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Album Reviews

Interlaker

Interlaker

Interlaker

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INTERLAKER – INTERLAKER – ALBUM REVIEW

The sheer talent of David Jakes deserves to be heard, but his crippling anxiety for the stage life ultimately led to him stepping away from Lonely The Brave in March 2018, whilst they were at the peak of their powers.

For Jack Wrench, he has shown himself to be an incredibly skilled drummer with Arcane Roots, but his own time in the limelight came to end in late 2018 as the band played their final shows.

Fast forward to spring 2022 and the two musicians linked up on Instagram and bonded over shared influences. Soon the duo found themselves sharing new music and a special collaboration was born!

Since then, Interlaker have released a steady stream of atmospheric singles and even wowed a few crowds by bringing these songs to life on stage.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘END UNKNOWN’
Interlaker – ‘End Unknown’

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Given the pedigree of the musical chops on display, it should be no surprise that their self-titled debut album is an even bigger dose of magnificent alt-rock radiance.

Early releases ‘The Hunger’ and ‘Ghostride’ ease listeners into this collection, before the duo flex their creative muscles even further. Each of the ten tracks on the album are engaging and full of sonic gravitas. Once you’re sucked in, you aren’t going anywhere!

As far as debut albums go, this one is simply gargantuan and you can’t but hope that it signals only the beginning of what promises to be a spectacular journey for two supremely talented musicians.  

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Kids In Glass Houses

Kids In Glass Houses

Pink Flamingo

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KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES – PINK FLAMINGO – ALBUM REVIEW

There was naturally an air of sadness when Kids In Glass Houses split in 2014, but equally there was a sense of things running their course. Like many of their peers, momentum had slowed, and the unforgiving music industry was taking its toll.

A wave of bands hyped as the next big thing, because just another thing and the world seemed to be moving on without them. The funny thing though is that what is once thrown aside and labelled out of time eventually turns into nostalgia and again following trend Kids In Glass Houses emerged from their self-imposed hiatus in 2023 to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of debut record ‘Smart Casual’.

That reunion hype continued past those original shows and eventually led to news of new music on the way. Well, now that music is here as they release their fifth studio album, ‘Pink Flamingo’!

The first thing to note about this album is that it’s anything but a standard “we’re back” type of release. It seems that even though they are technically still riding that wave of nostalgic momentum, they are keen to pick up where they left off rather than go all the way back to the beginning.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘THEME FROM PINK FLAMINGO’
Kids In Glass Houses – ‘Theme From Pink Flamingo’

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There is a clear desire to expand on their sound and do something new and purposeful rather than just rely on what brought them to the dance in the first place. It’s ironic though that it’s a different breed of nostalgia that provides the soundscape for this album. Much love exists of late for the music of the 1980’s and that influence is worn with pride on this collection.

This does mean that much of the guitar driven impetus of their earlier work is sidelined and a more measured synth-laden sound surrounds each of these delicately crafted songs. You have to admire the ambition of the band, but with that there is a risk that ‘Pink Flamingo’ ultimately feels like it just tries too hard.

A similar sonic transformation has killed the momentum of a number of similar acts in recent years – Deaf Havana we’re looking at you! This album however is well produced and comes at a different career point for Kids In Glass Houses.

This album certainly deserves your respect and attention, it’s far from a bad album, indeed it’s a pretty damn good album – time though will tell if it’s the right album at the right time for a band looking to re-establish themselves in what is now an even harder industry than the one they left!

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Razorlight

Razorlight

Planet Nowhere

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RAZORLIGHT – PLANET NOWHERE – ALBUM REVIEW

On the back of their first two albums, you would have expected Razorlight to go on to be a sustainable big hitter in the industry. Alas, everything started to go down hill thereafter and eventually would lead to frontman Johnny Borrell being the sole remaining original member and their record label refusing to release their much delayed fourth album.

After a decade of decline, Borrell managed to commence CPR on the lifeless corpse of Razorlight around 2018 with the release of ‘Olympus Sleeping’ coming at a good time for indie nostalgia. Subsequently the gradual re-introduction of the classic line-up raised the groups stock once again; and bigger and better shows followed as a result.

