Band – Scream! Shout! Say Nothing
Album – The Animals Still Run This City
Label – Scylla Records
Release – 01/09/2008
Sounds like – Screaming! Shouting!

Hertfordshire’s Scream! Shout! Say Nothing are certainly making a name for themselves on the underground circuit. Having toured with Star Wars-types Bossk, the over-hyped Enter Shirkari and the sadly missed Cutting Pink With Knives, they’ve finally got round to releasing their debut album, ‘The Animals Still Run This City.’ After witnessing their impressive set at Club 85 several months ago, I was intrigued by the prospect of hearing their recorded output. Let’s take a look…

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I know from previous articles I have bitched at length at how bored I am of music with generic scream/sung vocals and how it’s about as interesting as watching all 800 of my dad’s holiday slides whilst consuming gallons of grey paint, but I genuinely find Scream! Shout! Say Nothing’s brand of passionate hardcore a breath of fresh air. For one thing, they know how to write a song, mixing the kind of intricate guitar work of Meet Me In St. Louis & Secondsmile with the steady driving rhythms of Latterman and their own unique brand of headstrong vigour.

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Opening track ‘When It All Goes Dark, The Animals Still Run This City’ immediately earns itself the Keep It Fast seal of approval. The volatile opening of rapid fire drums, rattling-punk guitars and Ben Davies’s hast-filled vocal attack are a short sharp shock to the system. It bolts from my speakers like an over zealous greyhound, eager to sink its teeth into the robotic hare that always stays a few steps ahead. The soaring chorus gives a gigantic nod towards the heavy rock of Hell Is For Heroes, whilst the utterly fantastic gang-vocal chant of “hey heart beats, don’t fail me!” bring to mind the angst-ridden rampage of Hopesfall’s ‘Waitress.’ This is the kind of enthusiastic and majestic post-hardcore that will pump new life into the dead veins of the UK scene - a fantastic start.

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To prove that they haven’t put all their eggs in one basket, the 5 piece hit back with a storming 2nd track in the form of ‘Fulfil The Roles Boys…Fulfil The Roles’, which despite it’s sombre introduction, complimented by soft saxophone overtones and slow-burning build up, proves to be one of the most progressive and spirited sounding pieces on the album. The main body of the track pulsates with such crushing rage; the guitars grinding new furrows of unsettling menace within the listener, whilst the vocal yelp gives a nod towards the anger and tension associated with Poison The Well.

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The 11 minute chug of ‘Einstein I Ain’t‘ dips up and down more times than a fat man and a midget on a see-saw, changing from a crushing and I mean, crushing metallic attack, to an almost ambient, unrehearsed instrumental arrangement. This is also the only time when the vocals sound slightly off, which is one of the very few criticisms I have about this album.
‘The River’ is a stark, biting track, with the lyric “say what you like about us, just keep your opinions to yourself” screamed as though personally attacking the listener, whilst the caustic rumble of guitars, bass and drums drills new seeds of desperation and rage.

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The last track, ‘Gimme Inner Peace Or I’ll Mop The Floor With Ya’ keeps up S!S!SN brand of resolute dedication to creating powerful and honest music. The punishing tirade of sound is tempered only by the inclusion of a melodic saxophone, trumpet and Euphonium interlude that should feel out-of-place, but oddly slots in rather nicely. The last minute is then consumed by sound as the rest of the band crash in; complete with a gorgeous vocal chant that absolutely floors me.

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In conclusion? I wish there was more to be honest. At 5 tracks, this album feels slightly short, but at a running time of 35 minutes I can see their decision in sticking to this modest number. It’s over far too quickly, but that just means you get to hit the ‘play’ button again which is never a bad thing. One of the best UK releases I’ve heard this year, a terrific slice of sincere, intense rock music – terrific work guys.

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Links

Scream! Shout! Say Myspace!
Official Site
Label

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By Ross Macdonald

(By ‘New’ I mean discovered, so no smart-arse comments about having seen them 17 times and owning 20 of their albums.)

Okay, as I am at a loss at what to post and there are a couple of reviews that are sitting on the backburner at the moment, so I’m going to talk about a few bands I’ve discovered recently that I think people should know about. Needless to say, they’ve probably been covered to death on other blogs/sites/winged monkeys, but I don’t care. Read:

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Tubelord

Whether they are in control of London’s underground train system remains a mystery. After several people badgered on and on about these guys on a certain message board I frequent, I decided to give Tubelord a listen. I was suitably impressed. A 3 piece from Kingston, who make jangling, noisy pop-rock that twists and contorts itself like a hand spasm on a Parkinson’s victim. There is definitely a touch of At The Drive-In’s pent up aggression, especially in the disjointed, ‘Half Man, Half Amazing.’ Seek them out, especially if you have Attention Deficit Disorder and enjoy dancing like a complete burke.

