VOICE OF ADDICTION – Modern Day Meltdown EP

VOATen years on from the release of their debut LP and some seven hundred live shows later, Chicago punkers Voice of Addiction show absolutely no sign of getting stale on their sixth release ‘Modern Day Meltdown’.  Its four songs showcase a tough musical style and some rousing choruses, as well as stretching a punky base to allow for a few broader sounding musical passages along the way.  There’s absolutely no indifference within the ranks here; Voice of Addiction set out to grab their listeners from the very first notes…and then keep them.

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QUEEN CHIEF – Queen Chief EP

queen chiefQueen Chief are an alt-rock band led by Justin Lien, a young musician with Native American and Germanic/Nordic roots.  Their debut EP throws the listener in at the deep end with a particularly grand approach. It’s a concept release bringing (in the band’s own words) “a brutally honest, heavy rocking representation of life in the Northwestern United States’ low income suburbs and Native American reservations”.  No messing there.  Just as direct as the attitude driving the band, the tunes themselves pack a huge punch throughout – most carrying a weighty riff; each riff then given a huge send off courtesy of King Black Acid member and producer Daniel Riddle.  The resultant sounds, resting somewhere between post-grunge and a hybrid of psychedelic blues, all come with plenty of volume – even if played quietly – and just as much attitude.

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EDWARD O’CONNELL – Vanishing Act

Edward O'ConnellSinger-songwriter Edward O’Connell released his debut album  in 2010 to unanimous approval from power pop/retro pop aficionados. As for the world at large, the album did indeed remain ‘Our Little Secret’. While all of the influences were worn blatantly upon his sleeve  – literally, too: the front cover parodied Nick Lowe’s ‘Jesus of Cool’, the rear paid a gentler homage to Tom Petty’s ‘Damn The Torpedoes’ – O’Connell’s gift for melody shone brightly through each of the album’s songs and the love for his forebears couldn’t be any more flattering.

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