SIGNAL – Signal EP

Not to be confused with the American AOR band fronted by Marcie Free in the late 80s, this twenty first century Signal play very ragged hardcore punk. The band’s rhythm section once comprised two thirds of the lo-fi garage punk combo The Meltaways and if you were ever a fan of that band, then Signal’s brash stance should very much appeal.

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Harem Scarem to release 14CD ‘Ultimate Collection’ in March

Always a much loved band in melodic rock circles, Harem Scarem have released some great albums over the years, with their first two albums very much at the forefront of the scene at the point where the AOR glory days of the 80s reached their end.

Over the following years, Harry Hess, Pete Lesperance and band continued to make great music, with their 2002 release ‘Weight of The World’ ranking among their best.

Outside of Japan, most of their albums have been increasingly hard to find, but March 2019 will set that right when most of the band’s catalogue is set for release as a lavish fourteen CD set, pairing the first twelve albums with an “Early Years” disc and an exclusive disc of rarities.  The good news for fans looking to fill those collection gaps is that each of the individual releases also includes the relevant bonus tracks from the Japanese releases and more besides.

The full details can be found in the press release below.

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Snuff added to MPF (Manchester Punk Festival) line-up

First announced back in October 2018, the MPF (Manchester Punk Festival) is set to take place over the three days of Easter Weekend 2019. Among the first wave of bands confirmed were festival favourites King Prawn and Sonic Boom Six.

Several dozen bands were confirmed over the coming months including Samiam, Subhumans, Call Me Malcolm, Goober Patrol and up and coming ska band Millie Manders & The Shutup.

The final wave of bands – now totalling in excess of a hundred – has now been confirmed, adding the mighty Snuff to the line-up. A very welcome addition, Snuff are one of the funniest bands you’ll ever see. If somehow you’re going to this event and haven’t ever seen them, you owe it to yourself to right that wrong.

More details, plus a link to the website, can be found in the press release below.

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DISKOPUNK – Diskopunk EP

Diskopunk have been slowly releasing tracks across digital platforms since 2016. It was looking increasingly like they were going to tease the world with bits and pieces forever, but the beginning of 2019 brought a self titled EP and, with that, finally something more substantial for those who’ve enjoyed the previous digital singles.

In terms of their very European electronica, the bulk of this self-titled release is very assured in the way it throws catchy hooks into melodic beats. It also isn’t afraid to feel like throwaway fun at times either, but what comes across most is that old Scandinavian gift for a strong melody – something that’s often obvious throughout, even if you’re not really that big on dance oriented stuff.

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Richard Wright’s ZEE project gets box set treatment; pre-orders being taken

One of the more overlooked items within Richard Wright’s back-catalogue, perhaps even more so than his two solo recordings (1978’s ‘Wet Dream’ and 1996’s ‘Broken China’), ZEE was a one-off project. A collaboration with Fashion’s Dave Harris, the band only released one album, but 1984’s ‘Fashion’ is an album that’s continued to be ignored over the years.  Perhaps this is due to it not sounding like anything his fans were used to, but maybe it’s place as the elephant in the room of Floyd history runs deeper. Even Wright himself later considered ZEE “an expensive mistake“.

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