds Jamie exploring his inner demons. The distorted and crackly vocals perfectly capture the feelings of helplessness and melancholy expressed in the lyrics

Trick sees Jamie T at the top of his game, developing the styles of music he tackled in his previous works, experimenting with new sounds and offering a varied and unpredictable set of songs on an album that consistently surprises. The number of genres and musical styles that get a spotlight here cement his reputation as an extensive and diverse musician, but every song has his own unique stamp on them.  He is an artist who has built his own recognisable style but is unafraid to try new things. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for the next album. 

Jamie T Power Over Men

After his triumphant return with 2014's Carry On The Grudge following a five year hiatus, fans of Wimbledon's Jamie T don't have to wait as long for his next record.

In preparation of his fourth album Trick set to be unveiled on 2nd September, Jamie has released the album's second single Power Over Men. The track features the smart songwriting and slick, catchy chorus that has come to be expected from Jamie T and is a small taste of what is sure to be another excellent eclectic album.

Listen to Power Over Men below, and be sure to check out Trick when it's available next month.

The Magic Gang All This Way

Following their excellent debut released back in January (http://beatsurrender.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/the-magic-gang-ep-review.html), The Magic Gang are back with All This Way, a new single taken from their pending follow up EP From The Magic Gang.


Just like the songs on their January release, All This Way shows off the band's talent for creating catchy tracks rooted in classic 50s and 60s pop. I'm impressed at how The Magic Gang's music manages to evoke nostalgia and melancholy whilst simultaneously being utterly uplifting and breezy, and this song is no exception. With a strong chorus that will no doubt be belted out by fans at future live shows,  All This Way is another winner from The Magic Gang 

Check out All This Way below and be sure to catch The Magic Gang when they tour this autumn!

Slaves Spit It Out

In anticipation of their second album Take Control, due to drop on 30th September, Kent's punk pair Slaves have unleashed new track Spit It Out, a massive track that certainly lives up to the duo's promise that album number two will head in a ''really heavy'' direction.

This track certainly packs the punch and attitude that made their debut album such a success, and with the band claiming that the follow up will also cover some new ground when its released fans are expecting to be in for a treat come September.

Honeyblood Ready For The Magic

Glasgow duo Honeyblood are back with new single Ready For The Magic, a taste of what's to come from their second album Babes Never Die. 

 Their excellent self-titled debut from 2014 is one of my favourite albums of recent years and the band's latest track delivers the punch, energy and sense of fun that flavoured their previous offerings.

If this song is anything to go by, Cat Myers, Honeyblood's second and current drummer has certainly put her own stamp on the new material as this song captures an essence of the strong and vigorous sound that has characterised the band's live performances since she joined. 


Check out Ready For The Magic below.

RAT BOY Get Over It

One of 2016's most talked about up and coming artists RAT BOY aka Jordan Cardy has dropped new single Get Over It, from the  EP of the same name set for release on 26th August. The funky track feels like Cardy's take on a 70s exploitation film soundtrack, and showcases his knack for combining elements of multiple musical genres and styles to create something that's unmistakably his own. 

This catchy and slick song bodes well for the upcoming EP, and it's made me think how great a RAT BOY/Gorillaz collab would be!




Be sure to catch RAT BOY when he hits the road on his September tour! Check out my review of his set at this year's Dot To Dot Festival http://beatsurrender.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/dot-to-dot-festival-nottingham-review.html

Spring King Tell Me If You Like To Review

Over the past year, Manchester's Spring King have ascended from relative obscurity to being one of the most exciting and talked about new British bands. This was due in no small part to the acclaim they received from their two EPs and the strong reputation they've earned as a fantastic live band, but their popularity soared when their track City was the first song played by Zane Lowe on Beats 1.

A mere twelve days after the final date of their May tour, the festival-stealing performance at the Nottingham leg of Dot To Dot Festival (check out my review here http://beatsurrender.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/dot-to-dot-festival-nottingham-review.html), Spring King released their cracking debut album Tell Me If You Like To.

The album offers the strong, memorable song writing that has come to be expected from Spring King with singles City, Who Are You? and Rectifier bringing the sharp choruses and accelerating riffs that have made them live favourites while tracks like It's So Dark and Take Me Away shine light on the band's more atmospheric side.

