Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

GUSTAV NILSSON – Makeup On, Letdowns Off

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Gustav Nilsson’s previous work ‘Like You Never Really Cared’ presented him a singer-songwriter vein, pitching his heavily accented vocals against a semi-acoustic backdrop, kind of like Coyote Shivers playing Bob Dylan covers reimagined by Paul Westerberg. There’s none of that in evidence on his fifth EP ‘Makeup On, Letdowns Off’, which finds Nilsson surrounded by a full band. In Nilsson’s own words, the EP sounds like the work of “Julian Casablancas (circa 2002) meeting Courtney Love (circa 2008) in a bathroom and then being threatened into making music by Phil Spector pointing a loaded gun”. It doesn’t sound like that especially, but compared to his previous works, Nilsson certainly brings a greater musical range to his lyrics this time out. Maybe that’s what he was getting at with the big statement in the title? Or maybe it’s just that the lead track is named after KISS hero Paul Stanley?

As its title suggests, ‘Paul Stanley’ comes loaded with a seventies glam/power pop vibe. The guitars are full of jangly goodness – though none of the jangly rhythms quite match the old school solo which Nilsson throws into the mix. With handclaps a plenty, a strong hook and a stabbing piano, it’s a relatively rousing arrangement, though the general vibe never sounds much like KISS. A little Cheap Trick, maybe, but not really KISS. This track really hammers the point that Nilsson has moved on, musically speaking, since ‘…Never Really Cared’, and the numbers which follow kind of cement such a theory.

‘But Courtney, I’m a Little Bit Younger Than You’ has a simple, pounding approach which should work better than it actually does. It quickly becomes evident that the guitars are a little too simple and as such do not maintain interest for the track’s duration. There’s a reasonable chorus, but the verses are a just flat all round. The single release ‘Down Down Down’ is a little more instant, but as cheesy as hell, with Nilsson attempting something which is clearly modelled on Dion and the Belmonts (more specifically ‘Runaround Sue’). It’s likely to be a skipper after the first couple of plays since it’s just a little too familiar. If you’re someone whose generally excited by music in this particular style, then ‘Down Down Down’ may offer some enjoyment, but for others it’s the sound of seventies party hell, played in a slightly inferior way. Looking briefly at a small positive, though, some of the guitar lines are okay (in a rock ‘n’ roll sense) and the predominant bassline (also played by Nilsson) carries the weight of the work well enough.

Bringing a semi-acoustic vibe to the table ’Paper Cuts’ is the best track here without question. The electric lead guitars sound really great played against the acoustic rhythm guitars and Nilsson’s lead vocal is a little softer. Topped off with glockenspiel percussion, this is a great number, with a tiny hint of Gigolo Aunts. This is clearly what Gustav Nilsson is meant to be doing – a couple more tracks in a similar mood definitely would have improved the EP.

So, letdowns off? Sadly not. Although it’s easy to see what Nilsson was aiming for with each of its six featured songs, this EP falls short of the mark in various places. His heavily accented vocals don’t sit so well with the more power pop style he’s adopted here, while the bigger musical backdrops highlight a somewhat limited budget. In summary, despite flashes of greatness, ‘Makeup On…’ isn’t quite as enjoyable as ‘Like You Never Really Cared’, on which, his ragged vocal is far better suited.

September 2011

SHY – Shy

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Despite unstable line-ups, UK rockers Shy have bravely soldiered on, sporadically releasing albums since 1983.  Their career peak was arguably in the second half of that decade when their albums ‘Excess All Areas’ and ‘Misspent Youth’ gained the a fair amount of press attention, if not the commercial breakthrough the band deserved.  Over the years, Shy’s best known vocalist Tony Mills has quit the band twice (his time elsewhere yielding a short-lived power metal band named Siam and the release of various solo albums).

This self-titled disc represents yet another beginning of sorts for the band.  Tony Mills is not on board, having found a job fronting Norwegian hard rock outfit TNT.  In his place is Lee Small, previously of Phenomena.  While this 2011 release marks Small’s debut on a Shy disc, he has worked with the band previously, having performed at live shows in 2009.  He doesn’t always have the banshee wail and range offered by Mills, but all things considered he does a great job.  Actually, since the top end of Mills’s range can be a little hard to take, in some respects, he does a better job.

‘Land of a Thousand Lies’ opens with a huge, pompy intro – all synth strings and cinematic moments, like ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ played by an 80s hard rock band – so Shy arrive in very much an on form manner.  By the time the guitars crash in they settle on a rock-solid mid paced groove. Guitarist Steve Harris’s playing have some decent bottom end, over which Lee Small proves himself worthy of the task in hand.  His voice is clear and strong, with the range on show being more than worthy of the epic style music.  In addition to bombast and pomp, there’s a memorable chorus thrown into the mix and a couple of top-notch solos – straddling an eastern influenced widdle and classic rock playing.  By the time these five and a half minutes have wound up, there’s a strong sense that the rejuvenated Shy mean business.

