James and the Cold Gun ‘False Start’ (Loosegroove Records)

James and the Cold Gun ‘False Start’ (Loosegroove Records)

Have you ever heard a band for the first time and felt like a part of your soul just became more complete than it had been? When I first heard James and the Cold Gun, that is the easiest way to describe the feeling. Hailing from Wales and with a string of singles prior to this debut EP, they have laid down an incredible EP that somehow becomes even better with each listen as more and more elements reveal themselves. EP of the year? The answer is an emphatic “yes” with me experiencing the same euphoria I felt when Quinn the Brain released their debut EP a couple of years ago.

What makes this band so special? Let’s start at the beginning of this release with ‘Seven’ which builds slowly before unleashing a killer rhythmic hook. They pack an urgency in the groove that gives way to an insidious chorus that sticks in the head like gum on your new shoes. Hints of bands like the Foo Fighters, 3 Colours Red, Ash, and others are present but really just serve as a reference point as James and the Cold Gun have captured their own identity. There is an awesome breakdown in the song which takes the musical dynamics to another level. They show no let up with a RFTC influence introducing ‘Around the Bend.’ The guitar work here is awesome with the mix really giving extra flashes to the guitar notes. This feels like having a freight train barreling down on you in the tunnel and hopping on for the ride at the last second.

‘Plug Me In’ might be my favorite among favorites here. The intro reminds me a bit of a harder-edged GvsB as the volume gradually increases over the first couple of verses before exploding to give way to the chorus. The vocals here have a vitality to them that showcases so much emotion and passion that it is hard to describe. If you could unleash some primal screams with melody while feeling your throat get pulled apart, that might get you close to the right spot. Next up is ‘It’s Mutual’ which brings some Queens of the Stone Age to mind but again James and the Cold Gun have really captured a magic and unique formula all their own. Here they use a sneaky great chorus that will have you singing along while trying to figure out what the actual title of the song is as it is seamlessly etched into the chorus lines. Wrapping up this bundle of sonic perfection is ‘The Long Way Home’ where a seesaw-type riff leads into a hit single in waiting. Some hand claps are added into the mix here which are perfectly placed in the mix as the guitars still lead the way. The bridge breaks the song down and creates a feeling of intense pressure building before it throttles all that tried to stand in its way. It brings to mind Refused around the time of ‘The Shape of Punk to Come.’

At this point, I hope you have ordered this album and are currently already listening to it as there is not much else I can say. This is an incredible release that has become a part of my soul. It’s a cathartic release that can be played again and again. The bigger question might be how the band follow up this release but, much the way the Wildhearts followed up their initial EP releases with an amazing full-length debut many years ago, I think James and the Cold Gun will do the same.      

‘False Start’ is available now.

Facebook

Bandcamp

Author: Gerald Stansbury

More Kicks offer up ‘Terminal Love’

More Kicks offer up ‘Terminal Love’

The second single, ‘Terminal Love’, taken from the album Punch Drunk’. Sees More Kicks get back in the groove.

Kicking out the jams since 2017, More Kicks released their self-titled debut album in 2019 which we reviewed and hailed as a masterclass in power pop. Since the pandemic singer /guitarist James Sullivan managed to release a fantastic experimental solo album, ‘Light Years’ but this is his bread and butter and a most welcome return for the trio.

Following up the single ‘Animal’. ‘Terminal Love’ sees the band pack a bigger punch on this new single. After a quick jaunt across the USA More Kicks set a release date for September for the album from Dirtnap Records/Stardumb Records. pre order Here

You can find More Kicks on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp and their website.

Dystopian Future Movies- ‘War of the Ether’ (Septaphonic Records)

Dystopian Future Movies- ‘War of the Ether’ (Septaphonic Records)

I first came across DFM way back, having been bounced a you need to have a listen to these guys from Pity my Brain main man Jamie Richards, and was instantly blown away by the depth atmospherics and intensity of the music, that initial LP Time was followed on in 2020 by the superb Inviolate, stretching the intensity out, building on the first LP showing a band choosing a direction, both powerful, observational and more to the point drawing the listener in to a dark dystopian world created by none other that Caroline Cawley and Brother Bill Fisher from the Church of the Cosmic Skull, but music that shines as the complete antithesis of that body of work.

