Its August and this week sees us roll with our comprehensive Rebellion Festival round-up so why not run our twent choice cuts from our perspective. We’d have listed the likes of Zero Zero and Rotten Foxes but they’re not on Spotify so we’ve gone with a solid old and new twenty plus. Check em out there has to be something for every taste in there. Remember kids don’t just stream go out and watch these bands and buy their merch and music. It keeps them making the music we love.
It’s the first weekend of August and that can mean only one thing for the more discerning music fan as all roads (or as in our case trainlines) lead us to Blackpool for the annual Rebellion Festival. With one of our mates setting an all new record by taking 13 hours to get to the punk rock capital of the world (well for this weekend anyway) me and Dom Daley feel positively smug getting to our hotel for a 2pm check in and on site as planned for the first of the weekend’s rock ‘n’ roll action and the first of many stage clashes to follow.
It’s probably best I get this elephant out of the room right away really as with 7 stages and over 350 bands playing (just in the Winter Gardens never mind the fringe events) it would take a football team of reviewers to cover everything on offer and with just me and RPM Editor In Chief Dom Daley on duty this weekend you’ll have to forgive us if you are in a band that played and we didn’t get to see you, as even with some of the bands we did want to catch, things like; band interviews overrunning, turning up at the wrong stage and waiting for 20 minutes before you realised it was the wrongs stage (yup that was me) or even something as simple (but essential) as getting something to eat, just got in the way. So, with this in mind, go pour yourself a libation, sit back and relax and sweat along with us as we take you into the heart of the action at Rebellion 2019.
Kicking things off for me this year are The Kingcrows, a band I’ve wanted to check out live ever since I reviewed their ‘Funland’ album for Uber Rock way back in 2015 but I always epically failed to do so. Today I’m in the Arena early doors to make sure I catch all the sleaze punk anthems from their latest ‘Brute Force and Ignorance’ album, like ‘Saturday Night Rock City’ and ‘City Kids’ and what I along with the very healthy looking mid-afternoon crowd get is a lesson in how to play your music and enjoy every minute of it. If you can imagine Soho Roses playing Oi! with KISS guitars and like the sound of that curious hybrid you do need to go check out The Kingcrows, because they really are impeckable (ouch!)
Hot tailing it over to a packed-out Club Casbah just in time to catch the tail end of Mille Manders and The Shut Up’s set, Millie with her leg in a cast still manages to cut a commanding figure out front and the double sax attack of ‘Obsessive Transgression’ is enough to get me breaking into an impromptu early afternoon skank. Playing ‘Bacchus’ (a song about drinking) at Rebellion is always going to be like pushing at an open door and is an instant crowd favourite. Its when The Shut Ups tackle ‘Pretty Green’ though that they really show their true class making the Jam track sound like one of their own and promptly hitting the ball right out the park.
With a few minutes to spare between bands I quickly stick my head into the Pavilion to catch Time For Action and get it promptly knocked off by the band’s swaggering Manc attitude. Playing tunes from their debut album ‘Turn It Up’ the four piece’s set gives their old school punk influences a Samba trainer up the arse and in the process makes them immediately stand out.
Having been together for almost 4 decades Brazilian hardcore punks Inocentes are legends of the scene and that’s why the Empress Ballroom is very respectably full when I arrive ready to get a good spot for The Bar Stool Preachers. Stuart “Psycho” Pearce is stood next to me too most probably still trying to make amends to Brazilians worldwide for his blatant handball back in 1990. There’s no excuse for the Fergie-time Inocentes seem to magic up at the end of their set though and the time constraints it imposes on the band due to follow them.
Not that it really bothers The Bar Stool Preachers who sauntering onto the stage to ‘The Ecstasy Of Gold’ already look like all-conquering heroes as the house lights reveal a crowd of over 3,000 people packed into the Empress at 5pm on a Thursday (see what I meant about Thursday no longer being the warm-up day in my preview) and with opener ‘One Fool Down’ proceed to take the bloody roof off the place.
‘Trickledown’ follows and T.J. McFaull is (for once) almost lost for words at the crowd response then we are quickly into ‘Warchief’ and the avalanche of crowd surfers begins. It’s during ‘Choose My Friends’ that I notice Cock Sparrer’s Colin McFaull stood side stage and I half hope he’ll appear dressed as Hilda Baker to share the female lead vocal, sadly it’s a no this time and Tom delivers this thrasher solo for once. A new track (which I think is called ‘Late Night Transmission’) follows and this could see the band moving in a much more Clash-like direction with their follow up to ‘Grazie Governo’.
