What does it sound like?:

Getting a Radio 1 Session (preferably a Peel Session) is something of a rite of passage for many bands. It was one of the first steps along the path of “making it” (or nearly making it, as some bands who never progressed from the BBC Studios found it). And established bands had a habit of returning when asked – there is usually something from a Radio 1 Session that marks a difference to the studio version, whether it is an early sketch for a song, a changed lyric, or a new bridge that was later dumped and then resurrected for an entirely different song. The Pogues did their fair share of Sessions – not just John Peel, but also Kid Jensen, Janice Long and Phil Kennedy (who? Me neither), and this set collects those Sessions from 1984 to 1986 and covering their earliest songs through to (maybe) the first recorded attempts at If I Should Fall From Grace With God material. It’s an expansion of an earlier Record Store Day release adding 7 additional tracks. and including 13 tracks available for the first time on CD that have not been heard since initial broadcast. » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

This package is a 4CD / 2DVD Box Set and a 40 page hardback book in one box.

The Lepps have 40+ years of recording under the belts, and have been regular visitors to stadiums and enormodomes since 1987s Hysteria sold several million copies worldwide. But they’d never played a UK gig as big as the O2. Until December 2018, when after discussions about a Las Vegas residency, the idea to stage a show on the back of Hysteria’s 30th Anniversary became real. The first DVD (and double CD) is a recording of one of the biggest UK shows they’d ever done. of one of those nights. The Hysteria album is played in full – track by track – and then followed (in a not entirely unexpected encore) by 6 more tracks from times pre and post Hysteria. The playing is spot on – to my ears sometimes too spot on – and the performance totally comfortable from a band who’ve been giving shows like this for 30 years. My only criticism here is that I just wish they’d go off script and do a bit of shredding, noodling, extended coda stuff – it » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Well, that was unfortunate timing – after a time spent building an audience, Facebook followers, and YouTube views, Block 33 unleash their debut album (to be supported by an Album Launch Party at the 100 Club) at the start of April. But with the world in lockdown, the Album Launch Party is deferred to September. The album did come out as planned though – and it ain’t bad at all. It’s had a fair few spins, and there is a very high possibility this will be in the Year End lists. It’s a definite contender.

The official narrative (from the bands Facebook page): Block 33 are a brand new mod revival band from the South of England. The band are a familiar mix of Energetic driven guitars, rolling bass, charging punk rhythms & quintessentially British, rasping yet melodic vocals that altogether make for a nostalgic sound catered for fans of the modernist subculture.

Note the word “Energetic”. Yes, oh yes. There’s plenty of Energy here.

11 tracks all meeting the criteria/description above, with a blend of the familiar and the new. Do you want a simple redux description: Take the drive of Oasis, » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Imagine Half Man Half Biscuit with a Midlands accent and a whiff of ska. That is a really simple description of The Humdrum Express. Very possibly unfair – there is more to the band than that – but I’ve got to start with a bit of a hook.

Ian Passey (for it is he) has been casting a wry eye over the world on a couple or 3 albums before. It was the last album (‘The Day My Career Died’) and more particularly the song “Leopard Print Onesie” which drew me in – and an enjoyable time it is too. As before, every listen to this album has so far revealed another smart turn of phrase, a raised eyebrow, or a the very least a knowing smile. The content is very much rooted in the ordinary (the humdrum I suppose?) and you’re immediately comfortable in this world of pop culture references and musings. And on the subject of Pop Culture Musings, there is a track by that very name here – one where he may have written his own review of the album opening with the line:

“Before I wander off to check how » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

(The full title is ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers’, but I know the rules about naughty words in Post Titles)

Green Day may well have peaked with 2004s ‘American Idiot’. In truth, the preceding albums contained some moments of greatness, but when’American Idiot’ came out, it really was a case of “where the f**k did that come from?”. It was a sort of Robert Johnson at the Crossroads moment, and it (for a time) made Green Day one of the biggest bands in the world. And then they tried the political comment in a rock-opera thing again with ’21st Century Breakdown’, and all started to come unstuck. The triple set – ‘¡Uno!’, ‘¡Dos!’, ‘¡Tré!’ was an attempt to get back to basics. As it turned out, it was more an attempt to turn back the clock, and songs of angsty rebellion just don’t work as well when delivered by three blokes knocking on the door of 40. 2016s ‘Revolution Radio’ was just a bit limp by all accounts.

