Island trio, Reminders have announced new single ‘Carousel’ via Burger Records today after signing with the US label back in 2019.
Since forming in 2017 on the Isle of Wight, the three teenagers Leo Dyke (vox/guitar), Theo Afsarian (bass), and Harry Spencer (drums) have been taking their suburban teenage boredom out on their instruments fuelled by both 90s East Bay and 70s East Coast Punk scenes, Green Day, Ramones and The Cure. Their ‘beach punk’ sound was cultivated on the pebbles because literally everything happens on the Isle of Wight at the beach.
New single Carousel took direct influence from this with songwriter, Leo Dyke’s experience operating rides aged 16 at a children’s funfair called Peter Pans:
“I would literally sit and watch the wheels go round, having mundane and dull thoughts while getting sunburnt and watching other people enjoy their summer,” explains Dyke. “Everyone’s on a different carousel, it’s a metaphor asking if the routine you’re stuck in that’s going round and round will ever break, or if you just sit there and let it continue to happen.”
The most generic modern punk cliché is ‘suburban teenager hates hometown with nowhere to go’ and being from the IOW means that Reminders pretty much are that cliché incarnate as a band. The whole place is one big suburb leading to nowhere that you can never afford to leave, but that abandoned seaside holiday town that hasn’t been touched for decades will always be home.
Following their previous independent releases, Water Sports and Major Cities, their new home of Burger Records will be channelling the trio’s next three singles starting with Carousel.
Stream or download Carousel online at Spotify and see them play live at the following UK shows:
THE LEGENDARY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL EVENT CONFIRMED TO TAKE PLACE AT THE 02 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE APRIL 1ST
THE ONLY ONES, JIM JONES AND SIXTIES ICON ARTHUR BROWN CONFIRMED TO JOIN THE EVENT!
Staking its reputation as an essential rock ‘n’ roll date in the annual calendar, with two now fabled awards nights at the 02 Islington Academy in 2018 and 2019 which saw a vast array of iconic artists performing and rubbing shoulders, the 2020 Vive Le Rock Awards is confirmed to take place this coming April 1st.
This time, however, the event has gone bigger and bolder, moving to the 2000 capacity 02 Shepherds Bush Empire for the party of the year that also celebrates Vive Le Rock’s tenth anniversary in print, having published its first issue in 2010, it is now the world’s biggest rock ‘n’ roll and punk magazine, independently published by Big CheesePublishing Ltd in London.
The two previous years have featured live appearances from The Damned, The Stranglers, Shakin’ Stevens, Suzi Quatro, members of AC/DC, Sex Pistols, The Specials, Buzzcocks and even England football legend Stuart Pearce, and the event this year continues to grow in stature and size!
This week, further icons of rock ‘n’ roll have been confirmed to join the event and Vive Le Rock are very proud to welcome London rockers The Only Ones onto the line-up. Frontman Peter Perrett returned in recent years to launch a successful solo career with two fabulous albums in 2017 and 2019 and now we celebrate The Only Ones legacy, who will be picking up a ‘Classic Song’ award for their timeless 1978 hit ‘Another Girl Another Planet’, which will be performed on the night.
Also confirmed to join the melee is soul-brother Jim Jones; Hypnotic, Righteous Mind and Revue, a man who IS rock ‘n’ roll incarnate, who will bring his hand-clapping grooves to the night.
Then, just when you thought the evening couldn’t get any hotter, along comes the crazy world of Arthur Brown with his red-hot 1968 hit ‘Fire’, bringing his wild show and worldwide number one smash hit to the event.
“I am the God of Hellfire and I bring ‘Fire’ to the Vive Le Rock Awards 2020,” exclaims Arthur, now in his 57th year of performance, he has launched his new immersive multi-media tour in the UK. One review calls it “A lesson in psychedelic individuality, ingenuity and madness!” Get ready to rock!
These join the previously announced artists, Original Rudeboy – The Specials Neville Staple, along with a very special one-off reformation of 80’s goth rockers The Lords of The New Church, fronted by Finnish Hanoi Rocks legend Michael Monroe on vocals. The Vive Le Rockers all-star band will once again back specially invited singers and compere for the night which will see the return of Ed Tudor-Pole of Tenpole Tudor fame (and also 80s T.V show, The Crystal Maze!). Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders are set to pick up an Icon Award and punk legend, The Damned’s Brian James will accept the Pioneer award.
There will be a special section for rockers we have lost in 2019 including Gang Of Four’s Andy Gill, Eddie and The Hot Rods Barrie Masters (who played the 2019 VLR awards) and surf guitar legend Dick Dale.
The audience will comprise of invited members of the media, television, fashion and the music world as well as an allocation of tickets for the general public. The VLR Awards are a truly unique, international event celebrating the legends of our music scene. “This isn’t some chicken in a basket awards show, this is a party with the coolest people in rock n’ roll” said Vive Le Rock editor Eugene Butcher.
