Review: Devildriver @ Camden Electric Ballroom, April 4th

Written for Relivethemusic.net

I was introduced to Devildriver at Download 2007 due to their name and upon viewing their set, found myself instantly impressed. They were lively, heavy, groovy and could really get the crowd moving in a circle. I was due to see them play in London last year, but due to other reasons, I missed the gig which meant being able to see them live this year was very exciting.

The first support band was Glasgow-based metalcore band Bleed from Within who I’d heard of previously, but not really bothered to check out. Prior to the gig, Sarah and I had been discussing metalcore and how we’d drifted away from it as it had become rather samey. Although I still maintain this opinion, Bleed from Within were certainly enjoyable. They got heads moving and pits going and were generally pretty fun and a good warm-up band albeit very chuggy.

Following Bleed from Within was Sylosis, another band I’d heard of a number of times but not checked out. Unfortunately I found Sylosis to be a little boring. They were good musicians with extensive sweep picking and speed-drumming, but their music wasn’t to my taste. I also noticed that the crowd wasn’t very active during their set despite how popular they appeared to be. There were plenty of hands in the air, but not much movement which I found a bit surprising. Maybe it was just one of those nights that I’m sure all bands experience.

After a short wait following Sylosis’s set, the band of the night came on – Devildriver. As expected they launched into their set with a piledriver of fast riffs, thumping drums and heavy vocals which within seconds got the crowd moving in a very fast circle. So fast, in fact, that there were consequences: I fell over and due to the large amount of attendees within the pit, received some pretty hard knocks to the head. Luckily, before things got worse, I managed to recover myself and gain the attention of security before having a small epileptic fit. I’ll take it in my stride, though, and ask who else can say they’ve had an epileptic fit whilst seeing one of their favourite bands live?

After being taken to or walking to the bar (I can’t remember anything between alerting security and coming round at the bar) for some water and caffeine I managed to recover and watch the band from the side of the crowd despite feeling a little drowsy and achey still.

They played both new and old songs including a favourite of both myself and, quite clearly, the crowd: ‘Clouds Over California’. As soon as that first bar of eight notes kicked in there were cheers, horns, fists and heads moving. And we can’t forget to mention that pretty much the entire crowd was singing along.

Hairy-faced singer Dez Fafara frequently interacted with the crowd and led a band that put on a tight and heavy show leaving the crowd on a high and wanting more. Unfortunately we weren’t treated to an encore. This, however, can be forgiven as we’re talking about Devildriver here.

Had it not been for the fit I had early on in DD’s set I probably would have left on much more of a high than I did, but despite this, it was still a great show. Here’s hoping Devildriver will be returning soon.

Review: Speedy Ortiz – Real Hair [Guestlist.net]

Speedy Ortiz is a rock band I’m not too familiar with. Originally from Northampton, Massachusetts, the band formed in 2012 and consists of singer/guitarist Sadie Dupuis, drummer Mike Falcone, Guitarist Matt Robidoux and bassist Darl Ferm.

In 2012 they released the five track Sports EP followed by their first album, Major Arcana in 2013. In February of this year the band released their newest EP Real Hair which is a cheerful and lively-sounding EP with classic rock guitars mixed with vocals which could be compared to Avril Lavigne or Lily Allen.

The EP opens with American Horror which, as any listener will tell you pays justice to the Lily Allen comparison. The guitar work and drums, with arpeggios and sustained chords has a similar sound to the Temperance Movement or, at a push, Black Stone Cherry albeit slightly more pop rocky.

Next up we have Oxygal. This is very poppy track. However, there are parts in which the band goes a little Black Sabbath and throws in the odd palm-muted powerchord or slow arpeggio reminiscent of Sabbath’s Black Sabbath and Paranoid eras.

Everything’s Bigger opens with a quick four note bass intro followed by lively guitars and drums which are joined by Dupuis’ soft voice which goes from a medium rock tone to high pop. The guitars and bass are slightly distorted to add some “crunch” to the song but not to the point of sounding messy or played without skill. Again, the track is of the pop rock genre but has its own sound also. The song finishes with an average-length guitar solo and a final verse before the final chords slowly fade out.

