Robyn Writes

Review roundup – 1/8/2012

A couple of short reviews from George and Ripper.

Only Fumes And Corpses – Selfish Act I (4/5 from George)

Hailing from Ireland’s arid west coast and in their seventh year of existence, Only Fumes And Corpses have remained under the radar – perhaps due to their reluctance to be part of trends or play by the rules. Their latest release is a pulverising breakneck punk affair. This truly is a case of ‘blink and you’ll miss it,’ with thirteen songs barely clawing past the eleven minute mark. Despite the shortness of the album the band manages to touch on a vast number of genres and influences whilst retaining a no-nonsense, aggressive punk approach. Maintaining punk traditions in the form of socially aware lyrics, the album also sees flashes of blastbeats, D-beat and Trash Talk-esque hardcore fury served up with some pretty impressive musicianship. From The Start even carries a blistering ‘metal’ influenced guitar solo complete with sweep picking. Tempos change in an instant- sometimes altering several times within a song, which is commendable considering the longest song on the album is a whopping one minute and thirty-two seconds. The closing one-two of The Lush I & II begins with snail-paced sludgy guitars which, a minute latter, have transformed into off-beat ska-style staccatos. This is an enraged, vital little record that will be sure to have people reaching for the repeat button as soon as the record has past them in a snotty punk blur.

Ducking Punches – I Am Arturo Bandini [EP] (4.5/5 from Ripper)
The latest release from Peterborough folk-punk quartet Ducking Punches, I Am Arturo Bandini is a very short, very sweet EP. Full of melody, optimism and some good old fashioned punk rock spirit, it’s the perfect way to perk yourself up in fifteen minutes.

Starting track, Burnt Matches, is a wonderful love story. Immediately, you’re struck by the fullness of the EP – this isn’t just some lone troubadour with an acoustic guitar, but a full folk-punk band, complete with drums, bass and violin. Lead singer Dan Allen has a fantastic tone to his voice; completely clean, but with just the right amount of Englishness. He’s joined by violinist Josie Clouting in the background, whose beautiful strings float gently through the entire release and whose vocals lend a decent contrast to Allen’s. The verses wind their way to a rousing instrumental section at the end and it sounds magnificent. Worm In The Apple takes a slightly different direction. There’s still some incredible violin, but the rest of the track is much simpler. This allows the politically charged lyrics to take the foreground. A fairly simple message of solidarity, Worm In The Apple speaks out to us all, and the choir of voices towards the end is unforgettable.

Side B presents us with Wrecking Ball, a very Frank Turner-like ballad of the self. While the lyrics may not be as clever as Frank’s often are, they’re just as touching and honest. The final track, Marching Amongst Giants, is the most stirring of all. Simply wonderful, it takes all the best elements of the release so far, shoves in some soaring electric guitar and mixes them all together for a storming tale about love, adversity and family.

I Am Arturo Bandini is simply sensational. With folk-punk rising in popularity, it’s great to see talented bands like Ducking Punches riding the wave and coming up with gold.

We Stole Fire – Maps [EP]

We Stole Fire are a soon to be four piece pop-punk band from Brighton. Obviously, with Brighton being renowned for its sunny disposition, it’s only fitting that Maps is an upbeat and devastatingly catchy release.

The release instantly hooks you in with For All I Should Have Said. The intro is explosive, with a New Found Glory-esque beat that leaves you gasping for more. However, Katie McLean’s vocals don’t quite deliver to begin with. As the EP goes on, she gets stronger, but in this first track, it’s too much of the Americanised Hayley Williams drawl that virtually every female vocalist in the country is affecting and she doesn’t let herself shine. The track is obviously Paramore influenced, but the lead guitar is far better than any of the recent Paramore releases and a solid chorus makes for a good overall start. Standing Strong In Grey kicks it up a notch though. The vocals become far stronger and far more emotive than in the beginning, but are still backed up by a solid rhythm section. Despite not having a permanent live drummer, We Stole Fire have done a great job with the drums on the EP, and I can only imagine how great they’ll be once they’ve secured a proper drummer.

I Miss Home, Sometimes is a touching hometown anthem and the most enthralling song on the EP. It’s fun, bouncy and yet really hits home emotionally. I’ve been singing along to it for days. The EP is rounded off nicely with Trigger Happy, which has an incredible intro which segways neatly into a high octane riffathon that’s bound to get the crowd jumping. McLean’s vocals are truly at their best in this track – the Paramore drawl takes a back seat for the most part and she displays some of the strength and range that she’s truly capable of. The song itself does feel like three different ones threaded together, but the band bridge it together so well and it’s so nuanced that most wouldn’t notice until after some extended listening.

Maps is a really fun release, despite its familiarity. But as Paramore will inevitably fade without the Farro brothers, it’s time for some new blood to take over and as summer’s making its presence known, it’s definitely the sort of release to stick on your stereo and rock out to.

3.5 out of 5 high fives!

Shout out: Free Your Demise EP!

Your Demise are being top blokes and have released a new EP for free download. And bless them, they’ve stuck it up on Mediafire.

Download Three4Free here.

We’ve got some new reviewers – say hi!

Hey there, sports fans!

I just wanted to take the time to introduce the latest members of the TwoBeatsOff team. Our latest additions are George, Colin and Rosalia. They’re writing reviews for the site but also have some pretty exciting projects of their own. If you want to find out more about them, then there’s a little bit about each of them on our “authors” page. We’re very excited to have them on the team, and Rosalia and George have already submitted articles for your pleasure.

With some new blood here to help out, we’re hopefully going to be able to do a lot more with the site. I’m currently working on a new build along with Kitteh, and we’re hoping to get some more video content as well as features alongside our reviews, especially now that we have more time on our hands.

Thanks a bunch for continuing to support the site, and we’ll have more exciting stuff for you soon.

xoxo – Ripper

PS: when you search “punk rock beards”, our site is one of the first things to come up. That is all I ever dreamed of.

Shout out: Full AFI sets on Youtube!

Well, flicking through Youtube, I noticed a sweet performance of AFI doing Malleus Maleficarum that I’d never seen before. THEN I stumbled across this beauty:

The sound quality isn’t amazing, but to see AFI performing like that, before Sing The Sorrow, made my day. And so I had to share. I’m not sure who to credit the video to, but it was uploaded by fatalposition. Show them some love.

xoxo – Ripper