‘Blood on the Line’ is a great punchy rocker, where the lead guitar fills are spot-on.  Another strong chorus showcases Shy’s strengths, while a bridge section leading into the featured solo has all the hallmarks of AOR’s glory days.  While the lead elements are crisp, there’s a little muddiness with regard to the rhythm guitar work, but not enough to spoil the good work laid down here.  Taking things up a notch farther, ‘So Many Tears’ captures Shy at full-pelt, with maximum rock posturing and hard rock riffing very much the order of the day.  It’s not as strong as ‘Land of a Thousand Lies’ or ‘Blood on the Line’, but in terms of old school rock thrills, it still delivers.  This is a number with a lack of subtlety – particularly with regard to the excellent guitar solos.  By the end of the number, the whole band are tearing it up and there’s barely room to breathe, but somehow, Joe Basketts still manage to shoehorn in a line of pompy keyboards – and he’s still toying with that cinematic style, as heard on the opener.

The rockers are great enough, but it’s when Shy lean towards the more obviously melodic they really come into their own.  For chorus and all round melody, ‘Ran Out of Time’ is a brilliant number.  While Shy hang on to a little of their pompiness, the chorus is rooted in the AOR tradition with its superb hook rounded out by a strong backing vocal.  There’s something about it that suggests it could have found a home amongst the more metallic moments of Gary Moore’s ‘Run For Cover’ or the Hughes/Thrall album, though this probably has a great deal to with Small’s vocal inflections which recall Glenn Hughes in the 80s.  A similar kind of AOR mood cuts through ‘Over You’, but if anything, it’s even better.  The band take a great chorus and give it a rousing send off, with some staccato guitar lines and a classy vocal arrangement.  In terms of ideas, it’s certainly tried and tested – and by AOR bands in their hundreds – but when it works, it works.  And when it works this well, why change it?  ‘Save Me’ is loaded with great 80s style keyboards and vibrato filled guitar leads.  There’s another instantly memorable chorus here and Small’s lead vocal has a real presence, but despite being a stand-out number (and featuring some wonderful lead guitar work, once again) it doesn’t quite match ‘Over You’ for absolute AOR greatness.

The near eight minute epic ‘Sanctuary’ tries too hard to make an impression with a huge keyboard intro, sampled voices and some uber-pomp throughout, and as such, is possibly among the album’s weaker cuts.  It’s slightly bloated nature isn’t unsuited to Shy – and probably keeps the opener in good company – but the big production and even bigger performance doesn’t escape the fact that Shy are always at their strongest when not trying quite so hard, even though they’re great musicians.  There are some reasonable solo spots throughout, but nothing which’ll keep you coming back as often as those pure AOR choruses on the likes of ‘Over You’ and ‘Ran Out of Time’.

Tony Mills may not be around, but Shy still have plenty of well-crafted songs up their collective sleeves.  They aren’t attempting to change the world here, but why should they try?  Shy set out to bring you good, old fashioned hard rock on this self-titled release, and strong playing and stronger choruses are on hand throughout to make sure it hits the spot.  While the brand of hard rock is of the 1989 variety as opposed to the more common/popular sounds of 2011, this album is certainly none the worse for that.  It’s not perfect, by any means, but definitely highly recommended.

October 2011

SARACEN – Marilyn

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Saracen have been making music since the 80s, and their debut album ‘Heroes, Saints and Fools’ saw the band lumped in with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. They disappeared during the 90s and resurfaced with a fourth album in 2006. That album, ‘Vox In Excelsio’ was released by the UK melodic rock label Escape Music, who also reissued some of Saracen’s earlier work.

The band’s 2011 project is an adventurous work – a musical tribute to the life and work of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe featuring a selection of guest vocalists, including Robin Beck in the lead role. Before we even begin to look at the merits of the music, however, the sleeve art must be bought into question. Yes, it looks like the artwork on so many other Escape Music releases, but that’s not the real issue. The big problem here is its suitability: who decided a knight’s crest and Saracen helmet (adorned with the “s” from the band’s logo) would be suitable packaging for a concept album about Marilyn Monroe?!! There must have been literally hundreds of other far more suitable artwork designs out there.

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RELIENT K – Is For Karaoke

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What was the deal with everyone and their dog putting out covers records in the summer of 2011? Within the space of a few months there were a bunch of really high-profile covers albums released, and pop-punk/alt-rock band Relient K added themselves to the ever growing list with the release of their ‘Is For Karaoke’ EP.  A few months later, with the addition of some new artwork and a further seven tracks, that EP became an album.

Of the fourteen covers featured on the full-length release, the most interesting  is a take on ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’, which replaces the pop tones of Cyndi Lauper’s original with lots of muted punk-pop guitar chords.  The Wallflowers’ ‘One Headlight’ has a hint of Relient K’s own style too, as they turn up the guitars a little, but since they don’t stretch the boundaries any farther it’s a case of “play it once, file it away, forget about it”.  For everything else, though, it’s as if somebody’s clicked the off-switch on “creativity” and Relient K work their way through the rest of the tunes just  about as faithfully as they can muster.