Tubelord currently have a 7″ single out (now sold out, but you can by it digitally from iTunes!) on Big Scary Monsters records called ‘Feed Me A Box Of Words.’

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Fang Island

I suggest you start listening to this straight away. Go on, click on the link above and just listen. Right, now if you don’t know anything about Fang Island be prepared for a shock. This band features one of the guys from minute-long grindcore monsters, Daughters. Yes, really. It kind of reminds me of Oxes, but less sporadic and pompous, with a lot more gusto, vitality and nice choppy chords. Just listen to ‘The Landing’ and tell me the guitar parts aren’t fucking incredible; immensely twiddly and vibrant. A lovely bit of unpretentious math-rock.

(Fang Island are currently without label, but their CD ‘Day Of The Great Leap’ can be bought from their myspace for $8.)

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Algernon Cadwallader

If you’re a fan of tappy guitars, delirious screams and jazzy flourishes then Algernon Cadwallader are right up your street. Making the same kind of racket those emo-pioneers Cap’n Jazz pedalled in their brief existence, the Cadwallader’s are a riot of choppy rhythms and shrieks. Their sound almost crosses boundaries into Weezer territory, in that it retains a permanent ‘sunny disposition’ even though their song titles (‘Serial Killer Status’) reflect otherwise. An intriguing prospect, if a little scatter-brained.

(You can buy their album ‘Some Kind of Cadwallader‘ from their myspace for $7.)

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Dead Swans

With the huge influx of hardcore bands nowadays, it’s easy to assume and group them all together as ‘shite.’ However, sometimes the odd one slips through that sounds pretty good. Take Dead Swans for example; an extremely pissed of 5 piece from “daaarrn saaarf” who seem to be channelling a mix of The Hope Conspiracy meets This Is Hell. There is a slight lingering feel of Bridge 9 Records about them, but luckily their pummelling rage deadens this. The cocky guitar solo at the end of ‘Preferring the Worst’ shows that they perhaps don’t want to be taken too seriously. Intimidating, noisy and hella good.

Their debut EP ‘Southern Blue‘ can be bought from the links on their label myspace page.

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Throats

Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t this. Throats, a hate-fuelled 5 piece from London seem content to act like big guy at your school who would deck anyone that looked at him in a funny way. Under the definition of ‘brutal’ in the dictionary should be their myspace page. A darn-sight more metal than Trigger The Smegging Blood Shed and just as horrific as being sat on by Vanessa Feltz. A catastrophic, discordant barrage of raw metallic rock. You remember that band Curl Up And Die? Here’s a better, faster more dangerous version. Tune in and prepare to have your face ripped off.

Throats are to release a split Ep with label mates Maths on Holy Roar Records as well as tour with the aforementioned screamo mob and support Johnny Truant on part of their July tour.

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Links

See above, I’m off to play Doom - hell yeah!

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By Ross Macdonald

As I belly flop onto my settee like it was my early coffin from all the drink I have consumed over the weekend in Leeds, I slowly reach to my controller to flick the tv on and be confronted with the coca cola advert with the red trucks… This could only mean one thing.. I have either died happy and gone into a land of tv adverts I liked as a kid, or it is that time of year again.. CHRISTMAS!!

Along with the mass amount of booze and salty lardy grub we stuff down our throats, we also get a nice chance to watch some master pieces such as Jurassic Park and Jingle all the way! Then there are all the tunes.. So many revamps of old classics covered by such shite as boyzone, it makes you want to throw up your turkey. But there is hope! No no not Cliff Richard, the Essex duo, Kunt and the Gang.

Kunt is now holding the electronic pop touch such as other Essex legends Depeche Mode and Yazoo have done in the past.

Since the band released their debut album ‘I Have A Little Wank And I Have A Little Cry’ in 2005 on indie label Disco Minge Records, they have been on the road ever since showing that no place is too big or small. From pubs to clubs and even supporting scum such as babyshambles, they really will do anything.

The band are well known for their risque lyrical content, dealing with many taboo subjects including masturbation and their fantasy to engage in sexual intercourse with Carol Vorderman, co-host of Channel 4’s Countdown programme.

But in front of all of that they have just released a Christmas cd!

It is a 4 track festive treat that Santa will be emptying his Christmas sack over!

