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Album Reviews

Black Honey

Written & Directed

Black Honey Written & Directed Album Cover
Black Honey – ‘Written & Directed’

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Black Honey – Written & Directed – Album Review

Black Honey arrived on the scene about five years ago full of swagger and energy, and their second album, ‘Written & Directed’ does exactly the same. The record bursts into action from the very start with ‘I Like The Way You Die’ and ‘Run For Cover’ packing a huge punch.

If their 2018 self-titled debut album was a statement of intent, then ‘Written & Directed’ is the band delivering on their promise. The band manages to maintain their unique throwback sound that has been their trademark since their 2014 inception, whilst ensuring that there is demonstrable progression.

That is achieved through adding a grandness to songs such as ‘Beeches’ and ‘Believer’. While much of the bands early work managed to sound huge in small venues, you sense on this album that many of these songs are born to engulf much larger spaces.

Listen to ‘Believer’ on our Spotify Hot List!

What is great to see here is a band that refuses to compromise. They are also a band that are hard to pigeonhole by any particular genre. They produce a distinctive sound that can only be classed as Black Honey. Thankfully that identity is embraced fully here as they navigate that sometimes troublesome second album.

‘Disinfect’ is fantastic example of a song that could have gone various routes. Instead it manages to merge these elements to great effect, creating a sonic blast to your ears!

Black Honey – ‘Disinfect’

Black Honey are a rare talent that have now reinforced their passion and ability to create great music for anybody who wants to listen but without concession on their vision. ‘Fire’ and ‘Gabrielle’ close ‘Written & Directed’ out perfectly and bookend this short but powerful release from a band growing in confidence.

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Read our review of ‘Fractured Party Music’ from Pet Needs

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Album Reviews

Rob Zombie

The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy

Rob Zombie The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy Album Cover
Rob Zombie – ‘The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’

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Rob Zombie – The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy – Album Review

You have got to love the length of Rob Zombie song and album titles. I’ll be approaching my word count by simply saying that his new album ‘The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’ features both ‘The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition’ and ‘18th Century Cannibals, Excitable Morlocks and a One-Way Ticket on the Ghost Train’!

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Seriously though, we’ve come to expect the weird and wonderful from Mr. Zombie. So, anybody expecting otherwise on his seventh studio album would be gravely mistaken. This is over the top, crazy and full on Zombie at his best.

It’s not like we want anything else from Zombie either. We have thrashing guitars, thumping drums, bizarre lyrics and plenty of bells and whistles to emphasise his brilliantly quirky musicianship.

Rob Zombie – ‘The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man’

Whilst this is definitely an album that deserves a full play through due to its strength from start to finish, it also has standout moments. ‘Shadow of the Cemetery Man’, ‘The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man’ and the slow burning ‘Boom-Boom-Boom’ are fantastic and showcase Zombie perfectly.

This album is up there with the best that Zombie has produced. So sit back, strap in, and let Rob Zombie take you on a wild ride!

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Read our review of ‘You’re Welcome’ from A Day To Remember

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Album Reviews

Kings of Leon

When You See Yourself

Kings Of Leon When You See Yourself Album Cover
Kings of Leon – ‘When You See Yourself’

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Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself – Album Review

Anyone looking for Kings of Leon to reinvent the wheel on their eighth studio album should probably temper their expectations. Whilst ‘When You See Yourself’ may be the bands first record since 2016, they haven’t spent the intervening years perfecting a new sound.

This is Kings of Leon doing exactly what Kings of Leon do. The good thing for the band is that what they do is create music for the masses, and they are very successful at it. Single ‘The Bandit’ gives you a flavour of what to expect from the album. It’s standard Kings of Leon stock. It’s trusted stock that people will buy in bulk.

Listen to ‘The Bandit’ on our Spotify Hot List

A once very exciting young band, Kings of Leon have reached a level of success that is unattainable to all but a very select few. The fact is the band could rest on their laurels and simply rely on their back catalogue. It should therefore be applauded that the band, albeit sporadically, feel the need to get creative.

