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We've listed albums in order of star rating. Best first.
THE
FOXES Bill Hicks
The Foxes have been busy- self-managed, self-published and self-released, the
band’s last effort 'Trauma Town' hit #9 on the UK Indie Singles Chart in
October.
New single 'Bill Hicks' will surely head the same way and in the days of vinyl
this would no doubt have been a double A-side release. Two decent, energetic
rock n roll tracks (the 2nd being 'Come and Get You'), which should get some
decent radio play.
The band has already supported the likes of The Magic Numbers, Amy MacDonald and
Glasvegas (oh, and Chas & Dave) and have a 30 date tour in February and March to
promote the single. 2009 should be a busy year for The Foxes. ****
Review by Nikk Gunns
TOM FULLER BAND
Abstract Man Mesa/Bluemoon Records (2008)
www.tomfullerband.com
This is the second album
by Tom Fuller and his band whose new album gets released via a label more known
for its jazz releases. But the music on this album has a more Beatles vibe with
the odd psychedelic touch here and there.
'Sunglass Wardrobe', a
lovely pop tune with a touch of the psychedelic, featuring some great harmony
parts. 'Radio Man' with its instant chorus and cheery guitar lines is a song
made for airplay as is the ultra catchy refrain of 'Lollipop Guild'. This could
be the Beatles meets Cheap Trick!
Tom Fuller and co. also
tackle and produce a wonderful version of the Hollies' classic 'Air That I
Breathe'. 'Dragon Fight' sees Tom Fuller sound like the lead singer in the
Stereophonics!
In fact the whole song
sounds like a mid tempo Stereophonics number. The album does slightly lose its
way midway through and could do with a bit of uptempo music to keep it going
although the acoustic refrain of 'Franklin Street' is a great end to the album.
Well played and produced
this album will appeal to lovers of pop/melodic rock with a Beatles hint in the
sound. It is also a set of tunes I know will grow on me more with each play.
***½
Review by Jason Ritchie
THE
ETERNAL Kartika (Firebox)
This is the third album from Australia's Goth metal band The Eternal. 2004s 'The
Light Of Isolation' and 2005's 'Sleep Of Reason' were pretty well received by
the music press and after some support slots for HIM and Opeth they've built up
quite a reputation.
'Kartika' spans two
discs and as you'd expect it's a journey into the dark reaches of the human
mind. The layers of guitars are quite affective and it's not as bloated as other
bands in the genre are guilty of.
The
second disc is merely a bonus disc with a couple of remixes as well as new
tracks. Down Under isn't exactly known for spawning metal bands but The Eternal
are definitely leading the way in the Goth/Dark Metal field. *** ½
Review
by Neil Daniels
KING
EARL BOOGIE BAND Loaded & Live Angel Air
Formed back in the 70's by two members of Mungo Jerry, namely Paul King (who has
since retired from live music) and Colin Earl, the band have toured and recorded
on and off through the years. This live set was recorded in 2005 and 2006 and
features former Quo drummer John Coghlan in the line-up.
It's good mix of original numbers and covers all led by the boogie piano playing
of Earl who really is a master of this style of piano playing. The classic 'who
Do You Love' gets a run out whilst 'Blue State Slide' allows guitarist Dave
Peabody to show off his classy slide guitar playing.
An enjoyable live set although actually seeing this band live would be even
better to fully appreciate the musicianship and music the band offers. ***½
Review
by Jason Ritchie
IMPERIAL VIPERS Broken
www.myspace.com/imperialvipers
New album
from this local 5-piece. Very solid and upfront metal/rock’n’roll. The
influences of AC/DC, Led Zep and G’n’R come through although the there is a
strong punk/indie background and is far less jangly than it could be.
The title track is slightly grungy yet seems to work well, with the guitar work
midway through standing out.
The production is bright and solid, and when you add that to the music it does
come over as a wall of sound. That said there are plenty of foot tapping
moments.
The switch from quieter to louder moments works, and when the vocals touch on
shouting they remain coherent.
The website has tracks so you could do a lot worse than give them a listen.
***½
Review by Joe Geesin
IAIN
ASHLEY HERSEY Nomad Perris Records
Guitarist Iain Ashley Hersey has produced an album that will appeal to lovers of
classic hard rock a la Deep Purple and Rainbow. Joining him on vocals is the
talented Carsten Schulz (Domain/Evidence One), in fact many songs on here like
'Vintage Love' and 'More To life' sound as if they have been lifted of an
Evidence One album. Hersey also refrains form overloading the songs with
overlong and pointless guitar solos making for a solid set of tunes, although a
few are a tad too similar.
