THE FIERCE AND THE DEAD – Live USA 17

2018 was a landmark year for UK art rockers The Fierce And The Dead. The release of their third full length album really caught the imaginations of those at Prog magazine and their readership. Always progressive rather than prog, TFATD really branched out on that record. Some of its material (‘Truck’,’48K’) showed the band in a slightly heavier mood than before, while other bits seemed more commercial…without actually being commercial, if that makes sense. Whatever, the album and its subsequent coverage found the band in a position of strength. With an army of new fans, they could now legitimately call themselves a cult band.

The lead up to ‘The Euphoric’s release was first documented on ‘Field Recordings’, a live album recorded in 2016 at the second Rambin’ Man Fair in the UK. This second live release captures the band a year later at Rosfest 2017 during a rare visit to the US. But…with not that much time since ‘Field Music’, is there any real need for a second live release?

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THE GOTHAM ROCKETS – Blast Off! EP

New York’s Gotham Rockets are first and foremost a party band. Representing so much you loved about the mid-late 70s and recycling it for a twenty-first century audience, their debut EP features four feel good tunes, heavy on the saxophone and even heavier on high octane good vibes. The production values are a little ragged, but its songs provide a good old rock ‘n’ roll injection that’ll appeal to fans of the band’s label mates The Dirty Truckers and Nat Freedberg along with a few other retro sounds from yesteryear.

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JANICE PRIX – Nobody Would Know EP

Indie pop band Janice Prix weren’t exactly accepted by their local crowd at first. Deciding to create synth heavy sounds with clean vocals and big pop hooks didn’t exactly endear them to their neighbourhood and a scene full of metal oriented bands. If there’s something the Swedes have always been good at, though, it’s creating good pop hooks…and so Janice Prix continued on their quest undeterred. Their debut EP ‘Nobody Would Know’ says so much about their determination as their talent. Its five songs are layered in synths and punchy drum loops, yet at the same time, there’s a huge sound and just enough guitar to endear them to the kind of people who expect their pop to deliver a bit more than a quick sugar fuelled hit.

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THE MAD DOCTORS – RIP EP

After the release of The Mad Doctors’ second album (the excellent ‘No Waves, Just Sharks‘), the Brooklyn garage rockers released a few standalone tracks that helped cement their cult status. Nearer the end of that year, their ‘Yeungling Malmsteen’ showed off their uglier side on a number loaded with buzzsaw guitar riffs and a world of distortion; 2018’s less than subtle ‘Fuck Sean Hannity’ took a rare detour into the political realm where the band sounded angrier than ever and the dark and bluesy ‘Sister Act II…’ presented some great basslines mixed with an almost space-rock trippiness.

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MEGA – Narcissistic Punk Rock Disorder

When Italian punks Mega released ‘May The Force Be With You’ in 2015, they put themselves on the Euro punk map. The recording was a little rough and ready, but the potential was clear for all to hear. Although they weren’t exactly famous outside of their home country at the time of release, that record opened them up to a broader fan base – partly due to having Star Wars themed material – and it showed off a band who could be every bit as good as The Apers and Manges.

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