Robyn Writes

Singled Out – Unfamiliar Faces [EP]

Unfamiliar Faces is probably a very apt name for this EP. From all I’d heard about Singled Out before picking up a copy, the one thing that was cemented in my mind was that they were ‘pop-punk’. Thinking that I knew what I was in for, I put the volume up and sat back. What I wasn’t expecting was a full on metalcore assault from first track ‘The God Complex’, and I honestly had to Google it to make sure I’d gotten the right thing! As I listened, I realised that actually, this wasn’t too bad. There were some great breakdowns, growls that had some fantastic tone to them and the guitar tone was really neat. It was a really good track, but my expectations had seemingly been torn in half by a musical great white.

It’s not exactly back to business as usual for the rest of the EP, but the pop-punk element that I was promised certainly rears its head. ‘Conor’s From Philly, And He Carries A Piece’ blends the two elements perfectly to create a wicked track. The guitars are poppy, but with a hint of something heavier. The clean vocals from Alex Muhich are equally as impressive as his growls, though at first, I couldn’t believe it was the same person – his range is truly incredible. That hardcore edge certainly isn’t lost though, as some impressive gang vocals come to the forefront midway through.

Singled Out don’t necessarily maintain a balance of those two styles throughout, relying far more heavily on their more brutal influences. In fact, it’s possibly the one complaint that I have about the EP – while every song is equally impressive, I’d love to see more of a balance between their poppier side and their hardcore side. It’s still incredibly difficult to throw them into any one genre though – for example, ‘Designer Genes’ has a far more rock and roll feel to it and ‘The Road Less Travelled’ wouldn’t feel out of place on a Parkway Drive album, even with the pop-punk hyperactivity fused within it. None of the songs on Unfamiliar Faces feel formulaic, but they’re all very well structured and clearly intended for a live forum. Finishing with ‘Through These Eyes’, a beautiful acoustic track, it’s clear that Singled Out are ambitious, talented and fearless. Currently unsigned with a debut full length planned for release early next year, I just can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.

4.5 out of 5 high fives!

Artist Spotlight – Bigblast

Bigblast are a punk band from Lyon, France. Their most recent album, All Saviours, is an explosion of hardcore sensibilities and melodic gems, no doubt greatly aided by vocalist Emi’s fantastic vocals. From opening track ‘Something To Sing About’, their intentions are clear – to take the rock scene by storm, promoting humanist ethics and having a bloody good time along the way.

“For me, all kind of arts can deliver a message, politically or not. I think it’s easier to share strong statements through punk rock than dance or pop, though,” says Greg, the band’s bassist. Seb, who plays guitar, backs that up – “I think punk rock is a kind of music that offers us the possibility to speak out loud about everything. Not all bands are taking this chance, but strong messages are important for us.” All throughout All Saviours, there’s a true sense of hope, that Bigblast are just aiming to make the world a slightly better place, and they’ve put their faith in punk. Liom, on screams/guitar, points out the power of punk – “Since I was 14 years old, punk bands that I’ve listened to have opened my eyes on a lot of issues that I didn’t even know about, and made me realise how the world works. It’s a very good way to share opinions and bring awareness!” The band aren’t afraid to reach out either – “We write our songs in English for 3 reasons,” say Emi and Liom. “It sounds better (to us), we can touch more people and the message is more powerful!”

Of course, Bigblast have far more influences than just punk, as is evident from their songwriting. Citing influences like Deftones, Linkin Park and VersaEmerge, as well as some slightly more predictable ones like A Wilhelm Scream, Rise Against, The Flatliners and Mute, Bigblast have managed to craft a unique and compelling sound. This sound hasn’t been found that easily though. When quizzed on the formation of the current lineup, Liom adds “Like a lot of bands we started as friends making music and playing a few gigs. Some of us wanted to go further, some didn’t. That’s why there were a few line up changes before the current formation.” And though their sound has “evolved” since Emi and Greg joined the current lineup, the band are quick to stress that they’ve always been diverse in their sound – “It’s always hard to put a label on your music. Some people think that we are very poppy and that we’re easy listening thanks to Emi’s voice. Others think we are hardcore punk because of our lyrics, screams and also because we play fast,” says Liom. “But I think we’ve always been melodic.”