'Nicotine Dreams' really does remind the listener of Dio-era Rainbow and
speaking of Rainbow, 'LA Connection' is covered on this album. Doogie White
(ex-Rainbow) takes the lead vocal ably backed by Paul Logue (Eden's Curse) on
bass, making for a very fine version of this classic tune. An enjoyable album
and would be good if the line-up could tour as this sort of music would go down
a storm on the summer festival circuit. ***½
Review
by Jason Ritchie
SIXTY
8 Before The Fall
www.myspace.com/sixty8band
After a well received EP,
this is the band's first full length album, and solid it is too.
Take some solid 80s/90s American trad metal and beef it somewhat (OK, LOTS), and
you'll get the idea. Think Whitesnake or Dokken with some extreme influences.
The
opening tracks 'Blood Red Sky' will fill your brain with pounding riffs and
rhythms. Contrast that with 'Any Race Of Man', an acoustic ballad with a
fantastic electric solo and layered strings, a powerful number that sits between
G'n'R and Extreme, but a lot better than either (not difficult).
The bulk of the album does have a solid retro feel. 'Over' is a stand out track,
with heavy and solid production (still some work to do on that bass drum
though). The guitar intro to 'Better Days' is almost 70s, and ever so slightly
funky. The riffs on 'The Race Goes On' are powerful, with vocals to match. The
twin guitar work is almost power metal. 'I Won't Play' nods at Marshall Law.
A solid album and well
worth checking out if you like a retro feel to modern extreme...***½
Review by Joe Geesin
THE TEMPLE OF NOW Two
Worlds (Independent Records)
www.indierec.com
www.myspace.com/caliecox42
The Temple Of Now is a
band formed by Cal Cox and featuring keyboard player / drummer Dave Baxley, with
Cox covering some drums and keyboards himself too. Here the sound is much more
fluid.
There is
still that 80s influence, but the songs are stronger and the sound more
original. The organ work is almost progressive, with nods at Deep Purple and
Uriah Heep. The opener 'Another Day' is reminiscent of Forcefield's 'Live By
Numbers', so we're off to a good start there then.
The
synths in 'Temple Of Now' nod at new romantic, but the darkness of the song
moves it towards gothic. The songs here are more varied, still mid 80s yet still
very enjoyable. ***½
Review by Joe Geesin
ECLIPTICA Impetus
(Frontiers)
Following in the wake of 2007's acclaimed EP 'The Awakening' this is the debut
studio album by the Austrian progressive metal band Eclipitca. It's not a small
band, there are seven members! Hooking up with the brilliant Italian label
Frontiers will broaden their appeal and give them the right amount of promotion
and - no pun intended - impetus to spread their cause.
They
plausibly merge the classic heavy metal sound of the eighties with a modern
progressive style. Okay, sometimes the album loses focus and the production is
perhaps not as big as the genre requires but they have some great ideas and a
solid set of tunes.
There's
lots of intricate guitar work and the feminine vocals of Elisabeth Fangmeyer
make an interesting contrast to the macho vocals of Thomas Tieber. This band are
talented musicians and have some good ideas. 'Impetus' is flawed but not short
of any merit. ***½
Review
by Neil Daniels
LEIF EDLING Songs Of
Torment Songs Of Joy (GMR)
This is the debut solo album of Candlemass and Krux's mainman Leif Edling.
It's typically gothic and doom-laden stuff; in fact, it's really bloody
miserable but curiously addictive. Some of the riffs are excellent Sabbath
rip-offs and there's a really genuine side to Edling's voice.
He refers
to the album as "minimalist organ doom" and indeed he is accurate. The opening
track 'The Scar's is an example of modern doom metal at its most powerful. It's
only eight tracks long but it feels like an epic album. The first couple of
Black Sabbath albums have really laid the groundwork for 'Songs Of Torment' All
in all, it's a sturdy release. ***
Review by Neil Daniels
THE RACE In My Head It
Works (Shifty Disco)
Formed in Reading in 2004, indie band The Race are about to release second album
'In My Head It Works'. With a sound that encompasses hints of Keane, Coldplay,
Snow Patrol and Arcade Fire the band serve up the type of anthemic indie rock
that pleases the popular masses up and down the land.
Dave Eringa, who has previously produced the Manic Street Preachers and Idlewild,
amongst others, produced the album, and has done a sterling job. Highlights
include forthcoming single 'Rude Boy', the haunting 'Moorwood', 'Summer'- a
track reminiscent of U2 back in the day, 'Gloves' and 'Racing Car Game'.
Previously mentioned new single, 'Rude Boy', contains non-album tracks ' I Won't
Stay Away' and 'Holy Ghost' and should stir up interest in the album. ***
Review by
Nikk Gunns
PARALLEL OR 90 DEGREES
A Can Of Worms
(SPV/ProgRock)
An obscure band, Parallel or 90 Degrees have a cult fan base that has remained
steady since they released their debut CD 'The Corner Of My Room' back in 1996.
