On ‘Don’t Be Shy’ – the second release from New York’s Big Huge – the band blends punky sensibilities with a ferocious new wave energy that instantly conjures up images guys decked out skinny ties and sunglasses. Pulling various influences from the end of the seventies, the five songs on the EP throttle past at a speed that’s pretty impressive. Imagine Kurt Baker in a garage band playing after a weekend long amphetamine bender, or the tunes from the long-unreleased album by Texas power poppers True Hearts played at three times the speed and you’ll be halfway towards the band’s core sound.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
WITCH CHARMER – The Great Depression
The debut EP from Sunderland’s Witch Charmer – 2013’s ‘Europhoric Curse’ – presented four slabs of top-class metal. As a near-perfect example of the more accessible end of the doom metal/occult rock genre, they needed to work hard to surpass its greatness on any follow-up recording.
GREASY HEARTS – Greasy Hearted EP
In March 2014 lo-fi garage rock combo Greasy Hearts released their self-titled debut EP. Recorded on a meagre budget, the six numbers captured the band in raw form, driven by self-belief and pure adrenaline. Live shows quickly followed and the New Jersey based quartet began to pick up a greasy following. Within months, they were back in the studio recording a follow up release.
EVIL SCARECROW – Galactic Hunt
Novelty bands are a tricky proposition. If too heavily reliant on quick, easy laughs (as per early 90s oddballs Lawnmower Deth) any novelty is in danger of wearing off extremely fast; if played to deliberately offend (as was often the case with the early Bloodhound Gang recordings), the amusement is equally limited, perhaps even more so. It takes more than a few gags to make things work, too: broad musical talent is absolutely essential – and it’s often something a huge proportion of novelty bands lack. Just look at the Insane Clown Posse: there’s not much musical interest there…and there’s nothing insane about two middle-aged men daubed in clownface, impersonating Cypress Hill extremely badly, all the while throwing soda pop over adolescent males in some bizarre bonding ritual. They can keep their magnets. Indeed, novelty acts are an odd breed and often best avoided…but as always, there are exceptions.
SUBSERVIENCE – Upheaval EP
Following a busy couple of years yielding two self released EPs (one each in 2012 and 2013 respectively) and a truckload of live dates – including one in a town on a small island off the Kent coast – UK based death metallers Subservience showed no signs of resting in 2014. If you thought that the departure of a frontman might set the band back, you couldn’t be more wrong. With new blood and clearly invigorated by the near-endless touring, the band’s third release ‘Upheaval’ isn’t just hard, fast and generally uncompromising – it’s positively staggering. As you’d expect, it’s top-notch in terms of production values and overall sound, but also in the complexity and quality of the material.