…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.

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Author: Ben Hughes

Iselder – ‘Shattered’ (Marwolaeth Records)

Iselder – ‘Shattered’ (Marwolaeth Records)

They’ll be celebrating in the streets of Llansanfrith or something like that but one man band Iselder or should that read Golfid has seen fit to release his debut EP mini album call it what you wish again this summer and to be fair it’s a welcome addition to my collection of acrid Black Celtic Metal.

I first came across Iselder when I heard ‘Metel Du Gwir’ during lockdown and was fascinated by his bilingual approach to the Black Metal genre. Sure, it’s not for everyone but it will appeal to those who love a bit of blackest Metal and those who have a passing interest in Wales for me being interested in both it was a no-brainer. So, I applied the corpse paint went down into the basement, and supped from the chalice as Beelzebub was summoned by some bone crunchingly loud Black Fucking Metal.

The album kicks off with a bleak Sabbath-inspired low end of ‘08.54’ where Golfid explains he is not a terrorist but I’m already in as he dabbles in the darker side of independence and for the next five minutes this indy-inspired blackness washes over me. ‘Freedom’ it’s a no-brainer lyrically as the solid thumping pounding song rides off into the sunset.

The songs pretty much hover around the four-minute mark and whilst Golfid has the bestial growl – it’s not the cookie monster of a lot of the scenes indecipherable which serves his lyrical imagery well, especially on the previously mentioned ‘Metal Du Gwir’ album. The titles are in welsh but the lyrics aren’t which in itself is interesting. It’s the early Mayhem slay on the heavily distorted guitar riffs that twist and turn. The pace might well be slightly one-dimensional but it doesn’t detract from the songs.

‘Butchers Apron’ lays out his feelings on the lie of the land in the UK and if you weren’t aware that there was indeed a Black Metal scene here in Wales you can now rectify that. It’s a fine line to treat when dealing with Black Metal and its politics and sure this is a heavily political artist we’re dealing with. Pride in where you come from is one thing and Iselder lays his cards on the table on album closer ‘Cymru Am Byth’ Whilst I can’t see him taking the stage at the World Cup or being involved with the Countries song for the World Cup and there are no ‘Yma Oh Hyd’ songs here I like what Iselder do and its another fine addition to a scene that needed representing from these shores.

We have a wonderful history every bit as mysterious as the Norwegians who rule this scene and when Golfid gets a band together I’m windmilling down the street of Llansanfrith and punching the air to ‘Fe godwn ni eto’ and the whole of this Red, White and Green Black Metal Massacre. Di Yawn Iselder

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Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners Announce debut album & Tour

Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners Announce debut album & Tour

Released October 7th on Wicked Cool Records & 10 date October UK Tour  

Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners are proud to announce the release of their debut album on October 7th  on Wicked CoolRecords.
Their self-titled album is an energetic album that celebrates rock’n’roll and as Ginger explains it is in “the spirit of the music that we all collectively love, from childhood to the present day. Little Feat, The Allman Brothers, Wilco, The Band, Creedence, The Jayhawks, Lone Justice, Jason & the Scorchers, Georgia Satellites, Status Quo, The Stones…from roots country to rock n roll and Americana.”
The uplifting new single Lately, Always is about a dream “Not necessarily one that will come true but enough to have something to look forward to, especially when times seem a little hopeless.”

Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners were formed in August 2019 when Ginger joined forces with Neil Ivison and Nick Lyndon from the band Stone Mountain Sinners. The lineup was completed with drummer Shane Dixon (Tri-City Fanfare) and as Ginger explains “Me and The Sinners met for the very first time in the studio, in preparation for recording an album together. We figured out that if we can’t get along with each other then the music would be ultimately worthless. So we went to the pub and got drunk together. The next morning the music started flowing with ease. This is the sound of friendship.”
Their self-titled album was recorded at Mwnci studios in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with Dave Draper producing.
The album kicks off with their first single Wasted Times, which sets the tone for an album of pure rock n roll, peppered with country touches.  The listener will find a further seven original songs, including Lately, Always plus two covers: Dirty Water by Status Quo and Six Years Gone by Georgia Satellites’, the first song Ginger wanted to play with the band back when this was just an idea. “I became a bit obsessed with the song while in LA for Lemmy’s funeral, and carried it around in my heart from then until we all congregated at the studio.” 
There is a refreshingly familiar sound to every one of the songs on the album and it is a masterclass in how to write melodies that pull the heartstrings.
Despite the turmoil in which we find ourselves, Ginger with his Sinners give us all hope. Get with it or get out.
Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners essential debut album will be available digitally, on CD, and limited edition “Seaside Swirl” 12” vinyl. To pre order / pre stream Here

