I'm Seb, a 17 year old aspiring music journalist. If you dig what I write let me know and share it with your friends!
Twitter: @Get_WhatYouGive email: sebwainwright@gmail.com
Seems as though yesterday I was talking very excitedly about my return to the gig routine, I thought I may as well share some I'm looking forward to.
I've mentioned a few I intend to go to before on here but one tour that got announced just last week has got me rather excited. It's Gnarwolves first headline UK tour! This band caught many underground-scene lovies' attention last year with their brilliant debut EP Cru. DIY punk from a bunch of Cornish guys that now live in Brighton, what's not to like? Support slot after support slot, (including landing a huge support slot to Funeral For A Friend) house gig after house gig, they continue to impress and humour us with goofy, energetic live shows. With their release of their third EP Funemployed this summer the Cornwall trio look to expand the Cru, one basement at a time.
Guess what guys... I'm going to a gig on Thursday!
Holy shit it's been so long (5 months to be exact) but I start my hectic gig schedule starts with The Story So Far in Bristol on Thursday. I very much plan on live reviews being a part of this blog and I apologise for not having any gigs to go to since this blog started. When they drop, I hope you enjoy the live reviews!
Okay, so I've said what I needed to say. So, here's a picture of my cat...
Keeping this one concise, guys. Can't be rambling all the time, can I?
Don Broco are a Bedford four-piece with something up their sleeve that's taking the UK by storm, any US viewers on this blog... LISTEN UP, you need to know these guys! After releasing their highly anticipated debut last year in the form of Priorities, they've captured the hearts of a vary melting pot of music fans. This, their new single You Wanna Know, is released on the cusp of a gigantic UK that involves The Camden Roudhouse, a venue three times the size of their last London show only 6/7 months ago. So, this write up is only really of the single You Wanna Know as the EP is just full of remixes and acoustic stuff.
The song it's self is characteristic of the sound Don Broco have been mastering since their inception in 2009. Power-pop? It may well be. Big, thick slabs of rock riffage over a beat driven rhythm section provides the basis for this whole song. Verses break down into 80's picked guitars and slapped bass, I tell you now heads will be a'bobbing. The lyrics crooned out by the frontman Rob Damiani are literally of the scales cheesy. HOWEVER, used in the context of the song and how it sounds, wholly appropriate. That is the mastery with which Don Broco pull off song after song. So infectious is the groove the OTT dance moves you'll be pulling won't seem out of place or weird at all. This is a band that know exactly what their doing, down to the last note.
I'd highly recommend this band for their sheer enjoyment. Cynicism surrounding all music goes out the window. This will make you smile.
(I haven't done a review on it, but their debut record Priorities is a must listen if you dig this write up!)
I'm back again! School hit me like a ton of bricks this year (I'm a wimp) but I return with more reviews and opinions to share with you wonderful people! Thanks for sticking with me...
As I'm writing this I am listening to the much anticipated release from A Day To Remember. Common Courtesy is self-released and is out now on this here website commoncourtesy.adtrstore.com the physical release date is somewhat vague because of the self-funded nature of the album.
Boy, A Day To Remember aren't half good at what they do, aren't they? This their fifth studio album further solidifies their position in an area of music they totally, totally, dominate. After bursting onto the scene with their sophomore album For Those Who Have A Heart they had tapped into a field of music that was refreshing if, however, slightly controversial. The unusual mix of pop-punk and crushing metalcore/hardcore styles resonates with many people who find ADTR a perfect median between the two.
Album opener City Of Ocala is straight up pop-punk. No bullshitting. Full pop-punk songs was an experiment ADTR conducted on their last record What Separates Me From You. While not perfect on the last release even the first song on this album has the nail hit on the head. While not breakdown laden and heavy, the finest New Found Glory-esque pop rock song is the outcome.
Okay, so pop-punk is not an issue, what about ADTR's heavier side? Has that taken a sideline in favour of their poppier, more accessible songwriting?
Hell no...
This album is filled with a very Homesick type array of pummelling, fist-pumping anthems. Lead single Violence (Enough is Enough) is a perfect example of this renewed angular assault. The edge that many said was missing from their somewhat sugar coated previous record is back with a vengeance. Songs like Sometimes You're The Hammer, Sometimes You're The Nail are nothing new in terms of content but it is the execution that sells this and basically the whole album. Alex Shelnutt's drumming is precise and powerful as he double-basses away in perfect unison with the guitar section made up of Neil Westfall, Kevin Skaff and Joshua Woodard. The licks that penetrate the overriding rhythm are very reminiscent of a certain Parkway Drive (which, as a avid Parkway fan, suites me perfectly). Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way involves singer Jeremy McKinnon's layered screaming over jumping, flying guitar riffs and enough breakdowns to make you break your house... down, pun regrettably intended.
