Musical fashions are cyclical. Like the 70s became very fashionable in the 1990s, the 1990s, in turn, have had a huge influence on some of the alternative rock sounds of the ’10s. Bands like Yuck can be found recycling the best elements of Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr with sheer abandon, the Bandcamp site is full of similar revivalist acts, while The Pains of Being Pure at Heart found critical acclaim channelling a very definite nineties indie jangle within their sound. Take Turns, a Leeds based quartet are as guilty for shameless recycling, but like Yuck and Pains, their end sound is so full of love for those who’ve inspired them, it would take a hard heart not to enjoy their nostalgia trip. On this six song EP, they’re none to shy about flaunting an absolute obsession with Pavement…
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
VOICE OF ADDICTION – Modern Day Meltdown EP
Ten years on from the release of their debut LP and some seven hundred live shows later, Chicago punkers Voice of Addiction show absolutely no sign of getting stale on their sixth release ‘Modern Day Meltdown’. Its four songs showcase a tough musical style and some rousing choruses, as well as stretching a punky base to allow for a few broader sounding musical passages along the way. There’s absolutely no indifference within the ranks here; Voice of Addiction set out to grab their listeners from the very first notes…and then keep them.
QUEEN CHIEF – Queen Chief EP
Queen Chief are an alt-rock band led by Justin Lien, a young musician with Native American and Germanic/Nordic roots. Their debut EP throws the listener in at the deep end with a particularly grand approach. It’s a concept release bringing (in the band’s own words) “a brutally honest, heavy rocking representation of life in the Northwestern United States’ low income suburbs and Native American reservations”. No messing there. Just as direct as the attitude driving the band, the tunes themselves pack a huge punch throughout – most carrying a weighty riff; each riff then given a huge send off courtesy of King Black Acid member and producer Daniel Riddle. The resultant sounds, resting somewhere between post-grunge and a hybrid of psychedelic blues, all come with plenty of volume – even if played quietly – and just as much attitude.
EDWARD O’CONNELL – Vanishing Act
Singer-songwriter Edward O’Connell released his debut album in 2010 to unanimous approval from power pop/retro pop aficionados. As for the world at large, the album did indeed remain ‘Our Little Secret’. While all of the influences were worn blatantly upon his sleeve – literally, too: the front cover parodied Nick Lowe’s ‘Jesus of Cool’, the rear paid a gentler homage to Tom Petty’s ‘Damn The Torpedoes’ – O’Connell’s gift for melody shone brightly through each of the album’s songs and the love for his forebears couldn’t be any more flattering.
MARMOZETS – The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets
Signed to Roadrunner Records at the tail end of 2013 on the strength of two demo EPs and a couple of independently released singles, Yorkshire’s Marmozets are a powerhouse of alt-metal and mathrock. Their full length debut ‘The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets’ is full of great choruses, which combined with some tight musicianship results in an album with pretty much no weak elements. While the studio recordings do not always entirely capture the incendiary power of their live act, the album’s thirteen numbers have a real sense of urgency and – more importantly – songs that really force their way into the subconscious.