Robyn Writes

Orphans – Pack Mentality [EP]

Emerging from the idyllically located city of Denver, Colorado, Orphans present a subverted attack on modern hardcore that takes cues from off-beat bands such as Circle Takes The Square and These Arms Are Snakes. The four track E.P is a furious collision of chaos and calm that begins with flurries of concentrated vitriol that only increases as the record progresses. You won’t find any formulaic breakdowns here, only four unorthodox tracks of intense emotional release. Vocal screams are almost acidic in their unremitting caustic fury- a cheese grater to the ears for some and an endurance test for many but pure aural bliss for certain strange types such as myself who like to exercise their anger in a vicarious manner. Orphans though, address emotion head on. While some bands feel inclined to hide their true opinions amongst abstract metaphors the band see no need to try and mask subjects that obviously produce a lot of anguish within their collective psyches. “I care more about what people think of me, then I think about myself” screams the explosive and confessional lyrical bite of the frank vocalist.

‘Blood Of The Father’ lures the listener into a false sense of security with softly strummed chords that in retrospect serve only as a short prelude to the unrelenting anguish which resides in every strained scream and feedback blast, both of which are so piercing they could be weaponized. ‘Dark Satanic Mills’ begins in much the same fashion as the track before, but this time the fury that follows the calm is expected although its impact is no less compelling. Guitars utilise tapping techniques to introduce notions of melody and delay-ridden lead lines provide some atmosphere to the otherwise hostile proceedings. Overdriven discordance and introspective beauty both exist in a tense ‘Bengals’, with punishing atonal riffs giving way to a short mid-song oasis of delicately played clean guitar melodies that arrives like the uneasy calm of the eye of a hurricane. As closer ‘White Guilt’ plays, instruments slowly start to unravel and there is a real threat that the whole song will simply descend into pure white noise. But just when the track is on the brink of collapse the band reels in for a final exorcism of pain that culminates in an acerbic blast of feedback as the final blow for brutalized ears. A must hear for fans of the more cerebrally inclined hardcore sphere, Pack Mentality is an intelligent emotional catharsis punctuated with pockets of much craved harmony. Agony never sounded so good.

4.5 out of 5 high fives!

New Riot – Avondale House (SMILE FEST), 28th February 2013

In contemporary Britain, where rolling news is constantly filled with tales of austerity and warnings of economic instability as Europe crumbles around us, the public desperately needs a huge dosage of good-time, lager soaked entertainment with which the woes of modern life can be briefly drowned out in an alcoholic haze. And what better way to receive that much needed dosage than from seeing a hard partying ska band in the most English of establishments – a ruddy big pub.

The confines of the cramped upstairs room make a change from some of the relatively large clubs within which New Riot has supported big name pogo luminaries such as Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish although they seem unperturbed by the fact they’re playing to a no more than fifty students and one crusty old punk who may or may not think it is 1982. New Riot carry all the hallmarks of a band that you have to be significantly under the influence of cheap alcopops to enjoy, as suggested by their party-centric lyrics that could easily have been stolen from a One Direction B-side. “Let’s go crazy crashing parties all over town!” goes the chorus from their popular number ‘RIOT.SLEEP.REPEAT’, which receives the biggest cheer of the night. The group’s relentless efforts to animate the blurry eyed crowd are partially successful, a small gaggle of particularly enthusiastic fans react to the band’s cries of mosh pits by skanking to their hearts content, with one dreadlocked fellow head-banging to every single note without fail. ‘Feel The Burn’ and ‘Nothing To Lose’ from their debut album maintain an admirably fast paced tempo that the band manages to uphold throughout their set. As the show progresses, the crowd becomes visibly thinner, a down heartening sight for any band to play to, but their good time bouncy bouncy energy never falters, even when many of the crowd’s attention is drawn to a particularly spectacular goal on the myriad of large TV screens spread strategically around the room. The group’s insistence on playing new songs upsets the show’s rhythm somewhat, and their between song banter borders on the inane. Musically though, the band offers little in originality, peddling the generic ska sound of brass and guitar interplay with shouty vocals and speedy power chord punk sections- proving that for the most part ska is still defiantly frozen in time. After thirty years or so as a genre, the group should be looking to bands such as Sonic Boom Six who have successfully cannibalized other genres and stitched them chaotically to a ska underbelly with terrific and ground-breaking results. New Riot however, seem quite happy to keep things within the genre’s expectations and guidelines; for all their sweating and animated gesticulations, New Riot could well be any of the countless personality devoid ska bands on the oft soul destroying toilet venue circuit. For about five intoxicated and energetic people though, New Riot lived up to their namesake.