Lets take a step back, though. This is a step in either direction for ADTR. The softer, more melodic songs have also had modification and tweaks made to them. Again, nothing drastically different but more so a band developing their type of music. Right Back At It Again and I'm Already Gone are perfect examples of this. Neither style is hindered by another and on many occations ADTR just do what they do best. Merge the two together.
That's not to say this album doesn't have its faults. The simple fact that the song positions within the album are just not right is a starter. The album flow from one end to the other is sometimes painfully broken up by a misplaced, out-of-place song that, while good as a singular softer song for instance, may not sit well when the song beforehand mad you want to punch walls.
Then there's the issue of Jeremy's voice harmonies. The natural voice of Jeremy McKinnon is that of an angel don't get me wrong. But sometimes the harmonies laid out over the top of many a chorus sound too superficial to even take seriously. Lyrically, yup, he's still fighting 'cause no one can bring him down...
Common Courtesy is the beautiful, expertly executed mash up of a record we were all hoping to hear from the Floridian quintet. Fat has been re injected to the mix and the result is a masterclass of ADTR doing what they do best. What they do best hasn't changed for the last seven years either. A bad thing?
So, Stray From The Path dropped their new record earlier this week! Out now via Sumerian Records and it is an absolute banger...
This is the bands fourth record with singer Andrew "Drew York" Dijorio fronting and seventh overall release. Already there's a lot more than meets the eye with this band. This is a band that have been touring rigorously for around ten years. To say these four very politically charged guys are dedicated would be an understatement. That's what this album brings with it. Dedication to their cause. This Long Island hardcore band has long been projecting their Rage Against The Machine like lyrics and many a time pay direct homage musically to them as well.
The record starts with a statement, shall we say. False Flag is a monstrous melee of oddball riffs and atrociously large grooves. That noise. That sneering, spittingnoise Drew York famously uses in almost every single one of there songs is back in full force. BLLLEEEEEEHHHHH!
After a complete RATM track steal Badge & A Bullet (that rules, by the way) there's a song that may as well be a match made in heaven. Two bands that right are causing heads to turn in curiosity merge together. I could only be talking about SFTP and Letlive.'s Jason Aalon Butler. The results produced are big indeed. It's not often you heard two frontmen trading lines with eachother that sound like the same creative wavelength has been achieved seamlessly.
Lyrically, it's kind of miss and miss. There are times where the subject matters spat into your face by Drew York make you at one with the fact there are as pissed off as you. The screaming is berserk at times, literally. Other times, well, it just face plants into dog shit (Counting Sheep being the song in mind).
Stray From The Path are harnessing a song that hails late-90's hardcore but tinges it with a simply perfect mix of metalcore. It is innovative and causes curiosity. Brilliant if you want an expanding fan base. That's exactly what this band will get from this record. In the words of some guy on one of their YouTube videos
"it's like ratm (in a good way) but with a crazy ass white guy screaming his lungs out" Brilliant. 8/10 Seb Wainwright
This may seem like self-advertising but that's what this site is all about! So here are a couple of drum covers I uploaded to YouTube before I moved house this summer. One is of Aussie metallers Northlane (with added footcam) and Cali pop-punkers The Story So Far. My absolute favorite pass time is to play drums. My drums are set up here in my new house now and new covers will ensue don't you worry! . For now, however, so enjoy these first two I have put together and please please please let me know what you think of them! I appreciate it.
IN THE PIPELINE: Stray From The Path new album, TSSF live and the almighty Letlive. live!
I was about to do a feature on this record as it comes out today. Unfortunately homework (yawn) has tied me up until now. So here's the deal, I'll write my Reflection single review tonight and then probably next week I'll roll out a full LP review of Balance and Composure's The Things We Think We're Missing. Game? Cool.
Well, what can I say, this has been a long time coming. With 2011's Separation debut album B&C did something few thought could be pulled off credibly. They have masterfully ripped out the 90's grunge/alt sound from its early grave. Not only that but it was mixed a contemporary edge that let the influences mix effortlessly.
Reflection was the first single released from TTWTWM about a month and a half ago. I don't even know where to start. It is quite simply astonishing. Listen to their discography and you will see a steady but mighty rise musically and lyrically. Reflection at this moment in time is the pinnacle of their song writing (but we know they're capable of more). The intro alone contains one of the finest fuzz-laden riffs in their scene. The verse bursts into life and the latter half accompanied by a beautiful guitar picked loop. Vocally and Lyrically Jon Simmons again doesn't fail to impress. Vocal harmonies work a charm and the layering emphasises what a thick slab of edible grunge this is. Soaring chorus lines backed by an almighty bass line give this song a truly expansive feel, one that nods its head in appreciation to the 1990's alt scene. Repeated ideas are not regurgitated but placed just at the right point, sometimes with variation.
B&C are back and you better listen up. New heights can only be reached after a delivery this good. A MUST LISTEN.
9/10
Full album review will be up this weekend/Monday of next week. Enjoy this little snippet though!
