We Are Scientists - With Love And Squalor

We Are Scientists - With Love And Squalor
The first track, Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt, is a real statement of intent. Upbeat, danceable indie rock with angular guitars, a booty shaking rhythm section and a thrilling, galloping instrumental middle eight. The lyrics of 'I won't tell anybody, If you want to use my body, Go for it' have an air of desperation about them and mark the band out as underdogs, which really works. This is cool music played by nerdy losers.

Callbacks is the most aggressive track, obtuse yet with a solid pop chorus and a Gang Of Four gone rockabilly vibe. Can't Lose is college rock with a funky twist. The terrific Textbooks has shimmering shoegaze guitars, Les Savy Fav's art rock basslines and 80s goth vocals. The biggest comparison, however, is Franz Ferdinand's angular pop. It's A Hit is Franz cool during the verse and urgent pop during the killer chorus, all propelled by some dynamic drumming.

The best songs (Cash Cow and The Great Escape) have one foot on the dancefloor and one foot in indie cool, whilst still having one eye on the pop charts. A great record.

The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
The follow up to their breakthrough album, Elephant, is a logical sequel. It's commercial yet still has a hard enough edge to remain credible. The opener, Blue Orchid, exemplifies this. It's upbeat and built upon a huge, catchy riff but the guitar sound is immense, a massive wall of fuzz. My Doorbell is in a similar vein, built on a cool piano riff and topped with a quirky refrain which will stay in your head for days. Little Ghost is an offbeat, folky jaunt with lots of character. In fact, all these songs have character.

The excellent Take, Take, Take with its retro references is an intense, mini epic which builds brilliantly.

This album basically takes the blues as a template, feeds it through garage rock amps and twists it into accessible, contemporary pop music.

Live Review

Overkill - Manchester, Sound Control (17/3/14)
I've waited over twenty years to see these New Jersey thrashers, so I was looking forward to this. It isn't the greatest of starts however, as the sound mix isn't quite right and neither the guitars or vocals seem loud enough. Wrecking Crew soon raises the excitement levels with its spiky punk  energy. The sound quality is variable throughout the set. Hammerhead, for example, sounds spectacular whilst a high octane, thunderous Coma becomes a muddy mess.

Some of the newer material, such as Electric Rattlesnake and the powerful Ironbound, fares particularly well as it is more groove orientated, and it's much easier to pick out their well defined riffs than some of the older thrashier material. The set spans over thirty years but is mainly centred around pre-1992 material. Whilst the set isn't perfect, it does showcase how many great songs Overkill have written over the years. Hello From The Gutter is a true thrashterpiece, and it is played with ferocious energy. The slower Manowarisms of In Union We Stand sound amazing, an anthemic, heroic call to arms. Regular set closer, Elimination, is excellent too.

Encore, the doomy, weighty Horrorscope, absolutely crushes. Fuck You rather predictably closes the show, but in a shambolic and riotous manner. Overall, a good show rather than a great one.

Municipal Waste - Hazardous Mutation

Municipal Waste - Hazardous Mutation
This was the Waste's debut for Earache following the excellent Waste 'Em All album. The excellent Deathripper opens the album, and is dynamic, punchy thrash laced with a hardcore energy.

The playing is tight throughout but the highlight is Dave Witte's powerhouse drumming. Overall, the sound is DRI meets Sacred Reich, although the powerful production makes it sound contemporary.

The opening riff to The Thrashin' Of The Christ is incredible - an intense, slow, mechanical chug that absolutely slays. Nailed Casket's guitar work on the verse has an early Iced Earth feel while Terror Shark's cheeky referencing of Accept is terrific fun.

Fun is a key part of Municipal Waste and this album is a blast but importantly, this is less goofy and gimmicky than subsequent albums. This record blasts by in twenty six minutes, not outstaying its welcome. This is overall, one of the better thrash revival albums.

Buried At Sea - Ghost

Buried At Sea - Ghost
This record consists of one thirty minute long track. It's on Neurot Recordings. And Sanford Parker (Minsk, Twilight, Corrections House) is involved. You already know what this is going to sound like. Slow and heavy.