Despite having a bigger budget at their disposal for the album, the band haven't done away with the frantic, DIY sound that made their previous releases so appealing. Front man Tarek Musa breaks the mould of other indie bands by being both singer and drummer, and as the driving force behind the project his drumming takes centre stage in their songs which gives Spring King a unique quality and sound.

Tell Me If You Like To is out now from Island Records. Be sure to catch Spring King on tour later this year!

Dot To Dot Festival Nottingham Review

Dot To Dot has been a big event in my yearly calendar since 2013; its an excellent festival that exists to champion exciting new, up and coming talent. Previously I've been lucky to see acts including Wolf Alice, Black Honey, Swim Deep and Lucy Rose among others at the event and 2016's line up was impressive as ever.

This year rather than hit the Bristol leg of the festival as I have done before (I'll always choose Dot To Dot over its Bristol rival Love Saves The Day) I visited mates in Nottingham and we set out to enjoy Dot To Dot in its home city.  

After picking up our wristbands early at Rock City to beat the queue and a browse through the records at Rough Trade, our first band of the day was Nottingham's own Crosa Rosa at Rescue Rooms who set the mood for the rest of the day with their grunge and psyche laced rock. 

Next it was over to Rock City for another Nottingham based band, Babe Punch. The punk-grunge five piece played an enjoyable and memorable set of songs that kept the crowd's attention throughout. The band showed a lot of promise, and I think in time they could be something special. 

Babe Punch


After lunch and some time to look around Nottingham's vibrant centre, we headed back to Rock City to catch Sundara Karma. Although their set didn't appeal to me as much as other acts of the day, their laid back summery tunes were a welcome contrast to the louder, faster music of the festival. It wasn't my cup of tea but the band clearly have big appeal, with a strong turnout of their fans dancing and singing along to every word.

Back over at Rescue Rooms we saw the excellent Estrons who delivered a tight and energetic set. Having been impressed by their ear worm of a single Make A Man, I was keen to hear the song live and new material from the band and I wasn't disappointed. Singer Taliesyn Källström commanded the stage with her confident and lively performance and on the strength of the music they played, there's sure to be a lot to look forward to from this band in the near future!

Estrons

Next up, it was time for one of my most anticipated acts of the festival back over at Rock City (as you can probably tell by now we practically lived at two venues for the day). Rat Boy aka Jordan Cardy has taken the British Indie scene by storm over the last year and has built a reputation for his anarchic live shows, and I'm pleased to say his set was just as rowdy, unpredictable and fun as expected. Combining elements of musical styles as diverse as Britpop, hip-hop and ska, Cardy and his band have created a distinctive musical identity for themselves and judging from the crowd's response he has truly struck a chord with the subject matter of his songs.

Rat Boy

 

 

Back (one again) over at Rescue Rooms I was very excited to see The Sherlocks, one of the country's most promising new bands. I've been a big fan of them for a while, and it was fantastic to see them perform such a solid set worthy of a more accomplished band. Singles Last Night and Escapade went down a treat and the quality of the songs in the band's repertoire is sure to lead to big things for them. I can't wait to hear what they do next.

 The Sherlocks


The penultimate act of the night was New York two-piece Diet Cig. This band seemed to split opinions amongst my group, with my friends admitting that they found singer/guitarist Alex Luciano's stage persona to be grating. However, having a weakness for female fronted indie rock bands I enjoyed the set and found Luciano's hyperactive stage presence endearing and entertaining. While not being familiar with the band before their set, I was very impressed by the punchy, fun music they had to offer which left me with a huge grin on my face (even if I did feel like I'd gorged on E numbers by the end of it!)



Diet Cig

Being at the front for Diet Cig meant we secured excellent spots ready for out most anticipated act of the festival; Manchester punks Spring King. After Diet Cig's set finished, dozens of excited Dot To Dotters poured into the room to join us. Since they released their first single and EP back in 2014, the band have attracted a die hard and ever increasing fan base and its not hard to see why. They have consistently put out fantastically catchy and well written songs that have become instant classics amongst their followers. The half hour break before their set was peppered with audience members singing the band's songs in anticipation, and as soon as Spring King started playing I doubt there was a single person in the room who wasn't jumping and singing along. Their excellent set came to a massive climax with a performance of their single City which left everyone on a high and clamouring for more. Judging by the quality of the set Spring King are set to be the break out band of the year and with their debut album out next month they're set for huge things in the near future. As the cherry on top of the cake I even managed to grab one of their set lists! 