But on to the current release (War of the Ether), preceded by the self-titular single War of the Ether, again this is seriously powerful stuff. As the press release illustrates, “Lyrically, the album dives deep into a recent scandal surrounding 796 skeletons found on the grounds of the former Catholic-run Tuam Mother & Baby Home in Caroline’s native country of Ireland. To hide the shame of pregnancy out of wedlock, women were sent to homes like this all over the country. Forcibly separated from their mothers, many of the children died in infancy due to neglect, and some were trafficked for adoption to the US”.

First track up She came from up the Dromban Hill draws you in before the poetic spoken vocals lead you through the story unfolding. At times I get drawn back to some of the almost autobiographical work of Joolz, real time observational, an outsider recanting the story, looking in and backwards, the first thoughts I’m starting to build as we move into second track up Critical mass is how sharp the whole sound is, focussed, driven and intense. This feeling of intensity is an off set to the almost at time ethereal vocals, but the vocals form only part of the whole, all the parts twist and engage wrap around each other, cocooning you in an aural soundscape.

Next tracks up The Veneer and Walls of Filth and Toil, again lead you step by step engaging, driving and moving you inwards spiralling into the soundscape of the story unfolding. Then the Title track War of the Ether, hits in hard, the intensity ratcheted up another notch, the guitar work enhancing and pushing the vocals ever higher. License of their Lies maintains the intensity. By the time you reach No Matter, your held by the story unfolding, gripped by the soundscape and hit by an almost Primal Scream of emotion. Finishing the LP off A decent class of girl a fitting tribute and uplift to the sounds and story that we’ve been told.

This an LP that again draws you in, the subject matter, coupled with the intensity of the music and some staggering good ethereal vocals really demands your attention, well worth checking out released in October, with a tour following, this is the type of music that really needs to be witnessed live.

You can buy the LP here, keepin’ it independent!!

Dystopian Future Movies – Shop

Author: Nev Brooks

THE HARD-ONS RELEASE LTD ED 7″ SINGLE AND VIDEO FOR “NEEDLES AND PINS”

THE HARD-ONS RELEASE LTD ED 7″ SINGLE AND VIDEO FOR “NEEDLES AND PINS”

On the day they begin the WA leg of their I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken tour, The Hard-Ons have released a new single and video from the album.

The “Needles & Pins” 7″ single will be released on coloured vinyl as a strictly limited edition of 300 – 100 in hot pink, 100 in clear teal and 100 in black. It features the exclusive non-album B-side “Spider Tree” (an out-take from the album) and will be available from the band at the shows as well as on the Cheersquad Records & Tapes Bandcamp page and from select retailers.. 

Of the new single and video, Hard-Ons co-founder and bassplayer Ray Ahn has said “The Hard-Ons are in love with the music and beauty of pop. We wanted Mike Foxall, the director to capture the sentiment and tenderness of the melody – all the while showing some light-hearted humour… ” 

Guitarist and fellow co-founder Blackie adds, “People usually scoff (politely Emoji) when I insist we’re a pop band .. SEE!!”

The WA dates follow the band’s recent AIR Awards ‘Best Independent Rock Album Award’ nomination for I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken, and the group’s much-viewed surprise APRA Awards performance of “Know Your Product” in tribute to The Saints’ Chris Bailey.  