Whilst remarking that they haven’t broken the wheel, it should be noted they that also haven’t “phoned it in” as it were. This is a very Kings of Leon record, but it’s also a very good Kings of Leon record that will sit well within their back catalogue.

Kings of Leon – ‘Golden Restless Age’

There are plenty of moments on the album that remind you just why you fell in love with the band. ‘Golden Restless Age’ in particular manages to stand out as just as good a song as the band have produced.

This is more unoffensive output from the band. Stick it on in the car on a Sunday afternoon leisurely drive and let Kings of Leon remind you who they are.

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Read our review of ‘Nature Always Wins’ from Maximo Park

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Album Reviews

A Day To Remember

You’re Welcome

A Day To Remember You're Welcome Album Cover
A Day To Remember – ‘You’re Welcome’

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A Day To Remember – You’re Welcome – Album Review

The fact that the first single from ‘You’re Welcome’ was released roughly twenty months ago in 2019, should suggest immediately that A Day To Remember have faced issues with this album. Over the near two year period that has followed the release of ‘Degenerates’ a lot has happened.

A Day To Remember – ‘Degenerates’

There have been a further four singles released. There have been numerous delays with the scheduled release date kicked around, reported delays with artwork and delays with the albums mixing. The band sub-headlined Reading & Leeds Festivals in 2019, and oh yes there has been a pandemic!

This has been the longest delay between two new A Day To Remember albums in the bands eighteen year career, and that delay clearly can’t be blamed simply on world events. The band are on record talking about the high amount of material demoed for the record and the debate around experimentation of their sound and potential alienation of their fans.

Many of the bands peers have experimented with their music in recent years with varying levels of success. As a band pushing towards festival headline slots, there would clearly be pressure on A Day To Remember to produce an album that would appeal to the mainstream. What we have in ‘You’re Welcome’ however appears to be a compromise from the band.

They have tried to appeal to the mainstream world, whilst reining in certain elements as not to disappoint old school fans. Sadly what we get is a clearly compromised effort that feels forced and disjointed.

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This is a shame as A Day To Remember are a band that were always ahead of the curve when mixing up their sound to appeal to both traditional and mainstream fanbases. That is what brought them to the level they are at.

‘You’re Welcome’ is not a bad album, there are some songs that will slip neatly into forthcoming setlists. The problem with the album is that at this point in the bands career they didn’t need to compromise. After the time it took to finally release an album, you would expect a band the quality of A Day To Remember to have released a masterpiece.

Instead what we have is a collection of songs that doesn’t do the band justice and when held accountable with their back catalogue are sadly forgettable. Call it a mid-life crisis or a band struggling with their identity, but on this album A Day To Remember feel lost. Let’s hope that they find themselves soon as they can do so much better.

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Read our review of ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’ from Architects

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Maximo Park

Nature Always Wins

Maximo Park Nature Always Wins Album Cover
Maximo Park – ‘Nature Always Wins’

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Maximo Park – Nature Always Wins – Album Review

Because Maximo Park shot to prominence during the indie boom period sometimes harshly described as the landfill-indie generation, they are often lumped in with the other artists from this era with little thought. That generalisation does a disservice to a band that has always been a step above, artistically speaking.

Whilst the band has had their fair share of commercial success, it never felt like the aim from the band. Their longevity perhaps now provides the evidence that they were in it more for the music than the money. With the release of their seventh studio album they are once again bucking a trend from bands of that era, that is to simply rely on nostalgia.

‘Nature Always Wins’ is another trademark Maximo Park album and delivers another slice of quality over quantity from the band. I’ll say that there is nothing that upsets the applecart here. This is standard Maximo Park. But, that’s not a slight on the band. That’s because their albums have always featured an element of exploration of their sound.

Maximo Park – ‘All Of Me’

This isn’t a crude attempt to relive past glories. There is craftsmanship and care on this record that is so often found lacking by bands looking to simply put out another album to plug. From start to finish this album provides a fluid listening experience with the likes of ‘Baby, Sleep’ and ‘All Of Me’ showing that the band still has a knack for creating catchy indie pop magic.

