Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

THE FIERCE AND THE DEAD – Regional Theatre

Posted on by
Reply

The Fierce And The Dead’s fourth album, ‘News From An Invisible World’, marked a bold step forward for the band. With that record, they took their already distinctive sound from an instrumental, post-rock sphere into something song based with the addition of Kevin Feazey’s vocals. This had the effect of making a couple of their songs sound a little like a more interesting Queens of The Stone Age with proggy inflections, but it proved they were willing to push boundaries to an extent that might even alienate some of their fans. It was such a dramatic shift, but it was a gamble that paid off; the album was well received by fans and press alike.

Continue reading →

DONNIE VIE – Beautiful Things

Posted on by
Reply

For power pop fans, singer songwriter Donnie Vie will need no introduction. With Enuff Z’Nuff, he lent his vocal and songwriting chops to a string of great albums, released at a time when a blend of Cheap Trick obsessions crossed with a 60s inspired, flower power cool was decidedly uncool. Their first three albums (‘Enuff Z’Nuff’, ‘Strength’ and ‘Animals With Human Intelligence’) are cast iron classics which still play brilliantly, decades after the fact. During the second half of the nineties and beyond, the band’s tendency to take a cut ‘n’ paste approach to making albums could be frustrating, but for the more patient fan, there was always a little more gold to be mined, and an on-form Vie continued to show his very natural melodic gifts on tracks like ‘There Goes My Heart’, ‘Believe In Love’ and ‘What Can I Do?’

Continue reading →

THE NORTHERN LINE – The Northern Line EP

Posted on by
Reply

For a band rooted within the northeastern US, The Northern Line adopt a very British sound on parts of their debut EP. The crashy opening of ‘Lightning Strikes’ makes no secret of a love of The Who, and occasionally the number slips into a riff or two that’s reminiscent of early Dodgy. It isn’t a straight up homage to old mod or mod adjacent Britpop sounds, though: the swirling organs and crashing beats that run through the centre of this energised number carry more than a faint echo of old Northern Soul bangers, and a reverbed vocal leans a little more into a garage rock sound. If you’re going to borrow, it might as well be from good stock, of course, and what The Northern Line manage with their spoils here has a genuine spark throughout. With a slight echo applied, the lead vocal takes on a retro sound that is genuinely great, but is soon outshone by a world of lead guitar courtesy of Pete Kitchener, a man clearly able to redress a couple of Dave Davies inspired runs with the power of 90s Britpop to give the track an extra feeling of gusto. It’s all very familiar to say the least, but what this menagerie of sound represents feels far greater than the actual outcome. This is the sound of a band with a lot of energy and a band who are able to recycle bits of the past in a way that feels genuinely exciting.

Continue reading →

UB40 – Rat In The Kitchen

Posted on by
Reply

In 1983, ‘Labour of Love’ scored UB40 their first number one album. While some of the band’s earliest supporters have poured scorn on the release and derided it for being lightweight, the well-chosen selection of covers earned the band an even bigger fan base. A further shift towards a smart blend of pop and reggae, along with the increased used of drum machines, gave UB40 another hit album with ‘Geffery Morgan’[sic] the following year, with its best known single ‘If It Happens Again’ scoring the band a top ten hit.

Continue reading →

SAD CYPRESS – Sirens / It Means A Lot To Me

Posted on by

When it comes to setting an atmosphere, ‘Siren’ by Sad Cypress manages to be very effective in record time. The track’s opening bars suggest a mix of dreampop and sadcore influences, creating a pleasing mix of indie and folk. The bright accompanying vocal also puts in some hard yards, with the performer’s crying tones mixing broad indie pop strokes with the pure tones of Sally Oldfield. Allowing the melody to grow, a steady rhythm and warm bass build up a tune that has occasional echoes of something delivered by Kate Bush circa ‘Never For Ever’, while retaining enough of its own character to be a hugely effective vehicle for Sad’s own talents. …And then, having reeled in the listener with something very interesting, the everything stops dead. This isn’t done in a way that seeks to wrong-foot or frustrate the audience, but it still has the effect of leaving everyone wondering where such a broad, sweeping melody might have gone, if only it had been allowed to grow further.

Continue reading →