Here at TwoBeatsOff, we’re always keen to scope out new and awesome music from around the world and our knowledge of the French punk scene is reasonably shocking. So we asked Bigblast whether they knew any good bands. Liom was eager to offer forth some suggestions – “There are a lot of good bands in our town, but no one is close to our style. That said, you should check out these bands, you won’t regret it: The Traders, The Amsterdam Red Light District, uncommenmenfrommars and Burning Heads.” But has that scene helped them along the way? “It’s always the same story. The scene trusts you only when you are about to reach your goals. For the past year and a half, we’ve worked our asses off and we’ve done lots of things (album, tours, opening for famous bands) and people want to be a part of that success,” says Liom. “But Every new fan is a special one for us and we always remember the ones that were there when we were nothing. Being supported feels good, man!”

Bigblast care about their fans a lot, and are always finding ways to get them involved. As such, touring is a big deal for them, and they put their heart and souls into their live shows. We asked what you might expect from a Bigblast show – “Lots of energy between the band and the audience,” says Emi, and Seb agrees – “Loud music, and as Emi said, energy!”. Liom adds “If you’re coming to one of our shows, you’ll see a band having fun on stage and enjoying every minute of it. Our aim is to share this feeling of happiness we all have when we are on stage.”

With such an exuberant stage presence, it’s not hard to believe that Bigblast know how to have a good time and they’ve got plenty of tour stories from their latest European tour. “The European tour had a lot of good moments; meeting new people every night is very exciting. I think music is a really good way to link people because it’s a passion and you’re living these strong moments together. One of my favorite moments on this tour was in Liberec in the Czech Republic, we played with a kick ass band called Burning Steps and partied like crazy ‘till 6 in the morning. Come on, one Euro a pint, we had to honour this local beer!” says Emi. “For me it was a real discovery,” says Greg. “We’ve met super cool people, we’ve done lots of kilometres and partied with a lot of new friends and fans. I personally enjoyed discovering new foods and drinks. Trust me, I’ll remember this fucking spicy soup we got in Liberec! I also keep a sweet memory of this after party in Livraga, Italy, where I discovered sambuca and chinar, two local spirits.” Liom enjoyed himself a lot too. “The tour was pure awesomeness! The crowd welcomed us warmly, we’ve shared our music, and discovered countries we’ve never seen before. I remember this morning waking up in the van after a snowy night, everything was white and beautiful. It was a totally unbelievable and unexpected view for a band on tour.”

With the release of All Saviours and numerous tours, it’s been one hell of a busy year for Bigblast and it’s set to get even busier. “This year, we’ve released an album, we’ve done two tours and another one is gonna be added at the list in October,” says Emi. “We are proud of what we’ve achieved in a year and we definitely have reached our first goals! Now we’ve set up new ones – to reach larger audiences and tour in an other continent are some of them.” Seb’s got some other ideas too – “Touring is definitely what we are made for! A new album can be a good project for the future …” And Liom’s already thinking ahead to next year – “The Eastern European tour in late October is our priority for the moment, but we are already planning some exciting stuff for next spring. Those plans can involve taking a plane…”

Bigblast are Emi, Liom, Greg, Seb and Jérome. All Saviours was released in January on Craze Records, Bad Mood Records, Maximise Records, Sirkel Pit Records and Culture Punk Records. You can check them out on Bandcamp.

Crusades – Parables [7-inch]

Crusades are suitably eerie. From a delightfully gothic EP cover to some serious Halloween sound effects, they seem dead set on claiming the mantle that has been abandoned by The Misfits, AFI and their contemporaries. And yet, for all that, Parables really is an EP of two halves.

Opening track, Parables I (Rites Of Atonement), with a creeping acoustic intro, bursts into a speedy, but melody-ridden punk affair. The lyrics are suitably gloomy, but the track itself is far more upbeat. Almost in opposition to its atmospheric beginnings, it feels like one of Alkaline Trio’s less spooky tracks but with a dual guitar approach. The call and response chorus is suitably catchy and simply doesn’t prepare you for Parables II (Gods, Too, Decompose). The heavy bass intro and a far doomier guitar tone feels more like that early AFI sound, but the band introduce some insane tapping that requires a double take. Vocal duties are passed around the band more equally in Parables II and lead to an echoing, haunting chant followed by some seriously blood curdling growls at the end. It’s in this moment that I realise Crusades aren’t just AFI/Samhain 2.0, but have managed to eschew the weaknesses of those acts and hollow out their own niche in the horrorpunk gravestone of destiny. Lyrically, it’s far more impressive than those bands have been in years; Crusades are challenging notions of religion and the failures and hypocrisy of religion in the modern day to superb effect.

