Robyn Writes

Review: Cayetana – Hot Dad Calendar [EP]

Let’s not mince words – it’s only February and already, I reckon I’ve found my two favourite releases of this year. Against Me!’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues is a total masterpiece, and then, there’s the new Cayetana 7-inch, Hot Dad Calendar. It’s only two tracks long, and frustratingly so, because Cayetana are totally now your new favourite band. For reals.

Hot Dad Calendar is intrinsically punk rock, as was its predecessor, the aptly named Demo. None of it feels processed or phoned in, or obviously written by just one person; instead, this record, like the one before it, sounds like the product of sweet jams. It lacks some of the rawness of the demo, which came out in December 2012, but instead, Cayetana have found a much more balanced sound while still remaining somewhat low-fi.

Titular track ‘Hot Dad Calendar’ gives off some truly sunny indie-punk vibes. The guitar has the perfect tone, and the lyrics are totally honest and touching. I want to write songs like Cayetana. I want to write songs that mean something, like these ladies do, with lines like “I know you really want to make it out alive”, which strike perfectly. ‘Ella’, which was previously included on the demo, is just as effective, with really punchy drums and simply stunning guitar.

Two tracks, incredible though they are, just isn’t enough. When Cayetana put out a full-length, they’re going to be pretty unstoppable, so get in on the ground floor now.

5 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Manhattan Coast – This One’s For You [EP]

Bursting forth from the incredibly lucrative musical valleys of South Wales in a flurry of hooks and faux-American nasal accents is five-piece Manhattan Coast. This One’s For You is an accomplished declaration of audacious intent, their collective aim angled firmly at producing that smash hit pop-punk single that will bring them success and the subsequent ubiquitous energy drink endorsement deal. In fact, every one of the five tracks included on the EP is riddled with traits that have brought success to every high achieving contemporary pop-punk band, to the extent that ‘This One’s For You’ acts as a checklist for generic pop-punk exponents. Incredibly nasal American accents that belie the band’s true geographical locality: check. Bouncy, major-key breakdowns: check. Huge choruses that more-or-less render the rest of the song irrelevant: check. A measured dose of backing vocal “woah-oh’s”: check.

To set aside my charcoal black heart for one moment, and ignore the acidic cynicism that spews from it like an overactive geyser, This One’s For You is pop-punk in its most concentrated form. A perfect melding of driving drums and choruses that live up to their intended purpose as aural fishing nets, designed to trap impressionable teens with volleys of hooks enacted by singer and guitarist in equal measure.

What’s more, This One’s For You proves just how little pop-punk has managed to progress. Despite a few bands – Don Broco for one, that have managed to at least attempt to incorporate the slightest amount of stylistic variation into their otherwise straightforward pop-punk opus – Manhattan Coast seem irrefutably trapped in a musical void circa 2007. Images of floppy side fringes and Topman v-necks abound.

They do everything that their sub-genre demands of them, and nothing more. In this respect, This One’s For You acts as a definitive genre study; a perfect and studious amalgamation of everything that popularized pop-punk, condensed into five streamlined tracks that should attain some sort of pop-punk perfection, given the hindsight Manhattan Coast are afforded to the pop-punk discourse. It’s fervently generic, the exact same formula being peddled by countless troupes of preened and idealistic lads in the UK’s toilet venues, still holding onto the dream that they can replicate the success of such arena filling bands as You Me At Six. To their credit, Manhattan Coast possess a keen ear for a catchy melody or two, but sadly none of the songs are particularly memorable affairs, despite their best efforts to the contrary. Opener ‘War On The Weekend’ is probably the most concerted effort, its chorus a radio-friendly exhibition of vocal histrionics and simplistic guitar melodies, sure to win the hearts of a swathe of fifteen year-old girls should it be granted airplay on Radio One. The rest however, never rise above average.

If you’re an ardent fan of pop-punk, Manhattan Coast will unquestionably appeal; for others, their generic and uninspired compositions leave a bland taste in the mouth.

2 out of 5 high fives!

Depths – We Love, We Lose, We Break

What a treat we have for you my lovelies, a passionately sculpted new single by Belgian post-hardcore outfit Depths. So let’s jump right in, shall we? Title track ‘We Love, We Lose, We Break’ unleashes an unholy amount of raw, pent-up emotion, summed up in lead singer Olivier’s growl of “we lose what we love and we hate what we gain, just a vicious circle pulling us in.” The track is held together with control, a melancholic battle between heart wrenching sorrow and blood boiling fury, with pounding climaxes subsiding to gentler moments of reflection.

Second track ‘Alone and Forsaken’ follows suit, never loud for the sake of it, only to convey equal measures of anguish and anger. The intro begins slowly, coaxing in the listener before delivering on its promise of rhythmic melodies and accompanying drums – all coming together to serve up a great sequel to the title track. What can we say about Depths judging by their recent release? Regrettably not too much given that it’s only 2 tracks, but what we hear is promising!

