LADY JANE’S REVENGE – 1554 EP

lady jane's revenge epIt’s hard to believe that by the time of this release that there are people out there who still think pirates are cool. By the turn of 2016, The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is still coughing up dregs of adventure even though the pirate thing is, by this point, older and more tired than Keef Richards’s addled skeleton. Still, here we are, and Lady Jane’s Revenge make their entrance into the alternative rock sphere with a barrage of riffs and a somewhat pirate-y undertone (obviously, by that, it doesn’t insinuate any involvement from Fergal Sharkey with an eye patch, peg leg and parrot combo, though this EP would perhaps be more interesting if it did).

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TOM BAKER & THE SNAKES – 4 Stars EP

tom baker epAh. What’s that, K-9? A huge sound coming from that far off nebula? Things might get rocky, so you’d better stay and guard the TARDIS.” It’s hard not to hear the name Tom Baker and not visualise a curly-haired, long-scarfed eccentric and his camp robot dog, isn’t it? Well, joking aside, here’s a different Tom Baker for you: a Boston native primed and ready to crack your skulls with a semi-raucous three guitar assault. To kick off 2016, Baker, sometime member of The Dirty Truckers, has teamed up with various other Boston alumni – fellow Trucker John Brookhouse (g/v); Gymnasium’s Charles Hansen (g), John Sheeran of Family Township (bass) and Watts’ tub thumper John Blout, all of whom are on hand to bring more than a touch of their own Stones obsessed style on three very sweaty and shamelessly retro numbers.

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THE SHAPERS – Reckless Youth EP

Shapers EPSince their formation in 2009, French punks The Shapers seemed to constantly be on the road. Their high energy melodic sound saw them travel the globe – including a visit to Thailand – and also score high profile support slots with classic bands Pennywise, NOFX, Face To Face and others, all without the aid of an extensive back-catalogue.

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CLIMBING ALICE – Melt Yourself Up EP

climbing alice epWakefield’s Climbing Alice mix various alt-rock styles into a sound they self-bill as Alt-Popp. For the average listener, what this actually means is that they’ve taken a slab of post-grunge guitar noise, a generous helping of goth and a pinch of shoegazey jangle and come out winning. There mightn’t be anything overtly new about this band’s music, but – as evidenced upon this debut EP – it’s all played with a fiery passion…and most importantly, it’s got the riffs.

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