It’s a genuine surprise to hear ‘Only Us’, the first track on Thrice’s tenth album, begin with a bubbling, ominous synth line. It’s a mile away from the powerful roar of the California quartet’s past– no one should expect that anymore- but it is striking, interesting and new. Unfortunately, few moments following it truly demand your attention. Over the last […]
Read morePunk rock is rarely about reinvention, right? And for the most part there is little about ‘Good Friends, Bad Luck’ that feels new or exciting. The Run Up’s bouncy rhythms, positive vibes, and gruff, earnest vocals are all things you’ve heard before, standard fare for fans of much scrappy UK punk. But every so often there’s something more here, a […]
Read moreThat’s a truly terrible band name. But the clunky moniker aside, Cheerbleederz haven’t really put a foot wrong here. It might be because the London trio haven’t attempted too much but from the bouncy buzz of ‘Staying Up Late’ to the infectious melodies of ‘Cabin Fever’, this is four tracks of simple but ever-so-effective indie pop. There is verve and […]
Read moreIf the fact that Future Usses feature current and former members of Intronaut, Mouth of the Architect, and Bereft isn’t enough to prick your ears then you should know that ‘An Existential Haunting’ is the best thing any of them have ever done. Opener ‘What Is Anything’ is cinematic and powerful post-rock, 11 minutes long, taking in booming doom, blast […]
Read more‘Loved’, a scintillating smoke monster of a record, finds KEN Mode returning to do exactly what they do best. The Canadian trio’s noise rock tendencies might have angled out of control on their last album but this is the kind of acrid, bubbling melting pot of off-kilter hardcore, ugly metal, noise and fury that first brought them to the close […]
Read moreRarely has a record been so appropriately titled. ‘An Asphyxiating Embrace’ truly does want to crush the life out of you. Rongeur’s debut album is made of hulking hardcore, slow-shifting sludge, and blackened metal and the Norwegian trio don’t seem to care what bits they bang you over the head with next. At its best it’s propulsive, compelling stuff but […]
Read moreFortune favours the bold, right? If there’s any truth to that then Night Verses are due to prosper. With Doug Robinson, the band had a rare frontman equipped with a voice full of power and passion. But for their fourth album, the New York outfit have chosen to move ahead without him. And what a move it proves to be. […]
Read moreThis is how you do it. Birds in Row have been great for a while now but this, the French outfit’s second full-length, is something else. From the grungy, ominous introduction of ‘We Count So We Don’t Have to Listen’ to the final ferocious roar of of ‘Fossils’, the band have taken their hardcore punk blueprint and expertly expanded it, […]
Read moreHopesfall were one of the better bands to emerge from the mid-2000s post-hardcore gold rush. They possessed the requisite style and sound to ascend with the scene but always had something… more. Their grungy, shifting riffs were reminiscent of Hum or The Smashing Pumpkins rather than just another metal band and their abstract, Deftonesian lyrics seemed to look anywhere but […]
Read moreHoly Roar are on a hell of a roll in 2018. And not content with releasing new scene-stealing material by Svalbard, Møl, and Modern Rituals, alongside a potential album of the year by Rolo Tomassi, they’ve now ushered another Secret Cutter record into the world. Whether the world will accept it is another matter entirely- this is relentless, abrasive rage […]
Read more