The final track, Shine Theory, is a slightly slower track when compared to the previous three. The slightly distorted guitars have returned to play riffs which are repetitive throughout with soft drums and bass which are both easily ignored due to a preference to listen to Sadie Dupuis’ singing or the final guitar solo which finishes the song and EP with a quick chord strum.

As previously mentioned, Speedy Ortiz’s newest EP sounds very similar to Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen and will therefore appeal to fans of those two artists. Although I’m not a huge fan of pop rock and wouldn’t listen to it all day as I can with other genres, the Real Hair EP is definitely worthy of a listen or two. I wouldn’t say they’re a band I’ll personally be keeping an eye on, but fans of pop rock may want to as this band certainly has potential to go far in their musical careers.

Review: Supreme Cuts – Divine Ecstasy [Guestlist.net]

Supreme Cuts is a Chicagoan duo consisting of Mike Perry and Austin Keultjes who are fans of musicians such as Timbaland right through to the shoegazers known as My Bloody Valentine. Supreme Cuts’ newest album, however, is far from reminiscent of either of these musicians/bands, instead going for an almost disco-like sound.

The album opens with a lengthy squeal followed by a man’s voice speaking about, I’m assuming, feelings of both agony and ecstasy. The track is called, quite simply, ‘Introduction (Agony/Ecstasy)’ and lasts only just below two minutes, finishing with a quick 80s disco tune.

Track two is ‘Cocktails’ featuring Shy Girls – a very nineties boy band-sounding piece layered with electronic claps and “stutters” with lyrics that are hard to understand and the only decipherable words being “swallowing” and “where did all the clocks go?” Later in the track the claps begin to sound like those often heard on rap and hip-hop albums except with very high male chants.

‘Gone’, which features the voice of Mahaut Mondino, is much like the previous track except with decipherable lyrics and more instruments which include a piano and some heavy bass sections. With these new instruments and female vocals thrown in, it is enjoyable and a decent enough track.

Next up is ‘Dionysus Rising’ – a 37 second track consisting of a ringing bell and eastern drum beats. It’s nothing special and before we’ve had a chance to really think about or even listen to it the track is over. The next three tracks, ‘Envision’ (featuring Channy of Polica), ‘Divine Ecstasy’ and ‘Peak Experience’ are nothing special and consist of repetitive bass drum and synth lines next to the now-familiar claps we’ve already heard in previous tracks.

‘Down’ which features The GTW, Khallee and David Ashley lifts the mood a bit with its mix of lively singing and rapping with melodic synth lines and “twinkles” which make the listener think of light reflecting off of the stars hanging on the branches of their Christmas tree.

Moving away from the rapping is ‘Brown Flowers’ with Mahaut Mondino offering her voice again to create something close to a ballad. Beginning with two piano chords which are followed by Mondino’s singing, the track is calm, eighties-sounding and relaxing. By the middle of the track the beats and claps have sped up slightly but they soon slow down to bring that ballad feeling back with Mahaut Mondino’s voice harmonised with spoken words and repeated chants. A lengthy scream is also thrown in for good measure before the track finishes with the line “All the flowers suddenly turn brown” and a horn gently fades out.

Don’t touch his “lovely Isis” or they’ll hold you down “like a vice grip”. Track 10, entitled ‘Isis’, could be considered as “a chillout track with rapped vocals and cool, liquid synth lines”. With mentions of candles, heat and not leaving yet, the track is very sexual. Melodic, calming and harmonic, this is one of the more preferred tracks on the album as it all works very well together and is one of those tracks that can be listened to consecutively.

‘Bacchus’ is another short and boring track at 33 seconds followed by ‘Faded’ which is slightly more interesting, but not something to rave about (or to). It’s slow, quiet and repetitive and one that can be skipped with little to no complaints.

