Call Upon The Author

Ask yourself a question… when was the last time you listened to the radio? You remember? I’ll bet you don’t. Sure you might remember the last time you had the radio on, it might even be playing away in the background while you’re reading this, but when was the last time you really listened?

A couple of weeks back we reviewed Violent Soho’s album. We thought it was a breath of fresh air amongst the wealth of stale music that pops through our letterbox. We thought we’d catch up with the band to find out more about them, so we fired our questions at drummer Michael Richards and here’s what he had to say!

If, like me, you first started listening to music ‘properly’ (ie: seeking it out, rather than listening to what the radio/tv told you to) in the early to mid nineties, then your musical tastes probably take in a lot of what might be called alt.rock and you probably like a bit of grungey angst here and there…

I’ve gone on record a number of times with how much of a Wintersleep fan I am, so lets be honest, their new album isn’t going to get a negative review from me. That said though, the band have made some striking changes on this, their fourth album. When Kings Of Leon released their last album it sounded similar to their previous offerings, but somehow more clear…

KATY PERRY – California Gurls Virgin Music It sounds like Katy has been listening to some classic Madonna, there’s an obvious eighties influence here, but it just helps to make this an undeniably catchy tune. Of course the fact that Snoop Dogg puts in an appearance will help appeal to a different audience too. I  [ Read More ]

Let’s start this review with a confession… I was extremely happy to receive these CDs as I actually far prefer Ronnie James Dio to Ozzy Osbourne! I realise that to many this may seem blasphemy, but when I’m listening to an album, I want to hear a talented singer, not a showy front man and  [ Read More ]

THE PARLOTONES – Life Design Sovereign Entertainment Huge at home in South Africa, The Parlotones have previously had a very low profile here in the UK, this rather commercial rock track may well break them though. It seems to have been selected on the basis that it will sound good on the radio, not that  [ Read More ]

Something a little different for you today. When Matt Merritt was offered the chance to interview Disturbia founder Frank Major, he couldn’t quite understand why they’d be interested in a music site. Then he realised that Disturbia make shirts for the Prodigy and their tees are often found adorning walking rock god Slash. Suddenly, this interview seemed like a very good idea indeed! So, we sent Frank some questions, and here’s what he had to say!

Folk, in it’s loosest sense, is hot property at the moment. Mumford & Sons profile has skyrocketed over the last twelve months, Laura Marling continues to be held up as an artist who is superior to her peers and the likes of Fleet Foxes continue to sell strongly. Add to this the countless guitar toting  [ Read More ]

It’s fair to say, going into tonight’s gig, that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Editors, but thankfully I had my better half with me who loves them. If nothing else, with the dreary grey skies and drizzling rain as we waited in Guildhall Square, surrounded by the regal Guildhall itself and the dreary concrete and glass of the civic offices, we were setting a perfect scene for the Birmingham bands tunes…