J Church - Camels, Spilled Corona And The Sound Of Mariachi Bands

J Church - Camels, Spilled Corona And The Sound Of Mariachi Bands
This San Francisco indie punk band were prolific, and this is a collection of tracks previously released on seven inch, splits and comps.

This reminds me of Jawbreaker or Leatherface, only without the passion of those bands, and with much whinier vocals. Commodity's off key vocals are particularly off putting. They also mar a reasonable version of REM's 'Rockville'.

The REM references don't end there. Kathi and Girl In A Magazine have an early REM gone punk feel, as does Had It Right which is one of the strongest tracks on the album.

November is a breezy, melodic tune. Misery is the quickest and best track here, really good Snuff style poppy punk but overall, this is pretty pedestrian and uninspiring.

Friendly Fires - Pala

Friendly Fires - Pala
This indie pop band crib unashamedly from the 80s but it's good, less obvious '80s influences such as on Live Those Days Tonight which is Propaganda style tribal pop with one eye on the dancefloor. Running Away has a delicious Imagination style funk bassline while Hurting has a mammoth '80s soul pop chorus (a hint of Jaki Graham perhaps?).

It isn't completely made up of retro influences however. Blue Cassette takes the joyous pop of 'Kiss Of Life' and imbues it with a Daft Punk retro-futuristic electronic edge. The title track is a late night electronic slow burner whilst the excellent Show Me Lights is more of their signature uplifting pop.

Despite the retro touches, this still sounds modern and vital, thanks to the pristine production. The falsetto vocals also give this an individual touch. This may be safe, nice boy indie but it is done ever so well.

The Black Crowes - High As The Moon

The Black Crowes - High As The Moon
This is a four track live recording from Houston in 1993 featuring some of the band's best known songs. The Black Crowes were one of the most shit kicking rock ''n' roll bands on the planet at the time.

Remedy is classic, soulful rock 'n' roll and this recording has an extended breakdown in the middle. This may be a bit much for some but I think it has a certain charm. Jealous Again has some great honky tonk piano. Sting Me is a Stonesy rocker full of swagger and attitude, with a great bassline underpinning it all. Thorn In My Pride is mellow country soul, again with an extended jam in the middle. It's these jams which differentiate these recordings from the studio versions. They're not amazing but these versions do have extra energy compared to the originals.

Chris Robinson's vocals are a little off key in places but the female backing vocals are excellent and add a gospel feel to the whole thing. The sound quality is really good. The songs are very strong but even if you own the original versions, this is still worth getting.

In Solitude - The World, The Flesh, The Devil

In Solitude - The World, The Flesh, The Devil
This is the second album from this occult metal band from Uppsala, Sweden (home of Watain). At first glance, this would appear to be pure Mercyful Fate worship, but this driving trad metal with a dark mystical edge has more to it than that. There are touches of Iron Maiden throughout whilst Demons has a fist pumping NWOBHM vibe with a spacey middle section.

Serpents Are Rising has a great chorus, with the vocal harmonies giving it a spiritual, ritualistic feel. The guitar work in the instrumental break, and throughout the album, is superb. On Burning Paths has the feel of a satanic Judas Priest, kinda like a darker cross between 'Breaking The Law' and 'One Shot At Glory'. To Her Darkness has some fairly simple riffs but the  overall effect is stunning.

The album has a 70s feel to it in places, giving it a slight Ghost feel, although this is more down to the atmosphere than anything else. The darkness projected sounds credible and believable, partially due to the vocals. Niklas Lindstrom's vocals are deeper and darker than King Diamond's high pitched wail, and the vocals keep this grounded in the realms of the truly terrifying.

An excellent album with no weak tracks whatsoever.

Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx

Mariachi El Bronx- Mariachi El Bronx
The Bronx have never convinced me. They are ostensibly a hardcore band, but they have never struck me as being particularly authentic. They are hardcore for the Kerrang! and Rock Sound crowd. This is their alter ego, the same band playing mariachi flavoured acoustic rock and this is the first album as MEB (they have a habit of releasing self titled albums). This sounds much more credible to me but what do I know about mariachi music.

