Jason Bieler is a vocalist that’ll be best known to many rock fans for being the frontman with Saigon Kick back in the 90s. Never the most consistent of acts, Saigon Kick experimented with various different rock and metal styles over the course of three or four albums, but managed to attract a core of very vocal fans. That love of not being pigeonholed very much informs the material on Bieler’s ‘Songs for The Apocalypse’. In the lead up to release, he likened the record to “Neurosis meets Supertramp” and “Jellyfish playing Barry Manilow covers in the style of Meshuggah”. It sounds like none of those things, and the artist is very obviously trying too hard to be smart, but it’s an impressive work, nonetheless – a record that fuses dark psychedelia with classic hard rock, melodic metal and even a pinch of a nu metal groove. It should appeal to rock fans with broad tastes – and specifically lovers of King’s X, Devin Townsend and bands like Karnivool. What it isn’t is an album that panders to most of the stuck in a rut melodic rock die-hards, despite gaining a release on the Frontiers label.
Monthly Archives: January 2021
THE SHANG HI-LOS – Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit EP
The Shang Hi Los is a band that brings together the talents of various musical stalwarts of the Boston music scene. Formed in 2019 by Dan Kopko from Watts and Jen D’Angora (The Downbeat 5) to expressly record poppier material, they later enlisted Lee Harrington from The Neighborhoods on bass and Lost Cowboys drummer Chuck Ferreira. With the ultimate team of friends in place, the quartet set about raising the bar for good old fashioned power pop.
Watch the new video from stoner duo Yur Mum
The last time the world heard from Yur Mum was at the tail end of 2019. The fuzzy garage rock stoner duo had just released their ‘Ellipsis’ EP – which turned out to be one of the best rock releases of the year – and the future looked bright. Then, in March 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and, pretty much like everyone else, Yur Mum were forced to retreat.
Check out the new video from Octopus Montage
Towards the end of 2020, Octopus Montage released three digital singles with accompanying video clips. In November, ‘A Shortcut (To The Unconscious Mind)’ gave their followers and potential new fans a glimpse of their heavier side via various glitchy metalcore riffs. Combined with a deep growling vocal, the track was reminiscent of earlier works by Her Dying Regret. [Watch the video here.]
Grab a free 23 track sampler from Rum Bar Records
The Rum Bar label has a lot of good stuff readied for release over the next couple of months. They’re bringing you the debut EP from The Shang Hi-Los, new material from Hayley & The Crushers and The Cheap Cassettes. That’s on top of an ongoing reissue programme for old Melted Records acts and the truckload of stuff they put out during the last quarter of 2020. The guys at the label have never been busier.