The long awaited debut album from Merseyside titans in the making, The Mysterines! ‘Reeling’ is an apt title for the group, as anyone who has seen the band will know how effortlessly these guys reel off stellar material.
Kicking us all off with stomper ‘life is a bitch(but I like it so much)’ and followed up with the pummelling blow that is ‘Hung Up’. Already it’s clear that they have managed to recreate their live sound on this record, showcasing the power and intensity and losing nothing with any of the studio sheen.
Things slow down with the title track ‘reeling’ but with no loss of the intensity with the killer bass-led track. By the time we get to the previous single ‘Dangerous’, it’s practically a feeding frenzy for the listener, hitting Southern Gothic levels in terms of murder ballads, the delivery akin to PJ Harvey fronting Qotsa when they still sounded good.
My only criticism is at 13 tracks the record can seem a little bit long, but on the whole, the stronger material gives brooding shade and depth to the whole record making the whole event an experience to guarantee repeat listening.
Playling to packed out crowds on tour, big American festival dates in the diary, a top ten placing on the album charts (at time of writing), things are certainly looking up for the Mysterines and the future is very bright.
It was only the other day that I was listening to Rocket From The Crypt in the car. Shortly after, who should recommend the new solo album by Speedo/John Reis but our very own Mr Hayward. After listening on Spotify, I duly ordered the vinyl (no CD yet). It’s a no-brainer to any RFTC fans that this is a worthy purchase. From the first song, I was hooked. There’s a Liamesque delivery to the title track, but Mr Gallagher can’t hold a candle to these tunes. And, believe me, this album is packed with tunes.
‘I Ain’t Your Pawn’ struts like Jim Jones with guitar and piano hammering out the riff. It would be a shame if Reis didn’t play some gigs to support this release. ‘Do You Still Wanna Make Out?’, with its “shoo-wop” backing vocals and insistent rhythm would give Giuda a run for their money.
‘When I Kicked Him In The Face’ starts with a picked riff reminiscent of Elliott Smith, before launching into more familiar territory. ‘Days Of Auld Lang Syne’ ends side one with a breezy piano led tune with a reflective lyric.
‘I Hate My Neighbours In The Yellow House’ starts with a synth before the guitars kick in. While there’s a variety of songs here, it always sounds reassuringly like John Reis. ‘Vape In The Dark Alone’ is more akin to ‘Group Sounds’ with its sinister melody.
‘Rip From The Bone’ is killer, it makes you want to pick up the guitar and play along, head nodding. Simple and devastatingly effective. “We don’t see eye to eye, said the spider to the fly”. ‘We Broke The News’ is equally addictive, and ‘Keeper Of The Plains’ is a classy note to end on. As you’d expect. And it’s on transparent, mouthwash green vinyl. What are you waiting for?
It’s been a long time coming but it’s good to be back. Now, where have I heard that line before? Many moons ago the good people at The Alarm HQ had a plan to celebrate 40 years of The Alarm and Mike Peters by having a couple of shows on consecutive nights in Rhyl Town Hall the birthplace of The Gathering (a yearly weekend of all things Mike Peters & the Alarm for the past twenty-Five years) sadly due to Covid and the past few years of uncertainty the celebrations were put on hold with the Rhyl shows and one at St David’s Hall Cardiff getting shelved until further notice.
Initially, these three shows which sold out in a matter of minutes were put off due to the Global Pandemic. They were rearranged but again the Cardiff celebration was put off into the distant future of 2023 but thankfully the Rhyl weekender was upon us. The Gathering has seen several venue changes over the years and after the first two were in Rhyl it grew to something altogether bigger and was decamped further up the A55 to the seaside resort of Llandudno and the spacious Venue Cymru. After a few years of being in the prisoner of war camp that is the hell hole known as Pontins Prestatyn it made a welcome return to Llandudno before returning to its spiritual roots of Rhyl Town Hall and the compact surroundings of this forgotten seaside town and Peters hometown, a stone throw from where he was brought up. We took our seats as the doors opened and the stage set on the floor of the hall rather than the traditional raised stage it was deemed more intimate for the lucky few hundred who were gathered for what promised to be a mammoth run through forty years of music from Peters. No drums, Bass, electric guitar or piano just one man a few mics and a lifetime of music. Friday night and it’s the present running backwards to 2010 and Peters looks like a man who means business and it was headlong into the music with ‘Two Rivers’ from his latest studio album ‘Sigma’. There was to be a further twenty one songs dispatched from Peters before a welcome interval and an end to the first act it was a hectic flurry of songs from the excellent ‘Heroine’ to ‘Direct Action’ via ‘Coming Backwards’ and ‘Peace Now’ there wasn’t time for any introductions or stories just on with the show with a really impressive run through some deep cuts from his most recent decade.
