Tag: review

Categories
Live Reviews

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys

CBS Arena, Coventry

Wednesday 31st May 2023

Follow us on Social Media

ARCTIC MONKEYS – COVENTRY – LIVE REVIEW

Football season is over and it’s time once again for many stadiums to turn their focus to hosting epic sized gigs!

Tonight we find ourselves in Coventry as Arctic Monkeys continue their embryonic tour in the Midlands.

WATCH ‘BEGIN AGAIN’ FROM THE MYSTERINES
The Mysterines – ‘Begin Again’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube!

Kicking off proceedings on the tour are The Mysterines who have been solidly making a name for themselves over the last few years. This then is a huge opportunity for the band to pick up new fans and build momentum.

From the moment they walk onto the stage to the final strains of ‘Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’, the group feel very much at home on a stage this big. Often even top live acts can struggle to fill these cavernous venues with their sound but that is no problem for The Mysterines.

The inclusion of new track, ‘Begin Again’, hopefully hints as more new music on the way because the world is their oyster. The Mysterines have all the qualities needed to end up headlining venues like this, and with performances like tonight you’d be willing to put money on it.

WATCH ‘BOGUS OPERANDI’ FROM THE HIVES
The Hives – ‘Bogus Operandi’

Last summer Arctic Monkeys headlined Reading and Leeds Festivals and despite the hype, their performances on the weekend were incredibly lacklustre.

It may have been a surprise then to see The Hives announced as main support for this tour. The band, instantly recognisable as one of the best live bands on the planet, certainly have the ability to upstage our headliners.

Opening with new track, ‘Bogus Operandi’, it doesn’t take long for the packed crowd to realise that they are witnessing greatness. It certainly helps that frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist is on hand to remind everyone!

The likes of ‘Main Offender’, ‘Walk Idiot Walk’, ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’, ‘Come On!’ and ‘Tick Tick Boom’ help to get the crowd suitably warmed up for the final act. In truth, you’d be happy with the evening ending at this point as it’s hard to imagine Arctic Monkeys topping the live masterclass delivered by The Hives.

WATCH ‘THere’d better be a mirrorball’ from arctic monkeys
Arctic Monkeys – ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’

When our headline act does arrive though, they quickly smash out ‘Brianstorm’, ‘Snap Out of It’, ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’, ‘Crying Lightning’, ‘Teddy Picker’ and ‘The View From the Afternoon’. You are then reminded just how great Arctic Monkeys can be when they want to be.

The question these days is do they want to be? Thankfully, tonight they mostly do because tracks from their two latest albums are at a minimum and the likes of ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ and ‘Mardy Bum’ are left to set to the tone. This creates more of a party atmosphere in the Stadium and ensures that the band can keep up with The Hives.

By the time the evening finishes with ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ and ‘R U Mine?’, Arctic Monkeys have ensured that their first Stadium tour is a successful one. Hopefully the band will soon rediscover their desire to record good music as well!

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of The Mysterines live in London

Categories
Album Reviews

Rancid

Rancid

Tomorrow Never Comes

Follow us on Social Media

RANCID – TOMORROW NEVER COMES – ALBUM REVIEW

Punks rejoice! Rancid are back with their first new album in six years, ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’.

Pre-release singles ‘Don’t Make Me Do It’, ‘Devil in Disguise’ and the title-track, all hit well and let listeners know exactly what to expect upon release of the album.

Packed full of typical short and punchy punk rockers, this is actually the bands shortest album at just shy of 29 minutes, yet it still contains 16 tracks of fun filled, foot kicking, head banging joy.

WATCH ‘NEW AMERICAN’ FROM RANCID ON YOUTUBE!
Rancid – ‘New American’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube!

The album once again finds the band working with producer Brett Gurewitz who again helps them deliver another solid and true Rancid record.

You aren’t looking for anything earth shattering if you are hitting play on a Rancid album, and the band know that. By now they have the formula down to a tee and ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’ will give the listener exactly the experience that they are after.

What does stand out on this album though is the band do what they do very well indeed. Whilst it may be unfair and a stretch to call this a fabled return to form, it must definitely be said that this is probably the best new Rancid album this century.