To celebrate the release of the Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners album the band will be playing ten UK shows, starting at Bannermans in Edinburgh on 18th October and finishing on 30th October at The Hare & Hounds in Birmingham. Tickets available from Monday 1st August at https://www.facebook.com/gingersinners

Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners UK October 2022 tour 

18th Edinburgh, Bannermans

19th Newcastle, Riverside 

20th Huddersfield, The Parish 

22nd Cardiff,  The Globe 

23rd Plymouth, The Juntion 

25th London, Bush Hall 

26th Norwich, Brickmakers 

27th Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms 

29th Chester, Live Rooms

30th Birmingham, Hare & Hounds 

Tickets available from Monday 1st August at Here

‘JOE STRUMMER 002: THE MESCALEROS YEARS’ 

‘JOE STRUMMER 002: THE MESCALEROS YEARS’ 

DARK HORSE RECORDS CELEBRATES JOE STRUMMER WITH ‘JOE STRUMMER 002: THE MESCALEROS YEARS’ 

TO HONOUR WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THELEGENDARY ARTIST’S 70TH BIRTHDAY

FIRST-EVER COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF STRUMMER’S WORK WITH THE MESCALEROS

NEW BOX SET INCLUDES PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS, DEMOS & OUTTAKES, ALONGSIDE REMASTERED EDITIONS OF THE COMPLETE MESCALEROS CATALOGUE, EXCLUSIVE NEW INTERVIEWS, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN IMAGES AND MUCH MORE

‘JOE STRUMMER 002: THE MESCALEROS YEARS’ ARRIVES VIA DARK HORSE RECORDS ON 16TH SEPTEMBER

PRE-ORDER HERE

Dark Horse Records is celebrating what would have been Joe Strummer’s 70th birthday on 21st August with ‘Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years’, the first-ever comprehensive collection highlighting his work with his post-Clash band, The Mescaleros. The collection includes remastered editions of all three of the band’s studio albums, plus 15 rare and unreleased tracks spanning the first demos Joe wrote for the Mescaleros, as well as ‘Ocean Of Dreams’, featuring Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols on guitar, and outtakes of several tracks of Joe’s final recordings with the band. This richly curated boxset was executive produced by Joe’s widow Lucinda Tait and produced by David Zonshine and features exclusive new interviews with Joe’s friends, collaborators and Mescaleros band mates, plus never-before-seen handwritten notes, lyrics, and drawings by Strummer taken from the Joe Strummer Archive. The release arrives on 16th September on 4 CD w/72-page book and 7 LP w/32-page book, special edition packaging and exclusive 12”x12” art print. The first track from the collection, the previously unreleased version of ‘The Road To Rock ‘N’ Roll (Demo)’ is available to stream NOW. The video for the song was created using Joe’s drawings and handwritten lyrics found in the Strummer archive.

While best known as the front man for The Clash, Strummer produced some of the most exciting work of his career with The Mescaleros. Strummer said during this period: “All that’s happening for me now is just a chancer’s bluff. I learned that fame is an illusion and everything about it is just a joke. I’m far more dangerous now, because I don’t care at all.” Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years highlights this intense period of creativity from 1999-2002, collecting for the first time such extraordinary albums as Rock Art and the X-Ray Style (1999), Global A Go-Go (2001), and the posthumous Streetcore (2003), along with Vibes Compass, a brand-new compilation of 15 B-sides and rarities, including early demos of some of the first tracks Joe wrote for the Mescaleros such as ‘The Road To Rock ‘N’ Roll’, ‘X-Ray Style’, ‘Techno D-Day’, as well as the previously unreleased ‘Secret Agent Man’ and the original recordings from Joe’s last ever sessions, including outtakes of ‘Get Down Moses’, ‘Coma Girl’ and the song ‘Fantastic’. All albums are remastered by three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks (The Beatles, John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie) especially for the release and are packaged with extensive new liner notes, unreleased images, and four reproduction lyric sheets and chord charts from the Strummer archive.  