J-Pop Sunday – Morning Musume

Following on from our last instalment of J-Pop Sunday we’re sticking with the cute and catchy theme with one of the biggest acts in Japanese pop history: Morning Musume.

The current Morning Musume line up.

Quick Guide:
Act Name: Morning Musume (モーニング娘)
Years Active: 1997 – Present
Genre: Pop
Notable Singles: “Morning Coffee” (1998), “ Daite Hold on me!” (抱いてHOLD ON ME!)(1998), “Love Machine” (1999) “I Wish” (2000), “Ren’ai Revolution 21” (恋愛レボリューション21) (2000), “Sexy Boy (Soyokaze ni Yorisotte)” (SEXY BOY 〜そよ風に寄り添って〜)(2006), “Aruiteru” (歩いてる)(2006), “Help me!!” (2013)
Current Number of Group Members: 11
Total Number of Group Members: 39

Morning Musume is pretty much the epitome of manufactured idol groups so before we get into Morning Musume itself we’re going to have to quickly explain how pop idol groups in Japan typically work. The system is simple: Young girls audition to join a group; if successful they’ll perform with the group for a few years until they’re a little bit older when they will typically “Graduate” onto other projects – such as a solo career, a related sub-group, an acting career or even modelling. Using this system Morning Musume has been able to constantly keep itself fresh. Of course it’s not just Morning Musume that uses this system, groups associated with Morning Musume in famed producer Tsunku’s “Hello! Project” – such as Berryz Kobu (Berryz工房) or ° C-ute – also use this system as well as rival idol groups AKB48, Momoiro Clover Z and 9nine.

Now, onto Morning Musume themselves: The original five members started as individual runners up on a TV talent contest back in 1997. Although the girls failed to win the competition they caught the attention of record producer and songwriter Tsunku who set the girls a challenge: With his help the girls were tasked to make a demo single and sell 50,000 copies of it within five days’ worth of promotional events. If they were successful then Tsunku would offer them a contract. The girls accepted Tsunku’s challenge and hit the road to promote their single that November. You can probably figure out what happened next: The girls hit their target of 50,000 sales and managed to do so within only four of the five days. Morning Musume was born and the following January the girls released their first official single: Morning Coffee. (モーニングコーヒー)


“Morning Coffee”: Morning Musume’s first single.

Now, normally at this point in a J-Pop Sunday column I would do a brief run through of the act’s activities in chronological order, however, in the case of Morning Musume it’s pretty unremarkable: New members join and other members leave every year or so all the while a steady string of singles and albums flow out. Instead, I’d like you to take a look at a promotional video for Morning Musume’s next single “Brainstorming” and take a note of how different things feel compared to “Morning Coffee”:


“Brainstorming” will be Morning Musume’s 53th single. It’s released next month.

Hard to believe it’s the same group. Well, technically, it’s not. The last of the original Morning Musume members left in 2005. However the stark contrast between the two songs highlights the gradual change in sound and presentation Morning Musume has undergone over its’ 15 year history, moving away from a somewhat mature look and sound of early releases such as “Morning Coffee” and their first #1 single “Daite Hold on me!” (抱いてHOLD ON ME!) towards a more youthful and energetic style coupled with an increase in synthesisers in newer singles such as “Brainstorming” and “Help me!!”. Of course, it’s natural for change to occur; it’s not the 90’s anymore – kids these days don’t know what Pogs are – the market has evolved and Morning Musume, still under the care of Tsunku’s, has adapted in order to survive.

I’ll leave you with one last song of theirs from 2006: “SEXY BOY (Soyokaze ni yorisotte)” (SEXY BOY 〜そよ風に寄り添って〜) is one of my favourite Morning Musume singles and I feel it’s a interesting example to demonstrate the mid-point in the evolution of Morning: The look of the group is closer to that of early Morning Musume, however, the music and dance routine is closer to that or the Morning Musume we see today.


“SEXY BOY” will have the lyrics “Sekushii! Ue! Ue!” stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Oddczar – One Word [EP]

There’s only one adjective that perfectly sums up Oddczar’s One Word – intense. This intensity applies not only to the tension between melody and pure chaotic vitriol but also to the caustic intensity of vocalist Brandon’s otherworldly screams. These throat shredding cries of are nothing short of pure anguish, voicing a stream of emotionally fraught and unashamedly confessional lyrics that place every thought and feeling onto the table for all to view and dissect. To say that Brandon wears his heart on his sleeve is an understatement; he wears his heart on a twenty foot flag pole with an equally large neon sign directing your attention towards it. Where most people would bottle up their emotions until they explode or vent their fury through passive-aggressive means, Brandon instead exercises his demons in the most public of ways, leaving little to the imagination. Such open displays of emotion are commendable but such outward sincerity is not necessarily unique in the sphere of this kind of intelligent yet aggressive music, with the band’s sound fitting all too snugly into the ‘Wave’ scene of contemporary US hardcore.