The track names are as follows:
All I want for Christmas is you (to bring me off)
Santa’s sack
This Christmas
Come on Cliff, admit you’re queer

By going onto the official website you can buy the cd, with a personal signing for �2!! How grand is that? Well to temped you even more you can have a listen to the first track All I want for Christmas is you (to bring me off). Enjoy!

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

Just as Keep It Fast had all but cleaned up that last piece of pumpkin and horrible scared mess from the floor, we got a late ghoulish interview entry to scare the pants off of us!

However it doesn’t matter what time of year it is for Liverpool horror-rock 5 piece Zombina and the Skeletones, they are always in the mood for terror!

Covered in blood and dressed to the eyeballs in rotten flesh, they are deeply independent, refusing offers from many major labels. They have influenced a “horror punk” movement in the Liverpool area but they remain the kings so far!

Supporting the likes of The Misfits, Wednesday 13 and the mighty GWAR, they are nothing to be sniffed at! No Sir!

Zombina and the Skeletones have recently been touring all around the country and even fronted a zombie prom! But as they are such nice people they still have enough time to talk to us about the Wolf Man and the end of the world:

1) If you had to perform at an all groaning zombie nightclub, how would you get their bodies swinging?

Spit some blood, peel off a little skin here ‘n there. Not much different from our normal shows!

2) If the band could pick a song to be murdered to in a horror flick, what would it be?

That’s an amazing question! It would have to be New Orleans Incident! That’s one of our songs that covers that very event, well, more or less!

3) If you could play any spooky venue from the silver screen, where would it be?

The vampire gang’s hangout in The Lost Boys, or on the staircase at The Munsters place!

4) Do you have any favourite lyrics from ZATS that could get a B-movie scream queen started?

Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! EVERYBODY’S GONNA DIE! Cuz it’s the end of the world!

5) If you could have any one universal studios monster to be a extra band member just for Halloween night, who would it be and what would they play?

Wolf-man playing a really lively, growling south American style percussion set-up!

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Zombina and the Skeletones are still touring up and down the rotting rolling hills of England so check them out! Also by the end of the week I will be reviewing the Halloween EP they have released free! Want to know where you can get it? Well I will tell you soon

When ever you think of Noise Rock playing live you can image a few things that must be always present:

1) A small group sparked up on ‘natural drugs’ covered in duck tape and cardboard screaming ‘yyyeaaaaah kgiaigzai!’
2) Someone who is somehow asleep in the corner from beginning to end.
3) A ‘Manly’ smell that seeps into your best t-shirt forever.

However this could change (very slightly) thanks to the lighter side of noise - Wizardzz

As this is one of the many side projects of Brian Gibson, known for his crazy bass skills in noise band Lightning Bolt and owner of Load Records, you would think this would be another ‘knock your teeth out’ set of loud loud tracks.

However you would be wrong. Well a little…..

He actually takes a step to the drum side and lets Rich Porter (from Bug Sized Mind) step onto the “how many keys can you fit” keyboard and endless guitar pedals. While Porter dresses up as a large Japanese Warlock, slicing his keys into the future, Brain relaxes, bashing away in costume resembling a fireman!

But of course to look like a fireman he uses a rubber mask of a random guys face with a rubber fireman’s helmet to suit!

Their sound thumps into play as the drums are less drastic and you feel like dancing to it, rather then your brain popping due to complex radical speed changes. As the drumming has a continuous tempo it gives a chance for the keyboards to kick in. It seems like a bizarre mix of classic carnival tunes mixed in with a feel good gaming factor. Maybe Nintendo would have a good chat to these guys if they hear of them?

Before you think they are more like kittens playing on soft luxury pillows, Porter straps his vocals onto such tracks as featured on mp3, Whispers from Wallface, making his voice sound more like a windscreen wiper whipping your ears in stereo format, than any human that I know of.

So click below and have a listen for yourself with the mp3 Whispers from Wallface:

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This is taken from the ‘Hidden City of Taurmond’ album which you can purchase by clicking here

Now I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, everybody has to push a button when you see one.

I remember when Ross from keep it fast had a microwave that was made for blind people. When you pressed a button, the ghostly voice of Stephen Hawking’s would blast out of the machine. So this would naturally lead to pressing loads of buttons to try and get Hawking’s to rap:

“2 minute , 1 minute, po, po, po, popo, power up!”

This of course sounded shite, but a group who have made old battered electronic toys sound like the next Custom Modular Synth is the Modified Toy Orchestra.

The award winning sound artist anddfrontman, Brian Duffy, has been leading the way in a ever growing underground movement, circuit bending.

This art involves keeping your eye out for those really old electronic toys at the boot sales and having the courage to spend more then a pound on them. Such classic items as Texas Instruments ‘Speak and Spell‘ are a must have, as by taking apart this 80’s child toy and doing a little bit of re-wiring you could be the next Alec Empire… Or just sound like a twat..