So, 4 years on, are they just trying to milk the old cow again? I really think they’ve tried to a bit a bit more thoughtful about » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Two albums from a similar time period given a vinyl re-release – one on heavyweight black vinyl, the other on a rather fetching “bubblegum with a blue splat” coloured vinyl. (Personal Note: I used to own both these albums – no idea where they went? But now here’s a chance to get them back) Live At The Roxy was originally released on Prog Rock label Harvest in 1977, and offers 12 tracks drawn from the “legendary” first 100 days of The Roxy in Convent Garden. The club opened (officially) on 1 January 1977 with a headline performance from The Clash, and in it’s time featured just about every Punk band it could get on stage. (Trivia note: Iron Maiden were offered a support slot to Siouxsie & The Banshees in March 1977 – they declined the offer despite posters being printed, and the show was cancelled)

This album contains performances from the lesser celebrated end of Punk – Slaughter & The Dogs, Eater, Johnny Moped,– alongside their perhaps better known brethren – The Adverts X-Ray Spex, Buzzcocks and Wire. The one band not mentioned above – The Unwanted – are described somewhere on the » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Wikipedia tells me this is Richard Dawson’s 7th album – which means I may need to go to Spotify and do a bit of catching up. On the other side of this, it means I have no pre-conceived conceptions about this offering – and if the back catalogue is as good as this, then I’ll be a happy bunny.

Phew! This is some special thing – a right old mash up of folk-esque story telling, indie grungeiness, a bit of prog-ish-ness – the introduction to “Black Triangle” could be straight out of the ELP songbook – , all bolted to a sometime Trumpton-ish tune coupled with some seriously hummable melodies. The voice veers between Northumbrian brogue, measured baritone and pained falsetto (with a couple of Ronnie James Dio-like screechy moments).

The songs themselves are basically sung in a spoken word like narrative – there is no attempt at a poetic turn of phrase or a levering in of a rhyming couplet. The instrumentation is relatively stripped back and simple, but can (and often does) explode into louder moments. Dawson is addressing the minutae, and sometimes absurdity, of everyday life – “we’re hurrying home from » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

When a new album bearing the name “Gallagher” arrives, there are usually 4 stock questions:

1. Does it sound like it always sounds? 2. Are the lyrics peppered with bad or contrived rhymes? 3. Is it derivative / a slight knock-off of other peoples work? 4. Does it break any new ground, or in anyway a departure from the expected? And the answers, unsurprisingly, are: Yes, Yes, Yes and No

The full title of this album could/should be: ‘Why Me? Why Not? What More Did You Expect?’

But this is not a bad thing – it is comfortable, easy to access, and rewards quite quickly. The only fear is that the “reward” may not last and this will soon be consigned to the “might play again if I stumble across it” pile.

There are many people in this world who perceive Liam Gallagher as “that insufferable knob that used to sing in Oasis”. And, to be honest, his latest advert on Amazon hardly helps his case. But I maintain he has one of the greatest rock voices of the past few years (well, 25 since the release of Oasis’s ‘Definitely Maybe’). Just the right » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Yo know those moments when a song pops up on the radio, and you think “I know this. Oh no I don’t, it’s definitely new. Oh hang on, I’m sure I’ve heard this.”

A case in point here is “Keep The Change” by Mattiel – coming across like a sort of lost Northern Soul stomper/60s Garage Rock mash-up sung by Nico (a curious mixture, but one that is apt), and the attendant album (‘Satis Factory’) is more than satisfactory (some albums bought on the strength of one track can lead to disappointment, not this one)

The parent album contains 12 tracks with echoes of recognition throughout all adding to the “Retro, yet of itself” sound. The music on this album, at some point, touches most of the varying styles of the rock genre. But this is no pastiche of the styles, merely a starting point of recognition that hooks the listener in (or it did me anyway). The 12 tracks each clock in around 3 minutes, meaning this is a fine way to spend half hour of life.

Opener “Til The Moment Of Death” is a sort of Velvet Underground meets Country affair, with » Continue Reading.