Her Parents – Happy Birthday
Creating something that sounds more bonkers than their debut Physical Release was going to take some doing, but Her Parents seem to have achieved the impossible with Happy Birthday, an album that is a brief, scything affair (12 tracks in 18 minutes) but proves to be absolutely punishing and suitably deranged, caustic and jolly good fun...
Axis Of – Finding St Kilda
What grabs you about Finding St Kilda is how immediate it is; a huge thumping, crunching rush of excited, exhilarating sounds packed into 34 minutes. Axis Of display their nationality on Finding St Kilda like the roaring explosion of a fireworks shop going up in flames - the accents of drummer Ethan, guitarist Niall and bassist Ewen are so strong and expressive, full of warmth, heart and endearing passion. ...
August Burns Red/Marmozets/Torche/We Are The Ocean – singles round up
Singles round-up time! This week we've shouty metalcore-types August Burns Red, bonkers math-punkers Marmozets, the sludge-pop stomp of Torche and the awesome song hit machine that is We Are The Ocean...
The Semper Teens – Somebody
Somebody is four tracks of pop-influenced garage punk, that doesn't sound a million miles away from Cassini's previous band, albeit it's a lot more direct and less erratic compared to Kill Kenada and their bonkers time signatures. Opening track Somebody, has a bass-driven surf punk vibe that you can imagine soundtracking a surfing wipeout video montage...
Rock Sound 100% Volume: 174
One of the best compilations I’ve heard in a long while – Volume 174 delivers the goods superbly. True stand0ut acts include Arcane Roots, Heights, Anacondas, Restorations, Cry Havoc, Golden Tanks, The American Scene and Nai Harvest, but really, you can’t go wrong with checking out every damn band here, because you’re bound to find ...
Ice, Sea, Dead People – If It’s Broken, Break It More
Never ones to do things neatly, Ice, Sea, Dead People attack music on their second album with the same no-frills fury that litters their debut, Teeth Union. The addition of a second guitarist (filling the band out to a noisy, axe-laden four piece) has added way more meat and considerable fuzz to their already barbed and raucous caterwaul...
Megachurch – Megachurch 2: Judgment Day
Megachurch's unique brand of raucous, crunching rock is deeply unnerving, chaotic and hilarious in equal measure, as is their delightful album artwork. Yes, what I want to see is a bespectacled man wielding a fiery sword in one hand, a bible in the other, riding a massive dragon as pink hot lava bursts forth from a blue volcano, swamping the landscape...
And So I Watch You From Afar – All Hail Bright Futures
I always wondered how And So I Watch You From Afar were going to follow-up Gangs. It seemed like a daunting an ambitious task to say the least. Gangs is such a breath-taking gut-punch of frenzied, riff-soaked heaviness and positive, hyperactive energy - where do you go next...
Kvelertak – Meir
People have been waxing on about Kvelertak for a while now and all the rampant hype, mouth-frothing praise and owl impressions are entirely justified – they’re a fantastic band; bizarrely bridging the gaps between metal, punk, rock ‘n roll and anything else they can lay their filthy, feathery wings on...
Suffer On Acid – Wit’s End
Being and sounding like the exact incarnation of your band name is something hardly any bands can live up to. Well not anymore! Boston three-piece Suffer On Acid sound exactly like their moniker, tripping major ballsacks down a flight of stairs, out into the street and into the path of huge dumper-truck on fire...