With that nostalgic feeling assisting, the question mark remained however over whether that original magic could be recaptured in the studio. ‘Planet Nowhere’ is the first new album from the classic Razorlight line-up since 2008. Meaning that despite numerous attempts, ‘Olympus Sleeping’ now sits as the only Razorlight album not to feature the line-up of Borrell, Andy Burrows, Björn Ågren and Carl Dalemo.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘ZOMBIE LOVE’
Razorlight – ‘Zombie Love’

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Despite that sixteen-year gap, it’s evident from opening track, ‘Zombie Love’, that the quirky charm that set Razorlight apart from many of their contemporaries remains intact. As the album progresses it’s interesting to note that feeling of recaptured magic, mixed with an expected aura of added maturity.

It would be disappointing if this was just a rerun of their best work, but equally as off putting if it was an escape from what brought them to fame. You have to say that the quartet have done well to find a balance between past, present and future.

Their renewed vivacity is clear, and this is a fun album which is helped by the relatively short track list and run-time. That said this is no masterpiece and won’t even be regarded as the best album to be released this week, let alone trouble any of the album of the year lists that are peering over the horizon.

‘Planet Nowhere’ is a jolly romp and that’s really all that it needs to be. Lapsed fans of the band won’t regret allocating some time to check this album out, but odds are ‘Up All Night’ will be back on the record player soon after.

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Amyl and the Sniffers

Amyl and The Sniffers

Cartoon Darkness

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AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS – CARTOON DARKNESS – ALBUM REVIEW

The rise of Amyl and The Sniffers hasn’t exactly been meteoric, but with their biggest headline show booked and tickets flying out, it would appear that finally the band are breaking through and getting the attention early fans knew that they deserved.

Their fun pub rock sound is thankfully intact on their new third album, ‘Cartoon Darkness’. There is an expansion of their sound however and at the risk of sounding cliched this is undoubtedly their most accessible release yet!

Cynics would say that the timing smacks of selling out as their star rises, but realists will credit them for striking while the iron is hot. The fact that their identity is still eccentrically showcased throughout these thirty-four minutes of intensity is evidence that they remain true to themselves despite the newfound attention on these Aussie heroes.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘Big dreams’
Amyl and The Sniffers – ‘Big Dreams’

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Big riffs, danceable rhythms and biting lyrics continue to dominate these thirteen tracks as the group explore further a sound that has garnered them a reputation as one of the best live bands on the planet.

It’s within the likes of the slower burning ‘Big Dreams’ though where you step back and admire the giant leap forward that the band have taken. Songs such as this are destined to carry the band to the biggest stages where you just know that their live prowess will ensure they become a big-time act. Let’s just hope that they retain your inimitable charm when they are up there.

‘Me and the Girls’ is a fantastic closing track and punctuates the record perfectly. This is Amyl and The Sniffers taking things to another level and ready to take over the world!

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Magazine

Full Pelt Magazine

Vol. 56

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Jerry Cantrell

Jerry Cantrell

I Want Blood

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JERRY CANTRELL – I WANT BLOOD – ALBUM REVIEW

Given the magnitude of his day job with Alice In Chains, it can be easy to forget the some of the solo work completed by Jerry Cantrell. 2021’s ‘Brighten’ was his first solo effort in almost twenty years and reminded fans that he has more strings to his bow (or guitar in this case).

His 2002 solo album ‘Degradation Trip’ was a hidden gem of an era dominated by nu-metal. It offered the familiar roots of his AIC work but branched out into the popular styles of the time.

Mike Bordin and Rob Trujillo were both key components of that record and they are back for his new release, ‘I Want Blood’, alongside the likes of fellow previous collaborators Duff McKagan, Greg Puciato, Gil Sharone and Lola Colette.

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Jerry Cantrell – ‘Vilified’

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It’s perhaps not a surprise then that this record feels like it has taken the best from each of his previous solo releases, a dose of AIC and a little pinch of experimentation to achieve something of a best of mix.

Indeed, if you are a fan of any of his previous work – you are going to fall in love with this album! If on the other hand you’ve never been a fan, then don’t expect this album that change that.

Either way though there are many worse ways that you could spend forty-six minutes, and you’ll undoubtedly leave with a renewed respect for this iconic musician.

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Skegss

Skegss

Pacific Highway Music

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SKEGSS – PACIFIC HIGHWAY MUSIC – ALBUM REVIEW

The trio that was a four-piece is now a duo as Skegss release their third album, ‘Pacific Highway Music’. Whilst these changes have all been amicable, there has been a regular theme of change and storm in their now decade long existence.