It was Steven Tyler who once said “Let The music do the talking” and Mike Peters was certainly on top of his memo to play as many tunes as humanly possible. I’ve seen Mike Peters play live well over a hundred times and it’s often the deep cuts that excite me the most. Sure I love ’68 Guns’ and ‘Strength’ and ‘Spirit Of 76’ and ‘New South Wales’ but I love hearing my favourite artists create new music as well and keep pushing themselves especially when I’m on board the journey and tonight is proving to be some journey.
For me the 2000’s was a prolific time for Peters when he wrote some of his finest work be it The Poppyfield collective or the 2008 Counter Attack collective. The band he was working with were pushing him to be the best writer he possibly could be and it was paying dividends and us the fans were reaping the rewards. ‘Superchannel’ whilst being such a force electrically is still a powerhouse acoustically as tonight’s audience buys into the set. ‘My Town’, ‘Edward Henry Street’ and ‘Mercenery Skank’ are given some serious attention and the floor is a shaking.
With the twenty two song second half reaching a climax with the excellent single ‘Close’ followed by the controversial ruse of ’45 RPM’ it was the end of the first night and a really excellent night’s entertainment. To hold an audience for three and a half hours on a Friday night is some achievement but tonight Mike Peters did it with consummate ease and it seemed everyone was now well up for the Saturday night and a delve further into the catalogue.
I must admit I tend to opt out of the Saturdays daytime extravaganza but if you want to immerse yourself in all things Mike Peters they opened up the Hall for a film ’50 Days In Lockdown’ and Peters had time to pose for photos and sign records before a Q&A with the man took place. The team at the MPO do give fans access that many other bands wouldn’t dream of and after all is said and done, if you’ve travelled from afar or just down the road then it’s a pretty impressive experience.
Saturday night was upon us and the fresh breeze outside was forgotten come eight PM as Peters took to the stage for 1999 to 1992 and it was the same format as the previous night where there was no interaction between songs just on with the business of the music and ‘Flesh And Blood’s ‘House Of Commons’ brought memories of being in the studio at BBC in Cardiff whilst that particular album was being made and memories certainly did come flooding back. It was now the turn of ‘Rise’ ‘Feel Free’ and the time when Peters emerged from the fall out of the Alarm split and taking the poets on an exciting journey as ‘Back Into The System’, ‘Feel Free”, ‘My Calling’ and ‘Gone Elvis’ were played. As Peters played ‘Train A Comin’ you could have heard a pin drop as the entire audience was silent with respect for the music and the journey we were on it was awe inspiring and a real moment even after all these years of watching this man play many of these songs all over the country and beyond.
As we headed into the home straight and the beautiful nineteen eighties and when many of us began our love for these works and when Mike Peters entered most of our lives and record collections it is probably many of these songs we did a lot of first to and why they are held with such high regard in our lives and soundtrack so much of who and what we’ve become. It was a privilige to be part of such a great weekend. ‘Moments In Time’ from ‘Raw’ began a whirlwind blast through the original line ups repetoir as ‘Rocking In The Free World’ took my mind back to Brixton and the tanned fringed coat there was even an out of time run through ‘Merry Xmas War Is Over’ which brought a broad grin across Peters face ‘Rivers To Cross’ was a welcome old friend as was ‘Day The Raven Left The Tower’ and the first time I heard ‘Majority’ from the Marquee club came racing back to me, so many venues, so many memories. Inside the young man I once was – was smiling that I still have the opportunity to hear these songs live and have had the pleasure of doing so on so many occasions. The fact that tonight’s performance was four hours long sounds epic because it was epic. It flew by, I honestly thought that I’d have to go into training to get through it but as the songs were unfolding I didn’t want it to end and could do it all over again on any given weekend.
