Robyn Writes

Live: Arbour Lights / New Alaska / Mansize – Firefly Worcester, 7/11/13

It’s an arty enough place, Worcester. They have an art festival and everything. But it was always meant to be a little bit shit if you wanted anything edgy or underground. It’s a great place to bring up kids. Loves royalty. Makes sauce. But punk and DIY? Best hit the M5 and head for Bristol. Or Birmingham.

Then, sort of around spring time this year, to this reviewer, anyway – things came out of the leftfield woodwork that were never expected. A world class skatecore band from Japan – JAPAN – played the fricking Firefly – on a Thursday, for THREE QUID. Baby Godzilla – watch out for these guys, people – went apeshit bonkers above that same pub only a few weeks before. A relentless horde of Metalcore, Grind and all sorts of gnarly bands keep playing at a truly charming dive-hole venue up by Shrub Hill (The Bridge) – for FREE. Will Tun and the Wasters are doing a gig at that same venue at the end of this month – for FREE.

Maybe it’s just me. But I had no idea that the supposed home of the displeasingly alliterative “Worcester Woman” – a genuine political pollster term for the key consumerist cosy female reactionary demographic who (supposedly) swept New Labour into power in the 90s – could actually be this cool.

But anyway. Speaking of cool. This was another Surprise Attacks triple bill Thursday. With some serious quality on display.

Local (Worcester) tri-hander Mansize kind of shambled on stage with minimal fanfare, and an almost apologetic wishing of the crowd a happy Thursday. Basically female-fronted and not lacking in brute sonic attack, this was periodically intricate 90’s grunge revival – with a few jagged hooks stuck in for good measure. The vocalist has definitely got a PJ Harvey thing going on (guess the clue is in the bandname) and to me that’s a thing to be loved. There was also a bit of cheeky crossover – the deployment of a rapper in the old school Gunshot vein on one track – something which could easily have gone wrong. It basically didn’t. Which is a hell of a thing to pull off. I guess this entire band – and the MC – were at best being potty-trained when the lost 90’s gem the Judgement Night Soundtrack compilation was released; featuring as it did a collaboration between Mudhoney and Sir Mix-a-lot (and many others in the same vein… if in doubt, google). But this little number, played live above a pub in Worcester, could have sat as track six on this very album quite comfortably. Genuinely.

Representing for Stourbridge, New Alaska were a much simpler proposition. Clean, fresh, a touch of neo-pub rock, and medically impossible to dislike… these guys were tight. Very tight. They visibly love what they do, and the love was downright infectious. There’s more subtlety and diversity on their studio material – shades of Post-Hardcore and even a bit of mathcore unless my ears deceive me – but live, this was just shitnails, joyous speed punk. More of the same please, gents. You really can come again.

And finally, boasting more effects pedals per square foot than I have ever seen in my life, and some seriously boutique kit… the symphonic majesty of Arbour Lights. Fronted by a Wunderkind remiscent of a teenage Beck, only more laid back and less off his freaky nut, on Bass – this was instrumental noise right out of the top drawer. To be specific, out of the top drawer of a bespoke designed six-drawer cabinet, hand-made by a master craftsman in a workshop, probably somewhere in the Cotswolds. Said Wunderkind held his place centre stage, working his effortless craft without a single word, for the whole set. This guy had so much neck and brass he even deployed a bow to his four string, Jimi-goddam-Page style (only Jimi Page was a guitarist, yeah I know) – while the big guy on rhythm guitar went right off to his music. The whole performance was completely wordless – but when you are this good at what you do with the equipment, vocals are pretty much superfluous. Unless, say, they were to summon up the spirit of Richard Burton to recite some Dylan Thomas poetry in an quiet patch, a la War of the Worlds, or something. That would have gone nicely. Awesome.

And in sum, then, this evening was not something you’d associate with anodyne archetypal homeland of Worcester Woman. Not at all.

And so, Power to the fucking Woo. As they say.