With the Rebellion family celebrating the life of Kathy Rocker along with other lost friends this weekend T.J. dedicates ‘Start New’ to his good friend and then it’s all over in the blink of an eye with a rousing ‘Bar Stool Preacher’. With a US Tour with Bouncing Souls and The Bronx to follow almost immediately after this weekend before the band return to the UK for a ten-date headline tour in September I can but wonder if 2020 will be the year The Bar Stool Preachers get to headline the Empress Ballroom. What do you think?
Looking to cool down after the sauna of the Empress I catch the last song of Dead Objectives playing to a packed out audience on the Introducing Stage before quickly hot footing it back to the Empress once more for New Orleans hardcore punks Pears, yet another band I’d wanted to catch live for some time. Sadly technical issues with Zach Quinn’s microphone means the band’s normally explosive music is lost in stuttering translation for the first few songs and its only when they break into ‘Mollusks Mouth’ that things truly start to fire on all cylinders. Still with songs as fantastic as the multi-platinum selling (yeah right Zach) ‘Victim to Be’ in the set the earlier sound issues are pretty much soon forgotten.
Taking some time out to grab some much-needed sustenance and to try and cool down I’m quickly back in the sweltering heat of Empress in time for Birkenhead’s very own glam slammers Queen Zee and thankfully I’m not alone in wanting to see them. There’s an almost tribal thump to the glam meets grunge majesty of ‘Lucy Fur’ and the epic ‘Loner’ is where most people will find their entry point. I really don’t want to try and force Queen Zee into some kind of musical pigeonhole as they deserve so much more but ‘Sissy Fists’ which closes things out this evening actually reminds me of Exit_International so I’m sure you’ll agree that’s high praise indeed from RPM Towers. Politically on point with ‘Victim Age’ the band’s choice of backdrop hammers their inclusive message home too and in ‘Fuck The Pain Away’ they have their perfect cover song. This time last year I witnessed Idles wow an early evening crowd at this very same festival, Queen Zee today give me the exact same buzz. New band of the weekend for me by a long mile.
With Dom promising his old mate Dave Sharp he’d catch him live on the Almost Acoustic stage I tag along hoping to finally cool down with a quiet pint and some Dylan-esque background music, however the place is rammed and hotter than an oven so I leave behind the folk ballads and instead head over to the Club Casbah for some D.I. back in Europe for the first time in over 30 years. Having never been a D.I. fan back in the day but having a few close mates who were and still are I was hoping hearing songs like ‘Chiva’, ‘Pervert Nurse’ and ‘Johnnys Got A Problem’ live might make me an immediate fanboy but even with the crowd going absolutely bananas around me it still all kind of washed over me. That’s not saying the band were poor, far from it, it just didn’t fire me up like The Adolescents (another band I wasn’t a huge fan of back in the day) did just 12 months earlier at this very same festival.
Moving back to the Almost Acoustic stage for the second set of the day from The Bar Stool Preachers I thankfully can’t get into the venue itself as its rammed to the rafters and instead I end up standing (or make that manspreading myself) in front of the only functioning air conditioning unit in the adjoining bar area. Playing a set consisting of tunes largely missing from their earlier Empress set I can but once again marvel at the magic these 6 guys create, and if the call and response during opener ‘All The Broken Hearts’ doesn’t move you to tears then you really are without emotion. Dom finally gets to hear ‘Raced Through Berlin’ live so he’s beaming from ear to ear too as are most of the crowd in fact, who unlike with most of the other shows on the Almost Acoustic stage are all up on their feet and dancing. Rumour has it that the Preachers tried to cheat and sneak a drum kit into their performance tonight, but I reckon they could do this stuff on kazoos and still get people involved, such is their appeal.
