Old House Playground come to you from a dark corner of Manchester (via Greece) bringing folk tales of heartbreak, dark premonition and woe. With a heavy mix of blues, rockabilly and dark twang, Their debut EP, ‘The Great Escape’, comes across as a hybrid of Tindersticks, Nick Cave and Tito & Tarantula, delivered with the sophistication of Chris Isaak (more specifically his classic ‘Baby Did a Bad Thing’). Frontman Tryfon Lazos combines and twists such influences into his own style throughout the four featured tracks, leaving behind a release that’s nothing short of wonderful.
The Iron Maiden Studio Albums Poll
Iron Maiden are one of the world’s most enduring hard rock/classic metal bands. Henry Rollins once claimed they have “fans in any country that has electricity”. The band’s appeal has stretched beyond their 80s breakthough and they’ve survived shifting line ups, while tours have seen them circle the globe many, many times.
Maiden’s fans are some of the most committed, so it was unsurprising that the internet went into a mini-frenzy when it was announced that a new studio album had not only been completed and scheduled for release in September 2015, but it was also to be the band’s first two-disc studio release, and it was also to include the longest song they’ve written to date.
THE JACQUES – Artful Dodger EP
On their second EP, Bristol four-piece The Jacques display a carefree style on three numbers pulling the best elements from sixties beat music, seventies mod revival and nineties Britpop, often in a manner that reflects the youthful energy on the much-loved Supergrass debut ‘I Should Coco’. Any comparisons with that LP can be directly drawn from ‘This Is England’, a three minute high speed jangle that has a punky edge to the guitar work which sometimes shows glimmers of a Buzzcocks-ish style colliding with the kind of vigour that was so oft-present within Gaz Coombes’s overall approach. It’s clear from this particular number that we’re dealing with a particularly tight unit, it’s just a shame the band couldn’t hire themselves a vocalist. Finn O’Brien yelps through this number much in the manner of a pre-pubescent lad, his high pitched delivery akin to Alex Turner with a helium balloon threatening to kill any enjoyment at almost every turn.
FOLLOW THE LION – The Candy & Gravity Motel EP
Follow The Lion are a five piece indie-rock band from Leeds whose debut EP is comprised of three finely crafted indie-rock tunes; each of these three numbers bring out the best in most of the band members – particularly vocalist Daniel Francis and lead guitarist Richard Swann. Prior to ‘The Candy & Gravity Motel’s release, the band found an early champion in the legendary Tom Robinson, who gave exposure to the title cut on his BBC Radio 6 show…and it’s very easy to see why, since these three songs are absolutely tailor-made for rock-based radio. That’s “tailor-made”, as opposed to manufactured, since FTL have a very natural style – there’s nothing here to ever make you think they’d been moulded by the media in any way.
THE END MEN – Terms & Conditions
Reappearing at the beginning of 2013 after a brief hiatus, Brooklyn’s End Men made a big statement with their second LP ‘Play With Your Toys’. From that point on, there seemed to be no stopping the blues/garage rock duo, with live shows aplenty following – including a recorded appearance at CXCW – and a quickly released compilation of odds and ends filling the gap until their next studio bookings. Released seemingly weeks after their last recordings, ‘Terms & Conditions’ picks up exactly where you’d expect, with the gravel-voiced Matthew Hendershot weaving tales of woe and drunken forboding while percussionist Livia Ranalli plays by the seat of her pants. With such a quick turnaround of material, are The End Men in danger of burning themselves out? On the basis of their 2015 release, it’s a case of anything but…