If you’re a horrorpunk fan, then Parables just can’t be ignored. It’s clever, dark and is truly reclaiming the “punk” in horrorpunk.

4.5 out of 5 high fives!

I Am Giant – The Horrifying Truth

I Am Giant have been making quite the name for themselves. The London four-piece have played with Slash, featured the legendary Tony Hawk and Kelly Slater in their videos, made appearances at the Viper Room and have amassed a huge fan base in the process. They’ve extensively toured over in Australia and New Zealand. And they haven’t even released a debut album in their own country yet. The Horrifying Truth comes out on the 8th October in the UK and proves itself to be worthy of that hype the band have been generating.

If there’s any word that can describe this album, it’s big. Opening track and lead single, “Purple Heart”, is defining proof of that. A massive chorus, enormous hooks and some powerful vocals make it a track to be reckoned with and the stuff that’ll fill stadiums. “The Escape Artist” and “Electric Throne” manage the same thing, but instead play on some clever lyrics and some Lostprophets style instrumental sections. Although not as hard hitting as Lostprophets can be, I Am Giant have managed to construct an album full of huge, radio-friendly tunes that will catapult them higher than they might have imagined.

In some respects, this is great. Tracks like “Living The Crash” and “Neon Sunrise” are lots of fun, very singable and instantly captivating. The latter has the best opening riff on the whole album and Ed Martin’s falsetto creeps into the chorus nicely. Lyrically, the album riffs off of themes of mortality and growing up and moving on, but in a mature and engaging way. If The Horrifying Truth is laden with radio hits, then this is surely a plus point – thought provoking and meaningful songs win out over fickle love songs any day. However, in other respects, it means that the album lacks some variety. The problem with aiming for big hits is that it means sticking to a tried and tested formula. That’s not to say that there’s no experimentation at all, and on a select couple of tracks, I Am Giant shine as songwriters. “Nightvision” is truly beautiful, as is “Black Hole Of My Heart”. Both tracks are slower, with some great atmospheric effects echoing through, and spectacular drumming from Shelton Woolright keeps them grounded. But then again, there’s also some fairly pointless instrumental tracks dotted about towards the latter half of the album that don’t really achieve much apart from losing the momentum that they’ve managed to gain already.

On the whole though, I Am Giant have created an epic. Already winning the hearts of fans worldwide, let’s see them conquer the UK next week.

4 out of 5 high fives!

The Bastard Sons – Bones [EP]

The Bastard Sons are an interesting bunch. Formed in 2011, the York rockers are difficult to place. Their debut EP, Bones, is really a testament to that as they combine elements of blues, metal and hardcore in order to get the party well and truly on its way. It would be easy to compare them to Every Time I Die or Fight Paris, but The Bastard Sons have a more distinctly British feel to them and craft tunes that are far tighter than the latter, in more ways than one…

Hot Town starts with a bone chilling chant that quickly descends into a hellishly delightful bluesy riff. Throughout the EP, JJ’s vocals are stellar – swapping easily from hardcore screams to pure rock and roll glory, but on Hot Town, they’re so unexpected in contrast to the music and it completely shatters any expectations that you might have. This leads the way for some excellent breakdowns that make a stark contrast to the rest of the track. Make no mistake, for all the fun twiddly guitar bits from Ollie and Alex, they know how to throw down and a combination of different styles of playing make for a ridiculous amount of fun all the way through. Soul Fur Coat takes it in that opposite direction, playing up to the metal influences far more with a solo to die for. Some frantic, but tuneful riffage and plenty of bass swagger marks it out at one of the best tracks on the release. However, that honour is reserved for final track Salem’s Rot. Combining a classic rock feel with some almost Bullet For My Valentine-esque balls, it really should belong on the Supernatural soundtrack. Clocking in at five minutes of pure groove-laden rock, the chant of “We throw ourselves in shallow graves” comes back again at the end, and putting the EP on repeat results in a perfect cycle.

While there is nothing distinctly bad about Bones, it does start to feel too familiar in the middle of the EP. In Case Of Emergency and Therapists Get All The Girls are still good fun, but it gets difficult to distinguish between the two. Nevertheless, Bones is still an excellent debut and if The Bastard Sons are this polished and this fearless so early on, then any future release is bound to be spectacular. And in the meantime, you’ve got the perfect party starter.

3.5 out of 5 high fives!