The Hard-Ons’ new album I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken is out now via Cheersquad Records & Tapes. (Distributed by Magnetic South)

https://cheersquadrecordstapes.bandcamp.com/album/im-sorry-sir-that-riff-s-been-taken

www.facebook.com/hardons
hard-ons1.bandcamp.com

Lee Love Affair – ‘Hold Me Down’

Lee Love Affair – ‘Hold Me Down’

Hip Pries four stringer noise bringer eases back with his debut EP. this is the first video to accompany the EP that we reviewed several weeks ago. The video features Lee relaxing in his downtime from day job duties and cutting up the dance floor at the Wigan Pier.

released on Lux Noise records. Available in the UK from https://leeloveaffair.bandcamp.com

Europe from Lux Noise https://lux-noise.bandcamp.com/

USA from Spaghetty Town https://spaghettytownrecords.bigcarte…

Dez Dare – ‘Ulysses Trash’ (CH!MP)

Dez Dare – ‘Ulysses Trash’ (CH!MP)

Back in 1974 when Leo Sayer famously sang “Well I’m a one-man band, nobody knows nor understands” he could very well have been referring to Australian-born but now Brighton-based psych space cadet Dez Dare, albeit he was almost four decades too early.

Not that time really bothers Dez, that’s more of an abstract constraint in his world, where music, art and mind expansion blend into one, and ‘Ulysses Trash’ (his second full album to date) is a melting pot of thirteen tracks that take you on a musical roller coaster ride quite unlike any other.  

Totally DIY, with Dare playing/recording everything on the album, the production is shot through with the associated garage rock feel you get with such recordings, and there’s an underlying feeling of early Sub Pop within the acid-soaked grooves of ‘They Scream, My Head Is So Full I Can’t Dream’ and this is something that continues through the likes of the wonderfully titled ‘Bloody Sea, Holy Fuck’ and perhaps my fave track on the record ‘1.9.8.5’ which features a spiraling space rock riff over which Dare riffs his spoken word lyric before wrapping it all up in a Stooges-like chorus to die for.

I actually think if some of this stuff had been released a couple of years earlier you may even have found a track cropping up on ‘A Better Dystopia’ Monster Magnet’s covers album that paid tribute to obscure (yet great) garage rock music through the ages.

In fact, if you discovered fantastic bands like Table Scraps from that record then I highly recommend you check out ‘Ulysses Trash’ when its released on August 19th on CD and download via the Bandcamp link below.

‘Ulysses Trash’ is the soundtrack to the fourth dimension baby! Can you dig it???

Buy Here

Facebook

Author: Johnny Hayward

The Chats – ‘Get Fucked’ (Bargain Bin Records)

The Chats – ‘Get Fucked’ (Bargain Bin Records)

Coming across like a down-under Devitto era Buzzcocks meets AC/DC old Skool the Chats do anything other than getting Fucked on this their second offering of Aussie punk rock.

‘GET FUCKED’ opens with ‘6L GTR’, a takedown of a speed-crazed status-symbol driver – a critique piqued when Eamon spotted the titular license plate in an airport carpark. It’s an album that shows the band’s maturity from the off on this here 13 high-velocity punk tracks. To be fair they’ve hardly matured and started writing prog whilst playing a flute one-legged on a toadstool. This bad boy rips from start to finish, as they’d say down under. Lyrically it covers topics from panic attacks, junkies, prison breaks, the price of smokes, surf mafia, and being drunk in every pub in Brisbane amongst other heady big ticket topics.

There’s a rumor that Opener ‘6L GTR’ saw Eamon Sandwith nick a bit of Dave Lee Roth which was taken out of the tune after management got a knockback from Diamond Dave but hey ho them is the breaks they should have just done it and send double D the V sign with a sue us if you want letter. The non-PC album title came from a brainstorming session (imagine that one folks?) where Matt Boggis said imagine how funny it would be if kids go to the record store and ask for Get Fucked from the salesperson. Yeah pretty funny slinging it on yer Christmas list from your nan to pick up. But hey this isn’t Roxy Music or Genesis or some high-brow prog This is working-class Aussie punk rock yer Fuckers!

Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, thirteen songs. The first single and album opener down The Chats have got sharper and tighter that’s for sure and all that touring has paid off for sure. Most of the album is your usual Australian HC one and a half minutes of rage then boom! but there are a couple of tracks that tickle the four-minute mark which in itself is almost Maiden-esque pro in length rather than Ron Jeremy Length in the puns and goofiness stakes. so good on ’em for that.

