J. EASTMAN AND THE DRUNK UNCLES – No Capo Required

This Minneapolis based garage rock band is entirely unpretentious. At no point do these musicians stretch too far beyond their garage-ish musical limits – limits that are occasionally just a little too obvious – nor do they display any kind of ego. By their own admission, J. Eastman & The Drunk Uncles are rather shambolic. Still, a fairly loose and carefree attitude has got them so far and this third release works very much on a maxim of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Or in the case of the Uncles, it might even be “if it sounds a bit broke, let’s swill some booze and knock things about until they sound better.”

True to their word, bits of ‘No Capo Required’ do indeed sound sloppy. That said, you’ll have heard sloppier…and sometimes from bands who actually genuinely believe they’re the very acme of musical perfection.

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HIGHRIDER – Roll For Initiative

Highrider’s 2016 EP really meant business. Within twenty minutes, the Swedish In Flames obsessives growled, thrashed and pounded their way through four almost faultless tunes that owed so much to the past, especially with a root in classic thrash – and yet still sounded contemporary for the time of release. An unlikely soundtrack for the summer, that short look into a world that blended thrash with melodic hardcore and 70s hard rock organs promised so much for the inevitable full length debut. A year on, ‘Roll For Initiative’ expands on those musical themes and results in a more mixed album. Within the eight featured tracks, you’ll hear more of the things that made Highrider an instant success, but also a few experiments that aren’t quite as immediate.

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WATTS – All Done With Rock N Roll EP

Boston retro rockers Watts are one of those bands who seem to have got better with each album. Hearing their work chronologically is very telling: although 2010’s rough and ready ‘On The Dial’ has enjoyable moments, it’s blown out of the water by 2015’s ‘Flash of White Light’, which in turn isn’t as thrilling as the best moments of 2016’s ‘Black Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll’. At the heart of it all, of course, there’s always been that love for The Stones, the grubbiness of Johnny Thunders and the general trashiness of ‘Let It Be’ era Replacements…but there’s no escaping the idea that they just got better at their craft. That’s better than a band who put out a couple of stellar albums and then swim the murky waters of inconsistent art (Manic Street Preachers, we’re looking at you). With all that in mind, though, Watts were unlikely to top ‘Black Heart’.

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FERRIS AND SYLVESTER – Made In Streatham EP

Blending various singer-songwriter elements with a UK themed Americana style and more than a touch of adult pop, Ferris and Sylvester’s debut EP ‘The Yellow Line’ was very much a bright spark in 2017. After that release, it seemed to be a case of onward and upward for the duo, with an increasing social media presence and some great reviews for their follow up single – the decidedly pop-oriented ‘Better In Yellow’, released at the end of the year.

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TANGO WITH LIONS – The Light

After a five year recording break, ‘The Light’ marks the return of one of Greece’s most popular English speaking bands, Tango With Lions. With core sounds rooted within the early mid 90s, Tango With Lions are keeping the flame of European dreampop alive…or so it would seem if you were to only listen to the first few tracks of this 2018 comeback disc. ‘The Light’ presents lots of floaty, dreamy alternative sounds – ’tis true – but it ploughs deeper into bits of alt-folk than most dreampop acts would consider, or even dare.

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