If you’re going to listen to Relient K play works by Tears For Fears, Tom Petty and Toto with a workman-like, almost Karaoke disc clarity, surely your time would be better spent with the originals?  Even the band’s more left-field choices – ‘Interstate Love Song’ by Stone Temple Pilots’ and ‘The Distance’ by CAKE – have no real imagination behind their reconstruction.  In the case of the latter, they’ve even reproduced the trumpet sounds as closely as possible… Matt Thiessien’s vocal doesn’t have the slacker cool of CAKE’s head honcho John McCrea but, to give credit where it’s due, John Warne’s bass sound is quite cool.

Elsewhere, you can experience tunes by Weezer, Third Eye Blind and Nada Surf played without any sense of adventure; and there’s even opportunity to hear ‘Doctor Worm’ without any of the quirky, nasal charm which makes They Might Be Giants so distinctive.  For those who are still interested by this point, tunes by Gnarls Barkly and Justin Bieber are handled just as (un)imaginatively, while the bulk of Toto’s ‘Africa’ could possibly even be a karaoke disc, just with some extra guitars thrown over the chorus.

‘Is For Karaoke’ may be well played, but most of it is played so straight, it serves no real purpose.  It’s not bad – just hopelessly unimaginative.  Relient K have recorded some great tunes in the past (with ‘Come Right Out and Say It’ being a pop-punk classic), it’s such a shame they couldn’t stamp some of their own style onto this selection of cover tunes.   Still, for its faults, it’s still preferable to that Puddle Of Mudd covers record.

October 2011

MISHKIN – Row Away From The Rocks

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This Leeds-based metal influenced outfit have already gained a fair amount of accolades for a DIY band. Regular live shows and sheer hard work eventually scored them support slots with Sepultura, Enter Shikari, hed (p.e.) and the mighty Skindred.  They’d also completed a couple of headlining tours in China.  They already have an EP under their belt, but 2011’s self-released ‘Row Away From The Rocks’ takes things up a notch, with the band getting exposure on the Kerrang! and Scuzz music channels.

At first, there’s a strong feeling this EP is to be a full-on metal fest, since the vocals tear straight out of the speakers before the band are even out of the starting blocks.  But soon, it becomes obvious that beneath the aggressive edges, Mishkin is a band with varying influences and a few more alternative elements lurking within their sound than first impressions would suggest.

The lead track – and single release – ‘Good Day To Die’ packs plenty of hard riffs into four minutes.  The twin guitars of Ali Epstone and Jimmy McGregor adopt an almost groove metal stance, providing a downtuned, relative tunefulness which provides a small amount contrast to the unavoidable heaviness.  While the chugging guitars and double bass drums are the most obvious features – each one competing for your attention – what’s most impressive is the sense of melody constantly bubbling beneath the surface, awaiting its opportunity to escape.  Sure, the verses are given maximum drive via Bradie Nixon’s drumming, but by the time the chorus appears, vocalist Ben Davy really comes into his own.  During the choruses, he moves away from a hardcore shouting style and finds a melodic voice which takes its cue from a more alternative style of hard rock.  In all, an impressive opening track.

‘Waiting For The World To Change’ could, at first, be the work of an entirely different band.  Opening with a gentle musical backdrop, with electronic drum loops and emotive vocals, the style of alternative rock is very much more in the style of ‘Make Yourself’ era Incubus (never a bad thing).  Davy has a real presence – even if there is a hint of auto-tune, maybe – and as the track builds, each of the band members offers something great.  Dave Jackson’s bass is often melodic, but there are moments where he throws in some fantastic rattling bottom end, while both guitarists’ work is more than commendable – particularly noteworthy is the inclusion of a fairly old school guitar solo within such an “alternative” sounding number.  ‘On Your Sleeve’ continues in a similar vein, though perhaps with some heavier riffs in tow.  As with parts of ‘Good Day To Die’, there’s more interesting stuff to be heard beyond the main riffs – in this case, there are multi-layered guitar parts and more old-school solos, while occasional harmony vocals are on hand to add a degree of smoothness.  Unlike the earlier tracks though, this one doesn’t possess so much of a hook.

‘Violation’ is incredibly heavy in places.  Extensive use of double drum pedals and staccato riffing opens the piece at full bore, and as such, it comes as no surprise as to how these guys got to open for Sepultura.  There’s still time for more obvious melodies to creep in during a pre-chorus, but more often than not, it backs away coyly.  While this isn’t likely to appeal to such a wide audience as ‘Waiting For The World’, it’s a great piece of metal, and certainly gives Nixon more of a chance to show off his talents.

Mishkin’s melding of Incubus-style alt-rock and downtuned metal riffing is not always unlike that of Aussie djent band Circles, but there’s often a clearer divide between the metal and alternative grooves. The fact that Mishkin’s work is either rather heavy or alternative would suggest that there are band members insistent on pulling in different musical directions.  This kind of tension can create good music, and while Mishkin have plenty of opportunity to expand on that technique over time, ‘Row Away…’ already sounds like the work of a very accomplished band.

September 2011