I’ve said it before, and honestly, I’ll keep saying it, but I think bands like Depths could benefit from a little more variation with the vocals. The growls are good by all accounts, I’m not taking anything away from them. Olivier unleashes a fiery emotive and angst filled vocal performance, but sometimes it is easier to appreciate the strength of this kind of vocal performance against a softer backdrop. I’m not expecting moments where the vocals reach the levels of a soft and soothing ballad, but not only would some softer vocals boost the intense presence of the harsher vocals, it would also show a greater variation of talent (which is no bad thing).

Besides any artistic preferences about Olivier’s vocal delivery, there isn’t much negativity to bring against the release. A single is seldom indicative of everything a band has to offer, so we can hope for more variation and invention from an EP or album. When that next release comes, we’ll be listening out for it with our keen little ears on – and so should you!

3.5 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Crash Island – Strange Shores

Strange Shores is the spanking new EP from London quartet Crash Island; a delay-soaked exhibit of gloomy indie and confident yet pensive songwriting that shows tangible desire to ascend from the drudgery of toilet venue circulation. Comprising of three original tracks, a live acoustic version and pair of remixes, Strange Shores is intended as a showcase for several aspects of the band’s potential. Led by the radio-ready ‘Loved Ones’, the three original tracks offer glimmers of brilliance, with the chorus of ‘Loved Ones’ in particular striving for the anthemic.

To its detriment, Strange Shores suffers from an over-saturation of a single track: the aforementioned ‘Loved Ones’ – obviously, the song onto which the band’s hopes are pinned. Certainly, the song exhibits all the signifiers of a truly great indie song – a moody, atmospheric synthesizer intro giving way to a jittery, syncopated guitar meandering towards a chorus that offers distinct sing-along potential. In various guises, the track appears four times throughout the six song EP, including the pair of pretty dreadful remixes which half-heartedly attempt to transform ‘Loved Ones’ into an alternately generic dub-step and drum & bass workout. The results are paltry and haphazard, with the overfamiliarity and over-reliance on the single track on Strange Shores breeding nothing but contempt. ‘Let It Rain’ and ‘Across The Skyline’ are more promising offerings of the Crash Island repertoire, the latter sticking to a familiar structure of brooding intro and a driving, stomping chorus complete with staccato guitar stabs and those once ubiquitous disco drums that characterized late noughties indie rock. ‘Let It Rain’ on the other hand, is a cautiously optimistic indie rocker that sees the band enter a more indie-disco orientated territory; offering perhaps the most “tropical” outing with the lead guitar taking upmost inspiration from the characteristic exponent of Foals and their Afrobeat indebted high-fretboard staccato guitar lines.

As an EP, Strange Shores is undone by the overwhelming emphasis placed on a single track, undermining its impact as a bona fide lead single by reducing its otherwise catchy chorus into a fathomless mush by means of endless reiteration. It bears much similarity to the act of repeating a single word until it is devoid of meaning and becomes little more than a confusing and vague noise – a redundant sound. Heard individually, ‘Loved Ones’ has all the markings of the kind of stonking indie hit that gets Fearne Cotton vigorously salivating and consumed by hyperbole. On the other hand, serving no purpose other than the annoyance of the listener, the remixes demand to be omitted in favour of more engrossing original material.

2.5 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Magic Eight Ball – Sorry We’re Late, But We’re Worth The Wait

I’ll admit, when the Magic Eight Ball record crossed my virtual desk, I was a little bit dismissive. For a start, whenever anything’s described as “power-pop”, I feel a bit queasy inside. The cover didn’t look as slick as the other records that’d passed through my inbox, all with big text logos and stock photography artwork. And I hadn’t checked out the video in the email, because I like to be surprised. It’s safe to say that upon hitting ‘play’, I was utterly and completely taken aback, because Sorry We’re Late, But We’re Worth The Wait is an absolute banger of a record.

The Surrey trio, who didn’t get around to putting this out for about six years after their inception, are highly accomplished musicians with a knack for killer harmonies and big rock ballads. Not that there isn’t plenty of stuff to make you want to dance, but it’s the ballad-esque epics that truly showcase just how great these guys are. Tracks like ‘Big Star’, ‘Before It Was Murder (You Got Me Talking)’ are massive tunes, with bouncy rhythms, big pop hooks and pure rock ‘n roll bravado. There’s lots of tongue-in-cheek moments, like in final track ‘Local Girls’, with its classical picking, violin, and lyrics about how it’s hard to find a decent girl in their town. But then there’s tracks like ‘Love Makes You Do Some Funny Things’ that are totally from the heart, and are guaranteed to put a huge grin on your face.

As much as I hate to say it, power-pop is the right way to put it; and Magic Eight Ball aren’t afraid to embrace that. The songs are fairly simple in structure, but this works in Magic Eight Ball’s favour, and the cheeky ‘ahh ahh!’s throughout are absolutely sublime. Lots of bands try to overcomplicate their output, but there’s a great virtue in taking a step back and just concentrating on putting out songs that are genuinely fantastic.

For those of you that are feeling a certain void since Bowling For Soup called it quits, this record is for you. It’s also for you if you like great harmonies, sweet guitar solos and vocals that could melt butter. Get in.

4 out of 5 high fives!