Album #3 from Newport’s finest exponents of gutter-level rock ‘n’ roll is finally here and it’s worth the wait bruthas and sistas! Deathtraps formed after a chance meeting between two ex Sick Livers and a Flyscreen at a Dwarves gig in the summer of 2016, and Veej(vocals/guitar), Matty (drums) and Fraser (vocals/bass) haven’t looked back since.
Riding on two killer albums, namely 2017’s ‘Justice For The Risca One’ and 2018’s sophomore ‘Gotta Get Some’ the scuzzy three-piece offer up their new long player ‘Stole Your Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and what a glorious slab of filthy noise it is too!
“Deathtraps stole your rock ‘n’ roll and they play it much better than you” they scream in the title track. “But who did they steal it from?” I hear you cry. Well, maybe they stole the beat from the lord or they sold their souls to the devil at Risca junction, but whatever happened, they sound like Turbonegro dry-humping The Hellacopters with their middle finger shoved so far up Motorhead’s ass it’ll come out bleeding, yeah they’re that good! Think Zeke, think MC5 or ‘Total 13’era Backyard Babies, think turbo-charged rock ‘n’ roll of the highest order and you’ll be getting close muthafuckers!
It starts with a brutal assault on the senses with their anti-love song ‘Let’s Fall Out Of Love’ and doesn’t let up for the following 35 minutes or so. An earful of dirty guitars, a mouthful of blood, spit & beers and catchy hooks aplenty. This is the sound of Motorhead jamming with the finest rock ‘n’ roll bands that Scandanavia has to offer.
With songs about killing, self-destruction and unfortunate oral encounters delivered at breakneck speed, ‘Stole Your Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is not for the faint-hearted. It’s for those who like their music hard, fast and loud.
The cool kids will love ‘Fuck The Cool Kids’, with its bass rumble, AC/DC riffage and high energy delivery. The punks will dig ‘Too Fast To Last’ a song that has ‘em coming on like a Welsh Hip Priests. And anyone who has ever donned a biker jacket in the name of rock ‘n’ roll will get down to any song that name-checks Runaways members and the band’s own deprived introduction to the queen of the Blackhearts herself. Yes, ‘Joan Jett’ has a chorus so simple yet effective, you’ll be humming it all week, while scouring Ebay for a copy of ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You’ on 7” vinyl. And that’s a mighty fine place to be in my book. What’s not to like here?
Top track for me has to be ‘Tastes Like Blood’. It sounds like Turbonegro ripping off The Wildhearts (again), a glorious gang vocal chorus and riffs to matchmakes this an album highlight any day of the week.
The thing that sets Deathtraps apart from the gazillions of trashy punk bands, is their use of melody. They have the fine art of a catchy chorus nailed. Yeah, they are raw and fast, but the sing-ability of the likes of ‘Backstabbing For Beginners’ and ‘The Devil and Me’ will keep you singing and banging the head that doesn’t bang for days.
‘Stole Your Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is a shot of adrenaline straight to the jugular. It’s a high energy, euphoric collection of songs and fucking enjoyable from start to finish, job done.
Ahead of their April shows in Manchester and London, the Northern Irish rockers Therapy? have extended their So Much For The 30 Year Plan tour, with another thirteen dates just added for October.
To coincide with the tour the band re-recorded 12 of their UK Top 40 hits, many of which have become standout anthems, in Abbey Road to bring the tracks into the present as part of their new album Greatest Hits, set for release on March 13th, 2020.
To coincide with the bands So Much for the 30 Year Plan Tour the band re-recorded 12 of their UK Top 40 hits, many of which have become standout anthems, in Abbey Road to bring the tracks into the present. The band worked with producer Chris Sheldon, who produced the original Troublegum album as well as working on Semi-Detached, High Anxiety and the band’s latest record Cleave, to record the 12-track album that includes all their UK hits including Screamager and a reworking of Diane; Featuring James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers on one track, the band reflect on their great time touring and growing as a band over the past thirty years.
Vocalist Andy Cairns comments on the release:
Distilling the essence of what makes Therapy? what we are isn’t easy. Anyone familiar with the 30 years of the band’s history and numerous releases will be aware we have a broad range of musical taste and we’ve never been a band easily pigeon-holed. Putting together a representative package would be a nightmare and would likely involve a box set. In the end we decided to go for a take on the Greatest Hits format only and instead of compiling the tracks from previous releases we thought it would make things more current if we went into the famous Abbey Road studios and worked with the legendary producer, Chris Sheldon, a friend who has collaborated with us successfully over the decades. The Greatest Hits are just that. Our twelve most successful top 40 UK singles.
We’re proud of these songs and are excited by how fresh they still sound today.