At times their short songs and angular, melodically inflicted riffs bear much resemblance to Touché Amore minus the blast-beats, a resemblance further exacerbated by Brandon’s similar vocal and lyrical stylings. However, I refuse to write off a band with so much passion and channelled anger as simple copycats or sound-a-likes but at certain times, such as in the minute long ‘Sidesex’, the similarity is uncanny. Often it is hard to make assessments of the songs without drawing lazy comparisons to their peers under easy sound bites such as “a mid-tempo Touché Amore” and leaving it at that but such statements do not do the band’s obvious musical fervour any justice. Delve deep enough and there are sure enough inklings that the band has the capability with which to forge its own unique and quite possibly brilliant personality but often I find I’m simply grasping at straws and placing faith for distinctive identity in single guitar parts or certain tiny nuances. Despite these detractors, the E.P still stands up as a stunning piece of work. The three minute ‘Janaluska’ has all the markings of a “mini-epic” with delay-ridden guitars culminating in a flourishing and euphoric crescendo that is nothing short of compelling but despite this, it wouldn’t sound out of place on the next Pianos Become The Teeth record. ‘Samsquanch’ is a conflict of melody and pure aggression whilst ‘Bud Brothers’ utilises painfully simple and hypnotic clean arpeggios as a centre-point surrounded by a riff that descends into aural disorder. Closer ‘Russian Girls’ is a clattering mix of clean and distorted riffs with each carrying its own projected emotional weight. As the North Carolina natives are still in their infant stages, having only been together for two years or so, their lack of originality can be mostly forgiven and One Word is still a thrilling listen. If they can cipher at least a fraction of their emotional and musical intensity into creating music that distances itself from all too obvious reference points Oddczar will really be onto something special.

Rockets On Wire – I Am Not Your Home

Rockets on Wire, a dark indie-rock band from New York, are making waves with their new debut album I Am Not Your Home. They even managed to win over some new fans when they made their new album available for a name-your-price download via their Bandcamp page for a week.

The whole album is bound together by the distinctive vocals of singer Marie Mayes, which allows the whole record to flow together as a solid whole while each song fluctuates with fluidity from the faster bouncing songs to the slower haunting tracks. The vocals, being probably the standout feature of the record, can be seen as a cross between singer-songwriters Christina Perri and Imogen Heap, but with moments of more gruff aggression and energy.

The song opens with the atmospheric rise and fall of the short first track, “Wake”. Listeners are lured in by the slow purposeful accompaniment of guitar and vocals, bringing in a consistent drum beat and backing vocals to increase the intensity before fading out into a platform for second song on the album “Fall” to jump off. Unlike the opening track, “Fall” swings along with a fast-paced, foot-tapping beat, but the main feature of the song is still the raspy vocals of Marie Mayes.

It is now that we really start to see what Marie can do and make people feel with her voice, unleashing the emotionally charged “Rose”. Although this track also features a strong drum beat and uptempo guitars, Marie steals the limelight with her gritty vocals as she rasps: “And I keep praying to god that I’ll break my fucking limbs.”
These powerful driving guitars are prominent in several songs throughout the album and especially in the fifth track, which clocks in at just over one minute long. Despite how short it is, “Repast” really packs a punch and as most punk fans will know, good things really can come in small packages – cliché and all. The lyrical content stays unwaveringly harrowing and its delivery through the medium of Marie’s vocals doesn’t lose any of its torturous nature as she crows about a failed romance: “Even Jesus Christ couldn’t save you now; you will sink like a rock.”

For a debut album, Rockets on Wire have definitely pulled one out of the hat with I Am Not Your Home. The whole record comes in the form of an indie/punk crossbreed which musically conveys the devastating emotional content of the lyrics with drums crashing like waves on the rocks and guitars swirling like a maelstrom. Pride of position rightly goes to the haunting vocals, but the band does not stand or fall with Marie’s voice; there is more to their sound than that.
Rockets on Wire have sent out all the right signals with their first record which has rightly caught people’s attention; it will be interesting to see how they cope with the tricky second album.

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3.5/5 high fives!