The encores went right back, predominantly featuring the ‘Declaration’ period songs with ’68 Guns’, ‘Where Were You Hiding’ sung with as much verve and energy as the day they were written it seemed. Then the second encore hit us with ‘The Stand’ and ‘Marching On’ hit with the realisation that we were reaching the end of an incredible evening of music. It only left ‘Up For Murder’ before finally bowing out with a raucous ‘The Stand’. Peters took the ovation he richly deserved and a couple of hundred people filed out into the cold North Wales night with yet more memories of a Gathering that was a while in the waiting but oh so well worth it when it arrived. Bring on 2023 and back to Llandudno for another Gathering and that much overdue performance in St David Hall Cardiff. Going out in a blaze of glory our hands were held up high! Brilliant life affirming rock and roll, I love it!
‘Murder The Summer Of Love’ is the first new video from Michael Monroe due for release this summer 2022 after an extended hiatus but the wait is gonna be worth it as pre sales go up for vinyl, Cassette and CD bundles with UK postage for those on plague island Pick up a copy Here
Costa Rica based thrashers Chemicide have been around since 2011 and have released three albums and an EP. Their latest release ‘Common Sense’ has the sound and feel of an old-school thrash album. Echoes of early Sepultura, Kreator, Death Angel, Exodus, Forbidden, Nuclear Assault, with a bit of Morbid Angel thrown in. Not bad eh?
If, like me, you’re a fan of the bands I’ve mentioned above, then you could much worse than check out Chemicide. This really is like stepping back to 1989. All I need is my Cosmic drainpipe (black, of course) jeans, Hi-Tec basketball boots, and a baseball cap worn backward to complete the picture! Big riffs, fast parts, mosh parts, breakneck double bass drumming, shouty vocals and song titles like; ‘Self Destruct’, ‘Barred Existence’, and ‘Strike as One’ just add to the nostalgic charm of the album.
The production from Juan Pablo Calvo has that classic Scott Burns feel to it, very raw and punchy. It really is a thrasher’s delight and it’s very comforting to know that thrash metal is alive and well thanks to bands like Chemicide. Great job guys! Mosh it up!!
First up today is the brand new video from Birmingham Garage rockers Black Bombers with their most excellent new single ‘Last Bite’. Released on April fools day through Easy Action Records there isn’t anything remotely funny about this slice of proto-punk, primitive Garage rock that goes straight for the jugular. Don’t delay kids because this one is backed by a most excellent version of the Damned classic ‘You Take My Money’.
This release comes as ‘UN-SCENE!’, Black Bombers’ drummer Dave Twist’s compilation album of Birmingham Post Punk, is receiving real acclaim and is already in short supply…
The band have dates around the country in the coming weeks and play the DIE DAS DER benefit show for Ukraine on March 27th at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath Birmingham.
To celebrate the Chats UK tour dates it seems fair to run with the video for their brand new single ‘Struck By Lightning’ Tour dates, tickets and merch available Here
Finally how about this banger to set your week up nicely. A track off her new EP out next week on pirates press Suzi Moon will release her second EP April 1st then the debut album this summer via pirates press. Check it out and pre order Here
While most bands of their ilk are resting on their laurels FM hit the road running with the release of Thirteen, coming hot on the heels of their double Tough It Out Live set from 2021. This album has no right in being as good as it is. Considering they are now only a few years away from hitting 40 years as a band. And the current line-up has been in place since 2008! With this album being produced by the band themselves, they having never sounded better or more on fire than they do over the 11 slabs of melodic rock gold.
Wasting no time, the album kicks into gear with a none more politically apt ‘Shaking The Tree’. When people mentioned singer Steve Overland’s voice it is normally in awe and this song proves that he can sing anything, no matter what the subject and make you want to fight, love and smile all at the same time. Single ‘Waiting for Love’ is more like what we have become accustomed too from the band, but even that sounds fresh and vibrant, especially in today’s musical climate. The flame is still burning for the page 7 stunner that is Steve Overland and I honestly do not think he has ever sounded this good.
As the band themselves continue to lay down some of the most awe-inspiring grooves, from Merv Goldsworthy’s tantalising bass lines, to Pete Jupp’s backbone drumming and Jim Kirkpatrick’s sizzling solos and last but least Jem Davis glorious keys of parp, the band can do no wrong.