“There’s so much great music that Joe left us in his archive,” says Joe’s widow and the executive producer, Lucinda Tait. “We started this work with ‘001’, so to focus on Joe’s work with The Mescaleros was the natural second step on ‘002’ because those songs he made with them just seemed to resonate so strongly and reinvigorated his connection with his audience at a level he hadn’t experienced since his days with The Clash.  “He was so excited to work with the Mescaleros and the reception he got from the press and fans was incredible, it gave him a whirlwind of energy and confidence and he was creatively fulfilled and happy.


 “His words are so beautiful and honest and together with the Mescaleros some fantastic tunes were created and to listen to some of the tunes recorded as outtakes for me was really special.” 2022 marks twenty years since the passing of the legendary Joe Strummer. Punk poet, musician, composer, actor, and style icon, Strummer spent his life smashing musical and cultural boundaries both as the singer of The Clash and as a solo artist. His songs sound as urgent and vital today as when they were written. Calling out social injustices and giving a voice to the struggles of the working class, Strummer’s politically charged lyrics struck a chord with legions of fans and the press alike, with Rolling Stone calling The Clash “the greatest rock & roll band in the world.” He famously once said, “Without people, you’re nothing.” Through his art, Joe Strummer played his part in shaping the musical landscape of the world and with it left an unrivalled and timeless legacy.

FOLLOW JOE STRUMMER

JOESTRUMMER.COM | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBETHE JOE STRUMMER FOUNDATION | DARK HORSE RECORDS

GODFATHERS – Return with an almighty bang.

GODFATHERS – Return with an almighty bang.

Legendary British rock & roll band The Godfathers return with an almighty bang on their highly-anticipated new album Alpha Beta Gamma Delta. Featuring thirteen tracks of new material, the album is described by the band’s lead singer and founder Peter Coyne as “a sonic tour de force” and is their first full-length studio release since the critically acclaimed A Big Bad Beautiful Noise in 2017.

Written and recorded during the course of the Covid pandemic, the album was produced by The Godfathers’ bassist (and former Damned member) Jon Priestley. Following on from the double A-side single I’m Not Your Slave / Wild And Free released in 2020, ‘Alpha Beta Gamma Delta’ is the first Godfathers’ album to feature the new line-up of Coyne, Priestley, ex-Heavy Drapes’ members Billy Duncanson (drums) and Richie Simpson (guitar) and guitarist Wayne Vermaak from The Great St Louis.

“Alpha Beta Gamma Delta is definitely one of the very best albums The Godfathers have ever made – it’s exciting, dark, dangerous contemporary rock & roll!” states Coyne. 

Originally formed in 1985 out of the ashes of The Sid Presley Experience, The Godfathers quickly earned a serious reputation for their electrifying brand of primal rock & roll and their incendiary live shows, aided and abetted by a string of classic radio hits and chart-bothering albums.

With numerous sold-out international tours and festival appearances to their credit, The Godfathers remain a consistent and reliable draw on the world’s stages and Alpha Beta Gamma Delta marks a thrilling new chapter in The Godfathers’ saga.

The album will be preceded by a 4-track EP entitled Midnight Rider on Friday 26th August, featuring two album tracks (Midnight Rider and OCD) plus two brand new and exclusive non-album tracks When The Cowards Fall and Fade Away.

The Godfathers will be announcing a full Autumn tour to coincide with the album’s release.

Alpha Beta Gamma Delta track listing:

Alpha Beta Gamma Delta / Bring On The Sunshine / You Gotta Wait / I Hate The 21st Century / OCD / Midnight Rider / Straight Down The Line / Lay That Money Down / Tonight / I’m Not Your Slave / There’s No Time / Dead In Los Angeles / I Despair  

The ‘Alpha Beta Gamma Delta’ album & ‘Midnight Rider’ EP can be pre-ordered Here

MANIC STREET PREACHERS – ‘KNOW YOUR ENEMY’ REMIXED, RECONSTRUCTED AND RE-ISSUED AS TWO SEPARATE ALBUMS AS ORIGINALLY INTENDED:

MANIC STREET PREACHERS – ‘KNOW YOUR ENEMY’ REMIXED, RECONSTRUCTED AND RE-ISSUED AS TWO SEPARATE ALBUMS AS ORIGINALLY INTENDED:

SET FOR RELEASE 9TH SEPTEMBER 2022 VIA COLUMBIA RECORDS Here

Manic Street Preachers release a radically reimagined version of their 6th album ‘Know Your Enemy’ on 9th September 2022. The new version of the album has been entirely remixed and reconstructed to form two separate albums as originally planned. ‘Know Your Enemy’ will be available digitally and as a 3 CD bookset, double CD and double album.