That does make you wonder if the lyrics “one day I’m gonna get out of my way” in the record opening ‘Tradewinds’ is going to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The remaining duo are after all the two original school friends who started the whole thing – Jonny Lani (drums) and Ben Reed (vocals, guitar, bass).

As this record kicks off with strong vibes of prime Strokes, you certainly feel that if they can enter a period of consistency and stability then perhaps Skegss can become the latest Aussie export to make big waves overseas.

They have after all already had great success on home turf with their last album, ‘Rehearsal’, going one better than their debut ‘My Own Mess’ by achieving number one in the prestigious ARIA Charts.

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Skegss – ‘High Beaming’

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Recorded in iconic studios, produced and demoed alongside leading figures, and written with new freedom, ‘Pacific Highway Music’ is undoubtedly the bands most sonically ambitious and formed release to date.

The likes of ‘Spaceman’ show a real maturity whilst maintaining their playful surf rock roots. Across these eleven tracks, there are emotions, there are sun-soaked guitars, there is playful lyricism and there is a sense of unshackling the past and looking to the future.

What this album lacks in terms of potency when compared to fellow exports The Chats and Amyl and the Sniffers, it makes up with its honest charm. Less the album to mosh to in the pub, more the record to chill out to on the beach with afterwards!

There is clearly something about Skegss, they wouldn’t have made it this far if there wasn’t. Perhaps now though it’s time for them to get out of their own way in order to realise their full potential.

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BERRIES

BERRIES

BERRIES

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BERRIES – BERRIES – ALBUM REVIEW

2022’s ‘How We Function’, introduced us to the colourful world of BERRIES, and now the trio are ready to take their quirky sound to another level on their self-titled sophomore release.

With a slight tweak to their line-up and releasing through the always reliable Xtra Mile Recordings, it’s great to hear the band really homing in on what makes them special. Equal doses methodical and chaotic, these ten tracks are another sonic rainbow of delicate melodies and rousing riffs.

There is a plethora of influences and genres represented within the tracks, but whilst sometimes that makes a record feel disjointed – the uniqueness of BERRIES instead makes the record an exhilarating rollercoaster. There are plenty of twists and turns, lulls and peaks and an overarching sense of urgency.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘WATCHING WAX’
BERRIES – ‘Watching Wax’

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Working with renowned production wizard Adrian Bushby, who mixes the album with an equal sense of ferocity, clearly adds a layer to this second album.

It is the sublime musical eccentricity and honest and pressing lyrical prowess of the band however that means that somehow they have manged to top what was a fantastic debut record.

You can’t really go wrong with this collection and it’s certainly more interesting than 90% of new music. The trio have a daring attitude and the talent to back it up and with two superb albums kickstarting their career, you can’t help but be excited to hear what the group do next!

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Full Pelt Magazine

Vol. 55

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The Offspring

The Offspring

SUPERCHARGED

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THE OFFSPRING – SUPERCHARGED – ALBUM REVIEW

When The Offspring released their tenth album ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ in 2021 we commented, “Was anybody craving a new album from The Offspring in 2021? Perhaps not, but actually in this messed up world we live in, maybe, just maybe, we needed it!”. The album was their first in nine years and they’d long been presumed to be fully on the nostalgia bus.

Now they dispel those speculations completely with their second album in three years, ‘SUPERCHARGED’. This new era has sparked even more interest in the band and they find themselves in something of a renaissance period.

Working again with producer Bob Rock, there is a back to basics feel about this record with the band clearly focusing on delivering what the fans have lapped up in years gone by. That worked well for them on the surprisingly good ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ and does ensure that this new momentum is continued.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘MAKE IT ALL RIGHT’
The Offspring – ‘Make It All Right’

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Fans of the band will feel at home with these songs and at just over the half hour mark this is an easy listening experience. Ultimately you do feel though that there is a big lack of standout singles and much like its predecessor you suspect these tracks won’t last long in the bands setlists.

They are good enough however to deserve a chance, which ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ sadly seemed to lack as the band stuck to that nostalgic approach with their live shows. Naturally, they can’t win here because fans will moan if they leave out old favourites or if they fail to play these songs. Thus is the joys of stardom hey!

Much as we said in 2021, this album is far better than a new Offspring album in 2024 has any right to be and that should mean this record is heralded as a great success. Unfortunately, though the band will always be compared to their best work, and it would be hard for them to ever hits those heights again!

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