Having admitted to you already to not really having liked D.I. back in the day, one band I did love and still do is Portland Oregon heavyweights Poison Idea. Their ‘Feel The Darkness’ LP is one of my all-time favourite hardcore albums so with the prospect of catching one of the last four shows they will ever do on UK soil as part of their ‘The King Is Dead’ tour I found myself letting out an excited little squeal as the band takes to the Casbah stage…but I must admit what follows isn’t exactly what I was expecting. In fact, it takes until ‘Plastic Bomb’ a good 5 or 6 songs in before anything really starts to kick me in the head the way the band did back in the late 80s/early 90s. Working without a set list seems to be the root cause of this and whilst spontaneity can and does work in small clubs here playing to over a 1,000 people it leads to some quite long between song silences which just doesn’t work for me and seems to sap the energy and momentum from the performance. I want Jerry A in my face and bleeding not pondering over which song to play next and as such even when they do eventually play ‘The Badge’ they’ve kinda lost me already. I love Poison Idea and whilst I enjoyed some of tonight’s set it could and should have been the one I was shouting about loudest but I’m not and that right there is what hurts the most folks.
With Poison Idea playing one of their last UK shows at Rebellion 2019 Fear, over forty years into their punk rock career, are tonight playing their first-ever show on UK soil and Club Casbah is suitably packed out for such an event. Lee Ving might look more like an aged teddy boy these days but he still spits out the 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4 mantra like a teenager and tracks like ‘We Destroy The Family’, ‘I Love Livin’ In The City’ and ‘Fresh Flesh’ all sparkle with the magic of that seminal ‘The Record’ LP. Yes the band can at times have a loose almost falling apart approach to their art, and Lee’s tendency to sing rather than shout the songs makes them something of an acquired taste, but with the hour fast approaching 1am and my eyes starting to feel more than a little heavy they still manage to keep me enthralled something I fear (ouch) the Empress headliners The Descendents would never been able to do. Still each to their own I suppose and what a great way to finish day 1 of Rebellion 2019. See you in just a few hours folks…that is unless you are doing one of the fringe events well into the wee small hours…in which case see you tomorrow night, maybe?
Author: Johnny Hayward
Pt 2 sees a brief summary from Darrel Sutton who managed to catch a whole bunch of band John and Dom missed so without further waffle here goes…
It’s been quite a while since I last made the pilgrimage to Rebellion and, despite having to fit in the small matter of performing two sets with my own beat combo, I was gonna make damn sure I’d try and catch as much of the stellar line-up on offer as the heat and stupid amounts of alcohol and schmoozing would allow.
As well as spending far too much time talking utter shite with my RPM amigos I also sloped off and caught quite a few bands with loads of other acquaintances (such is the nature of Rebellion, allowing catch-ups with old friends from all over the place).
A hectic start which takes in the obligatory Millie Manders and Bar Stool Preachers sets gets a serious adrenaline blast from In Evil Hour whose Rise Against tinged set translates perfectly from the club stages they’ve ruled over recent years to a packed Club Casbah. Vocalist Al positively rules the place and it sets the tone nicely for a quick dash into the Arena to catch Wiltshire’s finest sons The Blunders. The trio has always been a bit different with their quirky acerbic tunes of disdain and disgust and this slot combined with their slot at Boomtown is no less than they deserve and staples like ‘TV Bastard’ and ‘People Get Smaller’ positively rip. The festival’s pace doesn’t really slow as the temperature shows no intention of dropping and so with the alcohol 
kicking in a bit of a break, via a pretty tidy few songs from Diablo furs in the Pavilion, sees me return to action in the company of Flipper. The Arena is, luckily from a heat perspective, not too full to see David Yow and Mike Watt complete a legendary line-up for the band, but unless you are a total nostalgic die-hard their open salvos made The Melvins sound like the Ramones, so I slip off for a much more uplifting closing trio of the Bar Stool Preachers acoustic set, Poison Idea and Fear and a dehydrated stroll back to the hotel.
Bungle, Poison Idea & Fear pictures courtesy of Dod Morrison Photography
Ahead of the new album ‘Devour You’ the band have released a video for ‘Bet My Brain’ along with pre release details Here
Produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, YYYs, Arctic Monkeys), ‘Bet My Brains’ distills Starcrawler down to its essence with a massive guitar riff, rollicking drums and a widescreen performance by Arrow de Wilde that illustrates just how ready this band is to explode into the mainstream. The band are busy touring throughout the USA in October and November to coincide with the album’s release on October 11th
NEW ALBUM DUE OUT 10TH OCTOBER 2019
Today, Dublin avant-rock 5-piece BATS have announced details of their first new album in 7 years, ‘Alter Nature’, and have shared the first single to be taken from the record, ‘Old Hitler’.