This deluxe release includes two previously unheard ‘forgotten’ tracks: ‘Studies in Paralysis’ and ‘Rosebud’, which is available online today. Beginning all wiry and cracked, ‘Rosebud’ soon opens out into a stuttering Hammond organ riff, a pensive rhythm track and a lyric that regrets “most things I never finished”.

Following the success of 1998’s’ This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’, Manic Street Preachers planned an ambitious follow-up to be released as two distinct albums: an aggressive, rapid fire return to their roots called ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Door To The River’, a more conciliatory, reflective collection. During the recording sessions, the trio got cold feet and settled on a single album that forced often conflicting ideas to sit side by side on the same record. ‘Know Your Enemy’ was launched in February 2001 with a show at Teatro Karl Marx in Havana in front of the Cuban leader and charted at No.2 in the UK the following week, going on to see over half a million copies worldwide. The singles taken from the album: ‘So Why So Sad’, ‘Found That Soul’, ‘Ocean Spray’ and ‘Let Robeson Sing’ all reached the Top 20.

Whilst going through the band’s archive to put together an anniversary version of ‘Know Your Enemy’, Nicky Wire found the original tapes of ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Door To The River’ that he’d made up in the studio during recording. When he put forward the idea of recreating those records, James Dean Bradfield agreed on the condition that he could remix the entire record with the band’s longtime studio partner Dave Eringa. The new mixes would bring a clarity to each record, losing extraneous studio effects and digital noise from the ‘Solidarity’ songs and stripping away unnecessary orchestration and embellishment from the tracks that made up ‘Door To The River’.

Author and long-term band collaborator Robin Turner explains in his expansive sleeve notes that this release is “the Director’s Cut of ‘Know Your Enemy’. The picture has been painstakingly restored, cleaned up, brightened. Although it doesn’t aim to replace the original, it most certainly enhances it.”

The vinyl edition ‘Know Your Enemy’ presents ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Door To The River’ in the same order as originally planned in 2000. Each of the CD packages features those records in full plus outtakes, unused mixes by Tom Lord-Alge and tracks featured on the original ‘Know Your Enemy’ that aren’t on the two restructured albums. All formats feature previously unseen photos from the recording sessions taken by regular collaborator Mitch Ikeda.

Manic Street Preachers’ last studio album ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ went to No.1 on release in September 2021. They followed its release with a headline tour of the UK. This year, they opened the BBC6 Music Festival in Cardiff and have headlined several UK festivals. Upcoming tour dates below. 

Know Your Enemy – September 9th – Columbia

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Two for Tuesday

Two for Tuesday

From the album “Jukebox Junkies” Andy was never shy about wearing his influences on his sleeves. When playing with Hanoi Rocks the group frequently included surprising cover versions among their killer original songs. Now, McCoy taps into the rich musical history that inspired him on his own full-length album of highly addictive covers entitled Jukebox Junkie! Check out the album’s first single and video for a deep cut by ‘80s hitmakers Squeeze, “Take Me I’m Yours!”

Your second offering is from Harlow punk legends Newtown Neurotics who have announced a new album called ‘Cognitive Dissidents’ that will be released through Cadiz Music on October 21. Before that, they have a new single ‘Climate Emergency’, which sees the band focused on one of the most important issues of current times.

The pre-order link for the album is here

The band have the following gigs confirmed:

Friday 27 July – Triangle, London  

Friday 5 August – Rebellion, Blackpool (band show on Empress Ballroom + interview w/ Steve Drewett on Literary stage) 

Saturday 6 August – Rebellion, Blackpool (Steve Drewett almost acoustic show) 

Continental Lovers – ‘Dale Arden Vs The World’ (Bandcamp)

Continental Lovers – ‘Dale Arden Vs The World’ (Bandcamp)

Released via Bandcamp to be getting on with, I’m assured it’s also getting a vinyl press on snap! Records (or at least some of them are) On this evidence it richly deserves that vinyl pressing and a whole lot more besides.