Another “sexy” (or wet dream) track, ‘It’s Like That’ begins with singing/rapping about “making love to flashing lights” followed by “I don’t wanna wake up” and a deep voice groaning “hypnotised” multiple times. With some trance-like synth around the four minutes mark followed by some soft sax playing, the track has become somewhat jazzy. However, this all suddenly changes when a hard house beat comes in a minute later to finish off the track. This ending was a bit of a disappointment as the sax worked well, but the sudden volume-raise seemed to ruin it all.

The aforementioned trance and jazz (trazz?) then returns for the intro to ‘Epilogue (Street Walker)’, an 80s disco-like track with spoken vocals over soft piano playing and wisps of air. The track and album finishes with the jazzy sax leaving the listener feeling calm and fairly cheerful.

The album itself is a bit of a 50/50 thing. On one hand it has some good vocals and music sections, yet elsewhere it tends to be boring and slow with pointlessly short tracks which could have instead been used to extend the time of other tracks.

Is this album worth listening to? Maybe, but it’s not something I’d consider album of the year.

Review: Vierro – Inside Me [Guestlist.net]

This was my first submission to Guestlist.net where I’m currently working as an intern. Oshi, the publisher was impressed with my word choices (i.e. “bouncy bass lines” & “dripping synth”) so I’m happy with it all.

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When the writers from DJMag describe a musician as a “Greek trance god” and “trance king” you can’t help but simply know that, as a fan of house music, you should be listening to them. And as I’m sure many trance fans will tell you, Vierro is one of those artists. His newest album, Inside Me, offers the listener summery synth lines, calm and melodic vocals from Tiff Lacey and Cari Golden and “classic” yet modern-sounding trance beats, all of which are reminiscent of artists such as Chicane, Robert Miles and Finnish veteran DJ Darude all of whose tracks are played and recognised in thousands of clubs around the world.

The album opens with ‘Honesty’, an 8-minute track which starts with a light and spacey synth which is soon joined by the female vocals of Tiff Lacey and Cari Golden. Underneath the vocals comes the “dripping” synth notes and bouncy bass lines which quickly increase the volume of the track. We’re also provided with cymbal taps and, of course, the inevitable bass thumps which are joined by a “buzzing” synth. By the end of track one, we’re feeling less on the beach with a strong cocktail as we did at the start and more ready to rave hard.

Next up is the title track ‘Inside Me’ in which clubbers are given 2 or 3 minutes of relaxation and wring-out-the-sweat time with a small, quiet beat followed by sustained synth notes and a repeated triplet which is then joined by cymbal crashes. It’s easy to tell already why Vierro has been crowned a trance king (although on his Facebook page he says “Trance is not a genre. Trance is a feeling. I make dance music and I play everything that sounds good to my ears”) and is likely to be heard in any of Europe’s major clubs.

‘Cruel Doubt’ is a track that is somewhat similar to New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ mixed with Orgy’s industrialised version, excluding the vocals. The tune begins with 30 seconds of quiet hums before the bass thumps come in. This is where I was reminded of ‘Blue Monday’. The bass is soon joined by cymbal crashes and deep synth followed by an almost organ or horn-like synth.

Tiff Lacey’s voice which fits in almost perfectly then enters, giving the listener a sense of euphoria. To add to the similarity to ‘Blue Monday’ a number of synth “bleeps” come in. The track finishes with the bass thumps from the beginning and leads into ‘Future’, a very quiet and slow track until the three-minute mark upon which things speed and louden up to create a track to jump and bounce around the dancefloor to. Not forgetting the synth around the four minute mark which sounds very much like a soft version of ‘God is a DJ’ by Faithless.

‘Idol’ sounds like something from the Scottish Highlands with its gentle whistle and fuzzy beats. For its whole seven minutes the track remains in this quiet state throughout until it finishes with gentle bass kicks and reverberated cymbal taps.

The shortest track on the album at four minutes thirty seconds is ‘Ghost of my Heart’. Somewhat overly repetitive, this track is my least favourite on the album, but it’s third from the end which is usually the point when “fillers” – less popular tracks which are used to increase the album length – are put in anyway so this might be expected.

‘Senses’ is almost too similar to ‘Cruel Doubt’ . However, after the similar intro, the track becomes something which could be compared to the works of Darude. This similar sound continues throughout the track until the outro which is another New Order-like bass thump.

