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Bowling For Soup

Bowling For Soup

Pop Drunk Snot Bread

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BOWLING FOR SOUP – POP DRUNK SNOT BREAD – ALBUM REVIEW

👀 Bowling For Soup have a new album out!

So, what are you expecting from it? With 11 albums and nearing 30 years together as a band, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody what the band are offering on ‘Pop Drunk Snot Bread’.

The band has long established themselves as the foremost purveyors of fabulous pop-punk and this album is exactly what you’d want it to be. This record is packed with those catchy, sing-a-long songs that the band has such an abundance of in their back catalogue.

The danger facing any band at this point in their career is that the quality dips and they become a parody of themselves. Well, Bowling For Soup have kind of always been a parody of themselves anyway which is perhaps why they have such longevity.

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Bowling For Soup – ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’

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The dip in quality has yet to arrive and this album is full of songs likely to become engrained fan favourites such as ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’, ‘Getting Old Sucks (But Everybody’s Doing It)’ and ‘Alexa Bliss’.

On opening track ‘Greatest Of All Time’, Jared Reddick sings “…Never about competition, or god damn chart position, just being us we never cared…”, and that perfectly sums up this album. It isn’t the fresh new fad, it is unlikely to take the band to new heights, but, it’s fun, enjoyable and is Bowling For Soup just being themselves!

The same song also offers the line “…We only want to make you smile, maybe sing along and forget about the bad stuff…”; mission achieved, and in this messed up world that’s perhaps exactly what we need.

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Album Reviews

Bob Vylan

Bob Vylan

Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life

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BOB VYLAN – BOB VYLAN PRESENTS THE PRICE OF LIFE – ALBUM REVIEW

I often find myself pondering on the state of both the world and the music industry. The climate of each has led to situation whereby musicians are unwilling to take risk. One such risk is the inclusion of politics and contentious issues, something which has almost disappeared from the musical landscape.

Not wanting to alienate any of their fragile audience, musicians tend to play it very safe these days. That is certainly not a allegation that can be thrown at Bob Vylan. The duo have been making a name for themselves over the last couple of years, firstly with their debut album and then with high profile support slots with the likes of Biffy Clyro and The Offspring.

Now feels like a very important time for the band, both from their point of view as they push on with their career, but also for a world crying out for change. Change won’t drive itself, and whilst it should be politicians not musicians pushing for improvement, it certainly never hurt in the past having musicians pushing marginalised debates into mainstream consciousness!

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Bob Vylan – ‘Pretty Songs’

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No punches are pulled on the duos sophomore record, ‘Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life’, which in many ways is a statement album. Lyrically pertinent and musically courageous this is the sound of a band taking their spot.

This genre-bending smorgasbord of creativity is a thematically thought provoking masterpiece from an act only just getting started. The likes of singles ‘Pretty Songs’ and ‘GDP’ gave a good indication of what to expect from the album, and the full work doesn’t disappoint.

The future looks bright for Bob Vylan, and whilst one band is unlikely to change the world, hopefully more will be impassioned enough to also wear their heart on their sleeve. Then who knows, maybe the disengaged could become engaged and positive change could happen. One thing for certain though is that this album is brilliant!

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Album Reviews

Stone Broken

Stone Broken

Revelation

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STONE BROKEN – REVELATION – ALBUM REVIEW

Some bands just have the knack for producing consistently top quality music within their chosen genre. They find their niche and they stick with it. Stone Broken are one such band who already have two solid radio friendly rock albums behind them.

Returning now with their third effort, ‘Revelation’, it is no surprise that they have produced another superb compilation of catchy straight-laced rock music.

The album launches straight into business with pre-release singles ‘Black Sunrise’, ‘The Devil You Know’ and ‘Revelation’. From there onwards there is no ease on the throttle as the band stick with what works.

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Stone Broken – ‘The Devil You Know’

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I’ve often considered Stone Broken from a musical standpoint to be the British version of Nickelback, just without the undue hatred! One criticism of the Canadians has always been their formulated approach to writing big rock hits.

Listening to ‘Revelation’, I guess you could level that accusation here at Stone Broken. This isn’t a diverse record by any stretch of the imagination, but in fairness it doesn’t need to be. There is unlimited choice of music to listen to these days, and acts are often criticised for deviating from their path.

With that said, this is a safe album from Stone Broken. They clearly know what their fans want, they clearly now what they are good at, and, hell, it works! ‘Revelation’ is a very good record which is packed full of catchy rockers that get your head banging and your foot tapping.

As the album concludes with ‘So Damn Easy’ and ‘Gimme Some More’; Stone Broken can sign off from another excellently crafted collection of big time rockers with a sense of pride. They may not be breaking any boundaries but they continue to break down your door with the sound of huge rock hits.

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Album Reviews

Fontaines D.C.