We hope these tracks will comfort those already familiar with them, remind estranged friends that it’s time they got back in touch and show younger listeners how a bunch of misfits use chaos and melody to get through life and its toughest challenges. Timeless rock songs recorded in a magical studio by an icon of music production. What more do you want?
Therapy? has never stopped moving in our 30 years and are always writing and ready for the next phase but in 2020 we’d love everyone to join in our celebrations of three decades of noise and adversity. This album is your invitation. Love, Therapy? January 2020.
Alongside the 12 tracks, the CD edition comes with a second disc. This 15-track (containing 1 song from each of the bands 15 studio albums) ‘official’ bootleg is culled from the band’s personal archives and features a selection of previously unheard live recordings spanning 1990 to 2020.
Other available pre-order products include a signed limited coloured vinyl, 30 limited edition test pressings, signed CD (including official bootleg), limited t-shirt and 30 handwritten lyric sheets of Die Laughing, Nowhere and Turn. Amongst the Pre-Orders, the band will be hiding three Golden Laminates for lucky fans to find. The laminate allows the holder plus one to attend any of the bands headline shows between March 2020 and March 2021. A great experience for any fan, for more info please see the bands pre-order page.
Therapy? will be touring the UK and Europe in March and then returning later in the year for a second run of dates. Tickets for October/November on Sale Feb 28th at 10am.
‘So Much For The 30 Year Plan’ Tour 2020
Mar 19th – Grunspan, Hamburg
Mar 20th – Gebaude 9, Cologne
Mar 21st – Backstage, Munich
Mar 22nd – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg
Mar 24th – Rockhal, Luxembourg
Mar 25th – AB, Brussels
Mar 26th – Gebouw-T, Bergen op Zoom
Mar 27th – Tivoli, Utrecht
Apr 3rd – O2 Ritz, Manchester
Apr 4th – Electric Ballroom, London
Metal legend Ross “The Boss” Friedman has written music history as a founding member of Manowar and The Dictators and his influence in heavy metal and also punk is noticeable to this day. Manowar’s first six masterpieces which saw him significantly involved in between 1982 and 1988 are immortal classics today, and that the band wasn’t able to deliver the same quality again after his departure speaks for the New York based guitarist and songwriter.
Since 2006, Ross has been releasing traditional and raw epic metal which calls up memories of the Manowar masterpieces from the 80’s with its very own style. New album ‘Born Of Fire’ is the fourth release from Friedman and his band which arrives not even two years after their chart breaking 2018 effort ‘By Blood Sworn’.
While ROSS THE BOSS used the time between these releases for extensive touring, their latest epos will excite fans worldwide, ‘Born Of Fire‘ comes pounding out of the speakers fresher and heavier than before, but contains all of the typical Ross The Boss trademarks.
Tracklist:
01 – Glory To The Slain
02 – I Am The Sword
03 – Fight The Fight
04 – Shotgun Evolution
05 – Denied By The Cross
06 – Maiden Of Shadows
07 – Born Of Fire
08 – Demon Holiday
09 – Godkiller
10 – Waking The Moon
11 – Undying
12 – The Blackest Heart
Win a pair of tickets for any of the shows + CD of the new album ‘Desolation Blue’ (delivery after 27th March). All you have to do is email Here with the correct answer to the question. Winner will be contacted after 5pm on Sunday 1st March St Davids Day. Good Luck
What country are Buffalo Summer from – Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland?
5thMarch – The Pier, Ilfracombe
6thMarch – The Station, Cannock
7thMarch – The Tivoli Venue, Buckley
8thMarch – B2 VENUE NORWICH, Norwich
10thMarch – The Black Heart, London
11thMarch – Waterloo Music Bar Blackpool, Blackpool
12thMarch – Bannermans Bar, Edinburgh
13thMarch – Nightrain, Bradford
14thMarch – Corporation Sheffield, Sheffield
15th March – The Patriot, Crumlin
They will also be selling their t-shirts and other merch on the site – they are already getting to grips with updating themselves, clever lads! Visit it here; https://aerialsalad.co.uk/
Thee Hypnotics have confirmed the full supporting bill for their upcoming UK and European tour. In addition to topping the bill at the Fuzzville Festival in Alicante in Spain, the legendary testifiers will be bringing their devastating live show to Birmingham, Leeds, London, Ramsgate, Southampton and Cardiff.
Each date will have a different support act and adding to the ramalama are rockers Black Bombers (Birmingham), Teeside punk’n’rollers Johnny Seven (Leeds), downtuned desert rockers Sky Valley Mistress and chronicler of the dark Suzie Stapleton (London), grunge revivalists The Nightmares (Ramsgate) and punk rockers The Glorias (Southampton).
Suzie Stapleton will also support in Cardiff.