Review: Crowdburn – Ignition

What first impressions can we get from Ignition, the new album from Swedish 5-piece Crowdburn? A generic album and band name, with massively over-saturated album artwork, it doesn’t bode well. In the music reviewing business, especially when you’re concentrating on the alternative spectrum, you can come across a band that is so difficult to define because they don’t sound like anything that you have ever heard before. Spoiler Alert: This isn’t one of those times. Granted, I did struggle to put my finger on a single niche that I could comfortably put Crowdburn into in my mind, but that isn’t because of their originality. What is obvious when you first listen to Crowdburn’s Ignition is that it draws its inspiration and sound from many bands already going strong. Whether it brings back memories of the melodies of Soilwork, the grooves of Pantera, or even the heavier melodic hardcore moments of Rise Against, you can hardly listen to a single song without a little déjà vu.

I bet I sound pretty negative so far don’t I? Well, I shouldn’t. Originality is refreshing, but it’s not everything. What Crowdburn deliver in the form of Ignition isn’t new, but it’s still exciting. A hybrid of thrash and melody, it probably finds its way into groove-metal more than any other meaningless pigeonhole that springs to mind. Aggressive melodies are still something to get excited about. I can envisage fans of the more commercial music complaining about the all-out ferocity of tracks like the thunderous “Alligator”, while metal-heads whine about the more commercial and radio friendly “Spider’s Nest”. Give it a break. It’s okay to pick and choose the songs you listen to and this album can cater to more than one fan grouping. Instead of bitching about the parts you don’t like, why not enjoy the tracks you do?

Harsh vocals are contrasted with clean ones; explosive riffs are slammed against doses of crushing groove; melodic choruses lift off from heavier verses (I’m thinking of “Pictures” in particular). For those of you who like to bang out melodic metal music, “Burning Crowd” will please you no end. If you’re ears are better tuned to thrashing headbanging, just put “Alligator” on repeat and slam your head back and forth until you do lasting damage to your neck. Sure, Crowdburn have a formula in their mind and some sounds they want to replicate, but I say if they do it well, who the hell cares?!

The only tack on the album I’ll refrain from praising some aspect of is “Solid Habour In A Lonely Sea”. As a closer, it couldn’t sound more out of place. I was gearing up for the solid habour to be a progressive drum beat, get thrashed by a sea of growls, riffs and anything else Crowburn had left to assault my ears with. What I actually got left me more than a little surprised and very disappointed. Sounding like a country inspired 80s/90s metal ballad, some other reviews have defended it on the basis that it is a ‘guilty pleasure’ to sing along to. As far as I’m concerned there is no pleasure in it. Fair play to them for mixing it up, but when you’re following a formula, it is best to follow it to the letter.

3.5 out of 5 high fives!

Records of the Year – 2013

I have been avoiding this list like the plague. In a year of such incredible music, especially from our own fair United Kingdom, putting a list together seems completely arbitrary and not really a celebration of the year at all. But convention dictates that I really should do something. So, in the traditional fashion, I’ve gone for a top ten. Except for the top spot, all of these could be fairly interchangeable as to how fantastic they are. In their own way, each of these records represents a perfect moment in time, whether it was a great return or a truly exciting debut. So, without further ado, I give you my top ten albums of 2013. Now go and have yourselves a bloody good Christmas and a cracking New Year.

Heartthrob was completely different to the usual Tegan and Sara style. Instead of mysterious indie-pop, they went full-on with a bunch of synths and explicit lyrics. And it was good. There are places that are so 80s, you’d swear you were wearing frilly sleeves and more eyeliner than is good for you, until it breaks into a pounding chorus that wouldn’t feel out of place at your local nightclub. Totally unexpected, highly irreverent, completely fantastic.

It was a big year for comebacks, and Fall Out Boy had one of the biggest ones yet. I’ll admit, I was wary of the FOB reunion to begin with. But Patrick Stump’s time crafting R&B hooks was put to good use and combined with a few pop-punk sensibilities, Save Rock And Roll is a complete progression. A necessary one, some might say, and it showed the world that Fall Out Boy were back in full force and ready to take your radio by storm. Also, the bass riff to ‘Where Did The Party Go’ is one of the best things they’ve ever done.