‘ALTER NATURE’ is a full-frontal attack to all of the senses. BATS incredibly idiosyncratic and cacophonous yet entirely rousing experimental noise-rock delves into intelligent and complex territory both lyrically and musically, but BATS understand that it need not exclude it from having a raw, rhythmic energy and a strong sense of melody.
This translates perfectly into their live shows and has seen the band earn plaudits and fans playing alongside the likes of The Locust, These Arms Are Snakes, The Jesus Lizard, Gang Gang Dance, Sebadoh and Chrome Hoof. BATS will also play this year’s ArcTanGent festival with further live dates TBA.
7 years in the making, the band have purposefully set about honing and crafting these tracks with precision and dedication. If you’re lucky enough to have heard BATS before or have even seen them live, then this incredibly strong third effort should be instantly recognisable as a consummate and direct snapshot of the devastatingly efficient unit; let alone as another step towards wherever the band might take themselves. If you’re still yet to hear them, then you could have picked no better space-time.
‘ALTER NATURE’ is due out 10th October – pre-order HERE
FOLLOW BATS:
‘Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres’ will have many rushing for the exit and some will stick around and check it out whilst others are true believers that Doherty was handed the baton of real rock and rollers who always find what they’re looking for even if they don’t quite know what it is they are looking for. They manage to write with great talents to interpret what’s coming out of their mind and who just click and make all the madness sound cohesive and at times quite beautiful, it’s fair to say the record at times is intimate with tales of love, loss, happiness, tragedy, addiction and work on many levels. The album was recorded live to capture the essence and spirit of the Puta Madres at a family home overlooking a fishing village in Étretat, Normandy, over four days in the summer of 2018. so as the needle drops we are gently led into ‘All At Sea’ with the unmistakable wavering vocals of Doherty. The band are given the room to breathe and at times I’m reminded of albums like Dylans ‘Blood On the Tracks’ and Velvet Underground for the loose arrangments and use of instruments (ok so this might not stack up to those two albums but you get the gist).
‘Whose Been Having You Over’ has a galic flavour and once you lock into the groove its a majestic thing with some fine guitar work from Jones and Doherty and as the first track the violin of Miki Beavis is exceptional and add eastern flavours. ‘Paradise Is Under Your Nose’ is Dohertys finest five minutes and his duet with Jack Jones is on another level for a quite beautiful song.
The autobiographical ‘Narcissistic Teen Makes First XI ‘ is classic dreamy Doherty. I promise the payback from this album is massive if you invest a bit of time and energy into it. sure I can see how people will play it once and call it a shambles I get that but give it a chance. There’s a gentle hand at work here and Doherty sounds content and comfortable with the musicians he’s assembled around him for this record as they play around his relaxed skiffle on tracks like ‘A Fool There Was’ as that gypsy violin leads a merry dance.
It’s not The Libertines and its not his loudest record but it might just be his best.
Author: Dom Daley
Buy Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres Here
The Finnish band The Empire Strikes (Denim rock, some guys with denim jackets, guitar necks up, you know…) put out last Friday “Rainmaker”, the 3rd single of their upcoming album! Have a look, give it a shout!
The new album “Charm” will be available on Ghost Highway Records. for Europe and Savage Magic Records. for the USA (a sure guarantee of value in terms of Rock’N Roll)
Building a reputation for their live performances, they played many shows across Europe since 2012, opening from time to time for bigger bands like Phil Cambell & The Bastard Sons and Marky Ramones Blitzkrieg… But they were also in good company with their Swedish neighbours, hitting the road and sharing stages with Honeymoon Disease, Scumbag Millionaire and Grande Royale…
By the way, if you like those ones, if you’re singing along on Imperial State Electric melodies while stamping feet, there’s no doubt that The Empire Strikes will excite you!
Plus, if you’re living in Spain, or Swiss, or France (or Finland, of course), you’re gonna get a chance to catch them live at the end of September / early October!