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of ‘Toxic Positivity’ from The Used

Categories
Album Reviews

Tigercub

Tigercub

The Perfume of Decay

Follow us on Social Media

TIGERCUB – THE PERFUME OF DECAY – ALBUM REVIEW

A decade into their career, Tigercub release their third album, ‘The Perfume of Decay’, which sees the band in melancholic mood whilst embracing an ostentatious sonic aura.

Yes, the themes of the album may be dark and moody but the musical ambition is extraordinarily theatrical and grandiose. The juxtaposition of the two helps to embellish the album into an absorbing anthology.

WATCH ‘SHOW ME MY MAKER’ ON YOUTUBE
Tigercub – ‘Show Me My Maker’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube!

The subtlety of the experimental expansion of the band’s sound is what helps to ensure that the record stays on point and harnesses its gloomy visceral roots to great effect. Whilst the band have clearly sought to reach new heights musically, they’ve managed to control the narrative of the album well.

Tigercub have long been a band that have offered glimpses of their full capabilities but perhaps lacked the final touch. With ‘The Perfume of Decay’, the band have found that touch and delivered the stunning collection of their very best work.

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of Pearl Jam live at BST Hyde Park

Categories
Album Reviews

Rival Sons

Rival Sons

DARKFIGHTER

Follow us on Social Media

‘DARKFIGHTER’ is the first of not one but two new Rival Sons’ albums expected this year. Perhaps they are making up for lost time as this marks the longest gap between albums in their albeit short career with their sixth album, ‘Feral Roots’ arriving back in January 2019.

The wait is evidently worth it though as straight out the gates the album promises a little bit of everything that has made the band such an important part of the new wave of classic rock bands. ‘Mirror’ for example sees the band swapping elegant guitar riffs and delicate melodies in the way that they do so well.

WATCH ‘NOBODY WANTS TO DIE’ ON YOUTUBE
Rival Sons – ‘Nobody Wants To Die’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube

The lead single and shortest track on the album, ‘Nobody Wants To Die’, then reminds us of their ability to create short succinct rockers as well as longer sonic voyages (of which this album gets a couple).

The eight tracks on this record all stand on their own merit and collectively represent another stunning snapshot of a masterful band. When they are at the peak of their powers, nobody quite does it like Rival Sons. ‘Bird in the Hand’ and ‘Guillotine’ here being two tracks that encapsulate the majesty and the force present in the band.

Fans of the band will surely feel that this album ranks amongst the best that they have put out, which is saying something! With ‘Lightbringer’ expected to arrive later this year alongside a UK Tour, it would appear to be a very good time to be a Rival Sons fan.

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of Rival Sons live in Norwich

Categories
Album Reviews

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Council Skies

Follow us on Social Media

NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS – COUNCIL SKIES – ALBUM REVIEW

Upon the split of Oasis, not many would have pegged that come 2023, Liam Gallagher would be the more successful brother. That certainly wasn’t the case in the immediate aftermath with Noel launching Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds to great success and Liam faltering with new group Beady Eye.

Over the next decade though Liam would offer a resurgent defiance whilst Noel would disappear down a rabbit hole, but now Noel is back with new album, ‘Council Skies’, hailed by the man himself as “going back to the beginning”.

Recent work has seen Gallagher experimenting with elements of his sound (scissors anymore?), and this has coincided with waning interest in his new output from fans. A back to basics approach then would make some commercial sense for Gallagher.

Watch ‘Council skies’ on youtube
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – ‘Council Skies’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube

What you get instead on this album is a mixture of the two. You can see that Gallagher has taken a simplified approach to the creative process, but there are still remnants of his more recent direction in here.

Gallagher does appear stuck in a hole, whilst his brother continues to attract new younger audiences, Noel doesn’t seem to have that appeal. So whilst he probably has the bigger desire for sonic exploration, he has a fanbase just craving another ‘Definitely Maybe’.

Those fans will enjoy this album, but they’ll also be unlikely to return to it all that often. ‘Council Skies’ may be Gallagher hitting the reset button having felt the stagnation of recent years, and if so it will likely do the job well. That said at this point the only thing that fans are really waiting on is the reunion of all reunions. Gallagher though seems relatively happy in his current safe position.

