Following the release of the live ‘Fuzz Club Session’, things seemed to go a little quiet for A Place To Bury Strangers, at least in terms of press coverage, but the band carried on making underground sounds. The self-released ‘Ice Cream’ 7” continued their onslaught on the shoegaze scene, and even a drastic line-up change at the beginning of 2021 couldn’t suppress their commitment to being “New York’s loudest band”.
RESSURECTION KINGS – Skygazer
The Resurrection Kings debut (released in 2016) was one of those frustrating albums that showed great promise, but was ultimately flawed. Ex-Dio band members Craig Goldy (guitar) and Vinnie Appice (drums) played up a storm throughout, but their best efforts were often drowned out by vocalist Chas West, a man who insisted in bellowing his way through the bulk of the material at full volume, making it a hard listen. As proven by his own West Bound project, it’s not that Chas doesn’t have a voice; he just needs the music to be in tune with his sometimes overbearing tones.
The flaws of the Resurrection Kings debut are evident once again here. For some reason, Goldy’s best efforts don’t always seem to be on quite the same wavelength as West’s huge performances. Or maybe West’s all or nothing approach doesn’t quite fit with some of Goldy’s more varied ideas. Whatever it is, there’s still something that feels a little off-balance and requires a fair bit of tuning in and patience on behalf of the listener. However, if you can tune into everything, the album features a selection of solid, old style metal tunes that definitely seem to have a little more drive and focus compared to their previous work.
CHOICES MADE – Reason For Conflict EP
Taking cues from the classic hardcore sounds of Ignite and the metallic edge of Cancer Bats, Choices Made deliver a world of fantastic riffs on their third EP ‘Reason For Conflict’. It’s half dozen tracks showcase some superb musicians throughout, and the short and sharp EP format actually helps the band’s pointed messages of unity seem even more forceful.
Summer Years share new video for ‘This Light’
“Life has a way of pushing you away and turning you upside down” warns frontman Nick Lanari in one of the key lines of Summer Years’ current single ‘This Light’. His observation might seem like a warning, but the new track is anything but downbeat. In fact, it’s more of a paean to pushing through; an anthem for being the best you can be. It’s main refrain even offers a few words of advice we could all take to heart: “be yourself and you’ll get through.”
THE QUIREBOYS – A Bit Of What You Fancy: 30th Anniversary Edition
When The Quireboys released their debut album ‘A Bit of What You Fancy’ in early 1990, the band seemed to attack the rock media with all guns blazing. They’d spent a few years sweating it out on the live circuit and had released a couple of singles, but the album itself thrust vocalist Spike Gray and company into a whole new league. With huge coverage from the rock mags, a couple of video appearances on Top of The Pops and a high profile appearance at the Donington Monsters of Rock festival that summer, it seemed hard to avoid the band for a time.
Their success was wholly justified. ‘A Bit of What You Fancy’ seemed to speak to a broad cross section of rock fans with its big hooks and retro charm. Looking back, it’s slightly shiny production values and big, slightly brassy female backing vocals didn’t necessarily give the material the best send off – and those backing vocals in particular made the studio recordings seem a lot less urgent than the live shows at that time – but, in terms of songs, the band really couldn’t have presented themselves in a much stronger way.