On this debut EP, Boston’s Looking Glass War aren’t shy in mining the past for some key musical inspirations. Drawing from post punk, goth, melodic shoegaze and dreampop, ‘Where Neon Meets The Rain’ presents four very different songs – each showing a different angle to the band’s retro, riff-based sound – but this is more than a hacked out musical CV. Yes, the songs are all different, but there’s a common musical thread and a very distinctive vocal gluing the pieces together. In terms of debut releases it has a lot of muscle, even if originality often takes a back seat.
THE GREAT AFFAIRS – Sleepwalker
Nashville’s Great Affairs have released some really enjoyable material over the years. Just as importantly, with the help of line-up changes bringing different talents to the table, they’ve also grown as a band. Their second album ‘Ricky Took The Wheels’ paraded the band as fairly obsessed with The Black Crowes; ‘Happy Endings’ appeared to have a bigger interest in Americana; later works – largely due to second vocalist/drummer Kenny Wright’s arrival – introduced more grit, adding a Stones-ish/Faces colourant to the band’s musical palate. No matter what the musical mood, though, a Great Affairs release has guaranteed a selection of great songs. Even ‘Everybody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt’ – an album released during a very troubled 2020, and capturing the band on autopilot in some ways – had its own charm.
SOVIET FILMS – Four EP
This EP from East Anglian noise-makers Soviet Films breaks a period of relative silence from the band. It might only feature a quartet of tunes – on the surface, a small amount of new music for a two year wait – but ‘Four’ presents a more epic sounding band, enjoying a more adventurous approach to arrangement than before, if indeed that were possible. The featured material represents everything fans could want, and music with the ability to unnerve new listeners in the best possible way.
KINGS CROWN – Closer To The Truth
The name Martin Kronlund will be familiar to many melodic rock fans. Between 2010 and 2015, the Swedish guitarist almost seemed omnipresent. Throughout that time, he was a member of Lover Under Cover, Salute and the reformed White Wolf. He was also a guest on the Ged Rylands all-star project Rage of Angels. In addition, he provided technical/production duties on albums by Departure, Ilium, M.ILL.ION, Saracen and Elevener. For a time it was hard to get away from the bugger.
New “Second Edition” of Death Pill’s debut album available now!
Back in February 2023, Ukranian punk band Death Pill released their debut album. It was – and remains – absolutely terrific. It’s short playing time and sharp sound meant there was little room for filler and no time for boredom to set in. In short, it was an instant classic, and in terms of modern hardcore, up there with the best work by Natterers.