Spring King



2016 was another fantastic year for Dot To Dot, and I'm already looking forward to next year's festival. I can't recommend it highly enough!

MILK TEETH at The Louisiana, Bristol Review

I first came across Stroud's Milk Teeth when their second EP Sad Sack hit last year and I was immediately hooked on its impressive and eclectic set of songs, combining big dollops of punk, grunge and alt-rock. After releasing their excellent debut album Vile Child in January and touring the US, the band have returned to the UK and embarked on their first headline tour.

During their 45 minute set Milk Teeth played a combination of tracks from Vile Child and older favourites, opening with album single Brain Food and closing with an awesome performance of Vitamins from Sad Sack. Playing with the confidence and skill of a more experienced and accomplished band, Milk Teeth   grabbed the crowd's attention right from the start and didn't let go, and had us all jumping, moshing, crowd surfing and singing along to every word. Highlights for me were hearing live versions of Brickwork and Melon Blade, as well as singer and bassist Becky Blomfield's solo acoustic performance of the beautiful Kabuki. Becky introduced the song with a heart felt and inspiring speech about the importance of talking about mental illness and supporting those in need of help which received a huge cheer of agreement from everyone in the room.

The two support bands did a great job of getting the crowd pumped and ready for Milk Teeth's set. Kent's Seattle-spiritual-successors Eat Me entertained with their fun and memorable grunge-punk, including an ode to School of Rock. Devon's Black Foxxes were up next and impressed with their heavier, darker and angsty set. I hadn't heard either band before the gig but am really looking forward to seeing what they both do next! 

 The incredibly positive response Milk Teeth received from the gig's energetic and appreciative sell-out crowd is testament to their talent and hard work over the past three years, and there look to be even bigger and better things in store for the band in the near future. I challenge any 'rock is dead' naysayers to stand by their words after going to a Milk Teeth gig!

Spring King The Summer

One of the UK's most talked about new bands, Spring King, have announced that their upcoming debut album Tell Me If You Like To is set for release on 10th June. To coincide with the announcement the lead single from the album, The Summer, was played for the first time and chosen as Annie Mac's Hottest Record In The World on 27th April.

Spring King have gained a solid and vocal fan base since they dropped their first EP Demons back in 2014, with their shimmering art-pop-punk attracting attention and acclaim from the likes of Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe. The band also have a reputation as one of the best new live bands in the country, and are set to hit the road this month!

Check out The Summer below and be sure to get yourself down to one of their gigs in the coming weeks.

GILLBANKS Childhood

London's GILLBANKS have debuted their new single Childhood, a catchy, dreamy track with all the summery shine of an early 90s baggy tune.

Judging by the strength of this offering and following their successful stint supporting The Magic Gang and INHEAVEN at last month's Roundhouse Rising, GILLBANKS are certainly one to watch for 2016 and we can expect even bigger and better things from them in the near future.

 Check out Childhood below 

PINS Trouble

Their first release since last year's Wild Nights album, Manchester band PINS have dropped a video for their new song Trouble. I was unfamiliar with PINS until I was lucky enough to see them at last year's Dot To Dot festival. Their fantastic set completely won me over, and I couldn't get hold of their albums quickly enough.

Trouble retains the recognisable spirit and style of previous PINS tracks but develops it, creating a darker, more experimental sound. 

Check out Trouble below. The band's albums Girls Like Us and Wild Nights are available via Bella Union.

Soundtrack Spotlight: Tank Girl (1995)

As a huge fan of Jamie Hewlett and the Tank Girl comic he co-created with Alan Martin, I'd heard a lot of terrible things about the ill-fated 1995 film adaptation that fittingly tanked at the box office so thought it was about time I checked it out for myself on Netflix over the weekend. Unsurprisingly, the film reeks of Hollywood executives meddling with a source material they never understood in the first place and features little of the humour and wit that made the comic so appealing. Twenty one years on, the state of comic to film adaptations has (mostly) improved hugely, and I'd be curious to see how a film adaptation would turn out now in a post-Deadpool world.

Despite the film being a chore to sit through and at times excruciatingly annoying it has a fantastic soundtrack; a time capsule of early 90s alt-rock with songs chosen and assembled by Courtney Love. These include tracks from the likes of Portishead, L7 and of course Love's own band Hole, which make the soundtrack much more successful at capturing the fun and anarchic nature of Tank Girl herself than the irritating way the character is presented in the film. The highlights for me are Shove by L7 and the opening song in the film; Devo's re-recorded Girl U Want. It would have been even better if Tank Girl's British roots were acknowledged and more of the great female fronted British bands of the 90s were included too; Stutter by Elastica would have suited this album perfectly.