For six years Brain has been performing, lecturing and demonstrating the Modified Toy Orchestra and the philosophical implications of his experiments, but it wasn’t until 2006 that he got 5 Electronic Wizards to join and show off what Tomy toys can really do.

As you listen to each track such as ‘This is the Monkey’ you really don’t know which direction it is heading in, with its deep slow progressive thumps and eerie deep voices, calling out ‘this is the moooonkey’. It almost seems that subliminal messages are being fed through your brain, as they infiltrate through the thick Mattel electronic gaming grinds.

“Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuy more Toy Orchestra cds…..”

Other tracks like ‘A Grand Occasion’ would be fitting for police to flush out a group of people from a house/hole/wheelbarrow, as the sweet clinks of the child toys go in your head and never leave, possibly driving most people insane!

But playing at such places as Tate London and the supersonic festival, plus supporting bands such as Melt Banana, this is a band that is climbing to the electronic peak.

Below is a short but sweet clip I found of them live, enjoy!

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If you would want to buy any of their albums you can at www.warmcircuit.com - a music label dedicated to Outsider Electronics and Mutant Pop.

Band - Grizzlytwister
Album - Ont Blod
Label - Midmarch
Release date - May 2007 (so…….now!)
Sounds like - white noise gone hardcore.

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Sweden - responsible for the following:

Ikea
Ulrikakakakakakakakakakakakakaka Jonsson
Wally Walrus
ABBA

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To name but a few. It is also the country that noise-core 5 piece, Grizzlytwister hail from. Formed in 2002; Grizzlytwister have been kicking around the scene for about half a decade, but remain relatively unknown on our shores. This seems quite remarkable, considering Sweden is responsible for one of (if not) the best hardcore/crossover bands ever, Refused. “Ont Blod‘ (Mischief Blood) is the band’s first UK release on MidMarch Records, home of technical rockers, Take a Worm for a Walk Week, and Mastadon-lite Raindayfuckparade, and naturally they fit right in, almost perfectly.

Describing the sound of “Ont Blod‘ is simple. Imagine having two theremins strapped to your ears, then being told to run through a Dillinger Escape Plan moshpit. Unsettling? Yeah, just a bit. The title track does enough to be almost completely unlistenable, sounding like Lightning Bolt jamming with SunnO))), Whilst “Knives‘ is something Trent Reznor wouldn’t mine stealing and using as his own. Any up-and-coming horror movies need this track on their score. The synthesisers are reminiscent of someone being brutally tortured; whilst vocalist Jonas Holmberg’s demented screams are those of a crazed scourger. “Your Hell Saviour‘ is the closest thing resembling a song in the conventional sense and even this eats away at the senses like maggots round a rotting corpse.

“Come to Nothing‘ lurches along like Godzilla jacked up on cocaine; full of discordant chimes, rampant stabbing guitars and sickeningly loud blasts of synthesised noise. Whereas “Nothing Beats Like A Dead Heart‘ pulverises the senses with its swirling thrash-metal-meets electronic attack, combining nightmarish shrieks of rage with inconsistent and often meandering keyboards and unbelievably loud drum beats. “Black Box‘ is perhaps the only track that showcases any real tune within its breakneck fury, but even that is debateable.

Throughout “Ont Blod’s’ 8 tracks there is no respite. There is no time to stop and think things over. There is no time to fathom out what the hell is going on. It takes you apart in just over 31 minutes, blurring the boundaries between breakcore, hardcore and harsh noise in the same time as an episode of Red Dwarf. Removing yourself from the Grizzlytwister world is a strange experience; your hearing instantly returns. If you were looking for a band that features both harsh noise and the hardcore aesthetics of Refused, Grizzlytwister are a good place to start. Deaf-tastic.

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Sounds

To listen to ‘Knives‘ from ‘Ont Blod’ click below. (P.s. turn your volume up to full!)

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

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Links

Grizzly Myspace
Grizzly Website
Label Site
Refused

(Grizzlytwister will be touring the UK in October, check their website for details!)

Wowzers castle, a side-project! As you can probably tell from the title, the band in question is Jaguar Love, featuring the talents of Blood Brothers vocalist Johnny Whitney (he has nice blonde hair) ; guitarist Cody Votolato (awesome little beard) and Pretty Girls Make Graves (RIP) multi-instrumentalist, Jason ‘J’ Clark (wicked specs and beard.)