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of ‘C’mon You Know’ from Liam Gallagher

Categories
Album Reviews

Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold

Life Is But a Dream…

Follow us on Social Media

AVENGED SEVENFOLD – LIFE IS BUT A DREAM… – ALBUM REVIEW

New Avenged Sevenfold albums are becoming rarer entities these days (it’s seven years since ‘The Stage’!), but it’s becoming tradition for them be polarising on release and subsequently embraced.

2013’s ‘Hail to the King’ was too mainstream, ‘The Stage’ was too progressive, and now many will write off new album, ‘Life is But a Dream’ as too weird and “out there”! Ultimately though, many look back fondly on those last two albums, and that will likely be the case once again here, but that may take some time.

The band have always been ambitious in their songwriting and been willing to push boundaries. This album certainly does that from the System of a Down-esque thunderous opening to ‘Game Over’ through various other influences both heavy and light.

In many ways it feels like the band have thrown paint on a wall and seen what it looks like once dry. The reality though is the opposite, clearly the band have spent considerable time (some would argue too much) working in all their ideas.

WATCH ‘WE LOVE YOU’ ON YOUTUBE
Avenged Sevenfold – ‘We Love You’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube

One thing for sure is that this is an album that warrants repeated listens. There is so much depth here that it’s impossible to take everything in first time around. By design it’s also an album that is greater than the sum of its parts. Songs that individually may feel too quirky like pre-release singles, ‘Nobody’ and ‘We Love You’, take on new life as part of the collective.

Often certain music is described as ‘marmite’ – you either love it or hate it. With ‘Life Is But A Dream’, Avenged Sevenfold have perhaps given the best example yet for that statement. Fans are either going really hate this, or they will really, truly love it. There will be no in-between!

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of ‘To Me Back to Eden’ from Sleep Token

Categories
Album Reviews

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters

But Here We Are

Follow us on Social Media

FOO FIGHTERS – BUT HERE WE ARE – ALBUM REVIEW

We all experience grief at some point in our lives, thus we can all relate to what the members of Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl in particular have experienced over the past year. The tragic passing of beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins shocked everyone, and Grohl, suffering the loss of a bandmate and friend not for the first time, also sadly endured the loss of his mother with whom he shared a deep bond.

This album therefore should come with a warning that you need to have a box of tissues at the ready. You’ll work through a range of emotions over the ten tracks, but feelings of loss and love will really tug on your heartstrings.

This is naturally a different album than what would have followed much maligned 2021 release, ‘Medicine at Midnight’. One constant though is that new album, ‘But Here We Are’, sees the band again work with producer Greg Kurstin for the third time. Despite the recent news of Josh Freese taking up the sticks for the band, it’s Grohl who handles drum duties for this deeply personal record, which feels very fitting.

WATCH ‘THE GLASS’ from foo fighters on youtube
Foo Fighters – ‘The Glass’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube

Clearly a lot of love and care has gone into the creation of this album and that shines through on every track. This is a statement of love for those lost but also an opportunity of catharsis for the band.

Lyrically the album is a brutally honest insight into Grohl working through the events of the last year. Sonically though the album is somewhat of a throwback to past glories for the band as they exorcise the demons of their previous album, which didn’t quite hit the spot for many fans.

You can say this album musically goes back to basics, and that fits the raw subject matter very well. This is in many ways the best Foo Fighters album in a decade or more. The themes behind the album will likely be the thing most remembered about this album and that should be the case, but it’s important that we don’t neglect the fact that this is a damn good album at the same time.

Share this Review on Social Media

Read our review of ‘Medicine at Midnight’ from Foo Fighters

Categories
Live Reviews

The Pearl Harts

The Pearl Harts

Voodoo Daddy’s, Norwich

Monday 29th May 2023

Follow us on Social Media

THE PEARL HARTS – NORWICH – LIVE REVIEW

📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music

Voodoo Daddy’s in Norwich really is a great little venue for an old school rock n roll show, so it’s a good thing that we are here tonight for just that!

There are three bands on offer tonight with our headliners The Pearl Harts celebrating the recent release of their latest album, ‘Love, Chaos’.

COLLARS

Up first are locals Collars, who do a fantastic job in getting the early crowd warmed up. The unique duo have something a little different to offer, which is always important when there are so many acts out there battling for a limited audience.

