Robyn Writes

Review: Next To Nothing – Stories We’ve Never Told

Since the fateful summer of 2002, I’ve been searching for the perfect pop-punk album. It’s been eleven years, and plenty have come close, but nothing has ever quite hit my high expectations (and need for sweet breakdowns). Could Next To Nothing‘s Stories We’ve Never Told be the ones to do it?

The short answer is, quite frankly, no. Stories We’ve Never Told does absolutely nothing to break the mould – or well, the first half, at least. That first half of the album is reasonably yawn-worthy, sounding like a collection of FUCT-era Fall Out Boy cast-offs, only without Fall Out Boy’s inevitable genius. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all very solid and decently put together, and there’s a couple of moments that elicit a smile; the guitar in the chorus of ‘Nothing From The Start’ is pretty clever, and the dual vocal approach in ‘This Is Not A Love Story’ is quite fun, but for the most part, it just does nothing to thrill.

Thankfully, there’s a bit of a turnaround by the time it gets to ‘Misery’. After a slow lead in, the band launch into an All-American Rejects-esque, heavily 80’s influenced riff-fest that’s actually rather exciting. Then it’s back to the generic ‘Read Between The Lines’ before ‘Take Me Back’ storms in, the pop-punk love story that all the songs on the first half of the record are striving to be. ‘The Summer You Left Me For San Francisco’ slows things down a little bit, with some passionate vocals, a little bit of synth, a lot of heart and some Acceptance-style guitar, and it’s arguably the best song on the album. Finishing on ‘Wish Me Well Into The Night’, a piano-led ballad, was an excellent choice, showcasing a talent that sadly isn’t revealed until too late. Lyrically, there’s a massive improvement too – there’s a lot of saccharine sweet moments that jar, but all of that’s forgotten in the beauty of the final track. It’s all still been done before, but Next To Nothing’s take on the formula finally starts to become their own by the end of it all.

With a little bit of faith and careful attention, Next To Nothing could be a contender. But at present, my quest for the perfect pop-punk record goes on. Wish me luck.

3 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Will Tun And The Wasters/MC Amalgam – Unite and Charge

Will Tun And The Wasters, that folk punk lot from Reading, have decided to do something that is wholly different. A complete departure from their outstanding Time Is A Bastard EP, the band have gone down the route of reggae-ska-hiphop with French MC Amalgam along for the ride. It’s disorienting, completely off the wall and pretty much totally unexpected. But it’s so damn good.

There’s still plenty of accordion embedded throughout, but now, it’s tangled up in tasty beats and full on rapping. Opener ‘Raggamuffin MC’ is wonderfully catchy, self-deprecating and completely charming. Even as MC Amalgam comes in swinging with a totally different language, it still feels stupidly fun and blends in perfectly – and watch out for that ska breakdown towards the end! ‘Red Is Not Dead’ starts off as a faced paced ska jam with some sweet folky picking and wonderfully Parisian feeling accordion. After the fun-filled ‘Ragamuffin MC’, it shows that the boys are still as politically driven as ever and is guaranteed to get you moving. ‘Slice Slice Slice’ is a bouncing trip-hop inspired affair with some banging references to sandwiches and cheese. It’s utterly mental, but lacks no attention to detail. It also marks the last of the new material for the EP, as the rest is filled with remixes of both old tracks, like ‘Community’, the first Wasters song to feature MC Amalgam, and of ‘Raggamuffin MC’ and ‘Red Is Not Dead’. The ‘Community’ remix, courtesy of Cryzo-P, stands out amongst the rest. A little bit dubsteppy, a little bit 8-bit and with some brilliant Autotune to boot, it’s a completely fresh take onto the otherwise punk-as-fuck anthem.

However, there’s just too many remixes, and although they’re all fun in their own right (the Slamboree remix of ‘Raggamuffin MC’ feels like it could be in LittleBigPlanet), you do feel a little overwhelmed by the end of it, especially with two mixes of Red Is Not Dead right next to each other. Nevertheless, the new tracks are so fantastic that you’ll barely notice. You can always count on the Wasters to do something completely off the wall, and this time, they’ve certainly delivered.

4 out of 5 high fives!

