2021 was a busy year for US ska/punk/rock band Half Past Two. They not only released their self-titled full length – their first new work for a couple of years – and a well received video lamenting the perils of a ‘Scratched CD’, but they also returned to live work after a long spell away from the spotlight. In addition, they also found time to record a covers EP, based around a “holiday” theme.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
ESKINA – We Are The Moon
Following on from 2019’s ‘Everything Is Coloured’, ‘We Were The Moon’ is another fine, mellow yet complex work from Dutch instrumental act Eskina. Its ten ambient oriented pieces have very strong roots of chamber music, with a dominant cello and viola used effectively throughout, and by twisting through arrangements with slight overtones of prog and plenty of massive soundtrack-like moods, the musicians create something that’s both rich and rewarding.
BEEBE GALLINI – You Ain’t Getting Nothin’ / What Christmas Means To Me
Despite the world being knocked sideways by a global pandemic, the period stretching between the end of 2019 and the end of 2021 didn’t work out so badly for vocalist Miss Georgia Peach. The debut EP from her band Beebe Gallini gained a timely reissue from the Rum Bar Records label, which helped it to reach people who’d missed it in 2018. Likewise, a reissue of her 2007 solo single ‘You Blow My Mind’ was given a new lease of life via its inclusion on a label sampler and a subsequent digital reissue campaign. More importantly, Beebe Gallini’s full length album ‘Pandemos’ (released in May ‘21) made good on the EP’s earlier promise with tunes like ‘Bad Man’ and ‘Danny’ scoring highly on the retro riffs front, and the Bee Gees’ classic ‘To Love Somebody’ being redressed in a world of fuzz. The general online buzz surrounding the album (and the record label’s enthusiasm for it) made it clear that there would be more to come from Peach and her bandmates – and sooner rather than later.
Watch the new video from Bowling For Soup
Like most bands, Bowling For Soup haven’t had the easiest couple of years. The global pandemic forced them to postpone a whole run of shows in 2021, and the latest acoustic tour has now been postponed until 2022. It’s been a long hard road for the band and the fans, but the night they played the Brighton Centre in February 2020 (in the middle of Storm Dennis, causing various people to wonder if they’d actually make it back out of the venue safely) now seems like a lifetime ago.
There’s a little bit of good cheer to end this year, though, with the the band sharing a fun new video clip for their recent single ‘Killin’ ‘Em With Kindness’, which you can watch in full below.
SONIC ANGELS – Up & Down EP
Garage punks Sonic Angels are billed as promising “high octane, lo-fi fun” on their self titled release from ’21. Those already familiar with the band will more than know what to expect from their music, but the fact that the band continue to plough a familiar, loud and fast furrow is actually something to celebrate. After all, when you do something so well, why mess with a winning formula?