Call Upon The Author

I have to admit, I really struggled with this album. After the first listen I was left without any real impression of the record, it just seemed to entirely pass me by unnoticed. After giving it some more time however, the album really starts to unveil itself. This may be due to the simplistic style of the music, with the vocals taking centre stage whilst the instrumentation plays on quietly in the background.

Rolo Tomassi is a name I’ve heard many times before, often mentioned in the same breath as Gallows and The Bronx, but I’ve never actually gotten around to giving them a listen. Whilst they do share some traits with the aforementioned bands they have a sound that marks them out as different from the usual hardcore fare. Instead of playing straight ahead hardcore/punk, Sheffield’s Rolo Tomassi throw in synth and more experimental elements into their song. Coupled with having a female vocalist in a genre dominated by males it makes for a more unique listening experience.

Hero are a perplexing band, you’re never quite sure how to take them. Hailing from Canada, they’ve taken the name of their debut album from a Gaelic festival. The album cover too doesn’t seem to fit with their music in the slightest, depicting a medieval scene complete with monkeys on horseback, you’d think there would be a sense of humour present but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Open up the booklet and along with the usual artwork and lyrics you’ll find a glossary of terms, the purpose of which isn’t quite evident. Are they trying to make their material look intellectual and deep?

Listening to the debut release from Lee Harvey Osmond the last place you’d expect them to hail from is Canada. The country tinged folk sound of this record belies their birthplace of Toronto, but just makes it more impressive that they’ve captured the sound of Midwest America so well. The brainchild of Tom Wilson from Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, the band contains a staggering 17 musicians, a collective featuring members of such groups as Cowboy Junkies and Skydiggers.

After almost eight years of existence, Dutch drum and bass act Noisia finally reveal their debut album. That’s not to say they’ve been idle for all this time, they’ve seen their music released on scores of different record labels, composed music for video games and films, and most recently produced Hadouken’s latest offering “For The Masses”…

Dropkick Murphys St Patrick’s Day shows in Boston have become an annual tradition, as important to a Bostonian punker as wearing green and drinking Guinness. These shows were first documented on their live CD in 2002 and now eight years later, and with three more studio albums under their belt they release Live On Landsdowne, featuring an entirely different set list from their previous release…

This band is truly something unique. And with the two minds that make up the group, Catherine Kontz and Henri Vaxby hailing from Luxembourg and Scandinavia respectively, it might not come as much of a surprise that the mixing of cultures would produce something so different. The use of instrumentation on the album borders genius,  [ Read More ]

Headed up by renowned music photographer Steve Gullick, The Tenebrous Liar’s new album is somewhat of a depressing experience. That’s not to say that this is a bad album per se, but much like depression itself it seems to go nowhere and wallow in itself too much. Their sound has a very earthy quality to  [ Read More ]

Coming out of the seedy underbelly of New York, Gay For Johnny Depp are one of those rare breeds, a band that can’t easily be pigeon holed into one specific genre, and therein lies their appeal. Collecting pretty much every one of their recordings, it’s not only the daunting 31 song tracklist that is challenging,  [ Read More ]

While I’m not against people having their own beliefs, I’ve found that more often than not so called Christian bands can be very bland, and Flyleaf are no exception. Having sold over a million copies of their self titled album the number of units their sophomore release will shift is bound to be impressive, it’s  [ Read More ]