(Spain Tour soon announced)
02/10 : Brin de Zinc, Chambéry (FRANCE)
03/10 : Irrsinn Bar, Basel (SWITZERLAND)
04/10 : TBA, Paris (FRANCE)
05/10 : L’Imposture, Lille (FRANCE)
First up this Monday we have the punk rock of Acid Blood with ‘Don’t You Die’ taken off their blistering debut album reviewed Here Pay em a visit and tell em RPM sent you – Facebook instagram
If that was all a bit too much for you this morning before you start the weekly grind how about some Classic NWOBHM with some Diamond Head and their brand new video ‘Belly Of The Beast’.
Hot from an electrifying performance at Wacken Open Air, Diamond Head are relentless in their quest to bring ‘The Coffin Train’ to the world. The band are touring Europe for the rest of 2019 and are confirmed on the line-up of two very special UK shows with NWOBHM giants, SAXON, which will take place on October 19that London’s iconic Hammersmith and October 20that the O2 Apollo in Manchester. Check out the press release for tour dates and album details
Finally, we have a live in the studio video from Australias Press Club whos track is taken from their brand new album ‘Wasted Energy’ reviewed Here
The Hip Priests / Grindhouse – Split (Savage Magic) It just wouldn’t be a singles round-up without a Hip Priests 45 so here you go, boys and girls, the undisputed kings of UK garage punk rock ‘n’ roll are back in the ring and this time they’re tag-teaming with the down under divas Grindhouse. It’s a no brainer that we’re gonna be all over this slice of noise firstly the two tracks offered up by The Hip Priests are ‘Stand For Nothing’ from the album of the same title and ‘I Hate The City’ that just scorches like a dragster on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Fair play to the buggers it doesn’t matter what year who they play with and who ignores them and their tunes They know and I know that the Hip Priests are da bomb and always kick serious backside and there is no other band with their volume of quality singles under their collective bullet belts peerless dirty filthy rock and fucking roll. Get on it before they are all gone. As for the flip. Australia has always been strong in the fucked up loud Rock and Roll stakes and there’s no denying that Grindhouse have probably eaten their way through a fair few. the perfect split partners as their contribution is a Lemmy inspired romp through ‘All Washed Up’ followed by ‘Cum Punch’ I won’t even begin to ask but I do know I like it no I love it (not Cum punching but the tune) Dirty Boys. Single of the month? What do you think? Of course it is.
The Snivelling Shits – Bring Me The Head Of Yukio Mishima (Damaged Goods) Sounding like classic late 70’s punk rock The Snivelling Shits spit n snarl their way through this rather splendid single. Having made a comeback some 40 years after the last time the band played this single celebrates the life and death of the actor, model, poet film director Mishima who ended up losing his head quite literally. It’s backed by a cover of ‘Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi’ which is more of the same to be fair and a bloody good couple of vintage punk rock tunes. Head over to Damaged Goods to pick up your copy.
Wilmette – Anxious Body (Mutant League Records) a 4-piece from the Chicago suburbs that combines pop-punk and hardcore with a fresh style that relies on pop hooks, honest lyrics, and strong musicianship the band’s opener sounds like a load of Taking back Sunday tunes wrapped into one from the quiet opening to the crashing chorus. The EP spread over five tracks covers all bases from the tight chord changes of ‘Carol From HR’ to the video track featured below. Big sounds from the newcomers.
TAROT RATS – Only The Brave (Will Remain) (WDFD Records) Big – Dirty guitar riffs are the order of the day for Tarot Rats who release this new single and video. Tarot Rats offer up a unique and contemporary take on indie blues-rock. With a critically acclaimed eclectic mix of filthy riffs and soulful melodies, the Rats can be found free from the flock of generic sounds, playing all over the UK.
https://www.facebook.com/thetarotrats/
https://twitter.com/tarot_rats
https://www.tarotrats.co.uk/
The Survival Code – Crosses To Carry, Coffins To Fill (Good Deeds Music) The band are a London-based rock duo with an unabashed passion for riffs, soaring melodies and thunderous drums. Long admired for their driven and energetic live performances, the two-piece serve up intense and brawny rock cuts that lodge deep into your senses. To date, the duo have racked up rampant support from many industry tastemakers, picking up exposure from Kerrang!, Classic Rock, Powerplay, Fireworks Magazine, and Rock Sound Magazine, as well as widespread radio support from Kerrang! Radio and Planet Rock. Formed in 2012 THE SURVIVAL CODE will continue their ascent with the release of a series of videos to coincide with the EP, as well as a string tour dates:
August 15th – Big Red – London (EP LAUNCH); October 23rd – Bunkhouse – Swansea; 24th – Fuel – Cardiff; 25th – Slaughtered Lamb – London; 26th – The Hope & Ruin – Brighton; 28th – The Tin At The Coal Vaults; 29th Chameleon – Nottingham; 30th – Castle Hotel – Manchester; 31st – Outpost – Liverpool; November 2nd – Old England – Bristol; 3rd – Suburbia – Southampton.