“THIS. IS. SEMPITERNAL.” That gang chorus was a sign. Bring Me The Horizon were not taking any shit. Also, it’s a remarkably uncommon word, very clever in its usage, and that’s what Bring Me The Horizon’s fourth album is – extraordinarily clever. It’s not necessarily intricate, there’s nu-metal influence everywhere, but it completely bends and breaks previous expectations of the band and creates a sonic journey like nothing else. From the vitriolic ‘Antivist’ to the beautiful ‘And The Snakes Start To Sing’, nothing about Sempiternal is imperfect.

Hey You Guys! are an amalgamation of some of the Worcester scene’s heroes, and these dudes have brought together an unmatched sense of humour, savvy lyrics and catchy-as-fuck hooks into one mindblowing record. Our interview with Hey You Guys! explains further why we love them, but Gasp Shock Horror is 28 minutes of sheer joy.

This record came at the perfect time for We Are Fiction. With bands like Mallory Knox, Young Guns and Canterbury making it big, it’s only a matter of time until We Are Fiction are massive, and they absolutely deserve it. One of the hardest working bands in the UK scene have brought out a record that echoes the glorious post-hardcore scene of the early 2000s while still remaining fresh and relevant. The dual vocal approach from Phil Barker and Marc Kucharski works so well, and it’s one of those records that has you hitting ‘repeat’ the second it’s done. Kate’s review of One For Sorrow says it all.

Let’s be honest, apart from In With The Out Crowd which was a bit iffy, Less Than Jake always deliver the goods. See The Light is no exception. From start to finish, it’s filled with ska-punk bangers. As sunny as a Floridian summer afternoon, no other album has made me smile so much this year, or want to dance as much, and I look forward to blasting this out in the summer at all the barbeques.

An absolutely solid effort from Bangers this year, Crazy Fucking Dreams is the kind of record other punk bands dream of making. Although they’re sticking with the tried and tested ‘big riffs, big rants’ formula, there’s still plenty of innovation here, and their story-telling skills are in full swing, with tracks that can’t help but speak to you. If you like your punk honest and raw, but actually listenable with wonderfully gruff vocals, Bangers are the band for you. And Crazy Fucking Dreams is brilliant.

Again, this was a record I was slightly wary of. Lead single ‘Miss Jackson’ didn’t impress me much, but as soon as ‘This Is Gospel’ made an appearance, I knew that Panic! were back on track to an absolute hit. Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! is ten straight tracks of pop glory. Every song has a totally different feel to it, but all of them carry something wonderful to the front, whether that’s a catchy chorus or a beautifully poignant melody. Continuing post-Ross is one of the best things Panic! could have done – this is exactly why.

It was clear from the days of Reuben that Jamie Lenman was an almost unnaturally talented songwriter – how was it possible for post-hardcore to be so good and yet maintain a distinctly British voice? It just hadn’t been done before. Like Muscle Memory hasn’t been done before. The first side, Muscle, is the most gut-wrenching hardcore record of the year, with crushing, dirgey riffs abound. It’s utterly glorious. However, second side, Memory, is a folky, poppy, acoustic-y, big band-y foray into something completely genius. Separately, they’d both be incredible records, but together, they combine to create something phenomenal. Not to mention, releasing two records like this together is punk as fuck.

A predictable entry into the list, but an extremely important one. Burials is the best thing AFI have done since The Art Of Drowning. It’s not to say that their efforts in-between have been bad, but Burials was outstanding. A raw, emotional journey juxtaposed with some of the most intricate songwriting that AFI has ever exhibited? Sign me up. Twice. You can read my full love letter to Burials here, or better yet, you can go and buy it and remember why you fell in love with music to begin with.

Review: The Hand In The Ocean – Tree/Forts

For better or for worse, folk has emerged once again to the fore of popular music, infiltrating not just the charts but the upper echelons of rock festival line-ups and manifesting in the irksome trend for faux-Victorian apparel. A last bastion of supposed ‘authenticity’ against the convoluted sheen of the EDM behemoth, it has introduced traditional music to a whole new generation of fans otherwise beset by technology and the omnipresence of the digital. All male trio The Hand In The Ocean are yet another set of tweed loving twenty-somethings armed with banjos and a large catalogue of open tunings. Sparse in instrumentation and bearing a tumultuous emotionality, their self-recorded mini-album Tree/Forts is a highly tolerable strain of contemporary folk with a lyrical rawness that’s far removed from any of that thumping Mumford & Sons folk-pop tripe. This is far from another bandwagon jumping record, bearing little evidence of the contrivance that besets the like of chart-botherers Ben Howard and the like. Instruments meander at an often languorous pace – for the most part unaccompanied by rhythmic device in a manner that suggests a stream-of-consciousness application of finger to fretboard.Tree/Forts conjures a late night atmosphere, as if the members are expelling the last remnants of energy in carving out the intricate lead melodies before they collapse into extended slumber. It’s a rejectionist record- resisting the lumbering zeitgeist through a continuation of tradition.

