Robyn Writes

Review: Tigers Of Junction Street – s/t [EP]

Well don’t we have a lovely treat for your precious little ears today? And it comes in the self-titled package of a 5-track EP by Tigers Of Junction Street. Let’s dismiss of the mostly boring stuff first shall we? Who are Tigers Of Junction Street (TOJS)? They’re a five-piece from London and they’ll be releasing their nifty EP through Hoffen Records on July 28 (just in time for the summer holidays kiddies). They showcase the usual five piece set-up, consisting of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer and a singer; forming in 2010 on the back of a long-term friendship.

That’s quite enough of the bio shit, let’s get to the music! Even when you first listen to the EP, you can’t help but notice how well they band play, individually and together. Each guitarist, the bass, the drums and the vocals are all spot on, hitting each and every note while crafting some complex melodies together. Kudos to lead singer Josh Elliot, his vocal range is pretty impressive, if not a little high register for my taste (alas we can’t have Corey Taylor and Winston McCall spearheading every band can we?), but it complements the electronic-rock sound that TOJS seem to be flirting with throughout the five tracks.

The boys claim to draw influences from the likes of Coheed and Cambia, Periphery and TesseracT; I guess I can hear elements of that coming through. The opening track, ‘Incarnation’, kicks the EP off brilliantly with a contagious melody and chorus. It is by far the catchiest of the five tracks on the EP and it’ll stay with you for weeks after you’ve listened to it for exactly that reason. It boasts a lot of what modern rock should be about, up-tempo from the off and always in your face, it has riffs a-plenty and you’ll be humming “I’ll throw you away, I’ll come out swinging like the way you know I’ll play…” before you know it!

The whole EP experiments pretty successfully with jazz-elements too, treating us mere listeners to purposefully disjointed but well-crafted harmonics. In my albeit brief research into the band – looking on their social media – I did come across another review of TOJS which seemed at odds with my thoughts; in fact it was a pretty harsh and scathing assessment of the release. ‘All the songs sound the same… they have great complexity but lack originality and emotion…’ you get the point. Why do I bring this up? Because I really couldn’t disagree more!

‘The Deception’ is a good move onwards from ‘Incarnation’, raising the rock-game at the loss of some of the more pop-like melodies. It brings in more gritty riffs, moving in a heavier/darker direction – even if its intro sounded like a retro video game (more signs of the electronic rock malarkey I mentioned). After slowing the song almost to a stop – it would be a stop if it wasn’t for the gentle vocals – the guitars and drums really kick back into life, the ranging riffs being a total pleasure to listen to. ‘Cold Winter’ tries to slow the tempo, showing that the band can craft something more sombre, as it carries on the pursuit of the darker territory.

Even the ‘Interlude’, which may seem a little out of place on an EP, was well formed and a pleasure to listen to! All in all, what TOJS provide isn’t a small mission statement, it’s a smorgasbord; a sampling of everything they are musically capable of. Rather than being a statement of intent, it is a mini finished article. What we’ve got here is a bitesized album and you should check it out!

4 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Pariso/Svalbard – Split

Pariso and Svalbard are two of the most prolific, hard-working and downright fucking fantastic offerings from the section of UK hardcore. They are acts that hold such oft-forgotten notions as integrity in high esteem. You won’t find either of these bands on package tours sponsored by energy drinks companies or sauntering round in high-quality music videos in Supreme caps and Hype t-shirts. This is D.I.Y hardcore at its most confrontational and artistically inclined, showcasing the best aspects of each band in all their ultra-heavy splendour. Teaming up for this unique split-album, the record consists of seven tracks composed individually by the respective bands plus two more which are collaborations between the musicians. Judging by the result of this experimental endeavour, it is a practice that produces some truly edifying results, each band upping their game considerably to produce some of the best work either has written thus far.

Pariso’s contribution is a succinct continuation of the stylistic approach sought on their sublime and punchy record Consanguinity, released last year. With crushing hardcore as its base, the songs are alive with metallic flourishes whilst the heaviness seems to have only increased, the Slipknot influences being more open than ever before. Once a band known for the brevity of their tracks, Pariso have evolved into exceptional craftsmen, able to hold town tight grooves and assemble true ‘songs’ rather than a simple repertoire of crudely conjoined riffs. A cleaner production style aids in the translation of a new-found dynamics, although it benefits the post-hardcore stylings of Svalbard to a much greater degree, accentuating the rift between the band’s quieter and more melodic motifs with their driving intensity. Elsewhere, riffs of particular barbaric intensity, such as the demonic trawl through a particularly doom-laden passage at the close of Pariso’s ‘Underground Notes’, impact with assured viciousness. As in Consanguinity, many of the riffs can easily be construed as ‘hooky’; those that form the central attack on ‘Helios, The Demise’ are particularly memorable examples.