‘Struck By Lightening’ is a warning to take cover in storms maybe go inside and put this on the earbuds – thundering along with a rapid verse with sloppy doo wap backing vocals and a cautionary tale. the solo is majestic to be fair as the song hammers along. ‘Boggo Breakout’ is punk as fuck from the vacant riff to the snotty vocals it’s another banger and benefits from volume and multiple plays. ‘Southport Superman’ is just a heads-down race to the finish line in true punk as fuck style. ‘Panic Attack’ is more restrained from the intro with a military slap on the snare and pluck on the bass before Josh joins in with his Shelly meets Diggle meets the Undertones wall of punk rock guitars lifts the song up.

The first of the long songs is the excellent ‘ The Price Of Smokes’ which is about the economic cost of living stuff where the band thrust the cost of living to the forefront. It’s a cool bass and drum intro where they lock in and take this baby to the bridge then drop her off gently. An excellent song that asks the important questions of the day. Sidestep from the heads down crank it up that had preceded it, (See I said The Chats had moved on and matured). Oh hang on ‘Dead On Site’ is a razor-sharp riff delivering exactly what The Chats fans are clamoring for. Punchy, full throttle, punk rock mixed with some fine Angus Young inspired old school solos – magical stuff!

‘Paid Late’ is a fine slice of Smash and Grab punk rock before the let’s go to the pub banger that is ‘I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane’. If I’m honest this album has added elements of Rock and old-school hard rock, even when they speed up proceedings it’s a great crossover full of energy and street punk rock n roll. Their no longer on Smoko their running the gaff. There’s no acoustic ballad but there’s lots of loud guitars. I think one of my favourite tracks is ‘Emperor Of The Beach’ with its cock sure riff that tips the hat to the daddy of tone Steve Jones and is a thumper of a track. The band signs off this second album with the punky ‘Getting Better’ and so they are. God bless these noisy cunts from down under for they’ve taught this old dog a few tricks on this album and tightened up the loose ends of the debut and thrown in a few curve balls but above all delivered a fantastic record that I’m thoroughly enjoying

Buy Here

Website

Author: Dom Daley

Singles club – August and everything after

Singles club – August and everything after

Lee Love Affair – EP (Lux Noise Records) A man that doesn’t need any introduction other than to say Brother Lee Love has gone Rogue on those Hip Priests and knocked up a four-track EP and got Lux Noise to snap it up and release the bad boy.

Like an explosion of Garage Rock and Roll through the medium of Northern Soul as the guitars then bass line kicks in on ‘Hold Me Down’ a big rumbling hip swinging foot twisting slab of is kicking through my speakers. It’s Detroit Baby but UK Style. What a choon this is. Of course, it isn’t a wall of noise like the day job but it’s got swing and a catchy chorus and weighs in like equal measures of International Noise Conspiracy and some of that 80s alternative underground post-punk rock n roll courtesy of the likes of 60 ft Dolls. ‘Better Man’ has a choppy dry electric guitar riff that is a straight-down-the-line Rock n Rolla heading to the chorus with some sweet guitar licks along the way – excellent stuff.

‘Real Cool Time’ is of course self-explanatory the clue is in the title garage rock, it’s got the beating heart of Ann Arbour and a honking rhythm of Detroit. Wrapping up this four-track dalliance is ‘AAA’ which has some “Greebo” scene going on with yet another strong melody and some wicked playing, all that’s missing is some honking horns and that one-finger piano roll and this would be perfect. EP of the month? Fucking right it is

The Penetrators – ‘Skateboard Girl’ (code 213 records) Another fantastic 7″ this time from New Yorks The Penetrators. With a laid back New York Groove thats handed down from Lou Reed and David Johannsen this single has it going on from the NYC licks to the sweet handclaps The Penetrators have penned a super summer seven inch. Claiming to be the kings of Basement Rock wont be too far away from the truth if they keep releasign records this good. Check out the dynamic duo on Facebook