Acknowledgement of quintessential 21st Century sounds make a single appearance on the record in the guise of the heavily R&B indebted hand-clap beat that closes the beautiful ‘Brackish’, a track that initially brims with a propulsive gusto before beating hasty retreat to the languid delivery that characterises the record. Existing as sole permeation of contemporary influence into their otherwise stringent traditionalism, the handclaps may initially appear incongruous but their low key delivery saves them from spoiling the bleary-eyed atmosphere the three-piece have carefully constructed.

‘Moss Wine’ is characterised by a whispered, spoken vocal indebting the listener with an immediate sense of intimacy with the protagonist’s digressions, ostensibly directed at his unnamed lover as a lone guitar delivers the most minimal of accompaniments. The segue into ‘White Noise’ is sublime, with guitar and banjo united in grainy twang before the entrance of some severely quivering vocals that sound as if the vocalists throat cannot help but buckle under the emotional weight of every melancholy phrase. A single backing baritone vocal adds a haunting quality and effective depth to the otherwise frail vocal delivery. Bringing the record to a close is the mournful ‘Porcelain’ – the achingly slow tempo leaving plenty of space for a tremolo-picked banjo and isolated xylophone to dabble in exquisite melodies over a backdrop of sampled rain. It may be sombre and emotionally pained but the closing minute or so offers glimmers of hope in the xylophones heavenly chimes and a renewed vigour that takes hold in the singer’s once fragile vocal.

Tree/Forts is a record of simplicity- exploring possibilities of just two or three instruments under a folk guise. Certainly, there are times when the record’s meandering sensibilities work against it – with the trio sticking resolutely to the same aural plain throughout. Yet, it is wonderfully earnest and exudes the favoured cabin-in-the-woods aesthetic that folkies just can’t resist. This is folk in its purest form – raw and stark yet exuding a certain alluring warmth felt only by the soul.

4 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Water Knot – Sometimes [EP]

Water Knot are from New York, but that’s about as much as you can nail down about them. Sometimes is a diverse, sprawling record, completely eschewing any kind of genre favouritism to create something that’s highly intriguing and completely unique.

The inventiveness and playfulness that abound throughout Sometimes is heartwarming. Although it’s clear that Water Knot take their craft very seriously, there’s a sense of play that is often lacking from this kind of proggy, experimental rock and roll – if that even comes anywhere close. There are guitar riffs that strut, synth solos that completely destroy any preconceptions, and even if vocalist Louis does sound a bit like he’s trying to be Alex Turner in places, that boy’s got some good range. The EP showcases just what Water Knot can do, with tracks as varied as alt-rock anthem ‘Big Brother’, Eastern-inspired ‘Ready’ and the rock and roll stomper ‘Lust’. There’s some big ideas in Sometimes, even if there’s some fairly base lyrics (‘Lust’ doesn’t exactly leave much to the imagination), and an even bigger sound that cannot be ignored.

The EP does have a few problems though. At times, it’s as if Water Knot don’t know where to focus. Although they’ve created a record that’s innovative and enthralling, there’s a loss of control in places that can’t be afforded in this kind of record. There’s the strange, off-time first verse of ‘Sometimes’, and the oddly Vaudevillian cartoon noises and excessive soloing in ‘Revelations’, which just confuse and confound. But when Water Knot get it right, they get it so right.

Even bearing those imperfections in mind, this is the next step of a journey that is far from over. Lead single ‘Lust’ was featured on the soundtrack to Homefront, Sylvester Stallone’s latest movie, and with a debut album following in 2014, it looks like it’s going to be a big year for Water Knot.

3.5 out of 5 high fives!