Whilst Pariso bring the muscle in the form of pulverising riffs and imposing physicality, Svalbard’s disposition often seems more cerebral and melodically inclined. ‘Ripped Apart’ exudes skyward-bound post-rock guitars and delay-soaked lead lines that give way to a particularly violent chug. Similarly, ‘Greyscale’ rushes by in a storm of blastbeats, flirting with black metal tropes in frenetic flurries. Reaching a particularly epic apex, it comes across like a snippet of a Guides By Voices track given a screamo makeover. The high-octane mood is lowered exponentially for ‘Allure’, a song whose intro is a work of measured fragility, hushed guitars slowly gathering in pace and volatility until the track opens up into a restless hardcore gallop.

By far the highlights on the record however, are the collaborative tracks which combine the defining elements of each band into an impeccable stew of pure unbridled brutality that includes a particularly bone-headed three note breakdown alongside Svalbard’s favoured melodic guitar lines. ‘Faceless’ posits an instantly tangible thrash influence given the hardcore treatment, warped into a marauding brute of a track. Yet it is opener ‘Floating Anchors’ that really impacts with a composition that is both accomplished and irrevocably heavy, combining a dual vocal attack into a track that nears perfection.

As a showcase for the UK’s hardcore underground, the record posits Pariso and Svalbard as the leading lights within the D.I.Y scene. Immeasurably brutal, yet possessing a more cerebral inclination on the part of both bands, this is a hardcore record to remedy the growing prominence of base and one-dimensional beatdown music. What’s more, it is proof that heaviness and intelligent compositions are not mutually exclusive.

4.5 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Two Houses – Disappointer [EP]

The older I get, the less I give a shit about genre. A few years ago, I’d have strived to stick Two Houses in some kind of category. Do those jangly guitar tones mean they’re kinda indie? Does that simple song structure mean that they’re actually punk? Are those vocals the kind of thing that the folk at your favourite hip music website would lose their shit over? The answer is probably yes to all of these questions, so I’m past caring. What I do care about is that Disappointer is simply a fantastic record that’s been made with love, and while it doesn’t try in the slightest to be prophetic or profound, virtually anyone in their 20s is going to resonate with it.

‘Geicsman’s Youth’ is beautifully raw and emotive, opening on those fantastically unique vocals, with plenty of melody backing it up. The record as a whole has been given that DIY and scratchy, but totally actually produced, feel and in particular, it works incredibly well in that opening track. A surprising amount of Disappointer is really instrumental, with no vocal intrusion, like ‘Kanye West Doesn’t Care About Chicago’. It’s short and sweet, and lovely to boot. The rough and raw harmonies are really heartfelt, and it’s weirdly poetic and desolate at the same time. Title track ‘Disappointer’ is low-fi indie punk and roll, and there’s a switch-up in the vocals that make each self-deprecating note, no matter how soft, hit even harder. Plus, there’s some great echoey guitar lines behind the verse that are spine-tinglingly brilliant. ‘Dude, Peyton Manning’ probably offers the most coherent story of them all. Have you ever worked in an office? This one’s for you. It’s a little ‘heavier’ than the rest of the EP, but it makes sure that the record ends on a solid track, and it’s sweetly entertaining.

Disappointer is a very clever record, and very American, but it’s also very accessible and easy to listen to. For those who are willing to delve a little deeper, you’ll probably find a new favourite band, but even if you’re just content to listen to those summery jams, there’s plenty to adore. Just don’t try and stick a label on it.

4 out of 5 high fives!

Review: They Ate Isengard – Abstract Corn Cloud

Abstract by name, abstract by nature. They Ate Isengard is an ambitious project by experimental musician and Gothenburg resident Harvey Parker, who produces disjointed electronica in a kaleidoscopic miasma of screamed vocals, glitch synths and tumultuous moments of frenetic blastbeats, all of which are assembled within the context of some thoroughly rough-hewn lo-fi production. It’s every bit as discombobulating as it sounds and with little conventional melody or even the briefest of grooves to latch on to, Abstract Corn Cloud is a sufficiently challenging listen.