That shines through tonight and clearly the audience here in the venue appreciate the experience. The duo are able to control the crowd well and convey their sonic goods with effortless aplomb.

HOTWAX

The main support for this tour comes from upcoming rockers HotWax who take things to the next level with their assured performance. The trio play a selection of tracks from recently released EP, ‘A Thousand Times’, which sound enormous live.

The likes of ‘Treasure’, the title-track and set closer ‘Rip It Out’ demonstrate why the hype train is starting to pick up for a band with a big future. The band play with experience beyond their years and certainly make an impression on the thrilled crowd.

THE PEARL HARTS

Soon enough it’s time for our headliners to take to the stage and as soon as they do, you feel the presence of stars. The Pearl Harts have just followed up their stunning debut album with another sensational collection of fun rockers.

The duo completely own the stage and ‘Baby Chaos’, ‘Pullin’ My Brains Out’ and ‘Lara’ set the tone early for the rest of the night. Polished yet rough and ready, The Pearl Harts somehow capture the juxtaposition of the two with ease; singles ‘More’ and ‘Hypocritical’ showcasing this next.

There is a fierce power in the duo but this is seized and presented with a real shine. The crowd are almost left in awe of the ferocious majesty on display as the band plough through ‘Suck It Up’, ‘Gold’, ‘Wild Me’ and ‘Different Kinda Girl’.

On record The Pearl Harts are spectacular, but on stage they are simply phenomenal. Even broken strings can’t stop them and ‘Hurt’ and ‘Hit The Bottle’ quickly follow reminding fans of the quality of their debut album, ‘Glitter and Spit’.

The intense finale of ‘Black Blood’ is enough to ensure the audience leave with huge smiles on their faces. After all, they’ve just caught three very good bands in a great little music venue.  Surely there’s not a better way to spend a Bank Holiday?

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of ‘Love, Chaos’ from The Pearl Harts

Watch Episode 21 of The Full Pelt Music Podcast with guests The Pearl Harts

The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 21 – The Pearl Harts

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube

Categories
Live Reviews

Slam Dunk Festival

Slam Dunk

Temple Newsam, Leeds

Sunday 28th May 2023

Follow us on Social Media

SLAM DUNK FESTIVAL NORTH – LIVE REVIEW

Rock fans know that festival season is upon us when we get to the late May Bank Holiday weekend and Slam Dunk Festival brings rock and punk fans to Hatfield and Leeds.

This year that journey takes a little longer for some due to traffic issues, probably borne out of the fact that both events are sold out. Leeds in particular feels like the Temple Newsam is bursting at the seams today.

Queues are unimaginably long for merch, toilets, food or anything else, but thankfully the music (and weather) is very much on point!

We start the day in the ‘Knotfest’ tent for rising metallers Heriot, who attract a decent sized early crowd. That crowd is treated to a blistering set of gloriously heavy goodness and a spirited performance from a band on the cusp of bigger things.

It’s then a short walk over to one of two outdoor main stages, the ‘Amazon Rock Scene’ stage, where we will spend most of our day today. Taking this stage next are VUKOVI who absolutely own the stage and showcase their superb new album, ‘NULA’. Singer Janine is able to hold the audience in the palm of her hand and orchestrate the first truly great set of the band.

Logistically the event may be remembered for the wrong reasons, but musically today is fantastic, with that set from VUKOVI one of many that will live long in the memory for all the right reasons.

Thinking, we’ll go for a quick wonder around, it’s clear that nothing will be quick today, but we do catch a glimpse of girlfriends who are very impressive for the time we can stay. Soon though we must head back down the hill to catch Trash Boat.

This is a band that has grown significantly in almost every sense of the word over the past few years. Their latest album, ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’, was one of the most surprising of 2021 as the band took their sound to new heights. Today they use the stage to bring many of these tracks to life and the crowd are clearly appreciative of another excellent performance.

Trash Boat are followed on stage by Holding Absence who have just announced that their third album, ‘The Noble Art of Self Destruction’, will be out later this year. Their set today is a good mix of old and new including brand new single, ‘False Dawn’ and fan favourite ‘Afterlife’, which gets a monumental response from the passionate crowd.

