Magnum’s twenty second studio album, 2022’s ‘The Monster Roars’, came as a welcome surprise. Although huge chunks of the record sounded exactly like the latter day Magnum that fans adored, a few of the tracks took a bit more of a bold move, musically speaking. There were moments where the usual pomp gave way to a bigger rock sound, and on the lead single ‘Steppin’ Stones’, Magnum showed off an unexpectedly soulful edge, proving that the veteran rockers – although often working in a comfort zone – still had a couple of newer tricks up their collective sleeve. In addition, Bob Catley’s vocals sounded stronger than they had in a while. Although the global pandemic had set the band back in terms of promotion, the rest from touring had obviously been beneficial.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
VARIOUS ARTISTS – You Can Walk Across It On The Grass: The Boutique Sounds Of Swinging London
The subsidiary labels within the Cherry Red family aren’t shy of mining the mod, soul and freakbeat archives in the name of a great compilation. The now defunct RPM issued a string of box sets, beginning with 2011’s ‘Looking Back’ and culminating with 2016’s ‘Looking Stateside’ which became a pleasingly comprehensive journey through an alternative 60s, and Strawberry Records’ similarly structured ‘Halcyon Days’ and its timely delivered follow up ‘I Love To See You Strut’ – issued in 2020 and 2022, respectively – proved equally essential.
JOHN DUNBAR – What A Difference Indifference Makes
John Dunbar is a busy man. Between the beginning of 2020 and the end of 2023, he released two solo albums filled with retro pop, another two as a member of The John Sally Ride – a similar sounding pop outfit fond of humorous song titles (‘See Emily Work’, ‘Sheena Is A Prog Rocker’, ‘I Won’t Let Failure Go To My Head’) – and two more as Elvis Eno, exploring more experimental lo-fi work. Despite six albums and a bunch of one off singles appearing within a four year period, chances are, his name still isn’t familiar to you.
GUIDED BY VOICES – Nowhere To Go But Up
In February 2020, Guided By Voices released their thirtieth full length album, ‘Surrender Your Poppy Field’. At the point where it appeared on record shop shelves, it was seen as just another album from the ever prolific Robert Pollard. At the time, nobody really knew it would be vastly overlooked due to the world grinding to a halt a few weeks later. As it turned out, though, the disc was far from the band’s best. It boasted a grand opening track, and shared a couple of other fine tunes within its thirty nine minutes, but in terms of exciting GBV fare, it seemed rather lacklustre compared to 2018’s ‘Space Gun’ and 2019’s ‘Warp & Woof’ and ‘Sweating The Plague’.
SHOOTING DAGGERS / DEATH PILL – Split
Death Pill’s self titled debut album instantly became one of the best records of 2023. On that release, the Ukranian hardcore punks not only proved they could share riffs that were every bit the equal of the pioneering American scene back in 1979/80, but also showed off a great ability to temper their punk with occasional swathes of metal. Packed with a world of absolutely brutal riffs, it set the band out as one of the greatest arrivals on the punk scene since Natterers issued their uncompromising demo flexi in 2016. Since Shooting Daggers made almost as much of a striking impression on their ‘Manic Pixie Dream’ EP in 2021, the bands are a very natural pairing for a split 7”, and this release from the New Heavy Sounds label does not disappoint.