Mainman
Andy Tillison has another band called The Tangent but this band are lesser known
and has been put into a coma for some time; the last album release was 2001s
'More Exotic Ways To Die' although they did regroup for some recording sessions
in 2002.
'A Can Of Worms'
covers material from 1996, the year they formed, to 2001. Spanning across five
albums, it's weird and eclectic but utterly addictive in some respects. Any
decent compilation should serve as an archive of material and thus include
b-sides, live tracks and unreleased material. This two disc set includes four
previously unreleased songs. There are some avant-garde pieces and more
approachable songs like 'The Single' but on the whole it's wildly inventive
stuff. ***
Review
by Neil Daniels
VOTUM
Time Must Have A Stop (ProgRock)
Formed in 2003, this Polish prog metal band have created something that, as the
genre demands, complex and intricate. Coming in at 51 minutes in length ‘Time
Must Have A Stop’ has eight densely layered songs plodding through various
emotions and obsessions.
It’s hard to take in and
some of the songs don’t work for me (‘Train Back Home’ is just too pretentious)
but for a first album they prove themselves to be worthwhile musicians.
The
darker and more sombre tracks are the most interesting; certainly ‘The Hunt Is
On’ is a stylish piece of work. It won’t be to everybody’s tastes but they have
something to say and there’s no doubt future albums will have fewer flaws. ***
Review
by Neil Daniels CLAIRE
VEZINA Cyber Neptune Unicorn Records (2009)
www.clairevezina.com
Although
this is released on the rather fine progressive rock label Unicorn Records
Claire Vezina’s album is much more pop meets electro. Fear not it is not filled
with dance beats but the music uses lots of electro programming/loops but the
real star of the album are the vocals of Claire Vezina. She has a lovely
enticing, dreamy melodic voice with all the songs sung in French. Not content
with having a wonderful voice Claire Vezina also plays piano and keyboards.
Not what you’d expect from the label and good on them for branching out into
other genres. This album will appeal to the chill out crowd as well fans of
female fronted progressive rock bands like Magenta and Mostly Autumn (less the
guitar solos!). ***
Review
by Jason Ritchie
KENELIS Remember How It Felt
I’m always a sucker for a female fronted rock band, although I have a
distinct preference for a hefty dose of melody in the mix.
Farnborough based, alt rock band Kenelis have been around since 2004 and
released a clutch of EPs, although it’s taken them until now to get their debut
album released.
Featuring the singles Nobody Sees Me (But You) and Drained, it’s a dark intense
and angsty affair, with a distinctive wall of sound but interspersed with
delicate acoustic guitar and piano passages. Give Her The Gun is a classic
example - a long piano ballad style opening with husky breathed vocals building
to a frenetic, angry thrash which fades before building gently again to a
tumultuous climax.
The band can play light and dark with equal aplomb and it’s a formula that is
deployed fairly consistently across the album. Fans of the genre will be hard
pressed not to be impressed. It’s certainly enough to entice parents briefly
through the bedroom door only to send them scuttling for cover when Armageddon
breaks.
A niche product that will see the band sink or swim, but I wouldn’t want to
second guess the vagaries of the British record buying public. But with the
right breaks, Kenelis could be a band to be reckoned with in 2009. ***
Review by Pete Whalley
GRAND DUCHY Petits
Fours (Cooking Vinyl)
Grand Duchy. Grand piano. Pass the Duchy. A strange amalgam, Grand Duchy.
Otherwise known as two piece Violet Clark and Black Francis, each taking turns
in the vocal spotlight.
Containing 9 tracks, the album features driving bass lines and a healthy dose of
synths. It opens with Come Over To My House - a song that sounds like something
an angry Lou Reed or John Cale would have come up with (although perhaps, not
the synths).
By contrast Lovesick, on which Violet takes lead vocals is an altogether sweeter
affair, but again anchored in the eighties. And therein lies the conundrum - the
album is an experimental affair with no clear direction emerging.
Black Suit is another feisty number that played on a support slot, to say Foo
Fighters, would no doubt bring down the house. But elsewhere, the synth pop
reference points - Garbage springs very much to mind - are much to the fore.
And, of course, as with any male / female two-piece, a comparison with White
Stripes is inevitable. Not wishing to disappoint, the album closer Volcano!
could oh so easily be the aforementioned duo.
In summation, quirky, is the word that springs to mind. But quirky doesn’t = bad
(or, necessarily, good). But there’s some interesting work here. With the right
focus and breaks, who knows … ***
Review
by Pete Whalley
SPACED OUT Evolution
(Unicorn)
Evolution is this band's fifth studio album, one that tries to convey the
lyrical message within the music itself (that's about as much of the sleevenotes
as I could manage); I guess that's the reason behind this instrumental set that
mixes power metal with prog and fusion. A very talented 3 piece with guest
keyboards.