Suitably titled as a final track is ‘World Without End’ which is another summery track which provides images of a red and orange horizon at the back of the sea whilst relaxing with that strong cocktail you had at the beginning of the album. Tiff Lacey is back with her soft and haunting voice singing over liquid beats and the previously heard dripping synth notes. Again her voice fits in perfectly with the track to help create an album that is likely to be hitting Europe’s biggest nightclubs very soon.

So, how can the album be described in one sentence? Modern yet classic trance with summer vibes which provide images of that perfect clubbing holiday. If you already happen to be a fan of Vierro you’ll know his newest album will be worth listening to. If, however, you’ve only just discovered him and are a fan of trance musicians such as Darude, Chicane and Robert Miles check this album out now. Alternatively you can wait till summer and get yourself onto a beach with a beatbox and this album.

Blues Jam @ Spice of Life, Soho 12/11/2013

Having been informed that Lauren was unable to come over to mine this week as originally planned I felt, as one might expect, rather disappointed. Upon hearing this news I decided to have a look on Time Out’s website in order to find out if there were any live (and free) music events going on and it turns out I was very lucky as there was a blues jam night going on at The Spice of Life in Soho.

I’d never been to this bar, but after checking out some reviews it sounded nice enough (it was) and when is a blues jam never fun to watch/listen to? Exactly, so I travelled over there, finally managed to find it and grabbed myself a drink before heading to the spacious basement where the gig was due to be performed.

After ten minutes of taking in my surroundings and writing out the beginning of a new short story as I am apt to do, some soft lounge-y blues began playing over the PA system. At first I thought it was just some background music for those who had already arrived, but upon glancing up I noticed Dove Jones who I had spoken with earlier about this review, happily playing the keyboard and tapping his foot in rhythm with some well-sung vocals for extra measure. I was already enjoying the night.

Soon after, Chris McConville (drums), Nazeem (guitar) and the bassist Steve Bowley joined him and a chilled out blues band was playing. Whilst watching I spotted three things: Nazeem was very similar to Metallica’s Kirk Hammett in both looks and playing style, Chris could easily be a member of a deathcore band (not dissin’, as they say back in Essex) and Steve only had one finger on his picking hand. To say I was impressed with this and his playing would be an understatement.

For the next hour while the jammers arrived and prepared the band played a mix of 12-bar blues, lounge blues and, by request of an audience member, some rock n’ roll. At the beginning interaction with the crowd was infrequent (but this meant more music and singing), but as time went on Dove got more talkative and jokey with the audience. Applause was aplenty once the set had finished and it was now time to begin the blues jam.

[Please note: From here details may get a little vague or missing as there were a lot of performers and I’m attempting to keep this review to below 1000 words.]

By now the bar was full, but just to the right point: everybody had a seat and the bar was accessible. Dove approached the mic and introduced the first act: Aldi/Albi Deluka who began with some slow licks which sped up before slowing down again into a mix of space rock similar to early Hawkwind and Pink Floyd’s Animals & Dark Side eras. Add to that frequent bass swells and singing and you have a fine performance to start off the night.

Next up was a mix of shared leads, some rocky-blues singing by Chris McConville (who had a problem with the mic stand disappearing at one point) and an audience member jamming along with his sax. Not forgetting some fine wiggly harmonica playing and a bluesed-up version of Dio’s Rainbow in the Dark.

The third band came with the addition of the aforementioned saxophone and a female singer. I usually associate the sax with jazz and to be played very louder, often drowning out all other instruments. This, however, was much different and came in a soft style while the singer maintained a steady rock voice with hints of Cher in there. With this in mind, they were slightly more lounge-y than the previous bands. Not to worry, blues lounge is good as it gives us a nice and eclectic mix of musicians. The next band was similar except this one with Justin McConville (Chris’s brother) on guitar and vocals got the audience singing and clapping along with the two women at the front really giving everything they had.

