Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Friday 20 December 2024

LIVE: The Menzingers @ The Underworld

People debate what constitutes ‘real punk’ all the time, but whatever that intangible quality is, it’s in the air for the Menzingers’ duo of anniversary shows celebrating ten years of ‘Rented World’s release at Camden’s Underworld. Guitars are piled on the balcony, and we wear our pit-hardened dedication on

LIVE: Vower / Jar of Blind Flies @ The Lower Third, London

Fresh from an additionally added date last night, Brighton trio Jar of Blind Flies are opening for Vower’s original sold-out show at basement venue The Lower Third. With 2022 debut album ‘Mia’ and single ‘Not Your Baby’ released earlier this year, they blend nineties grunge with more modern alt-rock

Thursday 12 December 2024

LIVE: Sylosis / Fit For An Autopsy / Darkest Hour / Heriot @ Electric Brixton, London

It’s early doors tonight at Electric Brixton for a lineup featuring four metal stalwarts. There’s a decent sized crowd already assembled for openers Heriot, who deliver an onslaught of distorted guitar tones, ferocious growls and crushing riffs from the first beat. Whilst Heriot’s sound is undoubtedly heavy, their severity is

Thursday 05 December 2024

Hanabie – ‘BUCCHIGIRI TOKYO’ EP

If you’re reading this you’re unlikely to be Japanese. Hanabie are. This makes their new EP tricky to discuss. Most alternative, hardcore, metal, Punktastic music has its roots in American or European culture but they’re a band hailing from a different continent. They’re unusual in this context

LIVE: Alien Ant Farm @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

Back in the dawn of the new millennium, Alien Ant Farm were everywhere. Their cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ went platinum and topped charts across the world in 2001, and mainstream success beckoned. After a series of dubious decisions including bootlegging their own fourth album, splitting in 2007

Friday 29 November 2024

LIVE: Twin Atlantic, DAYTIME TV @ Electric Brixton

Twin Atlantic’s legacy in modern rock is undeniable, and it’s easy to see why when the Electric Brixton is so easily filled with a sea of black-clad fans, each person a testament to the band’s enduring grip on their audience. Hailing from Glasgow, the quartet has never

Hidden Mothers – ‘Erosion / Avulsion’

For most bands, the first track of an album is them setting their stalls out early, giving a brief but fully packaged taste of their sound, and lets the listener know what to expect. So as expected, the first track on ‘Erosion / Avulsion’, the debut full length from

Wednesday 27 November 2024

LIVE: Black Stone Cherry @ Wembley Arena

Everything’s bigger in America, or so they say. Whoever coined the phrase must have been talking about Black Stone Cherry’s riffs too, because the boys from Kentucky know how to bring a UK tour to a close in style at Wembley Arena with their brand of straightforward southern rock.

Monday 25 November 2024

RedHook – ‘MUTATION’

Nothing defines the modern world like the rush of information. It’s difficult to sit and think without your brain being stimulated from hundreds of different directions. It can be exhausting. Just deciding what is important becomes a task in itself. Nothing exemplifies this more than TikTok. If

Thursday 21 November 2024

LIVE: NOAHFINNCE @ Electric Ballroom, London

The queue for NOAHFINNCE stretches a good hundred metres around the block surrounding Camden’s Electric Ballroom, long before the doors even open. This would be an impressive achievement for an established act, let alone an artist with only a debut album and a string of singles to his name.

Tuesday 19 November 2024

Polar – ‘Five Arrows’

One way to celebrate your fifteenth anniversary is to release a new album, which is what hardcore quintet Polar have opted to do. Aren’t we meant to buy them a present to celebrate their anniversary, instead of them gifting us this new release? Nevertheless, ‘Five Arrows’ is unyielding in its

Thursday 14 November 2024

Less Than Jake – ‘Uncharted’ EP

Everyone loves Less Than Jake, but who’s really engaged with their music since ‘Hello Rockview’? The endlessly touring and effortlessly entertaining ska kids have found themselves as a reliable staple support band and festival afternoon fixture, becoming the musical equivalent of mozzarella sticks; no one’s sad to see them

Wednesday 13 November 2024

Zebrahead – ‘I’ EP

After twenty six years making rocket-fuelled hybrid punk, you’d think Zebrahead would start slowing down. They could have recorded a folky tribute album a la Dropkick Murphys or announced a never ending retirement farewell odyssey like Fat Mike and co. That’s not quite the So-Cal punks’ style though: why

The Plot In You – ‘Vol. 3’ EP

The way music is released has begun to shift. Though albums are still an enormous part of the culture (and always will be), some bands are moving into a more consistent and lengthy release process, stringing together regular singles and EP’s to better take advantage of the algorithmic social

Thursday 07 November 2024

Sol Invicto – ‘LOOSELY AWARE’

When a project announces itself as featuring members of Deftones, Cypress Hill and Sikth there’s only one question; which members? Given the bands in question, you could get some very interesting answers. Although it’s possible to play a Fantasy Football style game swapping around different lineups and

Wednesday 06 November 2024

Delain – ‘Dance With The Devil’

As we’re moving from the season of skull-shaped candy and into our selection box era, it seems appropriate that dutch symphonic metallers Delain are gift-wrapping us a sampler of treats in the form of their new EP, ‘Dance With The Devil’. To straighten a couple of things out first;

Tuesday 05 November 2024

Every Hell – ‘Vertebrate’ EP

Brighton newcomers Every Hell are an absolute bottle rocket of a band. Comprised of ex-members of Broker, Memory Of Elephants and the much loved, sorely missed Black Peaks, the quartet bring all of the character from their previous projects and splice it with a rich, explosive, adrenaline-fuelled rush. Their

Monday 04 November 2024

LIVE: Alice Cooper @ Eventim Hammersmith Apollo, London

There’s not many seventy-six year olds who can sell out the five thousand capacity Hammersmith Apollo twice over, but then again, Alice Cooper isn’t like most artists in his age bracket. On the final night of his hundred city ‘Too Close For Comfort’ tour, it’d practically be a crime

Thursday 31 October 2024

LIVE: Dream Theater @ The O2, London

The definition of cognitive dissonance, Dream Theater are simultaneously known as one of the most influential prog bands of all time who’ve amassed Grammy wins and a vast fan base, while also accumulating a reputation with some for being cringey, cheesy and a bit boring. However, that split in

Wednesday 30 October 2024

Better Lovers – ‘Highly Irresponsible’

The opening gambit on ‘Highly Irresponsible’ feels like a sledgehammer blow to the eardrums. After a brief, understated instrumental piece, a maelstrom of low end chugging guitars, vocal yelps, and drums being viciously smashed comes together to create a wall of noise. It’s a real statement of intent that’s