This starts off slow and hypnotic. Heavy and repetitive, like The Ocean meets Monolithe, yet shot through with some melodic guitar lines. The track then meanders a little with a slow chugging guitar backed by funereal drumming, but slowly gathers momentum until it becomes mesmerising. It has a staring at the sun quality to it. This passage collapses upon itself into silence and is followed by a moment or two which will have you looking at your stereo and wondering if it's broken.

The piece explodes back into life with seriously heavy space rock which is topped off with tortured, anguished vocals. This is followed by the most progressive and dynamic passage of the whole track. There are a number of hypnotic Om style parts and a number of crushing Neurosis bits, whilst the closing riff is pure evil, satanic doom.

The whole piece has a spacey feel thanks to the number of theramin sounding sci fi noises which float over the top of the riffs and tie all the individual parts together to make a coherent whole. This does lose my attention at various points but, generally, this is a solid doom release.

Katatonia - Tonight's Decision

Katatonia - Tonight's Decision
How can gloomy metal sound so uplifting? Gloomy metal is probably a little unfair as a lot of the material is upbeat with strong melodies, but Jonas Renkse's downbeat vocals always carry an air of melancholy. The flipside of this is that it lends the material a certain depth and maturity.

This album cemented the move from death/doom to a more gothic metal sound. The songs here all follow a similar pattern; heavy, driving metal with a downbeat edge and huge anthemic choruses. This is difficult to review because it's hard to say much more than that. That's not to say this is bad. On the contrary, this is a classic with many of these tracks still being live staples.

The wistful, haunting This Punishment deviates from the formula and as a result has a greater impact. A Darkness Coming is delicate yet brooding whilst Black Session is epic with huge sounding guitars.

This album's main strength are the choruses and In Death, A Song and Right Into The Bliss have very strong refrains. No Good Can Come Of This has mechanical, precise riffing and a massively catchy chorus. Strained's chorus of 'I'd like to try and live my life again, I'd like to see where I was going wrong' highlights how they can make miserable lyrics seem joyous and positive. An excellent album.

O Children - Apnea

O Children - Apnea
This London band play dark indie rock on this, their second album.

The opener, Holy Wood, is built on tribal drumming and reminds me of The Editors. Toni O'Kandi's vocals define the band's sound. His rich evocative baritone is reminiscent of Ian Curtis, Nick Cave and The Editors' Tom Smith and those bands are the obvious reference points.

The Realest has a Joy Division-esque post punk verse before moving to a more melodic chorus. Red Like Fire sees the band in post rock territory with a moody verse and a noisy Pixies style chorus. Oceanside is a slinky little number with Johnny Marr style guitar work, which wouldn't sound out of place on the latest Nick Cave album. The excellent I Know You Love Me also has a Nick Cave feel but with a touch of Echo & The Bunnymen thrown in.

H8 City ventures into dark electronic pop with an ever so slight OMD feel. Swim's twisted, off-kilter blues is a dead ringer at points in the verses for the long lost Quarterstick band, Kepone, which is a very, very good thing. The anthemic chorus then returns to The Editors dark stadium rock.

Occasionally, this album ventures into Placebo territory such as OR Cruiser, but generally this is very good.

Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin

Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin
This American band are pretty consistent on record but it is nothing compared to their riotous live shows. This is their fifth studio album, from 2010.

The opener, Appetites, is spiky, energetic art punk, kinda Public Image meets Sparta. Tim Harrington's vocals sound more robotic than usual, giving him a John Lydon or Jello Biafra edge. Consequently, quite a lot of the album has more of a PiL or Dead Kennedys feel than usual. Sparta are another frequent reference point on this album.

Sleepless In Silver Lake has a more traditional LSF sound with its persistent, throbbing bass providing the backbone to moderately paced American post-punk. It does, however, sound rather lethargic. Let's Get Out Of Here is uptempo, anthemic and much more like it.