This is where it gets even more different. Dove Jones begins calling on the next group of performers and mentions a flute. Here the audience get both excited and confused. A flute? That’s different. I, on the other hand, was worried. Staring at my notepad I was expecting to have to put up with ten to fifteen minutes of Jethro Tull. Fifteen minutes too long. Fortunately, I was wrong. This band supplied us with some very rocky and lively drums, prominent bass solos and speed changes throughout the set.

This next set was a bit odd to say the least. A bassist with a 5 string and a guitarist with a Dean V. I’m not sure if the bass was unsuitable or just didn’t work, but he was told to play the 4 string instead. The guitarist seemed a bit out of place also, playing some very low and inaudible notes (possibly due to the usage of tube amps) with audible sweep-picked solos and squealing pinch harmonics. Both looking very bored throughout, I’m not sure this was the gig for them.

The next two jams were nice finishers with the first one starting with a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Pride and Joy followed by what were either SRV covers or sounded very much like him. Following that was a jam with a harmonica as the main instrument with the guitar and bass working mainly as rhythm instruments/sections while the harmonica and vocals led the way.

Finally, Dove and his band finished off with a short set with a very drunken man taking the front of the stage and sharing some lyrics and some decent harmonica playing.

All-in-all, the blues jam at the Spice of Life was a great event and one for anybody who likes a good bit of blues on a Tuesday night. If you’re able to make it sometime, do, you’ll have fun and the train station’s only round the corner.

Relive the Music: Candlefest review

Candlelight Records’ first festival night was opened by London thrash band Hybris – a happy-looking 5-piece who could’ve come straight out of the 80s with their studs and leather. Sounding a bit like a mix of WASP, Venom and Tygers of Pan Tang, the band played a set of floor-vibrating thrash which some audience members were clearly enjoying, others not so much. It was early so the night was likely to get better.

Unfortunately the guitars were much more prominent than bass, drums and vocals making the set sound slightly over-chugged and hard to figure what was playing when. However, being the first of three supports can be a challenging task especially when you’re opening for Anaal Nathrakh. If they’d played higher on the list the show may have been more exciting, but sadly they weren’t, leaving space for the next band to play a boring and messy show.

If I’m going to be honest and blunt in this review, I have to say Voices was a boring and messy band/performance. One song instantly led into another (the only sign that a new song was starting was from the recorded voice intros,) there was very little crowd interaction from the singer, the lead guitarist looked like he was trying too hard and I ended up daydreaming as I stared at the cables on the stage; not a good thing when you’re watching a band play live.

            Filled with tremolo picking and non-stop double bass, there was little change or structure to the songs and everything was a scream. If songs weren’t filled with tremolo picking then it was a constant chug throughout. This is the band that should have played first.

When I saw Palehorse’s setup of 2 bass guitars, drums at the front and a table covered with mixers and programming switches I was interested, but not sure what to expect. In all my time of going to live gigs, I’ve not experienced anything close to what Palehorse delivered tonight.

By flicking a few switches and twisting some knobs the band managed to turn the Underworld into something resembling the sounds of a mental institution with long screams and those creepy sounds you might expect to hear in such a place. To top it all off the vocalist was wearing an Armed Response Unit t-shirt and the bassist donned a “Kill Everyone” shirt. Both, I thought, were very fitting for a band which may have been led out of the venue in a secure, unmarked van with chains around their wrists and ankles.

Definitely not to everyone’s tastes, this band was pure noise and definitely tonight’s highlight. They will be playing the Underworld again on the 7^th of September so if you like noise metal and the sounds of mental institutions, check them out.

Anaal Nathrakh was tonight’s headliner and judging from the crowd’s excitement, the most anticipated also. Even before the band hit the stage the pit spaces were starting to open and upon the first note, the floor was a jungle of long hair, flailing arms and testosterone scented air. Not forgetting stage divers – an activity which, due to barriers and stage guards, is quite hard to partake in these days.

The band played an hour of fast riffage and hard drumming mixed with frequent crowd interactions including introducing a song by telling the audience that it’s the song of a stagediver’s worst dream: jumping and realising that the crowd isn’t going to catch you – luckily this didn’t happen to anybody, though a few jumpers did look close to being dropped. Vocals were also loud and fierce while also fun and lively as was displayed by the audience.