Soon enough it’s over to Wargasm who are becoming one of those marmite bands where it’s almost cool to hate them. The energy and ferocity that they put into their show however can’t be denied and whilst the energy levels for some of the crowd starts to sap, the band push through with tracks such as ‘Backyard Bastards’ and ‘Spit.’ getting everyone back moving.

We then head over to the other end of the festival site (very slowly) to the ‘Kerrang’ stage where the tent is overspilling already ahead of Boston Manor. The band are on top form right now and have every person singing along to their gargantuan anthems. As they conclude their time on stage with ‘Halo’ you can’t help but think that Boston Manor deserve to be absolutely huge.

It’s a blast from the past next as Slam Dunk keep up their track record of reformations with Kids In Glass Houses. Playing their first shows in almost a decade the band focus their set on ‘Smart Casual’, which will be getting a re-release later this year. Songs like ‘Saturday’ and ‘Give Me What I Want’ still have it and so do the band who fly through the set like they’ve never been away.

Sticking to the same stage we are soon graced by PVRIS who deliver another really good performance which features a well structured setlist. Lynn Gunn leads the trio through a selection of their popular tracks with ‘You and I’ and ‘My House’ both getting big audience responses. The band will return with their fourth album in July, and new track ‘Goddess’ goes down very well today complete with guest spot from Charlotte Sands.

We are at the business end of the day now and up next on stage are Billy Talent who are able to deliver a pure masterclass in how to make the most of a shortened festival set. Banger, after banger, after banger as the band deliver suckerpunch after suckerpunch. The crowd reciprocate the bands energy and by the time the set finishes with ‘Red Flag’, the band have done enough to claim the band of the day moniker!

In the clash of the headliners, we opt to head to the ‘Dickies’ stage for punk icons The Offspring. The band have an endless stream of hit songs, and tonight the band focus more on their back catalogue then they did at Hatfield yesterday.

Their covers section in the middle feels a little too much considering their short time on stage but nobody can deny the final run of tracks which provides a great end to a packed day both musically and in terms of the volume of people on site!

Slam Dunk is a trusted brand these days and musically they’ve delivered once again, but there are undoubtedly some logistical issues that need to be fixed. Perhaps they’ve once again outgrown their homes and need to find bigger accommodation, one thing is for sure though and next May will again see a packed line-up heralding the dawning of a new festival season.

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of The Offspring live in London

Categories
Album Reviews

Sleep Token

Sleep Token

Take Me Back To Eden

Follow us on Social Media

SLEEP TOKEN – TAKE ME BACK TO EDEN – ALBUM REVIEW

The hype around Sleep Token is interesting. They’ve been around for some seven or so years now, and already have two EP’s and two albums to their name ahead of their third full-length ‘Take Me Back To Eden’. Their success then shouldn’t be considered to be “overnight”. That said, the hype train has certainly picked up speed over the last year, perhaps influenced by a certain social media app.

Mystery still surrounds the group both naturally and by design; and whilst many are jumping on the bandwagon, there are also those that are out to shoot the band down. A somewhat polarising start to life then for the band, and that’s rather fitting listening to this new trilogy closing album.

It smacks of an album that will split fans and critics alike by its very grandiose nature. For some it will be an epic masterpiece that should be revered for its ambition. Alas for others it will be deemed a bloated, over-produced, self-indulgent slog of an album.

Watch ‘Take me back to eden’ on youtube
Sleep Token – ‘Take Me Back To Eden’

Find Full Pelt Music on YouTube

The truth, is probably somewhere in between the two, but definitely skewed towards the former. The ambition in making a heavy yet accessible, atmospheric yet colossal sound come to life has to be admired.

The great moments on this album are truly phenomenal, and there is so much to dissect across the hour plus, twelve song collection of sonic reverence. Multiple listens will be essential to fully grasp this offering from Sleep Token.

That said, the fact that a large part of their audience has arrived from a social media app centred on short length clips is interesting. Will this following connect with the likes of the eight minute epic title-track?

As always with Sleep Token, you may feel that there are more questions than answers on this album. But then, after all isn’t that a large part of the appeal? One thing is certain and that’s wherever they go next, the world will be watching!

Share this review on Social Media

Read our review of ‘Not Without My Ghosts’ from The Amity Affliction