www.thesurvivalcode.co.uk www.facebook.com/thesurvivalcode/
www.twitter.com/thesurvivalcode www.soundcloud.com/thesurvivalcode
THE FANTASTIC TERRORS – Empty Refrigerator Sunday (Ikaros Records) The Fantastic Terrors released their 7″ debut record, including two songs titled “The Yodeler ” and “Empty Refrigerator Sunday”. Coming out of Greece The band release a rather strange video to accompany this single. Loud guitars being the order of the day and a pretty decent introduction.
Scumbag Millionaire – Rolling Heavy (Suburban Records) The fourth single taken from the bands pretty awesome album sees ‘Rolling Heavy’ on one side and ‘Rolling Heavy’ (live) on the other. To be fair if you don’t already own the album then this will give you a pretty decent indication of what to expect but its not rocket science here it’s Swedish Action Rock and Roll played to excess and with a truck full of passion. If you want our advice then pick this up and do a deal to get hold of the long-player this is taken from ‘Speed’ as well you won’t regret it at all.
Glitter Machine – Take The Pain From their debut album, ‘Hanging Out For Fame’. It’s a feral love song and who am I to disagree. Its got a great groove and some neat guitar-slinging.check out the video
Roxy Girls – ‘Spanners For Hands’ (Moshi Moshi Records) Sunderlands Roxy Girls are sparse power pop punk rock angular sharp guitar chords and licks (not dissimilar to the mighty Buzzcocks) The track is taken from the forthcoming mini-album (remember them?), not unlike the first track released of the record ‘Trials And Tribulations’ which reminded me of vintage louder XTC – I’d wager these cats kick up a shitstorm in a sweaty club with the volume turned up. I look forward to hearing the complete record and not just a single or two – exciting times for new wave fans.FACEBOOK – TWITTER – SPOTIFY – MOSHI MOSHI RECORDS
Tidal Babes – ‘OMG’ Do I Like it? Fuck knows its got a great big funky bassline and a lush chorus but infectious pop melodies, described as bubblegum goth summer fun! is about right. Potty mouth lyrics that come out of the blue won’t see it on BBC but who gives a shite about that?
Singer Lyndsi Austin and songwriter/producer Chris Qualls (Concord Music Publishing/Cutcraft Music Group) were attending a concert in Hollywood when they started discussing a potential new project together. Both grew up playing in rock bands but had switched over to making pop music for years. That night, inspired by the rock show they had just seen (and a little bit of whiskey), the two began brainstorming the foundation for a new band that combined all the things they loved about Southern California and it’s musical history; Surf rock guitars; The energy of Orange County punk rock; Beach Boys harmonies; The sassiness of the east LA socialites and fashionistas; Cruising down Sunset Boulevard. Facebook – Twitter – Instagram
The Atom Age – Never Looking (Tiger Dream/Asian Man Records.) The second single off their soon to be released album ‘Cry Til You Die’ mixing up some Rocket From The Crypt for sure (I never understand why more bands don’t invest in some saxophone) Hailing from Oakland these guys are kicking out the jams for sure. With a lineage hailing from The Sonics to the Hives they’re channeling some great shit into their own music and it’s paying dividends because if the single is anything to go by then the album is gonna burn. Facebook
City Under Siege – Freaking Out (Third String Records) Straight out of Buffalo NY City Under Siege. this single precedes their debut album that the band are working on with Weezer producer Marc McClusky. Its a big pop punk sound and one that will no doubt do rather well for the band who also head out on tour with Mark Rose (Spitalfield) and Ryan Dunson (Rookie of The Year) all across the good ole US of A.
British rising stars The Fallen State are thrilled to announce their headline UK tour in October 2019.
The Fallen State is one of the most exciting British rock acts to emerge in recent years and this tour will celebrate the band’s new studio album “A Deadset Endeavour”, which was released earlier this year through Last Man Music.
