FRET - 'Attune / Cowboy' 7" review

FRET - 'Attune / Cowboy' 7" review

FRET are a three piece that play largely instrumental (the second track entirely, while the first features some minimal female vocals) fuzzy prog-rock songs that build around a central repeated rhythm or riff. It's pretty moody with a certain dark and sinister groove to it, and plays heavily on dynamic contrast, drawing you in with quiet palm mutes and picking, before attacking with a noisier, more driven form of the main riff, accentuated by some really solid and dramatic drum-work. Feels like there's a bit of a 70s influence to me too, especially on the vocals. An awesome little two-track if you dig fuzzy rock riffs, and an auspicious indicator of what's to come. (They also have a new 12" EP out now which you can check out on their Bandcamp...)

https://fretband.bandcamp.com/album/attune-cowboy-ltd-ed-vinyl-download

xox

PASTEL - 'L'acchiappa Nuvole' 12" review

PASTEL - 'L'acchiappa Nuvole' 12" review

PASTEL are an awesome two-piece from Italy who play with a real fusion of styles, from emo, screamo, and punk rock, to post-hardcore, with some great riffing and chords combined with a brilliant sense of underlying melody, and some seriously intense drumming that thrashes between grinding blasts, double time, and technical tom and cymbal-work at such a pace as to make your head swim. All of this is broken up by interludes of cleaner and delayed guitar work, fuzzy soundscapes, and even some rather beautiful piano. The high-pitched shouted vocals are minimal, and the cool thing about this album is that as well as the full-band ten tracks, this also contains the entire thing without any vocals, for those that prefer or are in the mood for an instrumental version. The artwork is awesome too and the lyrics are printed in both English and Italian which is nice. A cracking, musically awesome album that has a very wide appeal for the genre ground that it covers. Great stuff. Check out 'Il Lancio Karman' on our tape, and also the end of 'La Scatola, il Crocevia' for one of the greatest riffs ever.

http://pasteldiy.bandcamp.com/

xox

FLOWERS TAPED TO PENS / BREAD CLUB / BEDS / SKULL KID split 7" review

FLOWERS TAPED TO PENS / BREAD CLUB / BEDS / SKULL KID split 7" review

That's right, four bands on one seven inch, featuring one track each per band. I like pretty much all of the stuff I've heard before by FLOWERS TAPED TO PENS, who play lo-fi, highly emotional screamo, and this tune, with screeching vocals over clean, pretty guitars, features all of the intensity you would expect. It also has some squealing which is still a real challenge for me to enjoy, but a cool track none-the-less. BREAD CLUB are a soft, easy going emo band, and this mid-paced tune rolls along with some lovely chord-work that marries nicely with the calm yet catchy vocal melodies and emo lyricism. A nice little tune. BEDS, putting forward possibly my favourite track of the split, play super catchy, super soft emo, with fantastic instrumentation, and great, vocally high-pitched verse and chorus sections that will stick in your head long after listening, thanks to a clever use of repetition. SKULL KID close the split with an interesting, unpredictable tune that combines a bit of screaming with both soft and breathy, and high-pitched singing, in a fuzzy garage emo sound that's varied in pace and intensity, from smooth verses, to screamed interludes, and a slower, post-hardcore outro. A nice little split if you like your new emo and screamo on the soft side.

https://flowerstapedtopens.bandcamp.com/album/flowers-taped-to-pens-bread-club-beds-skull-kid-split

xox

OKINAWA PICTURE SHOW - s/t - cassette review

OKINAWA PICTURE SHOW - s/t - cassette review

"OKINAWA PICTURE SHOW is the latest band of ELLY KINGDON whom we interviewed in issue two, and this tape features four tracks of pop punk that reminds me of stuff like MARTHA, PERSONAL BEST and COLOUR ME WEDNESDAY in that 90s reverbed vibe, with Elly's characteristic KATE NASH / LILY ALLEN vocal style. It's hella catchy in the choruses, especially on the first three songs, and there's some strong dual guitar play with a nice prominent lead for the most part. Songs are structured thoughtfully too, and there are some cool yet often appropriately downer lyrics about not-quite-relationships, loss, and...wrestling. A great little four track that you should pick up if you're into the aforementioned bands and / or the softer, more indie side of pop-punk."

https://www.facebook.com/okinawapictureshow/

xox

FINGERS CROSSED - 'Better Luck Next Time' cassette review

FINGERS CROSSED - 'Better Luck Next Time' cassette review

"FINGERS CROSSED are an awesome two-piece from Leeds who play pretty lo-fi pop punk that's fairly basic musically but is none-the-less bright and catchy, with some really memorable vocal and guitar melodies, and clever drum-work that mixes things up and emphasises the multitude of rhythms. A lot of the strength of this six track tape is in the lyrics too, with considered words on a number of issues from gender identity to daily work life monotony, all sung in a somewhat dead-pan style. The artwork and packaging is fantastic on this too, with a lovely red and green colour scheme and hand flicked paint on the cassette shell. So yeah, if you're not averse to a bit of lo-fi recording on your pop-punk, this humorous and thought-provoking little release could be right up your street. Nice one. You can check out the song 'Work / Life Balance' on our tape."

http://fingerscrossedleeds.bandcamp.com/releases

xox