After a number of albums where they have developed a signature sound, it's the tracks which offer something different which are the most interesting, such as Lips N' Stuff's more melodic sound or Poltergeist's glacial, Joy Division feel. The excellent High And Unhinged is discordant and playful, with a great chorus. Dear Crutches is a college rock heartbreaker with a They Might Be Giants meets The Cure feel.

Overall, this isn't Les Savy Fav's best album but it is still a good, solid release.

Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain

Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain
This was my introduction to the Purple One, and this is such a good place to start.

Lets Go Crazy is a great opener. It's uptempo pop with both keyboards and guitars featuring heavily yet neither dominates the other. Take Me With U encapsulates the appeal of Purple Rain, the movie. Breathlessly romantic yet edgy, sweet but still sexy , and a little dangerous to boot.

The Beautiful Ones is probably my favourite song ever. It starts as a gentle plea to a lover to choose Prince over another. It builds and builds, gradually ratcheting up the tension as he becomes more and more desperate, until it reaches a crescendo with Prince screaming his ultimatum. In the movie, the band come on stage for a show, play this one song and then leave. Given the intense performance, this would be the greatest gig of all time.

Computer Blue includes a superb instrumental break featuring some great guitar work. Darling Nikki's musical whimsy is in stark contrast to the lyrics, a filthy tale of sex, masturbation and bondage which ruffled some feathers when it was released. When Doves Cry is a stone cold classic. Epic pop with an electronic edge which sounded very futuristic when it was originally released in 1984 and still sounds contemporary now.

'I'm not a woman, I'm not a man, I am something that you'll never understand' are telling lyrics in I Would Die 4 U and go some way to explaining part of Prince's appeal here - his mystique. He has the ability to be feminine, masculine or androgynous at any given moment. Consequently, the music can be hard, soft or mysterious when required.

Baby I'm A Star is Hi NRG, high camp pop music. The album closes with the title track which is the most mature track here. It's epic, mournful rock music, the sadness accentuated by the use of strings.

This is arguably Prince's finest album. This is arguably the greatest soundtrack of all time. One thing that is not in doubt, however, is the album's brilliance.

Judas Priest - Angel Of Retribution

Judas Priest - Angel Of Retribution
This was Priest's first album with Rob Halford back on vocals and it needed to make a big statement. The first moments of opener, Judas Rising, do exactly that with the 'Victim Of Changes' style intro giving way to a pulsating, chestbeating riff topped off with a ball bursting scream that only Halford can deliver. It's everything I love about the Priest distilled into one song. Pure metal perfection.

Deal With The Devil is a quick, straight ahead number reminiscent of 'Freewheel Burning' which features some solid riffing. Revolution has a commercial industrial feel, sounding like Stabbing Westward covering 'United', but it just doesn't work. The album moves immediately from the weakest track to the strongest in Worth Fighting For. It has a fantastic chorus with a mature, reflective edge, and wouldn't sound out of place on 'British Steel'. High praise indeed.

Demonizer is an aggressive metal tune which nestles somewhere between 'Painkiller' and Fight, and it features some excellent double kick drumming from Scott Travis. Angel is a killer ballad. Stately and graceful, it's a welcome change of pace and a different kind of ballad to what Priest have tried in the past.

Hellrider is thunderous. The pinch harmonics and Halford's trademark screams probably mean mean the track is the closest relation to 'Painkiller's title track. That is a good thing. Eulogy is a chilling, reflective track which references previous songs and albums in its lyrics and feels like it could almost be the band's epitaph.

The closing track, Loch Ness, is a ridiculous. In a good way. It has a very cheesy chorus but is extremely catchy. Imagine a full blown concept album condensed into a single song and you're getting close. This track divides opinion among fans because it is so laughable but I like it. Proof that a good chorus can rescue virtually any song.

Overall, this album is what it needed to be and proves that Priest can still cut it. It is a return to form with nods to past glories, and  a few new tricks and surprises thrown in.

Carcass - Necroticism-Descanting The Insalubrious

Carcass - Necroticism-Descanting The Insalubrious
This is the point where Carcass cemented their evolution from goregrind to death metal but it's so much more than that. This is a seminal moment in extreme metal.

