Album Review: Crashing into things – To Consume, and To Be Consumed
In a world of music that tends to insult our intelligence it’s refreshing to hear a band that actually challenges us intellectually. Crashing Into Things prove to be highly creative in pushing genre boundaries musically, while at the same delivering insightful and thought-provoking lyrics. The Victoria, BC band combines elements of both New York post-punk …
Album Review: Galerie Stratique – Rêves de Béton
It is unclear whether Quebec’s Galerie Stratique (Charles-Émile Beullac) is presenting us with a vision of the future or his interpretation of the modern desensitized world. Either way the outlook is grim. Our emotional touchstones are removed, replaced by foreign textures and reference points. There are only two truly human sounds: a man speaking woodenly …
Film Review: The last King (Birkebeinerne; Norway)
Ever heard of Norwegian Civil Wars? Don’t worry if you didn’t. Waged in XII-XIII c. between, among others, the rich Baglers and the poor Birkebeins, it’s old news, really. One particular episode, however, survives in people’s active memory to this day. In the winter of 1205-06, the Birkebeins’ less-than-two-year old pretender to the throne, Haakon …
See: Love Buzzard release new video for Cash
Filthy riffs and sordid drums lay the foundations for Love Buzzard, a London based band that we just can’t stop listening to. The band have been going strong for three years, and after support slots with Cerebral Ballzy, Slaves and God Damn, their debut album Antifistamines (due for release 12.2.16) contains the same amount of …
Album Review: Sunflower Bean – Human Ceremony
By Ryan Jameson Weaver Our music industry moves so fast that a band can come out with something so unique and amazing that it is relevant for a week and then bounces into waves anonymity right after. Take for example, the last My Bloody Valentine album, MBV, an album 20 years in the making, from …
Track: Cullen Omori – Cinnamon
By Ryan Jameson Weaver Not many people know this, but Smith Westerns were an incredibly special band. They crafted delectable teenage gospel in a way that was almost purposefully harking back to their past but proud and boastful enough that it lived on its own. They were snotty Chicago kids encapsulating the hype machine of …
Live Review: Slaves – 02 Academy, Leeds, 10.11.2015
Slaves; the two-piece from Tunbridge Wells that unexpectedly rose to fame in 2015. Their debut album reached number eight in the UK album charts, they played Glastonbury festival several times in one year, they brought grime and punk together with their incredible cover of Skepta’s ‘Shutdown, they sold out their November tour with demand for …
Track: Mood Robot – Drip
By Ryan Jameson Weaver Los Angeles synth-pop trio Mood Robot (Jenny Helms, Alex Kazenoff, Ben Kazenoff), have been steadily releasing a sleek catalog of one-off velvet gems for the past year or so with each release giving us more awareness to their acuity of making PBR&B saccharine cuts. Their newest single, Drip, furthers this testament …
Track: Forced Random – Go Get It
By Ryan Jameson Weaver Go Get It, the latest track from Forced Random, is a paramount of tantalizing proportions. It is an anthemic cut that will pull at your heartstrings with its introspective guise and bring you up with its upward mobility. The slow, thrashing, wall of noise unfolds in front of you like dominoes …
Live: Maxïmo Park – Rock City, Nottingham – 15-12-15
I first saw Maxïmo Park as a gawky twelve-year-old at Sheffield Octagon with me dad and a mate, on their UK tour for their debut record, A Certain Trigger. The high energy set saw a smartly-dressed Paul Smith with characteristic hat pogo-ing around on stage to the delight of the crowd. Ten years on and nothing …