JJ Cale – 1938-2013

For most, John Weldon ‘JJ’ Cale will be best remembered as the writer of ‘After Midnight’ and ‘Cocaine’, tunes popularised in the 1970s by Eric Clapton, and ‘Call Me The Breeze’, a number which became a Lynyrd Skynyrd staple.  Yet, as ingrained as these songs are in the minds of classic rock fans, it always seemed that comparatively few are as familiar with Cale’s original recordings as they are these much-heard cover tunes.

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THE MINX – Hey! Mr. Warden EP

HEY! Mr WardenWith a distinctly northern approach to their sound and boundless levels of energy within their arrangements, a few may hear traces of early Arctic Monkeys within this debut EP from The Minx.  Far stronger than that, though, their love for Buzzcocks within the ranks of this Manchester based band shines through.  The music may possess slightly less of a punk edge than anything Shelley/Diggle recorded back in the late 70s – largely down to huge waves of Dave Greenfield/Clint Boon influenced keys – but the Buzzcocks’ lasting influence in the sheer energy and snotty vocal is unavoidable.  [Also, is the oddly placed exclaimation mark in the EP’s title a gentle homage to The Fall?]

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New drum playthrough video from Irish tech/death metallers Dichotomy

Prior to the release of their debut album ‘Paradigms’, Irish tech metal/death metal crew Dichotomy have posted a video of drummer Dave Fay hammering his way through their track ‘No Catharis’.

The new clip follows on the heels of a video showing the band playing through ‘All Seeing Eye’, also featured on the upcoming disc. Both clips can be seen in full below.

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ARC ANGEL – Harlequins Of Light

Arc Angel - Harlequins of LightWith no record companies ever breathing down his neck for a follow up to a hit album, singer-songwriter Jeff Cannata has always been left to his own devices to make records in his own time.  While this has meant that he hasn’t always been particularly prolific – with just a couple of albums per decade to his credit since the early 80s – you could never say his work was shoddy.  Whenever an album with Cannata at the helm appears, you can be assured it’ll be filled with shiny, multi-layered goodness…and 2013’s ‘Harlequins of Light’, released under the Arc Angel moniker, is no exception.

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