Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

IAN HUNTER & THE RANT BAND – Fingers Crossed

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fingers-crossed

Following the first run of Mott The Hoople reunion shows in 2009, Ian Hunter took time out to write new material. The Hoople gigs seemed to energise the legendary singer songwriter, as 2012’s ‘When I’m President’ (recorded with The Rant Band) contained some of his best material for some time. From the catchy pop-rock of the title track – complete with trademark tongue in cheek lyric – to the thoughtful ‘Black Tears’, the straight up rock of ‘Fatally Flawed’ and the brilliant 70s throwback and Hoople inspired ‘Comfortable (Flying Scotsman)’, the album was – and still is – a superb record. An album worthy of filing next to his 1975 solo debut and the much-loved ‘You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic’.

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WESLEY FULLER – Melvista EP

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wesep2016This debut EP from Wesley Fuller is gloriously retro. Almost everything about it – from the 70s musical influences to the garish 80s artwork and Fuller’s own fashion sense – has at least one foot in the dirt of the past. The Aussie singer songwriter so loves retro synths and glam rock stomps, bubblegum choruses and power pop guitars and while his work rarely displays the kind of perfection you’d find from, say, Mike Viola or the vastly underrated David Myhr, ‘Melvista’ presents five tracks of guitar oriented pop that should appeal to those whom reach for Pezband and Off Broadway (USA) records on a semi-regular basis.

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ASCENT – Don’t Stop When You Walk Through The Hell

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ascentFemale fronted death metal bands are an interesting phenomenon. For years, the extreme metal subgenre was pretty much exclusively a male domain, but after Angela Gossow joined Arch Enemy and gained worldwide renown for growls that could match the very best, it appeared to shift the tide, with many other bands set to follow suit. From Landmine Marathon featuring the amazing Grace Perry, to Sweden’s 6th Awakening, through Poland’s Enter Chaos and beyond, the rising profile of women within death metal became worldwide and, obviously, is something to be applauded. On their 2016 long player ‘Don’t Stop When You Walk Through The Hell’, Russian death practitioners Ascent prove more than capable of going toe-to-toe with some of the genre’s finest.

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ACID TONGUE – Beautiful Disaster EP

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beautiful disasterIt takes more than guitar reverb and a perceived cooler-than-you retro attitude to make great music. Sadly, Seattle’s Acid Tongue haven’t really understood that. The bulk of their 2016 EP ‘Beautiful Disaster’ is an echo drenched, hipster baiting mess that relies far more on style than substance. Only one of the four featured tracks is worth hearing more than once: if not for the presence of the half-decent ‘Twisted’, ‘Beautiful Disaster’ would be a complete disaster.

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THE EYES OF DESOLATION – Awake In Dead EP

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EODEPTaking elements of gothic metal, a touch of doom and a pinch of black metal on their 2016 release ‘Awake In Dead’ Costa Rica’s Eyes of Desolation whip up a dark storm that’s powerful and unsettling, yet more accessible than many metal bands veering on the extreme side. Between them, not only can they play very well, but also understand that a strong melody – even one that’s oppressively dark – can go a very long way with regard to not only enticing people to listen, but also keeping their attention and inviting those all-important repeat listens. In terms of dark, gothic metal sounds, this EP has all you’d hope for…and more.

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