Dropped at the beginning of 2013 into a world of DIY noise, the debut EP from Bristol’s Brockley Forest gave fans of garage blues much to celebrate. Taking a tried and tested blueprint then cranking the volume and intensity, Dec and Seb (vocals/guitars and drums respectively) tore through ten minutes of blues-based grooves with passion, raising hopes for the full length release we assumed would follow. Just over a year on, they returned. Sadly, it is without the full length so deserved by their awaiting cult of followers, but their second release – the aptly titled ‘Second Nature’ – is, at least in part, harder than the predecessor; it’s three numbers structured around brash and basic sounds, the grooves much befitting of their approach built around two guys in a rehearsal space.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
MÖNGÖL HÖRDE – Möngöl Hörde
During the relentless touring for his huge selling album ‘England Keep My Bones’ – gigs that saw support slots with Billy Bragg and successful festival appearances alongside sold-out headline shows – singer-songwriter Frank Turner made an unexpected move. He teamed up with his old mate Ben Dawson and formed Möngöl Hörde, a hardcore band channelling a lot of the spirit of their previous band Million Dead. The band played a low key gig in a Camden pub before appearing at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, before Turner resumed his solo work, releasing the commercially successful ‘Tape Deck Heart’. Little more was heard from the Hörde until a couple of years later, when they announced the release of a debut album, little over a week before it was due to hit the shelves – a lightning-fast, almost guerilla like promotion very in keeping with the sharp and uncompromising sound from the band themselves.
REASON – Beyond The Dark Horizon EP
Formed in 2009 Cheltenham rockers Reason attracted positive online press with their 2011 full length release ‘The Darkest Star’. Three years on, ‘Boyond The Dark Horizon’ offers three previously unreleased hard rock tunes that – although clearly independently produced and perhaps a little more DIY sounding than that full-length release – bring out the best in their talents.
GREASY HEARTS – Greasy Hearts EP
A rough ‘n’ ready five song cassette, the first release from Brooklyn’s Greasy Hearts is also the first release for uber-DIY label King Pizza Records. Likened by the label’s head honcho to the sound of Jello Biafra jamming with The (Johnny Thunders) Heartbreakers, the band lay down some unfussy garage rock that’s potentially great…provided you can accept the sound like they’re playing from the end of a corridor while going crazy with the reverb.
THE DIE YOUNGS – Nothing’s Broken
At one time, it was almost possible to know what you were getting from singer-songwriter Denny Smith from the get-go. If he’d written a bunch of songs with alternative rock leanings, then chances are they’d be released by his rock band fORMER; if the music took a more retro/acoustic groove, it would go onto the pile designated for The Great Affairs. Obviously, things weren’t quite as simple as that, but there was always a clear divide between projects and styles. After The Great Affairs released their ‘Happy Ender’ EP and Smith considered resting that band, things got more complicated: fORMER released a selection of unheard material (‘The Kids Deserve Cable’) and The Great Affairs were reborn. On the ‘4’ EP, The Great Affairs mixed up styles more than ever – alongside the Tom Petty/Black Crowes styled tunes, new drummer Kenny Wright (formerly of Bonepony and various other acts) penned ‘Fists and Guitars’, a thunderous rock ‘n’ roller fairly far removed from the quieter shades of most Great Affairs material. With fORMER dead and the revitalised Great Affairs tackling whatever came naturally, it seemed the gloves were off.