Just like the big hitters of the AOR scene any of these songs could be singles as they are all, that good. Clearly the band are enjoying and relishing their moment in the sun again. And so they should, as this album is up there with their best.
First things first I’m looking at the artwork wondering what on earth it is and then after about a week I see the eggbox. It’s been like one of those early 90’s deep-sea pictures you have to stare at, or at least that’s what I felt like. Right onto ‘Un Scene’ and it’s important to document of 78-82 timeframe in England’s second city and how it was developing following the youf explosion of 76-77.
I guess considering Birmingham or the wider area of the middle part of England has generally been ignored or rather overlooked compared to the contribution to youth/pop culture of the 20th Century. the North West gave the world Merseybeat and Beatlemania then post-punk we had that jangly guitar of Icicle Works, Teardrop explodes, Pete Burns, The Bunnymen, and a whole load of other post-punk bands. Madchester (Still in the northwest) followed that with the whole Hacienda scene and Stone Roses. The East Midlands gave the world Two-Tone but what about Birmingham? Sure Slade was west midlands and the Duranies hailed from Brum in the wake of punk but once you scratch the surface there was a whole underground world of creative forces and this wonderful little time capsule offers up a small dark corner of Birmingham and shines a light on in with a very nice booklet documenting the featured bands with some fantastic pictures, live shots, band images, posters and magazine covers of the main protagonists of this featured record/CD.
Laid out over nineteen tracks this snapshot doesn’t always reach the dizzy quality of your modern recordings but often that’s the charm. No doubt these bands worked and played hard to scrape together the dosh to record these songs and it’s important that records like this exist. Maybe there’s a good reason why none of these bands achieved the same adoration some of the other midlands genres achieved but bands like Swell Maps, the Nightingales, Nikki Sudden and TV Eye had a modicum of success and remained firmly placed as underground heroes and icons.
Some of the live recordings are sort of tape deck quality and proper old school whereas other more notable inclusions such as Stephen Tin Tin Duffy’s The Hawkes have ‘Big Store’ included and Comedian Stewart Lees wonderful doc about The Nightingales sees them included with their new wave-like ‘Idiot Strength’. I guess it wouldn’t be complete without Swell Maps who see ‘Vertical Slum’ included. My personal favourite is obviously the inclusion of Nikki Sudden with ‘Channel Steamer’. But what really is the crowning glory is the booklet giving all the meat on the bone from Dave Twists’ own collection, with all the cuttings it’s a fascinating insight into a whole world that is captured in this wonderful time capsule (Besides Twist plays drums on a lot so as long as his memory is half decent his stories must be amazing). Stewart Lee says it perfectly as Birmingham in the UKs motor City and seeing as the likes of Dave Kusworth and John Taylors inclusion also here (Duranies take note), sudden and his brother are no longer with us and the recent passing of Dave Kusworth this is a wonderful artifact that serious fans need to absorb and marvel at what the cold concrete of England’s second city had going on beneath the city lights I implore you to hear and read this most excellent offering. buy it!
It’s always something special when an album drops on your desk, you nothing about the band, and then said record proceeds to blow your socks off.
Take a bow then Brooklyn based post punk rockers SAVAK for being the first band in quite some time to do just this for me. They are a band I admit I almost skipped over, but thank God I didn’t, because ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ – the band’s upcoming FIFTH (yup I know) album – is an absolute cracker from start to finish.
‘No Blues No Jazz’ (which actually sounds like the record player rules in my house) kicks things off in fine style and with its’ chanted refrain of “No counties, no countries, no pledge of allegiance,” it could be a tribute to the fact that the dozen tracks contained on the album were recorded entirely over Zoom, although it’s not, I’ll leave you to go figure what it’s actually all about by hitting video link below, where all will soon be revealed.
Influence wise ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ really is all over the place, and that’s really what hooked me in, it also sets it well apart from the many other new “rawk” records I could have chosen to review. Be it the melodic Alt-rock delights of perhaps the most immediate track on the album (the truly excellent) ‘Empathy’, or the jammed-out Krautrock meets Detroit in a sleazy Manchester back-alley post punk of ‘Set Apart’, there really is something here for pretty much everyone…well everyone with an open musical mind that is.