Continental Lovers is the workings of former Breakdown band leader Joe Maddox who was busy writing tunes prior to the pandemic and decided to recruit some likeminded band members who had a passion for good time Rock and Roll with a penchant for big choruses like Cheap Trick and a few other notable seventies rock n rollas. A dash of punk Rock snot and a whole heap of attitude and when it’s put together by people who clearly love the music and respect where it’s come from it deserves to rise straight to the top of the pile. Joe has put together a bunch of Trash Rock monsters that are glittering examples of just how to do trashy punk and on this evidence, it won’t be too long before the support slots are the thing of the past and its headline shows in packed venues for The Continental Lovers.

Some of the songs were tested out on the public as demos over the last year or so but the punch of songs like ‘St Joan’ are excellent. short songs with big hooks and no messing about are exactly what’s on offer here. Punching like a heavyweight but these haymakers aren’t random swinging but more lazer-guided jabs to the temple.

Six tracks just about make for side one of an album, but we’ll investigate them one by one, hopefully, we can give them the respect they deserve. None of these tunes overstay their welcome and most nestle around the two-minute mark kicking off with ‘Tape Deck’ which is a sprightly, snotty dust-up where Joe gets on with the job of kicking out the jams with no fucking about. Cool, calm, and right up for it. ‘Really Doesn’t Matter’ has the feel of his old band The Breakdowns with an excellent melody and I love the tone of the guitar break which nails it and pulls the whole tune together. A cool backbeat and some sunshine Rock n Roll blasting through the speakers.

‘Tattered Star’ is Trashy Rock n Roll in all its finery. There’s a familiarity about it like slipping into a well-worn pair of creepers that have some wickedly comfortable insoles for you to bop til you drop. Continental Lovers clearly know where their music comes from and have big enough hearts to use that history and write new songs for the 21st century whilst doffing that gatsby to the past.

‘St Joan’ pays tribute to the Queen of noise – Ms. Jett and they nail the riff to the lyrics and pen a killer song that is fitting someone so cool. I hope she gets to hear it and who knows take these guys out on tour and duet this one cheek to cheek. ‘Can’t Get Her Out Of My Head’ is sub two minutes of 1-2-3-4 hey ho let’s go. It’s got attitude and a cheeky pogo, covered in sweat and just enough snot to satisfy the punks and the glam kids.

Bringing this EP to a swift end is ‘Dale Arden’ which is a thumping way to go out – swinging and bopping and leaving the listener wanting more, more, more. A massively impressive debut offering of six of the best. Continental Lovers can go straight to the top of the class with this EP. It’s everything you could hope to hear. Now get to work on an album and we very much look forward to the record when it hits the shelves later this Summer. Continental Lovers your new favourite Glam Slamming trash Rock n Rollas #Fact! If you get the chance go see em live and when the pre-orders drop for the vinyl record we’ll let you know

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Author: Dom Daley

Mala Vista – ‘Ruthless & Toothless’ (No Front Teeth Records)

Mala Vista – ‘Ruthless & Toothless’ (No Front Teeth Records)

Noo Yawk City mutherfuckers! via Old London Town. Mala Vista has released their debut long-playing platter that matters and it’s a slab of Lo-Fi Punk Rock n Roll that’s as much The Boys as it is The HEartbreakers and a whole lotta snot besides. IT’s thirteen grizzly slices of all the meats pizza the action and they’ve nailed that attitude-soaked punk n roll from the lo-fi production that is every bit their identity as the melodies that cut through the airwaves when the needle drops.

From the opening speaker cone splitting treble of ‘Baby So Wasted’ the chaos begins with the cool as fuck guitar breaks that pierce the sound levels and punctuate a rapid slice of Punk n Roll to the Buzzcocks inspired ‘Nowhere To Go’ this album is crammed full of top tunes that ebb and flow very nicely spitting out sweaty salty Punk Rock.