The first night at Candlefest was a fun one with some good bands I’d consider seeing live again. Hopefully they’ll be playing more gigs very soon.

[View original at www.relivethemusic.co.uk]

Trivium – Brave this Storm review/download

Written for Relive the Music

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When it comes to releasing new songs and albums Trivium are frequently criticised for their change in sound and even appearance with each new album usually being compared to 2005’s Ascendancy or 2008’s Shogun yet they still push on and release new albums sounding different to the previous one.

Brave This Storm from the new album Vengeance Falls begins with a Trivium sound of fast guitars before the drums kick in with a beat similar to the intro of Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr followed by clean vocals not dissimilar to their second album The Crusade.

The song follows this thrash sound of fast guitars and cleanish vocals with the odd scream thrown in throughout. Sure, it’s not Ascendancy, but bands like to change and mature and it appears Trivium is doing the same. Music, however, is subjective so others may disagree, but we’ll leave that to the comments section once you’ve had a listen:

Personally, I quite enjoyed the track. As I said, it’s no Ascendancy track nor does it appear to have the groove of Shogun’s first track Kirisute Gomen (or Let’s go Eat Ramen, if parody is your thing), but I’ll definitely be checking out the album when it becomes available.

If you took a liking to the song it can be downloaded at www.trivium.fm/

Review: Me, John & the Drummer demo (2013)

I only came across Me (Lewis Templeman – guitar,) John (Kinsella – Vocals/bass) & the drummer (Joao Soares Neto) 2 nights ago as I stood in Islington’s Fallen Angel bar with a drink in one hand and a notepad in the other, taking notes for a review, but saying that, I’m glad I did. Hard, funky blues in the styles of Stevie Ray Vaughan/Double Trouble and Jimi Hendrix they really know what they’re doing.

The demo holds four tracks of the aforementioned funky blues with crunching guitar riffs and smooth vocals held together with the rhythmic playing of lounge-y drums and soft basslines.

The demo starts with ‘Comes the Spring,’ a song that speaks of previous seasons and (I think) of how the warmer seasons help to make us feel uplifted or mentally strong with lyrics of “I walk up the beaten track/You cannot beat me down/You cannot hold me back.” Although slow and calm, it’s a rather positive sounding song (both lyrically and musically,) helping the listener to feel cheerful with high vocals, slow guitar riffs/licks and soft drumming.

You don’t get more Southern or randy than a rodeo and the sounds of (or similar to) SRV. ‘Rodeo’ is one of those songs you just know is inspired by the above and everything related to the Deep South. Despite usually having their own sound every decent band manages to write a song that could be mistaken for another (band) and this would probably be no different were it played on the radio without announcement.

With its lively guitars, singing about pretty girls, leaving the (randy) rodeo “with a smile” and being looked over when heading for the ride this is one of those “getting pumped up” songs; stick it on as you prepare to leave the house and things will be done much faster.

Ego taken a beaten recently or feeling a bit low? ‘King of this Town’ should help. Easily my favourite track on the demo (followed closely by ‘Rodeo’,) this is a good walking song. Although untested, I have a good feeling it’ll be a good song to stick on as you take a stroll along the Thames at night.

Unlike the previous two tracks this is much slower and calmer (hence the position of ‘walking track’) it tells a story of emotional letdowns before looking deep into [your] eyes, bearing emotions and realising I’m/you’re the king of this town. As I mentioned in my review of the recent gig, every blues band needs a ballad, and this is MJATB’s ballad.

Living Free is another walking song. It’s also another ballad which I can only figure is about someone living without the confinements that life throws at us. Lyrically it seems to talk of the loss of a friend and how they now live without the aforementioned confinements hence living/being free of such things. Calm and relaxing it’s a slow piece similar to that of ‘Comes the Spring’ as well as some of Hendrix’s slower stuff. The type of song that causes you to lean back in your chair and stare at the ceiling after spending hours in front of a computer screen.