Scumbag Millionaires – ‘So Long’ (Screaming Crow Records) From Gothenburg, Sweden, Scumbag Millionaire have offered up a killer track for Screaming Crow Records Action Rock Jukebox 45 series. These dirty bastards took ABBA’s 70’s hit “So Long” and injected it with a whole heap of Scumbag Rock n Fuckin’ Roll and a little attitude and a heap of swing. It’s given a make under not over and sounds terrific. The B side is their own “Gluehead!” which just about makes this the record of the week in my eyes. A fantastic slab of wax and just what a 45 should be. What a killer 45rpm, it’s even a large holed 7″ pressed on regular black vinyl and limited orange vinyl with a custom 45 adapter,  sticker, and jukebox title card. YES, these are made to go on a 45 playing jukebox!. Beautiful workScumbags and those at Screaming Crow – Top of the class!

RMBLR – ‘Breakin’ It Off’ (Self Release) RMBLR are one of those bands that have pedigree and history that dictates that it’s impossible to release a bad record. This new track was released without fanfare via Bandcamp and just oozes quality. What else can I say? It’s a banger of a Rock and Roll tune and RMBLR just get “IT” whatever “IT” is.

You’ll be singing along before the end of the first chorus and fist punching the air in your cut-off battle jacket wondering where the party is. It’s only Rock and Roll and I like it RMBLR just delivers…again Check it out Here

Andy McCoy – ‘Take Me I’m Yours’ (Cleopatra Records) Lifted from his brand new covers album Andy takes on this classic Squeeze track and being one of the finer tracks off the album, He nails it McCoy style. It maintains the original groove and melody but Andy gives it the McCoy treatment and twists it before draping it as only he can. It’s a grower of a tune and discarding the video that is a bit bizarre but so McCoy it’s well worth checking out ‘Jukebox Junkies’ is exactly that full of mystery, intrigue, and quality from one of the undergrounds greatest ever talents

Tropical Fuck Storm – ‘Ann’ (Joyful Noise Rexcordings) What a twisted take on The Stooges but the video is pure genius. Lifted from the EP. Bassist Fiona Kitschin steps up to the microphone on a cover that swaps Ron Asheton‘s scorching guitar part for a deranged sound collage of guitar freakouts, siren noises, and electronics. The EP also has a Talking Heads cover to twist your mellon. Will the EP be up their with their satanic slumber party who knows but covering the Stooges is a great starting point.

Wolf Rd – ‘Burn All Of Your Bridges’ Noisy shouty kids mixing up melodic metal and hardcore sludgy riffs. Might be good in a tiny club at ear shattering volume but in my liounge on a laptop it just doesn’t cut through to be fair its got tones of Chester Benningtons Linkin Park tip but its not for everyone but it does have an energy. Make your own mind up. Chicago noise bringers can be found on Facebook Here

Belushi Speed Ball – ‘Magic Conch’ (sonaBlast Records) Great name for a band and releasing it on Nintendo 64 sort of tells you where this arty goofy combo are coming from with their super fast punk rock with full on goofyness and wacko solos from the Berkley school of music speed licks – check out the video and it should all make sense or not either way its made the cut

THE GASÖLINES – ‘Rum Runner 500’ (Speed Club Records) described as high octane rockers is just about on the money. Loud guitars oily injection fueled Rock n Roll. The song is well constructed and I’m sure the guy live it like they love it and walk the walk. If they have some variety in the songwriting then they could be onto a winner with it. I look forward to what they serve up on this evidence.

As a follow up to their debut album ‘Rum Runner 500’ is the perfect take on Cars, booze and hellraising whats not to like? Facebook

Gun – ‘Word Up’ (Cherry Red Records) Glaswegian rockers GUN are back with their latest release from the forthcoming album, ‘The Calton Songs’ and finally it’s the turn of ‘Word Up’ TODAY, 28 July. So tell all the boys and girls, Tell your brother, your sister, And mama too…  This massive track was originally covered by GUN in 1994, winning an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Cover and featuring on the Top 5 album ‘Swagger’. The song itself is of course a retooled version of the evergreen Cameo hit from 1986, but now in 2022 it has been reimagined and revived and sounds amazing. This new version is a totally different beast to the one that the fans know. The track now also boasts the vocal talents of  Beverley Skeete & The Sisterhood [ Noel Gallagher, The Chemical Brothers, Mick Jagger] and The Selecter provide some phenomenal Brass. The band are describing it as the ‘Word Up Summer Jam’ and it has all the energy that implies!