At its best, as on Cell Mates and Quinceniera, this is glorious, uplifting and emotional. My Love is the simplest song here with a gentle strummed guitar and accordion, but it is effective. Holy is both romantic and dangerous. The excellent Silver Or Lead is dramatic and sounds like it could be the soundtrack to some border town showdown while Despretador and Clown Powder stumble along like a drunken uncle at a wedding.

The arrangements bring Sufjan Stevens' 'Illinoise' album to mind and despite the subject matter of outlaws and desperados, this is a beautiful and emotionally affecting album. The musical style also highlights how good the band are as songwriters and musicians, and how strong singer Matt Loughthran's vocals are. This is a very good album.

Graham Coxon - A+E

Graham Coxon A+E
Graham Coxon was always the most credible member of Blur. Damon Albarn got all the plaudits and fame whilst Alex James was cooler, but Graham was the most believable. This is his solo album from 2012.

Advice is all stop-start, spiky post-punk guitars and robotic vocals. It is probably too stop-starty though as it struggles to gain any momentum. City Hall is more successful, built on an electronic, metronomic krautrock pulse. What'll It Take is lo-fi Hot Chip with one eye on the dancefloor whilst being firmly stuck in the bedroom. It does outstay its welcome slightly though as the last minute is far too repetitive. Meet And Drink And Pollinate is shambolic, shuffling indietronica reminiscent of the first Metronomy album. The Truth features some neat dark and heavy guitar work while the low slung Knife In The Cast is like 90s grunge/slacker's gloomiest moments (think Nirvana's 'Something In The Way' or maybe Pavement's 'Stop Breathin'').

Seven Naked Valleys is Blur meets Pavement. It's ponderous but possesses a certain charm. This sums up the album as a whole because for all of the missteps, it remains likeable. All the tracks have the shadow of Blur looming over them, mainly in the vocal lines and melodies. The occasional use of horns also gives the album a sometime X Ray Spex feel. Overall, not bad.

The Propagumghis - The Rise And Fall Of Nothing At All

The Propagumghis - The Rise And Fall Of Nothing At All
This UK 'meat free ska-core' band were around during the late '90s and early 2000s. This cd collects together various EPs and split releases along with some unreleased tracks.

The first two tracks are fierce, straight ahead punk tracks. The singer, Lee, has a classic punk rock voice, gruff with an aggressive edge like an angry Dicky Barrett. Barrett's band, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, are a point of reference here also (although I'm thinking their earlier material rather than the commercial, major label material) while the punk bits have a Capdown feel.

Red Reminders mixes fast punk with jaunty, bouncy ska. Moral Highground has a great memorable riff from the tight horn section. Label, Designate & Grade is the sunniest sounding track while Diluted is uptempo and dynamic. Today has it all; punk energy, bouncy, soulful ska and even some Clash style cod reggae.

There's an authenticity about their sound. The punk sounds angry and energetic, like it's been honed in dives up and down the country. There's a northern soul edge to parts of this, and the horns are punchy and memorable. The ska parts make me want to dance and, more importantly, don't sound cheesy.

I used to love this and would go and watch these guys play live all the time, but thought that time would have aged this badly. I suppose this isn't helped by the fact that I'm not the biggest ska punk fan, but this is still excellent.

CIV - Choices Made

CIV - Choices Made
I was a little too late to catch Gorilla Biscuits the first time around but CIV came around at exactly the right time for me and they were the perfect band, mixing a hard edge with a pop sensibility. They were a great band for someone new to the hardcore scene.

This is a four track single. The lead track is melodic punk with an anthemic, oi flavoured, us against the world chorus. It's like Gorilla Biscuits more melodic moments meets Sham 69 with a bit of a polish.

The remaining tracks are live tracks recorded at the Camden Underworld in late '95. The sound quality is reasonable. Trust Slips Through Your Hands is a short, tough and spiteful blast of New York hardcore which still has a slim streak of melody running through it. Civ does the classic hardcore vocalist's trick of passing the mic out to the crowd and, unfortunately, this robs Can't Wait One Minute More of most of its melody. Don't Got To Prove It is a fully electric version and proves to be a pretty good yobbish punk tune. This isn't essential but the 'Set Your Goals' album, where the original versions of these songs can be found, certainly is.