Oftentimes, it comes across as the goth-tinged dance-metal of Combichrist put through an industrial blender and reassembled by the twitching hands of a paranoid schizophrenic, utterly devoid of much needed medication. Tracks such as ‘Laudanum’ consist of seemingly disparate elements colliding and sparring with each other, only occasionally resembling what could be commonly constituted as a ‘song’. It’s cybergrind in cahoots with fairground organs, effervescent synthesizers and columns of glaring white noise, all uneasily co-existing in consistent and unceasing abrasion and attempting to redefine the notion of what a song should be. With copious elements vying for attention, it fractures the consciousness through a searing Totalism, filling every space with opposing elements. For the most part, it’s nothing short of an aural maelstrom of violent twitches and throat-tearing vocals that have been further distorted beyond all recognition. Perhaps the most conventional track is the beat-heavy ‘When The Moon Tilted Backwards’ which manages to refrain from delving too far into the abstract and instead maintains a vaguely coherent shape throughout its three minutes. Emphasizing processed beats, it almost resembles an extremely experimental work of contemporary hip hop in the vein of LA noise-rap trio Clipping minus any notion of languid flow.

The ambition and sheer wealth of ideas is irrevocably commendable and the project is smothered with a stringent audacity most musicians would rather shy away from. Yet, the nature of the tracks as overwhelming in their disparity and furore renders Abstract Corn Cloud as nigh on unlistenable to but a few avant-garde and experimental aficionados. Despite the valiant efforts of Harvey Parker, it seems a veritable long-shot that this brand of avant-garde screamo oddity will penetrate much further beyond the role of niche blogspot curiosity.

2 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Dead Inside – Millions Dead [EP]

Dead Inside are a brutal beatdown/deathcore four-piece heralding from the fair lands of Nottingham and as they creep into their second year of existence, they have released their second EP Millions Dead. What can you expect from taking a listen to these folks? Well, imagine any beatdown and deathcore you have heard before, because Dead Inside haven’t yet found a way to make a niche that is unique enough to call their own.

Opening track ‘For Every Infant In A Body Bag’ is slow and ominous, mixing in elements of death and half-stepped hardcore. From the outset it is clear that the band aren’t aiming for a polished production sound, which is good because too much deathcore gets watered down by being overproduced and polished until it goes flat. No, that isn’t something you could accuse Dead Inside of. Their raw emotion is evident in every crunching guitar chord, in the sardonically growled lyrics (which are pretty mordant on their own) and in every slow crash of the drums.

What is crafted here is straight-up angry and aggressive, without any need for merely implied emotions. If the gory design isn’t proof enough for you, upon hearing Daniel’s screamed vocals and the punishing – but perhaps drawn out – breakdowns you are left in no doubt, Dead Inside want this to sound as violent as possible. The guitar is even tuned to Drop E, making the sound emitted through the EP all the heavier.

The EP’s second track, ‘Deicide’, delivers on any expectations left by the opener, but without ever really going beyond those expectations. There are plenty more crashing cymbals, guitar crunching and blistering vocals, but there is the feeling of predictability around it. What may have once been hard-hitting lyrics, “If there was a god / He would have to beg for my forgiveness”, sadly just make me feel even more uninspired by the music. I’m happy to hear bands use their music to question, criticise and say ‘FUCK YOU’ to established conventions, but this just sounds like shitting on religion because it’s ‘the hardcore thing to do’.

Even in the delivery of the strong and raw breakdowns, there is no dramatic or dynamic change of pace to lead the breakdown in and in some sense the entire songs become a breakdown – which kind of removes the need of or interest in a breakdown altogether. The EP feels at best a little safe and at worst wholly unimaginative in terms of what the band deliver. You won’t hear anything here that you couldn’t find somewhere else on the radar; it sounds generic and expected after the first few chords, bringing nothing new into the genre.

If you’re into this genre, then you might wonder what I’ve been chatting on about as you should get some enjoyment from this release, but there is not much crossover appeal for fans of other metal. As someone who usually leans more towards metalcore or something a tad more melodic, I found the slower, heavier nature of the music a bit laborious. So it falls very short of making any big statement within the metal world and there isn’t anything on this record which will set this band apart from the majority of beatdown bands out there. BUT, as far as performing within a genre goes, this band are definitely solid and perhaps it’s all we should expect from a band that is still in its infancy, so I’ll withhold any strict or unfair judgements, until next time…

2 out of 5 high fives!