Listen to ‘Baby, Sleep’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Fans of the band now have another solid album to fit into their collection. ‘Nature Always Wins’ is right up there with anything the band has already given us. Yes, Maximo Park continue to buck trends and demonstrate that they were always a cut above most of their contemporaries from the mid-noughties indie scene!

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Read our review of ‘When Life Was Hard And Fast’ from Ricky Warwick

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Album Reviews

Chris Cornell

No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol.1

Chris Cornell – ‘Patience’

I can still remember vividly the shock and sadness that consumed me with the death of Chris Cornell in 2017. Cornell’s unique voice had helped to soundtrack the formative years of my life through his solo work and that of Soundgarden, and for me the biggest influence – Audioslave. Memories of not just his death but the manner of that death still thrust great sadness upon me and no doubt his legion of fans.

I recently spoke of the relationship between my mental health and music in my blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’. It’s important to remember that talking helps and you can find some vital links to resources in that blog.

With the surprise release this week of the aptly named ‘No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1’ fans of Cornell have been given an early Christmas present; the chance to savour once again those dulcet tones of his. Looking at the tracklist I must admit that I hesitated to listen to the album. Not because I wasn’t sure that the work would be amazing, but because I knew that hearing Cornell sing these songs would elicit a range of emotions including immense sadness.

I’m really glad however that I took the dive into this amazing snapshot of Cornell. Through the course of the album many emotions are felt including thankfully joy and celebration of an incredible once in a lifetime artist. I’m not ashamed to admit that the one-two punch of ‘Patience’ and ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ hit very hard and deep. Be prepared to cry at times and smile wide at others. This album is perhaps the perfect way to seal the legacy of a true icon in rock music.

As you progress through this stunning album you can see the effort put into the careful curation and construction of the record. You can feel the love that has been put into the album by those upholding the legacy of Cornell. This is not a cash grab release, and fans of Cornell are privileged to have the opportunity to listen to these songs. On this release, the true power and adaptability of Cornell’s heavenly voice is there for all to see.

Whilst I close by saying that this is a must own for fans of Cornell and his previous work; I must also stress that this album is an incredible piece of work in its own right, and even those not familiar with the great man will find joy, sadness and everything in between, on this record.

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Album Reviews

Yungblud

Yungblud weird!

‘weird!’

Yungblud – ‘mars’

Yungblud, or Dominic Richard Harrison to his friends, has been on the cusp of world domination since the release of his debut album ‘21st Century Liability’ in 2018. Now it appears he is finally ready to take up that mantle. His second album ‘weird!’ came out on Friday and is a stunning piece of work that may well be recognised as his masterpiece when all is said and done.

From the opening notes of ‘teresa’, listeners are thrown headfirst into the captivating world of Yungblud. The album transcends genre as Yungblud manages to blend tender with ferocious and emerge with outright pop. The crossover appeal of this album will be huge with all ages and persuasions finding the content very accessible. Yungblud comes of age with this release and has set a very high standard for his future output to reach.

‘cotton candy’, ‘strawberry lipstick’ and the exceptional ‘mars’ build this party of an album perfectly to its middle section, which is absolutely packed with sing-a-long anthems such as ‘superdeadfriends’. It has to be said that ‘love song’ sounds like a huge anthem, and is a subtle change of pace together with ‘god save me, but don’t drown me out’ before the electric trio of ‘ice cream man’, ‘weird!’ and ‘charity’ raise the bar again.

As we get towards the albums finish we see Yungblud collaborate once again with Machine Gun Kelly to fantastic effect on ‘acting like that’. It’s then down to ‘it’s quiet in beverly hills’ and the prophetic ‘the freak show’ to close out this superb collection of music. With this release Yungblud has achieved that seemingly rare feat of actually living up to his enormous potential. Expect to see the name Yungblud everywhere from now on, and with music this good, deservedly so.