In terms of consistency Love/Hate kind of fizzled out after the release of the somewhat under-rated ‘Let’s Rumble’ in 1993. The band soldiered on for another six years (with varying line-ups, issuing another three records), but despite best efforts from those later years (and the band almost blowing Gilby Clarke off stage in London during a 2002 tour), for most people, Love/Hate will always be best-loved for the tunes on 1990’s ‘Blackout In The Red Room’ debut.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
MTNS – Salvage EP
Like so many electronic based artists, MTNS’ favoured approach of loading up the keyboards in place of “real instruments” and reliance on programmed elements makes this Australian outfit’s work appear rather cold at first. Once you’ve broken through that mechanized wall – much like many of electronica’s strongest artists – there’s an intermittent dreamlike world awaiting. Once the pieces settle into place, the music’s surprisingly huge presence pulls for an emotive response.
BOSTON – Life, Love & Hope
Boston’s self-titled debut album is rightly heralded as a melodic rock classic. The combination of Brad Delp’s soaring voice, a wall of vocal harmonies and the distinctive guitar work of Tom Scholz has allowed the album to (almost) transcend the ages. While it doesn’t necessarily sound timeless, it certainly still sounds like an album recorded some time after its mid-70s origins, such is its sharpness. The band’s next works (1978’s ‘Don’t Look Back’ and 1986’s ‘Third Stage’) are almost as good, thanks to Scholtz and his obsession with perfection. After a long delay, the band returned in the mid 90s for ‘Walk On’, a decent selection of pomp-driven songs with Orion vocalist Fran Cosmo doing a grand job of replacing Brad Delp on vocals. It mightn’t have quite been up there the Boston of ’76, but then it didn’t pretend to be – it was a good enough record in its own way. From this point on, very little was heard from the Boston camp until the release of ‘Corporate America’ (featuring both Delp and Cosmo alongside Sholz) in 2002. It was a record which gathered mixed reviews. Too much time had passed.
ANGELICA – Thrive
Since this debut record from Angelica Rylin pays homage to her childhood heroes Robin Beck and Ann Wilson, it’ll come as no surprise that the album, therefore, ploughs a well-worn furrow of melodic rock. With Frontiers Records regular Daniel Flores handling production duties/drums/song-writing and other regulars Alessandro Del Vecchio and Robert Sall also having a hand in proceedings, the whole thing feels like an all-chums-together affair. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but obviously the combination of a familiar team and a rigid musical blueprint makes ‘Thrive’ feel wholly predictable. So, given that this album breaks absolutely no new musical ground whatsoever, why should you check out Angelica, when there is so much other rock music out there vying for your attention?
MUTINY MUTINY – Don’t Quit Your Day Job
In 2011, Seattle post-punk/noise rock trio Mutiny Mutiny self-released their debut album ‘Constellation’. Between the angular noises and bass heavy groove there lied a collection of surprisingly accessible numbers, cut from various classic influences including Sonic Youth, Slint and Fugazi. Although using a similar blueprint for their second release ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’, it’s immediately clear the band have grown in the intervening couple of years. There are a couple of moments where the band obviously falters – a natural phenomenon with regards to making a second record – but, thankfully, the missteps are few.