Fontaines D.C.

Skinty Fia

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FONTAINES D.C. – SKINTY FIA – ALBUM REVIEW

Fontaines D.C. are an interesting enigma in many ways. Bursting out from the blossoming post-punk revival in 2018, the band are often shoehorned in with the other phenomenal acts that have emerged from that scene in recent years. They have however always felt different, special if you will.

The complexities of their musical charm intertwine with the thronging noise of the genre to create a sound of their own that harnesses the poetic prowess of vocalist Grian Chatten.

Following the success of debut album ‘Dogrel’, the group, like many of others, had their momentum derailed by the pandemic. Releasing sophomore record ‘A Hero’s Death’ mid-lockdown it’s hard to truly gauge the impact of the record.

One thing for certain is that the band aren’t hanging around to see, as they now release their third album in three years, ‘Skinty Fia’.

The album is instantly enthralling and recaptures some of the raw grit of ‘Dogrel’ whilst maintaining the polish of ‘A Hero’s Death’ to great juxtaposition. ‘Skinty Fia’ literally does feel like the child of it’s predecessors and delivers everything you’d want from a Fontaines D.C. album.

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Fontaines D.C. – ‘I Love You’

Listen to ‘Jackie Down the Line’ from Fontaines D.C. on our Spotify Hot List!

The driving guitar work cohesively complements the powerful rhythm section to provide that trademark framework from which Chatten is able to deliver his charismatic lyricism. This is perhaps best demonstrated on the stunning ‘I Love You’.

It’s difficult though to really pick out the standout moments on the album due to the sheer quality of the compilation. All ten tracks warrant their inclusion and join together as a singular masterpiece.

‘Skinty Fia’ is exactly the album that Fontaines D.C. needed to release at this point in time and will only cement their reputation and position in the upper reaches of the industry.

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Live Reviews

Ghost

Ghost

Resorts World Arena, Birmingham

Friday 15th April 2022

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GHOST – BIRMINGHAM – LIVE REVIEW

It may be Good Friday today but for hard rock fans heading to the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham it’s destined to be a great Friday! That’s because revered group Ghost are in town with their travelling theatre of the macabre.

Opening act on this tour is the American band Twin Temple who appear to have the knack for satanic imaginary and theatrics down much like our headliners. The bands short set is well received from the audience and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for a band who perhaps need to divert some more focus toward the musical side of their act.

Our next support band interestingly has the opposite focus. Whilst the lighting engineer does a great job, the heavy lifting for Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats is done by their music. A pretty experienced band now, they have no issue in delivering a rambunctiously rocking performance. On a night of the dramatic however, they run the risk of being out shadowed.

The reason for the enhanced excitement levels in Birmingham tonight though is because our headline act have managed to perfect both the musical and theatrical sides of their game.

Ghost aren’t an overnight success, they have spent a number of years honing their craft and earning their way into the country’s biggest venues. But now it feels as though they have everything in place to take themselves to the next level.

WATCH ‘CALL ME LITTLE SUNSHINE’ ON YOUTUBE
Ghost – ‘Call Me Little Sunshine’

Read our review of ‘Impera’ from Ghost

New album, ‘Impera’, arrived last month and continues the bands musical evolution into prolific rock hit makers. New tracks ‘Kaisarion’, ‘Hunter’s Moon’, ‘Spillways’ and ‘Call Me Little Sunshine’ are all highlights tonight in a set list that is now wall to wall bangers as the kids would say.

Recent favourites such as ‘Mary on a Cross’ and ‘Kiss the Go-Goat’ mix well with older staples like ‘Rats’, ‘Cirice’, ‘Ritual’ and ‘Year Zero’. As we say, musically Ghost have built a formidable catalogue of stupendous live songs.

Combining this feast of musical treats with the well established show that the band are able to deliver with such ease makes them an exciting prospect. With the rock world calling out for new superstars, Ghost are surely amongst the best placed to take on the mantle of the old guard such as Brummie legends Black Sabbath.

An encore of sorts featuring their recent Metallica cover, ‘Enter Sandman’, plus the incredibly catchy finale of ‘Dance Macabre’ and ‘Square Hammer’, sends the crowd into the warm spring evening happy and in awe of the majesty that is Ghost.

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Album Reviews

Jack White

Jack White

Fear Of The Dawn

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JACK WHITE – FEAR OF THE DAWN – ALBUM REVIEW

It’s new Jack White album time. What do you expect from a new Jack White album? The unexpected perhaps? One thing is for certain with this uniquely talented musician and that is that nothing certain.

White is one of those marmite, love them or hate them artists and even within his fans, some material will go down better than some others. You certainly can’t say that White isn’t interesting!

Starting as you normally do with albums – at the start – single, ‘Taking Me Back’ and the title-track ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ provide a rocking start to an album that is about to take us on a wild ride.