When I discover a new band which I really like I usually find myself listening to them on repeat which is something I’ve been doing with this little demo. It’s a selection of lively, calm and head-clearing songs which any blues fan will like. What’s even better is that is you weren’t at the July 27^th gig you can still listen to it on the band’s Facebook page (linked below.)

Having now seen Me, John and the Drummer live as well as heard their demo I can confirm that this is a band I’ll be keeping my eyes on for future gigs and releases and you should too.

Official Facebook/listen to the demo

Event review: The Fallen Angel 27/7/2013

Band 1: Flipsiders

After a very long break of around 10 years, the Flipsiders recently decided it was time to reform and start performing music again. And what a decision this was. Despite this (very) long hiatus of approximately 3650 days it appears that the band weren’t at all rusty around the edges.

The singer, Nick, had the energy of David Coverdale on speed and a very strong voice that fitted perfectly with the band. The guitarist, Sandro, was a calm player but did so with a permanent smile and the look of someone who loved what he was doing with 6 strings and no fretboard-wankery as we seem to see so often these days. These two were joined by a lively bassist and chilled drummer who, I believe, had recently joined the band.

However, despite their liveliness, they also conformed to what every blues band is required to do: perform a ballad, as they did in their fourth song. Nick managed to prove his versatility in this song as his voice went from loud and heavy in the previous tune to soft and slower in this one.

Flipsiders is a band who I found were hard to compare to anyone live. They had all the classic sounds of a rock/blues band but also their own, but that’s a good thing, right? Sadly the band doesn’t have any sort of band page or the like so it’s hard to find out where and when they’re playing, but if you see their name pop up on any of the venue pages on Facebook, go and see them.

Band 2: Me, John & the Drummer

After Flipsiders had gotten the audience into a beer-drinking blues mood, Me, John & the Drummer who describe themselves as “filthy dirty blues inspired rock’n’roll from the bowels of Soho” quickly set up their gear and started playing, managing to increase the crowd’s excitement very quickly. It was definitely a blues night. This was probably my favourite band of the night, closely followed by Flipsiders.

As a three-piece, the band worked well with John Kinsella on vocals and bass, Lewis Templeman on guitar and Joao Soares Neto on drums playing some very Southern blues in the styles of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix with maybe some Skynyrd thrown in. It could even be said that when it came to playing solos they had a slight slowed-down Satch/Vai sound going on.

John’s singing was strong with a smooth and bluesy sound that fitted right in with the music. Not as lively as Flippin’ Nick, but that didn’t matter. He did it just right with some cool bass playing behind the drums and guitar playing. This was made even better with the fifth song they played: a cover of Hendrix’s ‘Fire.’ It can sometimes be a bit risky playing covers, but MJATD proved that it can also be done well when you know what you’re doing.

After their fiery cover (sorry) the band played ‘King of this Town,’ a song that started as a light blues/lounge sounding piece but soon upped the tempo into some hard blues before dropping down again. In a similar way to covers, it can sometimes be hard to make this work, but they managed it.

A song or two and a free demo (and a free CD is a good CD) announcement later the band said their thanks and byes and finished their set, but not before chants for an encore. Sadly we weren’t treated to one which was disappointing but made up for with the free demo. Being Soho-based I’m guessing (and hoping) MJATD play a lot of local gigs so expect more reviews of this band.

Official site

Facebook

Band 3: MUD: The Far Curse

MUD: TFC is a band which on this occasion I find hard to review here due to a number of problems experienced throughout the set. Speaking with the band afterwards I was told that this was due to damaged amps meaning they had to borrow a tube amp from one of the previous bands, wrong/badly chosen line-up (blues and metal don’t really mix), no sound check and a hired sound guy who I noticed spent his time behind the mixer rolling cigarettes.

Despite the problems, the band wasn’t bad and could be compared to Foo Fighters, Prong, Pearl Jam and even a little Floyd-y in parts. There was even one song I thought sounded somewhat like early Mayhem or Darkthrone. I also noticed/heard that the band liked to have some fun with feedback at the end of most of their songs along with frequent tapping and the odd 5-string bass outro.