Live: Layers, O2 Academy Birmingham 3, 20/9/13

Birmingham, the grey, gargantuan pulsing heart of the country. It’s not really our cultural heart, nor does it pull in a vast amount of tourists, and once you get out of the city centre, it’s kind of a dead zone, slap bang in the middle of the country. But once you get past its need for regeneration and the sense that ‘this isn’t quite London’, you might discover that there’s a passionate and unrivalled music scene that refuses to give up the ghost. Bands like Layers, who are uncompromising, innovative and incomparable, are the kind of bands that grow from these Midlands scenes and in this case, are going to take the UK by storm.

Traffic mishaps and misadventures meant that we walked in halfway through Dead Sea Skulls’ (3.5/5) set, but the half that we caught was good fun. Indie rock and roll but with a neat twist in that the drummer is the frontman and he plays his drums standing up. It’s an endearing and charismatic move, even if it means that on occasion, the songs end up becoming a bit simplistic in their structure. Nevertheless, their showmanship and cheeky hooks more than made up for it.

There is nothing at all lacklustre about Layers (5/5). From the very first bars of their set, it was clear that something special was about to happen. Frontman Lance Joseph is entirely captivating as he dives from stage to floor, running the length of the room with pure childlike glee, all while maintaining the perfectly soulful vocals that make Layers stand out from the rest. That’s not to say that the rest of the band aren’t equally as involving or brilliant – the harmonies that make the new EP so exciting sound just as incredible live, there’s a great bit of slap bass and Layers take their musicianship extremely seriously while still retaining that passion for live performance. For the encore, the band play epic Gradually in its entirety, complete with string section and their ambition is entirely refreshing and joyful to behold. It’s a set filled with crowd favourites as well as the stunning new tracks though, and the packed out Academy 3 is filled with grinning faces and sweaty bodies by the end of the night. After all, this is a hometown crowd at an EP launch, who knew exactly what to expect, but there’s no doubt that in a different venue in a different city, Layers would have just the same effect. For any who thought that the Midlands wasn’t capable of producing anything as innovative as Layers any more, who play a weird but compelling combo of soul, pop and hardcore, they need to get down to a show. Mindblowing.

Interview: HEY YOU GUYS!

I’m very excited to finally be able to share this with you! HEY YOU GUYS! are cracking lads. My interviewing skills were a bit rusty, but the guys were funny, dead interesting and clearly love what they do. Get the lowdown on how they got together, writing their debut album and their recent European excursion. Catch them on tour with [spunge] this November!

Review: Everybody Looks Famous – Fuel To Fire

Birmingham pop-rock quintet Everybody Looks Famous are probably set to take the UK by storm. They’ve got all the right combinations going on. Cute female vocalist? Check. Bouncy synths? Check. Perfectly polished riffs? Check. But therein lies the issue – Fuel To Fire is a saccharine, juvenile affair with plenty of style but very little substance.

It’s difficult to listen to any female-fronted pop-rock band and not draw comparisons to Paramore these days, and sadly, Everybody Looks Famous fall into that category. Vocalist Lex shows tons of potential on the more ballad-esque tracks, like ‘Fingerprints’ and ‘Stay With Me’, as her voice takes on more ethereal, breathy qualities, but she doesn’t have the power for the rock tunes and the generic hooks can’t carry her through it either. While you can tell that she’s not trying to emulate Williams, the guitar carries a lot of influence from early Paramore, but is far duller and safer in its approach. The saving grace of the album is the synths. They’re not spectacular, by any means, nor do they do much to innovate, but they make it feel like a more complete record. There’s a few songs on the album that stand out as ‘almost there’, such as ‘Fly’ and ‘Skinny Jeans’. They’re catchy, fun and start to reveal the promise that Everybody Looks Famous could well have. However, a closer listen to the lyrics results in typically immature and overdone teenage emotion. You write what you know, and not everyone can be Jesse Lacey or Tegan and Sara Quin, but the cliché that abounds throughout Fuel To Fire sounds so typically American and overtly sweet, so much so that none of it feels genuine in any way, shape or form.

All in all, if you’re fifteen years old, you’re going to love Everybody Looks Famous. There’s probably plenty for you to want to identify with, and Fuel To Fire slots in perfectly with the growth of the UK scene at the moment. But if you like your records a little rough around the edges, with some real emotional depth, then Everybody Looks Famous are best to be avoided.

2 out of 5 high fives!