The chest-beating riff-a-rama of ‘Nuclear’ that swiftly goes pogo tastic or the infectious ‘NY Groove’ Mala Vista has got the chops and it’s no wonder they captured the interest of No Front Teeth Records because it’s a perfect collision of like-minded souls.

‘Relegated Lover’ started off like the bastard son of Rebel Rebel with the needle in the red before breaking out into a stonking thumping chest beater. ‘Ole Blue Eyes’ is like one of those magic tunes that drops when you hit the random button on a Wurlitzer in some dive bar far from home, It’ll put a smile on your face and have you raising a glass to the magic of a great tune. ‘Western Beef’ is like the runaway speed train with Chuck Berry at the steering wheel. The album is relentless as ‘Echo’ kicks into ‘Mouth Breeder’ which then spills into ‘Criminal’ with all its wonderful snotty melody it could be a kissing cousin of Los Pepe.

‘Summer Weekend’ is a banger that sounds familiar because it’s got the hallmarks of what’s gone before it from the melody to the chorus – great stuff. ITs a rapid over with in the blink of an eye, punk rock that fuses a whole bunch of top-notch influences together in a bunch of perfectly formed songs from the Ramones to the Boys to Buzzcocks to The HEartbreaers and a whole bunch in between Mala Vista has delivered a banger of a debut album and I suggest you check it out – Pronto!

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Author: Dom Daley

Beach Rats – ‘Rat Beat’ (Epitaph Records)

Beach Rats – ‘Rat Beat’ (Epitaph Records)

There’s been more than the odd occasion recently where I’ve found myself “getting something in my eye” as I’ve been whisked away on some kind of H.G. Wells inspired time travel moment back to my teenage years, all thanks to the power of rock ‘n’ roll. Midnight most certainly had me laying down my soul to the god’s rock ‘n’ roll when I saw them live a few weeks back, and only last week the new album by Then Comes Silence had me up on a mate’s shoulders chicken dancing like an idiot (well, in my head at least). Step forward then the latest mob to have this effect on me, and have me two-stepping all over the living room, namely US hardcore punk (super)group Beach Rats.

Initially the brainchild of Pete Steinkopf and Bryan Kienlen from the Bouncing Souls, following a memorial concert for Vision frontman Dave Franklin where the duo teamed up with Ari Katz from Lifetime, and had one of those magic lightbulb moments in process. The whole thing finally came together when Brian Baker of Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion, and Junkyard fame relocated to Asbury Park, New Jersey, looking, as he always seems to be, for yet another band to play with, and then by adding in Danny Windas, AKA ‘Dubs’ on drums, the Beach Rats were finally born.

Having subsequently signed with Epitaph Records, (I wonder how that happened eh?) Beach Rats are perhaps the band Baker’s other Epitaph side project Fake Names should have been, as I must admit that (given the musicians involved) I was fully expecting to love that record, yet it all kind of left me cold. Thankfully then, ‘Rat Beat’ is hotter than the UK’s annual couple of days of sunshine that we like to call summer. With just two of the album’s dozen tracks passing the two-minute mark, this is fast and furious punk rock, very much honed in the style of the early eighties’ crossover scene BUT (and this is a huge but) the songs also possess a much more contemporary edge (largely thanks to the vocals of Katz) which means there’s also the odd insanely catchy number in here too.

So, whist ‘Dress For Sick Sesh’ and album closer ‘Fuck You Dad’ might have me thinking of reaching for my copies of Cryptic Slaughter’s ‘Convicted’ or Crumbsuckers’ ‘Life Of Dreams’ for a long overdue spin, it’s the groovy as hell ‘Summers End’, the anthemic ‘Words’ and the more introspective ‘Clorox Boys’ where the melodies really cut through, and Beach Rats sound absolutely essential.

Look, if you’re a fan of any of Beach Rats’ associated bands then it goes without saying that you need a copy of ‘Rat Beat’ in your collection, but in saying this, if you are also a fan of the likes of Aerial Salad, Incisions, or Pizzatramp, you do also really do need to start saving your beer tokens and snap up a copy of this record when its released (on LP. CD and download) on July 29th.

The ‘Rat Beat’ is groovy as fuck. Now, go flip your baseball cap peak up and get ready to (slam) dance like a teenager all over again.

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Author: Johnny Hayward