As much as I like heavy music I found there to be too much of a contrast between MUD and the two other bands, and it looked like the audience may feel the same. However, when talking with the band it was agreed that, as previously mentioned, it wasn’t the best chosen line-up and the audience were there for blues rather than metal.

Due to the problems that occurred I’m not going to say this was a bad band, I’m sure they’re not and I’ll give them another chance, but tonight just wasn’t the right night sadly.

Facebook

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Review: SPiT LiKE THiS – Normalityville Horror (2013)

SPiT LiKE THiS is one of those bands you just can’t help but respect for their efforts and determination to make good music and offensive clothing. Starting as just a tiny, two-person band working/recording in an even smaller cottage LORD ZiON (vocals) and Vikki Spit (bass) wanted to make music, but you can’t make music without money, right? And so Smell Your Mum clothing was launched. If you fancy having someone threaten to punch you or gaining a large number of disapproving glances as you walk through the City of London, this is the place to go.

Over time, demos were made while they played some local gigs and SLT’s fanbase slowly grew until they made it to Amazon No.1 with Sleaze Sells… But Who’s Buying? and toured with the big bands including former Murderdolls singer Wednesday 13 and LA Guns.

This year, however, was a biggie for the band with their release of Normalityville Horror, Zion writing his first screenplay of the same name (but of no relation) and a planned tour with Adler which was sadly cancelled.

The first thing I thought as the album opened with “Sick” was, simply, ‘Motley Crüe!’ who, incidentally, I’d been listening to the night before. The whole song is filled with the sounds of Crüe with its cool drum beats, chugging guitars and Lord Zion’s glam-rock voice that sounds like a mix between Vince Neil and Blackie Lawless. A well-chosen opener.

Would you want to live in a Normalityville? Judging from the next track, LORD ZiON wouldn’t and he makes it extremely obvious with this song and his automobillic escape in “Zero to Sixty”, a very English-voiced (notably in the chorus) piece which, I’m sure, will make any driver want to push the accelerator down just that little bit more.

Then in comes a perfect cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday.” No, wait, that was just one of Spotify’s ads butting in. I can see (or should that be hear?) the irony in the next track, “Very Very Good at Being Bad” seeing as it’s a pretty cool track with its rising guitar intro joined by some funky drums.

Saying that, the song might not be related to music, it could just be an admission of why Z received that speeding ticket the other day. I guess we may never know. That’s until he writes his autobiography/memoirs after being “Dragged Kicking and Screaming” through the local prison gates before being released and “coming back for more.”

The next three songs are very, to put it simply, teenage-themed, so to speak: “Teen Angel,” “The Life and Times of the Suicide Kid” (of which a video has been made, viewable on YouTube and the band’s official site) and “Oh No! Here we Go!” though I must say the latter song has some interesting lyrics like “Don’t fuck with me,” simple but effective, I’m sure and “Get down on your knees / Do as I please.” I’m also sure we all know what this means or is related to. If you are not, get yourself onto Google and search “oral sex” and you’ll understand soon enough.

This next song’s a bit stupid really and it knows this (it isn’t really; I’m just going by the title here.) “The Dumb Song” seems to be about, simply, doing “dumb” things like talking about others and (I think) using Facebook. Or maybe it’s about relationships and their attention-seeking drama which is always made public on the aforementioned Facebook. I’m not too sure. Maybe ZiON can tell you.

To close the album we have “Dead to me Now,” a fast, crunchy and even slightly funky tune which sings of hitting a person/people (gender is unspecified here) before stating that they are “dead to me now.” Nice and friendly it even has a somewhat “happy” sounding guitar solo 2/3 of the way in.

Overall, Normalityville Horror is likely to be a love/hate album. If not that, then it’s certainly a tasteful one, by which I mean fans of 80s glam rock and crazy hair (although in this case I’d say the closest to crazy hair you’ll get is Vile Giles’s impaling mohawk) will love this album whereas those who are hypnotised by today’s music and only follow what the radio tells them to will hate it.

But SPiT LiKE THiS don’t care, they’re not exactly a band who wish to follow or take part in today’s conventional society.

Overall rating: 4/5

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