Dead City Ruins – ‘The Sorcerer’ (AFM Records) Melbourne’s DEAD CITY RUINS new single & video ‘The Sorcerer’, lifted from their new album ‘Shockwave’ out on 19th August. Its a big phat slice of Rock hailing back to the likes of Zepplin and Sabbath influences with big grooves and musicianship.

Liquids – ‘Life Is Pain Idiot’ (Drunken Sailor Records)

Liquids – ‘Life Is Pain Idiot’ (Drunken Sailor Records)

Liquids recorded this album with the help of Erik Nervous. Then Erik mixed, mastered and released it via his label Nail Biter Records. It is distributed by Drunken Sailor Records (for the UK) and Australia’s finest Computer Human Records. In the United States the record is available from Violent Pest Records and is limited colour pressing. That should be all the background you need when investigating this album.

Ok Ok maybe not all the info you need to make an informed choice but its like the seal of quality. Liquids’ Mat Williams seemed like one of those creative punk rockers who was going to release what he wrote and as often as the weeds grow in my yard. Prolific is another word you could useif you kept your ear to the ground but don’t take your eye off social media or you’ll miss a release. Two albums (one a double) and a whole lot besides were pumped out of Indiana between 2015-18. You know the drill hardcore, Ramones pop, A splash of Devo, and more but that gives you the gist. I guess I’d align with Alex Wonk for quality of output maybe even more prolific Then it went quiet. then after several years of nowt, it was a new album last year this fucker but this has some added junk in the trunk and on vinyl. Twenty-seven tracks to be precise. Sure it’s Lo-Fi it’s not going to be high fidelity half-speed remastering but to be fair most of the songs only last under a minute with a couple barely stretching out over two FFS! Hell, how did I miss this even as a digital release it’s got a cover of Meat Loaf ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ that is almost prog length reaching out over three minutes although I’m sure Meat would have liked this version much better than his bloated anthem. It reminds me of The Briefs goofing around, Genius? Hell Yeah!

Some of the jerking rhythms are like a sped-up Undertones ‘Nobody Likes You’ is like a fucked-up Scooby Doo tune The Briefs meets NomeansNo at times and some of these songs are so rapid that even some speed metal bands would bow down with respect. ‘Life Of Oi’ is a pair of 18-holers moon stomping all about the place. The covers don’t end there as ‘Strutter’ is taken to school and given a proper punk rock makeover even Gene would raise an eyebrow for. The four bonus tracks are also all killer and no filler. A hot mess of an album that I can’t recommend highly enough. It’s punk rock baby but not of this earth what a top top record! Buy it!

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – ‘XI: Bleed Here Now’ (Insideout)

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – ‘XI: Bleed Here Now’ (Insideout)

In an age of playlists where music has seemingly become a throwaway, background commodity to the multi-faceted lives of many, a 70 plus minute prog rock odyssey, recorded on a long-discarded format favoured by 70’s rock giants, seems as out of time and out of place as a Commodore 64 in 2022. But Texas based alt rock legends …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have never been ones to buckle and follow trends, preferring to experiment and do what the fuck they like, regardless of what is going on around them.

2020 should have seen the core duo of Conrad Keely and Jason Reece touring latest album ‘X: The Godless Void And Other Stories’ with a brand-new 5-piece line up, but Covid had other ideas. Following months of doing nothing, Keely decided to write a new album, and the band retreated to a rehearsal studio/barn in their native Austin, Texas with their new 6-piece line up, to do things on their own terms with no interference or pressure to deliver. They set up 2 drum kits, 3 guitar stations and a bank of keyboards to record an album in quadrophonic surround sound. The fruits of their labour is their 11th studio album and it is called ‘Bleed Here Now’.