Thee Hypnotics reunited in 2018 after a 20-year hiatus to play sold-out dates across the UK and Europe in support of the career-spanning and re-mastered vinyl boxset, Righteously Recharged. Featuring the classic line-up of co-founders Jim Jones (vocals) and Ray Hanson (guitar), with Phil Smith (drums) and Jeremy Cottingham (bass), Thee Hypnotics will once again deliver their sonic payload with a savage intensity.
“We’re really pleased to be joined by so many good bands,” says frontman Jim Jones. “It means that each and every night of this tour is going to be offering more bang for your buck. You’ll definitely be getting a proper night out.”
Tickets for all the shows are available via Thee Hypnotics’ website at theehypnotics.com
Thee Hypnotics play
MARCH 2020
19 – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham UK (w/Black Bombers)
20 – The Warehouse, Leeds UK (w/Johnny Seven)
21 – The Dome, London UK (w/Sky Valley Mistress and Suzie Stapleton)
Reel Big Fish and The Aquabats! are about to hit the road together again! They just couldn’t be without each other in 2020! The tour begins on May 29th!
Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett:“Nothing brings me more joy than seeing the Aquabats live in concert…except maybe going on tour with them and seeing them live EVERY night!!! So happy to be still playing shows with these guys after all these years and so excited to celebrate 25 years of friendship, wackiness and ska!”
As one of the key mid-90’s ska-punk bands to emerge out of Southern California’s third wave ska scene, along with acts like No Doubt and Sublime, Reel Big Fish’s popularity hasn’t faltered over the years. Distinguished by their hyperkinetic stage shows, sarcastic humor ironic covers of new wave pop songs, and metallic shards of ska, the group continues to tour the world playing shows to a hardcore fanbase that’s as devoted as ever. The band’s 9th studio LP, ‘Life Sucks…Let’s Dance’ was released in late 2018 and has earned some of the best reviews of their lengthy career.
The Aquabats!:“We’re excited to get back on the road with our friends, Reel Big Fish! And we can’t wait to play everybody new music from our upcoming album, Kooky Spooky! In Stereo! This will be some of our first new music in almost 10 years, so you can bet we will bring it! And together, with the mighty powers of Reel Big Fish, we can guarantee all of you kids out there that this tour is going to rock your wigs off! Don’t miss it! Anything can happen when our awesome forces combine.”
Punk rock’s superheroes, The Aquabats!, formed in 1994 in Orange County as a way to have some harmless fun in a music scene that took itself too seriously. Their Paul Frank designed “power belts,” trademark rash guards, black eye masks, and “anti-negativity” helmets and onstage antics quickly caught on, earning the group a fierce loyal following that spans generations.
Kooky Spooky…in Stereo! is The Aquabats! 6th studio album. The first since 2011’s High Five Soup! This energetic, eclectic album is prime Aquabats with all of the variety, quirk, and fist-pumping rock you can handle! Walk on the weird side with songs like “Skeleton Inside!” Crazy characters, maximum repeat listening, and yes, even horns…it’s all there!
Reel Big Fish/The Aquabats
Tickets for all shows on sale Friday, February 28th at 10am local time.
“Gun bible Flag – Gun Bible Flag – Gun Bible Flag”. Man, it gets in your head and refuses to leave. With a rough and raw sound and drums so live-sounding you think they’re in the room with you that they give this eight-track album plenty of Crash Bang Wallop, you want to get involved and rock out like a good un.then Empty Suits have got that raw, primal fly by the seat of your pants rock and roll off to a tea and I love it.
There’s nothing big or clever here apart from some top tunes ranging from the borderline out of control to the cool laid back swagger of ‘Let Me In’. You won’t get much of a clue from the artwork either but he’s a tidy bunny I guess but you wouldn’t know there lurks some bad assed Garage tunes hiding under the sleeve. Songs about ‘Beaches’ ‘Kids’ and some ‘Apocalyptic Blues’. Are there really only three of them kicking up the hornet’s nest? Wow, good effort guys especially on ‘Drop Em’ as it kicks and screams.
Theirs is a simple formula – write decent tunes strip your sound back to the MC5 and switch the tape machine onto record. Hell yeah! for the likes of the ‘Apocalyptic Blues’ with its grinding lick as the song lurches from side to side and then just finishes leaving you wanting more for Gawd’s sake.
This bad boy was written and recorded in a small, dank basement in Boise, Idaho and oozes class. But it sounds like it was too but in a good way of keeping the band honest and hungry. I bet the only heat came from the thunder of the drums on tracks like ‘Rock and Roll’ and the hum of the tubes on the guitar amps oh and the devil’s breath because he sure must have been present at some point. I love Rock and Roll and I love discovering new bands especially when they deliver top tunes. Empty Suits add em to your list!
Photo: Charlie Jones
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