Follow The Lion are a five piece indie-rock band from Leeds whose debut EP is comprised of three finely crafted indie-rock tunes; each of these three numbers bring out the best in most of the band members – particularly vocalist Daniel Francis and lead guitarist Richard Swann. Prior to ‘The Candy & Gravity Motel’s release, the band found an early champion in the legendary Tom Robinson, who gave exposure to the title cut on his BBC Radio 6 show…and it’s very easy to see why, since these three songs are absolutely tailor-made for rock-based radio. That’s “tailor-made”, as opposed to manufactured, since FTL have a very natural style – there’s nothing here to ever make you think they’d been moulded by the media in any way.
Monthly Archives: June 2015
THE END MEN – Terms & Conditions
Reappearing at the beginning of 2013 after a brief hiatus, Brooklyn’s End Men made a big statement with their second LP ‘Play With Your Toys’. From that point on, there seemed to be no stopping the blues/garage rock duo, with live shows aplenty following – including a recorded appearance at CXCW – and a quickly released compilation of odds and ends filling the gap until their next studio bookings. Released seemingly weeks after their last recordings, ‘Terms & Conditions’ picks up exactly where you’d expect, with the gravel-voiced Matthew Hendershot weaving tales of woe and drunken forboding while percussionist Livia Ranalli plays by the seat of her pants. With such a quick turnaround of material, are The End Men in danger of burning themselves out? On the basis of their 2015 release, it’s a case of anything but…
THE DECOY – Parasites EP
This EP from Welsh trio The Decoy is chaotic. It’s also quite brilliant. Restless from the outset, this band bring metallic edginess, new wavish quirks, post-hardcore sounds, alongside a dose of noise rock, touches of light reggae and jangly guitar rock together in a way that should appeal to the more open minded prog fan, or the math rock devotee. What they lack in obvious hooks they more than make up for with sheer balls. The results are not going to be for everyone, but we should assume that’s exactly how The Decoy like it.
THE QUIET ROOM – All The Frozen Horses
In 2013, Australian rock band Evoletah unveiled ‘We Ache For The Moon’, a huge surprise of an album that threw away most of their previous alternative rock traits in favour of a moody sound combining rock, prog and touches of jazz. One of the best albums of the year, it’s lower-key sounds really seemed in tune with the voice of frontman Matt Cahill, tapping into the understated qualities of his voice. It was a brilliant musical statement – and the band knew it; so, then rather than set about creating a similarly themed successor straight away, Cahill stepped aside and with a huge input from multi-instrumentalist Andrew Muecke, began creating material in a completely different style.
The Scandals: Month long Euro tour begins
New Jersey punk band The Scandals begin their month long trek across Europe tonight which finds them playing several shows with the legendary Gaslight Anthem.
All dates are listed below.