Italian punks Tough [not to be confused with Poison wannabes, glam rockers Tuff] first appeared in the mid-noughties from which point they kept themselves busy knocking out material on various DIY labels. In addition to various split 7”s, by 2013 they had four albums under their collective belt and had increased their following with each passing year. Their 2014 EP ‘Obey The Ramones’ might just be their best to date, its four high energy numbers presenting the best in melodic punk.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
KRISSY MATTHEWS – Scenes From a Moving Window
Starting his career at the age of twelve, Krissy Matthews set out to leave a mark on the world of blues music from a very young age. Like Joe Bonamassa, he possesses a great talent and feel for the genre and his instrument, but unlike Bonamassa, he is far more selective with regard to the speed of which he records and releases albums. Despite only being twenty two at the time of this album’s release, ‘Scenes From a Moving Window’ marks the end of a four year studio silence. It also marks a step up in the bluesman’s fortunes, having secured the legendary Cream lyricist Pete Brown (Piblokto/Moving Ornaments) as co-writer on eleven of the album’s tracks.
I US & WE – Mono EP
Blending elements of dream pop and synth pop, California’s I Us & We create a fairly spacious, yet melancholy sound on their debut EP ‘Mono’. Like Australia’s MNTNS, their core sound is heavy on electronic drones and synths, but thankfully like the more melodic elements of Moby or the very best parts of Depeche Mode’s expansive catalogue, somehow manages to eschew most of the coldness that such humanly detached sounds might conjure if left in the hands of the lesser talented.
JENNIE VEE – Die Alone EP
On this five track EP Toronto born, New York based singer-songwriter Jennie Vee is set to melt the hearts and heads of those whose musical tastes hark back to the early-mid nineties. Maybe not those who reminisce about plaid shirts and muddy fields and blonde unshaven men with a glassy stare, but those who hold fond memories of seeing the faces of Tanya Donelly and Miki Berenyi gazing blankly and unobtainably from the pages of NME. Vee’s recordings hark back to a time when Frank Black and Kim Deal liked each other (okay, so maybe there was never such a time); a time when you got excited about that next 12” single from Chapterhouse; when Ride were kings of their own UK kingdom and The Jesus and Mary Chain wanted you to venture under ‘April Skies’.
THOSE DELTA WOLVES – Auricle EP
Those Delta Wolves are an alternative rock band from Leeds. A city with no shortage of musical talent, The Wolves would already have to work incredibly hard to stand out, but the three tunes on their debut EP ‘Auricle’ suggest that, in the live setting, these guys are already a force of nature, ready to crack to skulls of their awaiting audience.