Opener 'Biomechanic' opens with a fast bass line, hinting at Manowar, before
going in a more disjointed direction with a fluid guitar line over the top.
Two more tracks in and there's a big nod to 90s King Crimson. Some nice rhythms,
mixing both catchy and disjointed, and guitar that moves from fluid (some good
solos) to just poking its head in when it feels like it. Some odd sounds too.
Sounds like they're trying to convey a conversation.
Very much a musician's album, it's pretty technical, pretty good, but not the
easiest thing in the world to listen to. ***
Review by Joe Geesin
CANDI STATON Who's
Hurting Now? (EMI)
Candi Staton. A name to conjure with, but perhaps not one you would expect to
find on the pages of this veritable hotbed of rock site.
A doyen of a dozen gospel albums, almost 30 Billboard R&B chart singles and four
Grammy nominations, this is a woman who at least deserves our respect. So on
[your feet, or on] your knees and worship rock lovers.
Best known for her 1976 disco hit Young Hearts Run Free, Candi is now a fully
paid up member of the free bus pass club, and she's been recording for 55 years
and for almost 40 of those as a solo artist.
Who's Hurting is, by my counting, her 26th album and her 7th in the last decade.
So Candi is not taking her pedal from the metal in the autumn of her days and
while it's not going to convert any guitar lovers it's a pleasant enough outing
- the sort of unobtrusive album that you might expect from the likes of Gladys
Knight.
It's not revelatory, or career defining, but recorded in Nashville (what isn't
these days) with a bunch of veterans, it comfortably spans country and soul in
an unchallenging, easy listening sort of way.
Candi comes to these shores in February if you want to catch a legend live.
**½
Review by Pete Whalley
CALIE COX Obvious
(Independent Records)
www.indierec.com
www.myspace.com/caliecox42
Calie Cox is a young
American multi instrumentalist who has formed a number of bands since the late
80s. Obvious is his latest solo album, on which he takes vocals, guitars, bass,
digital piano and synths, with the help of a drummer, pianist and guitarist or
two.
The first thing to hit you is Rush. And not just an influence, the bulk of the
album is straight of the 80's book of Rush. The riffs, the melodies, the high
vocals. There is some good work though, the vocals are strong, and some of the
guitar work excellent. Even the slower more melodic numbers sound good, and like
Rush too. There's a touch of other 80s rock in there, and some Zeppelin too.
It's a sound very much missing these days, but it could be done with a touch
more originality.
The second thing to hit you the recording quality; while the guitar and vocals
sound good, the drums are bright and tinny, yet at the bottom end manage to
distort too. The inter track hiss adds to that 80s sound too. **½
Review by Joe Geesin HIGH
SOCIETY I Never Go Out In The Rain Angel Air SJPCD290 (2009)
As the name suggests the band's music is based on the film of the same name and
that era, namely the 1930's. The band feature Terry Cassidy (The Monks) and John
Ford (The Monks/The Strawbs) amongst the line-up and had a UK hit single with 'I
Never Go Out In The Rain' back in the late 1970's.
Musically
it is fine if you like Noel Coward and although I love the Divine Comedy who do
sometimes delve into his musical era, High Society lack variety in much of their
music. This would be fine to experience live and I would imagine it would be a
very entertaining show but on CD it lacks a magical sparkle. 'I Never Go Out In
The Rain' and 'Top Hat & Tails' are certainly worth a listen.
File under 'curio' and certainly a CD of limited appeal although vocally and
musically they are very good. **½
Review
by Jason Ritchie
WE
ROCK LIKE GIRLS DON'T How Did It Get To This
www.myspace.com/werocklikegirlsdont
So how did it get to this?
Seriously, I need an explanation. From the opening track 'Violence', which does
nothing except apply violence to my ear drums, this is a noisy mess. The band
are a duo, and bulk up through ferocity. Nice idea, granted. But everything
sounds either tinny or distorted, or both. 1000 Watts of white noise with rhythm
and chords. This is DIY beyond and without any attempt to sound good.
Sometimes the noise stops so you can hear the vocals.
When drums and guitar constantly distort in unison it's very tough on the ears.
The female vocals are nice - when they're given a chance, and when they're not
too bright and shouted in your face. There's a touch of indie and rock'n'roll,
but it's all so blasted and distorted. Even the slow melodic intro to
'Photograph' is distorted. What the hell was the engineer doing because he
wasn't overseeing this that's for sure.
Not just plain ugly, this is ugly ugly. *
Review by Joe Geesin
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