This is both aggressive and technical. Progressive but still incisive. The guitars sound razor sharp and the vocals are less guttural than the majority of death metal bands in the early nineties were. All of which gave (and still gives) them an instantly recognisable sound.

The almost two step drumbeat which introduces Corporeal Jigsaw Quandary is joyous and guaranteed to make me move, and it is soon joined by an equally impressive riff. Incarnated Solvent Abuse is a banger built on an absolutely rocking riff. In fact, the whole album has a rocking feel.

The riffs are the most important component of this album as it's the memorable riffs which make this album accessible, rather than the shards of melody which occasionally puncture the darkness.

Carneous Cacoffiny starts as a monolithic, doom driven beast before exploding into life and that is one of the strengths of the album, its variety. Moods change and tempos shift frequently.

I once described death metal as all speed and no substance but this album (along with 'Heartwork' and the Death albums) changed that perception. Even the gore filled lyrics have a certain mature poetry to them.

Starkweather - This Sheltering Night

Starkweather - This Sheltering Night
I remember hearing the Starkweather track 'Shroud' in the mid '90s and being blown away. They were one of the bands who pioneered metalcore, but it was other bands like Converge, Endeavor and Coalesce which made the scene so exciting. None of the other tracks grabbed my attention in the same way. The first track here, Epiphany, continues this trend. It's instantly familiar, a slow and brooding track which builds in intensity but ultimately fails to deliver a satisfactory pay off, although midway through there some nice jazzy flourishes. This makes it interesting rather than exciting.

Rennie Resmini's distinctive, atonal vocals will divide opinion but I personally think they add an injection of character which would otherwise be lacking.

Stylistically, this is slow and grinding metal, reminiscent of Overcast although they're nowhere near as good. One of the main problems here is that the pace is generally too slow so it can be rather boring. When the tempo picks up a little, such as the beginning of Bustvari, it makes a big difference as it becomes less of a dirge. One Among Vermin is a highpoint as it has some great melodic leads and climaxes in a wonderfully chaotic fashion. The soundscape interludes provided by additional artists, including Oktopus from Dalek, add very little.

This isn't disappointing because this band have always disappointed me and, consequently, my expectations have been lowered somewhat. It is nowhere near good enough, however, to inspire me to change my opinion of them.

Megadeth - Th1rt3en

Megadeth - Th1rt3en
As a teenager, I worshipped Megadeth and the 'Rust In Peace' album in particular. I lost faith with them when they released 'Countdown To Extinction' as the pristine, technical speed metal of the former gave way to the more commercial modern metal of the latter. This is the first album of theirs that I've bought since then.

Opener, Sudden Death, excites me as it is a triumphant recollection of former glories, reminding me of both 'Take No Prisoners' with its blistering lead guitar work, and 'Five Magicks' with its galloping verses which trade vocal lines and guitar solos. It's a truly excellent opener. Public Enemy No. 1 is even better, the spiritual heir to the classic Hangar 18. The guitar work on this, and throughout the album, is exceptional. Whose Life (Is It Anyways) is a driving, heads down, straightforward thrasher with a memorable, stomping chorus.

They can't keep this pace up however, and We The People sees a slower, groove metal approach. Guns, Drugs & Money follows a similar path but is much more successful because it's built on a good riff and a catchy chorus. Never Dead is fast and furious with tight, technical riffing and some fine drumming from Shawn Drover.

There's a difference between reliving former glories and ripping them off wholesale, and New World Order, crosses the line, sounding like a carbon copy of 'Five Magicks'. What's the point? Fast Lane is 'High Speed Dirt' for the 21st Century, although I'm not sure anyone wanted or needed that. Black Swan sees the 'Deth at their most melodic with a really strong chorus.

Every Megadeth album has one or two fillers and this is no exception. Deadly Nightshade is one example, and it bizarrely sounds like a metalized version of Weezer's 'Hash Pipe'.

Is this a return to the glory years? No, there are slightly too many fillers but there are enough glimpses of brilliance to make me want to listen to this again.