“A Deadset Endeavour” is the perfect showcase for the UK five-piece rock act – a band with a mutual love for powerful, anthemic and beautifully executed rock. The Fallen State’s soundscape blends grooving and ruthless rhythms courtesy of drummer Rich Walker and bassist Greg Butler with the exuberant and soulful voice of singer Ben Stenning, the artful emotive phrasing of lead six-stringer Jon Price and a Dan Oke inspired harmonic wall of warm, contemporary rock guitars. From the powerful opening salvo of “Statements” to the driving rhythms of “Open Wound” to the heavy brutal riffing of “Torn”, “A Deadset Endeavour” is a stunning statement of a band at the very top of their game.
The band supported Pop Evil across Germany, France, UK and Holland in February and March 2019, having previously toured with the likes of Black Stone Cherry, Tremonti, US Grammy winners Halestorm, 3 Doors Down, Puddle Of Mudd and fellow UK rockers Young Guns and Heavens Basement.
The UK forthcoming festival dates and headline shows are as follows:
UK Tour Dates:
Sun 21st July 2019 – Ramblin’ Man Fair Festival
Fri 18th October 2019 – Barnstaple, The Factory
Sat 19th October 2019 – London, 229 The Venue
Sun 20th October 2019 – Plymouth, Underground
Mon 21st October 2019 – Bristol, Exchange
Tue 22nd October 2019 – Birmingham, O2 Academy 3
Wed 23rd October 2019 – Oxford, O2 Academy 2
Thu 24th October 2019 – Manchester, Rebellion
Fri 25th October 2019 – Newcastle, Think Tank
Sun 27th October 2019 – Nottingham, Alberts
Mon 28th October 2019 – Bournemouth, The Anvil
Since forming in 2013, The Fallen State have developed a fearsome live reputation by selling out shows with their modern, incisive and inspiring performances allied to their prolific output of five skillfully crafted EPs (“I,II,III”, “Crown Your Shadows” and “The View from Ruin”). The Fallen State’s critically acclaimed single “Nova” (featuring Chris Robertson from Black Stone Cherry and released in Christmas 2017) was a huge hit. The “Nova” single has had over 3 million views across socials.
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The Kritikal Beatdown continues as Black Gladiator and Slovenly Recordings present the second album from Athens via Crete dynamic duo HAND & LEG. The new LP is called “Lust In Peace” and it advances the post-punk infused concoction of blazing garage and art-driven destructo-rock as established on their grinding debut. Murky shades of sexual negativity plow forth with the help of white-hot distortion, alternating between soul-crushing fuzz bass dirges, ungodly squalls of noise, and occasional playful rhythmic rituals that offer brief respite from the saturation of musical sadism.”
That’s the labels blurb taken care of as we turn up the speakers to furniture shaking levels to get the full experience of this headfuck of a record. after ‘Faux’ sort of give you a peek behind the curtain its ‘Softyhead’ where shit gets interesting as we get the ying and yang of the garage rock clashing head-on with the post-punk grind but that’s only the aperitif for ‘L.I.P’ (fuck knows what’s going on here) but its loud and I mean LOUD! as the guitar fuzz hacks and slashes whilst the vocals are Numan like monotonous and flat in their delivery until the chorus when things sound like a nuclear reactor gone out of control.
This album twists and turns as it tries to find a comfortable place whilst scratching at the listener. I daren’t ask what the lyrical content is about I’d rather just enjoy the noise pouring out of my speakers. Take ‘Grave Gravy’ for instance its creeps into existence and your just waiting for the breakout but its more subtle than that or so you think.
At times this ten-track assault on the ears can be a challenge as the brain struggles to cope with the audio bombs going off left right and centre and the duo revel in the attack. ‘Shoplift’ doesn’t sound like a good experience and not a soundtrack you’d have liked playing whilst fingering the pick and mix in woolies. Having said that ‘Peter Pancake’ is someone we’d all like to get to know. Iro and Stelios have delivered a post-punk garage meets art-rock album that will fuck with you play after play. I’m guessing they like to fuck with the listener but with a cheeky wink here and there and some serious ringing in one’s ear. The art rock crowd of the lower east side would have been all over this one and a perfect touring partner for VU has finally arrived decades too late ho-hum check out hand and leg the crazy fuckers.
Author: Dom Daley
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