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Jack White – ‘Taking Me Back’

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Very soon the quirkiness of White shines through and his distinctive ability to meld the weird and the wonderful into cohesive songwriting takes over.

To use a good old fashioned musical analogy, ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ takes the listener on a rollercoaster ride. This truly is the Jack White magical mystery theme park at its finest, and listeners need to strap in for the ride.

There are parts that are pure joy, parts that you’ll grow to enjoy and other parts that you’ll accept as part of the ride, but wouldn’t miss if that weren’t there. To this extent this is a rather typical album from White; after all if you expect the unexpected then the unexpected naturally becomes the expected.

Next up, White is set to release a folk album, ‘Entering Heaven Alive’, on July 22nd. What can we expect from that release? Well, if it’s anything like ‘Fear Of The Dawn’, another piece of the incredible puzzle that is one of the most gifted musicians of his generation.

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Album Reviews

Papa Roach

Papa Roach

Ego Trip

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PAPA ROACH – EGO TRIP – ALBUM REVIEW

Papa Roach have done a truly marvellous job over the years at staying relevant and not fading into nostalgic obscurity. Their sound always was adaptive and they have moved with the times over the thirty years since their initial inception. Wow now I feel old…

…But that’s actually the point here. As we listen to their latest (and eleventh!!) studio album, they don’t sound or feel “old”. You don’t simply sit and drift your mind back to those hedonistic days of Nu-Metal, although there is a plenty of that energy here.

As the album progresses you get big rock anthems, modern pop rock hits, rap metal and elements of all sorts of genres. It really is a smorgasbord of all the things that has fed into the Papa Roach machine over the years.

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Papa Roach – ‘Stand Up’

Realistically the band could rest on their laurels and milk their early albums for all they are worth. In the age of streaming figures the likes of ‘Last Resort’ and a handful of others are more than capable sustaining the band on the circuit.

It’s admirable then that the band has always pushed ahead, pushed boundaries and pushed themselves to further their legacy. ‘Ego Trip’ continues to do just that. Whereas some bands from the early 2000’s from all genres are doing themselves a disservice with their new outputs, this album only adds to what Papa Roach have achieved.

The album is easily as good as any of their albums from the past decade. The likes of singles ‘Kill The Noise’, ‘Swerve’, ‘Dying To Believe’ and ‘Cut The Line’ help to set a very high standard for an album that doesn’t have a bad track on it.

Listen to ‘Cut The Line’ on our ‘Hard & Heavy’ Playlist

This really is a band at the top of their game still, despite being nearly thirty years down the line. Relevance may be a debatable point, but the quality is there for all to see on ‘Ego Trip’.

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Live Reviews

October Drift

October Drift

Waterfront Studio, Norwich

Monday 4th April 2022

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OCTOBER DRIFT – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW

All 📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

Let’s talk about discovery. It’s always a great feeling when you discover something new that you enjoy, and that is particularly true when it comes to music. Discovering a new song, a new album or a new band to enjoy is one of life’s great pleasures for music lovers.

That is why we created our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist on Spotify! To help music fans find that new song or artist to really sink their teeth into. Now, October Drift was a familiar name to us from featuring on many a festival poster or recommendation over the years. For some reason however they always seemed to get placed on that ‘to do list’ of acts.

That was until recently when we added their recent single, ‘Airborne Panic Attack’, to our Playlist and a deep dive ensued. So, now it’s the long overdue time to catch the band live!

Listen to ‘Airborne Panic Attack’ on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

THE HIGH POINTS

With that said we arrive at The Waterfront Studio in Norwich and are greeted by opening act, The High Points. Slightly off-piste from our headline act, the locals add a little funk to proceedings as they get the early attendees warmed up. Finishing their set with two broken strings, the band display great endurance to go with their obvious musical talent.

CHINA BEARS

Our main support act, China Bears, then demonstrate just why it’s important in our journey of discovery to arrive early and watch the supports. The five-piece deliver a sublime set that continues to gain traction until the finale, ‘Sunday’, literally leaves the crowd asking for more.

OCTOBER DRIFT

Not long thereafter though it’s time for our headliners, October Drift, to hit the stage and reinforce just why we felt that excitement when first listening to them. The band absolutely own the stage tonight and their energy levels are infectious as band and crowd bounce in unison.

There is a good mix of older material and new tracks in the setlist tonight and the bands time on stage flies by. That age old adage of time flying when having fun certainly springs to mind, and fun is probably an apt word for this evening; both band and audience seemingly having plenty.

‘Cherry Red’, ‘Oh the Silence’ and ‘Come and Find Me’ are all fantastic tonight, but new track ‘Insects’ in particular sounds huge. The delightful finale of ‘Like the Snow we Fall’ being performed from within the crowd is just the sort of epiphany inducing moment that hammers home our point.

