On their second full length release, Supplemental Pills serve up some interesting music that’s at times minimalist, and at times noisy, but absolutely unafraid to hop between styles. Sometimes the material doesn’t even care for much of a tune, but it works. It’s also strangely hypnotic.
STRIKE MASTER – Tangram Apocalypse
On their earliest albums, Mexican thrashers Strike Master conveyed a great energy, but their material was often hampered by a thin production sound. In some ways, this made them no different to many of their musical heroes; after all, a lot of the second division thrash albums released in the late 80s sounded pretty cheap, and it was often the bands’ energies in the live field that secured them a fan base. By the time Strike Master released their self titled album in 2017, there was obviously an increased budget, as well as a bigger bass sound driving their material, but there was still a nagging feeling that this talented trio were capable of producing something even better.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #15
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This feature has become more popular than we’d ever imagined, so it’s a genuine pleasure to bring you another round of underground cuts, oddities, and other things that deserve to be on your radar. As usual, we’ve been spoilt for choice, but here are another eight standout tracks, ranging from some very grand sounding pop-rock with a retro feel to semi-orchestral minimalism, some retro rock and another tune from a favourite band. We think this sums up the varied approach of the Singles Bar to date, and as usual, there should be something for most people to enjoy.
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GEORGE LYNCH & JEFF PILSON – Heavy Hitters II
At the end of 2020, George Lynch and Jeff Pilson released ‘Heavy Hitters’, a well meaning but not especially good covers album, on which the 80s legends took all manner of material and made it heavier. Not everything will withstand being made into a massive rock tune, and hearing the two ex-Dokken men cranking their way through Martha & The Vandellas’ ‘Nowhere To Run’ with distorted vocals was especially grim. Likewise, the world didn’t need Duran Duran’s perfect pop tune ‘Ordinary World’ reworked in a sub grunge mould, or the Joan Osborne hit ‘One of Us’ presented as an unimaginative hard rock trudge. However, the musicians clearly had fun mauling other peoples’ material, and three years later, decided to foist a second volume of covers upon everyone. Thankfully, ‘Heavy Hitters II’ is a massive improvement on its predecessor.
NO DIVINITY – Generation Of Pain EP
Released two years after their ‘Ceremony of Suffering’, this second EP from North Dakota’s No Divinity presents a big step forward for the band. Its four songs still feature the huge riffs that their fans have come to recognise, but they’re used in much broader strokes for an increased heaviness. This time out, the band have dispensed with the sub-two minute hardcore blasts, and instead concentrated on their longer, heavier jams – in the vein of ‘Splinter’ – to bring the best out of an intense, crushing guitar sound. More importantly, it comes with some massive production values that help to make their crossover hardcore sound even bigger than before.