DISKOPUNK – Diskopunk EP

Diskopunk have been slowly releasing tracks across digital platforms since 2016. It was looking increasingly like they were going to tease the world with bits and pieces forever, but the beginning of 2019 brought a self titled EP and, with that, finally something more substantial for those who’ve enjoyed the previous digital singles.

In terms of their very European electronica, the bulk of this self-titled release is very assured in the way it throws catchy hooks into melodic beats. It also isn’t afraid to feel like throwaway fun at times either, but what comes across most is that old Scandinavian gift for a strong melody – something that’s often obvious throughout, even if you’re not really that big on dance oriented stuff.

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Richard Wright’s ZEE project gets box set treatment; pre-orders being taken

One of the more overlooked items within Richard Wright’s back-catalogue, perhaps even more so than his two solo recordings (1978’s ‘Wet Dream’ and 1996’s ‘Broken China’), ZEE was a one-off project. A collaboration with Fashion’s Dave Harris, the band only released one album, but 1984’s ‘Fashion’ is an album that’s continued to be ignored over the years.  Perhaps this is due to it not sounding like anything his fans were used to, but maybe it’s place as the elephant in the room of Floyd history runs deeper. Even Wright himself later considered ZEE “an expensive mistake“.

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NEGATIVE WALL – Gammagelu

Tommy Stewart ended 2018 in style by giving the world an enormous piece of doom when his band Bludy Gyres contributed a near-impenetrable seventeen minute slab of riffery to a split release with fellow doomsters Dayglo Mourning. After such epic scale sludge, some musicians would take a moment to step back and admire their work…but not Tommy. He’s chosen to go head first into 2019 in similarly grand scale, as his other band Negative Wall present just four lengthy and doomy pieces of intensity on their debut full length release. Stretching to almost a full half hour, ‘Gammagelu’ is not an EP, but a near album length, fuzzed up, doomed out musical ride that’s almost as aggressive as Bludy Gyres. This time around, Stewart takes his gift for a riff and applies it to a world of whacked-out sci-fi tales…

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WATCH: ‘Glass N Sparks’ – a new video from French pop-punkers South Berkley

France isn’t necessarily the first location that comes to mind for pop punk exports, but a few great bands have emerged over the past few years including Connies and the truly excellent Shapers.

Here’s another new band from France – South Berkley, a four piece outfit that should appeal to lovers of post-‘Take Off Your Pants…’ era blink-182.  Their second single ‘Glass N Sparks’ provides a decent teaser for their debut LP (‘Too Slow’), which is due this summer.

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