Inspired by ‘Behind The Music’ and ‘Classic Album’ documentaries featuring their favourite 70’s artists, …Trail Of The Dead have crafted a 22 track, 73-minute rock album that features multi-layered vocals, swathes of cinematic strings and organs, cleverly thought-out arrangements and melodies aplenty.

Following a couple of trademark atmospheric intros that set the scene, first song proper ‘Field Songs’ is a euphoric offering of guitar and piano. Both upbeat and melodic, it harks back to classic TOD material. ‘Penny Candle’ with its bombastic drums and effect-ridden guitars, carries the melodic feel through and seems the perfect backdrop for Conrad’s wailing alt rock vocals.

‘No Confidence’ is a full-on rock monster, riding on a Zep-like riff and a killer rhythm. Energetic and invigorating in equal parts, it brings to mind ‘Worlds Apart’ to my ears. The odd wavering, vocal effect gives it an unnerving feel that may have you checking your speakers to make sure they are not broken. The ensuing tribal gang vocal section takes us out of classic rock, further afield than alt rock, yet with our feet firmly planted in …Trail Of Dead territory.

The segues do what it says on the tin and bleed into one another, giving the feel of one whole body of music, a trip if you will, into the mind of Keely and Reece during the pandemic days and months. From the subtle and dreamy, to the cinematic and the in your face, it certainly piques the interest and keeps the listener coming back for more.

The fast and furious ‘Kill Everyone’ could be the only lead vocal cameo this time around from Jason Reece. It may only last 1 minute and 22 seconds, but it showcases the frenetic live punk energy the band are capable of.

Yet, ‘Bleed Here Now’ certainly seems more like Conrad’s baby this time around. With multi-layered, dreamy vocals and mournful piano chords ‘Golden Sail’ is a proggy, space rock odyssey. The breakdown and the ensuing, galloping space rock mid-section is as trippy as you like. Every listen brings new, trance like noises that hypnotize, enrapture and take the listener to another realm.

This brings us to the 11-minute album centerpiece ‘Taken By The Hand’. A fuzzy wall of guitars contrasts nicely with Conrad’s wailing vocals and stark use of space in the verses, before the guitars crank things up again. Guitar solos wail, before another time change that gives way to the tribal beats of 2 kits in unison that battle with layered, effect-ridden guitars, building and creating drama in the most epic of ways.

The influence of the likes of Rush and Yes are prevalent on the likes of ‘Protest Streets’. Chanting vocals befitting a monastery of monks, a folky, acoustic outro featuring female vocals that travel the Enya/Kate Bush trail. This leads us nicely to the duet with Amanda Palmer that is ‘Millenium Actress’. The juxtaposition of the two lead vocals works well over the orchestral instrumentation, as the song builds over regimental drums and soaring strings.

In 900 words I can only really scratch the surface of this album. The proof is in the pudding so to speak, but from the opening ‘Our Epic Attempts’ to the closing epilogue of ‘Calm As The Valley’, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead certainly take the listener on a journey like no other.

As immersive as it is refreshing, ‘Bleed Here Now’ is a grandiose, 73-minute rock masterpiece that gives more with each listen. But you have to give it the time it deserves to reap the rewards. As much thought and effort has gone into the sequencing as it has the writing and recording of the music. It plays out as one piece of music, one whole body of work, the many segues leaving you unsure where one track ends and another begins. Like a book, it becomes an exciting aural adventure with many twists and turns through its cleverly designed arrangements and glorious musical interludes.

As powerful as their first three albums and more ambitious than mid-career highlights such as ‘Worlds Apart’ and ‘Tao Of The Dead’, ‘Bleed Here Now’ is Conrad Keely’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, his ‘Melancholy & The Infinite Sadness’, and it could turn out to be …Trail Of The Dead’s finest moment.

Buy Here

Author: Ben Hughes