Discovery is a wonderful thing. So, head to shows early, check out the smaller stages at festivals and of course listen to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist. As for October Drift, on tonight’s showing and with their second album on the horizon, the future certainly looks bright.

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Live Reviews

Therapy?

Therapy?

Waterfront, Norwich

Saturday 2nd April 2022

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THERAPY? – NORWICH WATERFRONT – LIVE REVIEW

The pandemic certainly has played a number on Anniversary Tours with Therapy?’s ‘So Much for the 30 Year Plan’ Tour becoming a 31 Year Plan and now eventually a 32 Year Plan!

None of that really matters though to the fans packed into the Waterfront in Norwich on a Saturday night. All that really matters to those fans is getting to catch their cult heroes Therapy? in action and having a good time.

Spirits are therefore high as our support act James and the Cold Gun enter the stage to the Kate Bush song of the same name. The band led by James’s Joseph and Biss instantly harness that excitement to create a great atmosphere for their opening set.

Listen to ‘Plug Me In’ from James and the Cold Gun on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

The band will soon be releasing their debut EP, ‘False Start’, and tonight fans are treated to those tracks and more by a band quickly establishing themselves on the scene. With performances like this, expect to hear much more from the band in the future.

But next we look to the past as Therapy? celebrate their 30+ year career with a carefully curated setlist. It doesn’t take long for the audience to reciprocate the energy of the band, as early numbers ‘Nausea’, ‘Stories’ and ‘Die Laughing’ set the tone for the rest of the night.

WATCH ‘DIE LAUGHING’ ON YOUTUBE
Therapy? – ‘Die Laughing’

After all this time consistently touring it should be no surprise that Andy Cairns, Michael McKeegan and Neil Cooper work so well together. A run of ‘Turn’, ‘Callow’, ‘Trigger Inside’ and ‘Church of Noise’ demonstrating just why on record and live the band have been able to endure longer than most of their contemporaries.

Another reason for their longevity is their ability to still create interesting new music, and next the band treat the crowd to a new track. ‘Joy’ looks set to feature on their next album, which if this track is anything to go by will be another belter.

After ‘Diane’ and ‘Teethgrinder’ close out the main set, the band return for an encore of ‘Knives’, ‘Potato Junkie’, ‘Nowhere’ and ‘Screamager’ much to the delight of the crowd. The band promise tonight to keep going for another thirty years if they can; and with showings like this you wouldn’t put it past them.

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The Mysterines

The Mysterines

Electric Ballroom, London

Friday 1st April 2022

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THE MYSTERINES – ELECTRIC BALLROOM – LIVE REVIEW

Having recently reviewed, ‘Reeling’, the debut album from The Mysterines and deeming it “…an early contender for album of the year…” , we felt it necessary to catch the band in the live setting. So we headed out on a wintery Friday to the Electric Ballroom in Camden.

Read our review of ‘Reeling’ from The Mysterines

Many bands have played this venue on route to much bigger things, and with tonight sold out you sense that this is another act on that upwards trajectory!

Opening the evening are two fantastic support acts, with both Fräulein and Coach Party putting in well received performances to get the party started.

Soon enough the lights go out and you can feel the electricity in the air, the excitement of a crowd hoping to witness one of those shows they’ll be talking about in years to come. You know the sort – “Yeah mate, I saw them before they were famous”.

That sense of witnessing something spectacular is immediately amplified as the band lure the audience in with opening number ‘The Bad Thing’, before blasting out the incredible ‘In My Head’.

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The Mysterines – ‘In My Head’

As ‘Reeling’, ‘Old Friends Die Hard’ and ‘On The Run’ quickly follow it is evidently clear to all in attendance that The Mysterines are something special. It’s often said by music writers, that a bands sound is destined for arenas or stadiums. Only time will tell how far this band goes, but tonight their sound definitely is bursting out of this modestly sized venue.

‘Dangerous’, ‘Means To Bleed’ and ‘Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’ sound absolutely massive and the crowd reciprocate that energy as the main set comes towards a close.

The venue is again shrouded in darkness as the band perform the stunning ‘The Confession Song’, showing their dexterity and uniqueness. Both the album and the show tonight demonstrate that The Mysterines are no one trick pony, and that makes their future even more exciting.

For an encore we are treated to singer Lia Metcalfe serenading a captivated audience with an acoustic rendition of ‘Still Call You Home’, before being joined by Joni from Fräulein for a very special performance of The Ronettes classic ‘Be My Baby’.

Sending the packed crowd back out into the cold Camden night with their ears ringing, the rest of the band return to fire out the huge ‘Hung Up’. Hopping back on the Northern Line, you can’t help but to look forward to gloating about this show in years to come!

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