As the album literally flies by song hooks come at you thick and fast with the likes of ‘Baltimore Moon’ and ‘Dealers’ bristling with overdriven guitar and glorious vocal harmonies, this really is American guitar rock par excellence. Well, when it wants to be. It’s the subtle twists the album throws you via the likes of the Angelo Badalamenti-tinged atmospherics of closing track ‘Dumbinance’ or the initial downbeat 4AD bass throb of ‘Oddsmaker’ that really take things to the next level and has me returning for multiple listens.
With a history of playing in bands like Obits, The Cops and Holy Fuck, Sohrab Habibion and Michael Jaworski, along with drummer Matt Schulz, have moulded the SAVAK sound (in their own words) as straddling the line between ‘Be Bop a Lula’ and ‘Wap Shoo Wap’ whilst connecting the dots between The Adverts to Bubble Puppy to The 101’ers to MDC, and you know what? They sound absolutely bloody amazing doing it!
‘Human Error / Human Delight’ is released on 15th April 2022, but you can check it out right now via the Bandcamp link below. Get on it folks – this album is very special indeed!
Ghost first appeared on my radar when I saw them live at a festival, it may have been Download, or it may have been Sonisphere? Anyway…I didn’t really get them. I thought they were a little bit like Kiss, the image and the music don’t sit well together. I heard the odd song here and there; I loved the track Ritual from their debut ‘Opus Eponymous’ but didn’t really explore them much further at the time. It was with the release of the Rats video from 2018’s Prequelle that I really started to sit up and take notice of Papa and the boys. That album is never too far away from my turntable or CD player, it really is an exquisite piece of work, ‘Dance Macabre’ should have been a worldwide hit for the band, it’s their ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You‘! I then delved deeper into Ghost’s back catalogue and loved it all. There really is no denying Tobias Forge’s genius, and I genuinely feel that Ghost is one of the only bands around now that can take the reigns from the old guard and headline big shows and festivals.
I did of course wonder how they could ever top the Prequelle album, it really is their ‘Master of Puppets’ or ‘Led Zeppelin IV‘. The first glimpse of the new material was sprung on us last October with the first single and video ‘Hunter’s Moon’ which was included on the soundtrack to ‘Halloween Kills’, (I waited for the end credits in the cinema to hear it in all its glory). While it’s a decent enough track, it does feel a little bit like Forge just phoned it in.
Next single ‘Call Me Little Sunshine’, however, is Ghost doing what they do best. Atmospheric, heavy when it needs to be and downright catchy. The video is great too. Let’s get to the new album then! ‘Impera’ is Ghost’s fifth studio album, and it gives us twelve new tracks to get our teeth into. Opener ‘Imperium’ is an atmospheric instrumental leading into ‘Kaisarion’ which jumps out of the speakers with abandon. A brilliant, up-tempo song with some superb guitar work from whichever of the latest ghouls are crunching the fretboards.
‘Spillways’ is next up, it really shows us the vocal acrobatics that Forge is capable of, he has a fantastic range. Another ear worm of a song with a keyboard riff that isn’t a million miles away from Bon Jovi’s ‘Runaway’! ‘Watcher In The Sky’ kicks off with a riff that George Lynch would be proud of, some lovely crunchy accents combined with another memorable chorus make this a real stand out track. Twenties is my favourite track on the album as I write this, just purely bonkers, it shouldn’t work but it works perfectly. A combination of prog, metal, and pop with some hilarious lyrics: We’ll be grabbing em’ all by the hoo – has. It’s just so damn catchy! Darkness ‘At The Heart Of My Love’ is one of those power ballads that Forge churns out effortlessly. It should be a major hit. Honestly, if Ghost could get mainstream airplay, I’m sure they would be huge, such is the quality of their songs. Griftwood sounds like something that would sit perfectly on a Ratt or Van Halen album from the 80s. I can imagine it on a montage from a Rocky film. The album closes with the epic ‘Respite On The Spitalfields’, a sprawling, atmospheric beast that enters a myriad of musical styles.
A solid album with everything thrown at bar the kitchen sink! Is ‘Impera’ as good as ‘Prequelle’? Not yet…But there’s still time.
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