Those of you who can’t stand Mr. Whitney’s high-pitched (”is it a girl?”) -kitten-being-tortured-shriek, should probably go read something else. Otherwise, continue. In keeping with the tradition that seems to follow through Whitney’s projects, Jaguar Love song’s feature the similar lyrical complexity and warped visual abstracts. The song titles are just as crazy; but whilst the magical delights of Piano Island have been pushed aside this time, we are treated to such lucious wording in the form of ‘The Man With The Plastic Suns‘ and ‘Welcome To The Birdskull Paradise‘ (a nod towards Whitney’s electro-spazzcore outfit, Neon Blonde perhaps?)

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Jaguar Love’s sound is one I’m having great difficulty to tie down. Obviously, Whitney’s unmistakable vocal chords are going to indicate strong similarities to his main band; but he seems a calmer, less manic, but still a passionate and committed individual. Votolato and Clark add a crisp indie rock sheen, juxtaposing summery-guitar licks with twee-piano loops and a post-punk sound.

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The band are currently working on a release, (format unknown) recording tracks in a house in Portland. Here’s hoping a UK release emerges in the near future and maybe some European tour dates (after the absence of Whitney’s last project on our fair shores, we better see this one!) A promising and exciting new band.

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Links

Jaguar Love
The Blood Brothers
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Neon Blonde

On Saturday I spent most of my time wandering around Peterborough Beer Festival, wearing a pink cowboy hat, drinking famer’s halves and laughing far too much. I lost count of the amount of ale I consumed; but lets say it was enough to get me completely confused and to inevitably, take a wrong turn, become trapped in an alley and end up having to get a cab back to the train station. Oh dear.

Aside from this, I also saw a rather awesome rock band; Acer, (not to be confused with this Acer) who were on in the afternoon. It was a shame I couldn’t stay longer for their set, due to the near tropical conditions of the marquee I was standing in. I should think that if I had been in their any longer than the 20 minutes I allowed myself, I’d have passed out. Their vocalist, Damo Reddy, obviously shared my views on the heat, as his topless form girated and bounced around the stage like Zebedee.

Acer combine a strong mix of G.U. Medicine-meets Queens of the Stoneage riffs, Velvet Revolver-vocals and an Aerosmith/classic rock poise and overall feel. What made Acer stand out though? Well, live they were perhaps one of the best bands to watch whilst drinking a beer called ‘Giant Killer’ and trying valiantly to not to fall over into someone else’s puke. They had killer rock ‘n’ roll grooves; as well as this incredibly meaty backbone of hooks big enough to catch Jaws. Hints of self-titled album-era Foo Fighters were also present in Acer’s sound.

So, yeah…Acer most definitely rock, - hard! A band you’d expect to see playing in a dingy, sweat encrusted, alcohol stained bar. Ace!

Links

Acer-Myspace

Like everyone here at Keep It Fast, I like to listen to anything and everything that is recommended to me, or if there is a huge buzz about it. Who doesn’t? However it seems that sometimes a band suddenly becomes ‘God Like’ within about 2 weeks of anybody hearing them and suddenly is the next big thing since Jesus.

This can be said for Southend Horror punk surfers The Horrors. Like a Granny seeing half price off knitting wool, The Horrors have fired up everywhere, mainly such magazines as NME.

If you asked any NME lover they would say that they ‘rock harder then anything ever and if you say otherwise, I will give you burning stares until you think otherwise’. So naturally I thought that they would suck.

Buying the album would of been out of the question, but seeing it in the little local library for a pound rental, I thought I would give it a chance .

I put in the cd and cleared my head from any thoughts that it was over hyped and……. It wasn’t that bad!

I was very impressed with the first half of the album, as it reminded me of sounds Herman Munster would have loved to have on in a drugged filled monster rave! As the second track “Count in Fives” thumps on you now picture yourself clamped in for a creepshow ride as the theremin flicks into overdrive and Vocalist Faris Badwan screams out the eerie lyrics.

This smoothly slices through onto their official first single “Gloves”. With a moody tempo and crisp guitars you know that great thought, precision but mainly fun has been put into this!

But as the polished coffin wheels wildly rotate along to the road of success, it seems that they are in full knowledge of this and so it becomes a little lazy.

Such tracks as ‘She is a New Thing’ and ‘Gil Sleeping’ seem to grind along. This makes the album sound a lot longer then it actually is. Plus on the very horizon is the latest ep/live album ‘In the garden’ from the Kings of Gothic Rock Psychobilly, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster.

These could really slide up the bench mark for the The Horrors, but with their average age of being only 20 and already having a big selling album, who knows what the 2nd album will sound like!

Below is a great video I found of them singing my favourite track ‘Count in Fives’:

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Why is no one happy to see them??