For fans of 90s rock, this soundtrack is a real treat. It's a shame that the film itself doesn't stand up half as well.

Misty Miller The Whole Family Is Worried Review

I first became aware of Misty Miller years ago when my little sister kept playing music on Myspace by a blonde teenage girl wearing a white dress, singing love songs and strumming a ukulele. Apart from the odd piercing, there was nothing punk about her so it was a big surprise for me when the same girl walked out on stage in a supporting slot at a Jake Bugg gig wearing a flannel shirt, torn jeans and DM boots and launched into an impressive, grungy set with an electric guitar taking the place of her old ukulele. 

Three years on, Misty has finally released her excellent long awaited new album The Whole Family Is Worried and its obvious why she changed direction from the folk music of her first album so dramatically; this is the music she always wanted, and was supposed, to make. The affection she has for this music comes across loud and clear throughout the record and the songs give a real insight into who she is, everything from toxic relationships to acid trips are covered and a sense of genuine, raw emotion hangs over every track hitting full force on closing song Best Friend.

Its great to have definitive versions of older songs from her repertoire included here alongside new ones. Bouncy live favourites Girlfriend and Next To You have been revamped for the record but are joined by Devil and Fall Away, slower songs that showcase Misty's more vulnerable side. 

A rare second stab at a debut album, The Whole Family Is Worried proves that taking risks and following your true self can pay off big time. 

Black Honey All My Pride

Brighton band Black Honey are back with the excellent All My Pride, the first single from their imminent Headspin EP.

It feels strange to remember how little was known about Black Honey when their first songs hit the web back in 2014; each track was simply accompanied by an image of a 1950s TV set and no details or images of the band members themselves were revealed. The mystery surrounding the band only deepened when they posted a phone number for fans to text amongst cryptic messages on their Twitter profile, making the whole operation feel more like marketing for a JJ Abrams film than promotion for a indie rock band.

Since then, however, the band have gone from strength to strength with multiple tours and festival appearances under their belt as well as their acclaimed debut EP and singles making waves amongst indie aficionados. DIY and NME have both championed Black Honey as one to watch in 2016 and on the strength of their music so far, as well as their awesome live performances, the hype is well deserved.

All My Pride continues the band's cinematic influences and love of Americana, with the track at times sounding like it could have sat comfortably on a soundtrack for a classic Tarantino film. 

Check out the track over on Black Honey's Soundcloud, and make sure to grab the EP when it's out on 29th April!


https://soundcloud.com/blackhoneyuk/all-my-pride

New tracks from Milk Teeth

Ahead of the release of their debut album Vile Child, Stroud's Milk Teeth have dropped the video for their awesome new track Brain Food and revealed a revamped version of their older song Swear Jar.

   With a thrashing grunge-infused sound, singer Becky Blomfield's fearless vocals and lyrics that perfectly capture feelings of isolation and aimlessness, Brain Food is an instant hit that I'm sure will resonate with austerity-facing young people.

Swear Jar (Again) is a reworked version of a popular track from Milk Teeth's excellent 2015 EP Smiling Politely.

Both tracks feature on Vile Child which will be available via Hopeless records on 29th January, and be sure to catch Milk Teeth on tour with Tonight Alive next month!

The Magic Gang EP Review

If you've read my blog previously you've probably realised by now that I'm a big fan of Brighton's The Magic Gang, and have been since I saw them supporting Wolf Alice on tour last year. Before that gig I hadn't even heard of the band, but was completely won over by the impressive roster of songs in their set. 

I've already shared my thoughts on Jasmine  and these are joined by the excellent  She Doesn't See, Feeling Better and All That I Want Is You which all show off the band's knack for penning catchy, feel good songs that tell surprisingly melancholy stories.

However, the stand out track for me is opening song Lady, Please which I've been waiting for the band to release since I heard it live last April and it didn't disappoint! 

I've previously vented my irritation with the music press's tendency to lazily label and categorise new bands, but I'm sure The Magic Gang's new funk infused direction showcased on this EP will put the Weezer comparisons that the band have been saddled with to rest.

Check out The Magic Gang-EP on iTunes and on the band's Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/themagicgang