In an age where people dip in and out of playlists rather than digest full albums, there’s been more of a fashion for alternative rock bands to take a record/release approach to their work. It’s often common to find new “single” tracks on streaming services, only for those not to be followed with anything more concrete. Wolforna have been adding to their catalogue of digital singles since 2019, and although there has been a pleasure in watching them grow as a band, the quick single hits haven’t always given fans much in which to immerse themselves. The blame, of course, lies not with the band, but the quick fix world to which music streamers have become all too accustomed.
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TURKEY VULTURE – On The List EP
Following a couple of EPs fusing hardcore punk and stoner metal, Connecticut’s Turkey Vulture have chosen to branch out a little more on their 2024 release ‘On The List’. The six tracks still convey a love of great noise and still celebrate a very lo-fi ethic, but Jessie May (gtr/vox) and Jim Clegg (drums) have added swathes of grindcore and a pinch of death metal to their grab-bag of angry sounds. The results – although still very clearly delivered via Turkey Vulture’s furious hand – are utterly devastating. And not only have they increased their sense of force , but they appear to have decreased their already non-existent recording budget, which makes this EP a genuinely uncompromising affair.
BAD MARY – Better(er) Days EP
A lot can change in ten years. Unlike most DIY punk/alternative bands, though, for Bad Mary, issues with an ever shifting line up hasn’t ever been a factor. Since day one, the unity between vocalist Amanda Mac, her drumming dad Bill, bass playing husband Mike and guitarist David has been unquestionably strong. What has changed in that time, however, is the band’s recording budget and their collective musical skills. The 2024 Bad Mary sound much bigger and much fiercer than their younger selves. With that in mind, they chose not to mark a decades’ worth of work with a career spanning compilation, but to re-record some of the best tunes from their ‘Better Days’ debut disc.
FALOODA – Demo 2024 EP
Greek band Falooda bill themselves as “a noise funk dessert with rose syrup, vermicelli, milk and sweet basil seeds”. If that doesn’t quite make sense from an outsider’s perspective, then it’s with very good reason. This self-titled download – serving as the band’s first demo – is absolutely batshit bonkers. It’s a recording that presents a band absolutely throwing themselves head first into a world of distortion, mangling all manner of influences into the ugliest of shapes. It’s scary, and yet, it’s also fascinating.
ALL I KNOW – Stiletto Nightmare EP
Back in 2008, Belgian rockers All I Know released their debut album ‘Vanity Kills’ via the less than imaginatively titled Melodic Rock Records. The record celebrated 80s sounds with aplomb. On tracks like ‘Turn Back Time’ and ‘I Wanna Rock You’, the band contrasted huge AOR harmonies with chunky guitars, but it was when leaning towards an even more commercial (but still retro) sound the material really came into its own. ‘Rain’, in particular sounded like a pitch perfect tribute to classic White Lion coupled with a more anthemic chorus hook, and ‘All Night Long’ served up bright sounding rock, with the accent firmly on the cheese. Years on, the best bits of the record sound like they inspired fellow Euro rockers like Cruzh and Stardust.