Striving to enforce a deeply serious tone in juxtaposition to the band’s namesake; World Full of Worry is an exemplary mode of expression that toes the line between dissociative attainment from concurrent issues plaguing all levels of our relationships circles, to profoundly reflecting upon our lived experiences of external hardships, alongside the wants and needs detailed within our internal monologues.
Starting off with possibly one of the most intriguing inclusions to the track list – ‘Hurts ‘til It Doesn’t’ piques our interests with its uncanny resemblance to the Merseyside all-female trailblazing rockers The Liverbirds, as well as its incredible ability to transport us to the early 1960’s rock ‘n roll dance halls; Whilst ‘Girl Just Relax’ acts as a sort of wake up and smell the coffee anthem, due to its almost neurotic-like focus on misguided personal progression. The track is especially impressive due to its realistic yet inherently bold approach to expressing a need to chill out and focus on some well deserved tender loving care.
Throughout World Full of Worry the established lifeblood of the LP, has predominantly laid within the realms of indie pop alongside what feels like surf rock sensibilities; however it seems the more upbeat sound waves that echoed throughout the rest of the exploration ended rather abruptly.
“Satan cut the brakes, Satan cut the brakes” cries Bonnie Fraser, on the aptly titled ‘doomsday’. It’s an introduction that rockets like an out of control car speeding down a highway, weaving in and out somewhere between the upbeat chimes of a bubblegum pop track and a grungey rock number, showing that the band are continuing their quest to have the best production in the business. To open your record with potentially the most earwigging, catchy track on it takes guts, or perhaps Stand Atlantic just don’t care about anything but making music that they think sounds just bloody fantastic. This ballsy attitude makes its way straight into the lyrics of the next track, and previously released single ‘pity party’; “Fuck you, and your fucking pity party, I’m not invited and I don’t ever wanna be”, a chorus begging to be screamed from the rooftops.
‘van gogh’ brings us another utmost belter of a chorus. How the band figured out which songs to release as singles is beyond our comprehension at this point. Truly, by taking elements of all their preceding endeavours, the band have managed to once again push well beyond the boundaries set by their previous two records Pink Elephant and Skinny Dipping whilst still retaining the grounded, relatable identity they engineered on their 2017 EP Sidewinder.
In fact, it’s almost criminal that fourth track ‘dumb’ wasn’t selected for release before the launch of this record, considering how the band instead chose to debut this song on their UK tour back in February. Each member of the band is given plenty of opportunity to shine on ‘Dumb’, the way Jonno and Potter‘s guitar and the drums wrap around each other so seamlessly gives the record an almost Prodigy-esque “was that a real instrument or an electronic?” quality that only serves to reinforce the dance characteristics of the songs. This is more apparent on ‘hair out’ than ever, with the use of chopped up samples of Bon‘s own vocal takes and slide in/slide out faders on select parts of the track, where chatter from the bands time in the studio has been left in for comedic effect.
LA’s Terror, a band who’ve more than earned their right to become a household name, recently re-teamed up with former bandmate Todd Jones and headed into the studio to write and record their eighth full length album. Why’s the addition of a former bandmate so important you ask? Well, once Jones departed Terror, he went on to form the band Nails who again earned their own reputations one way or another and have an undeniably distinct sound of their own. Terror’s Pain Into Power see’s the addition of Jones reinvigorate and reignite the flame under a band that for some, had appeared to have begun to stagnate.
Kicking the record off is title track ‘Pain Into Power’, 53 seconds of rip-roaring rage, setting a new, darker tone for the record. The band claimed their approach to writing the album was full-on aggression, for its full – admittedly short – run. Despite Jones’ departure, Terror managed to stay the course and continued putting out hard-hitting, in-your-face hardcore, despite it threatening to grow stale. This time, they wanted to make sure the fury continued unabated, never letting up or stagnating.
Laden in emotion, vocally dynamic and instrumentally melancholic, the new release from Florida post hardcore duo GILT is best described as all of the best elements of post hardcore compiled into a huge sandwich. When reflecting on their 2020 full length Ignore What’s Missing, it’s tracks such as ‘Flowers’ and ‘What Color Is The Light When It’s Turned Off?’ that give off a solid perception of an emo band in their absolute prime.This is a group of musicians who could have easily nestled into any of their earlier sounds easily, because they have all been equally as invigorating. Instead, the US collective have continued to push their boundaries from one recording project to the next – constantly evolving to build in more intriguing directions.
‘Conceit’ takes its stance as a much more aggressive flavor, with vocalist Ash Stixx delves deep into grief in its entirety. Leaving no stone unturned, each of the EP’s five tracks strips back its subject matter to the very core. Each guest vocalist delivers a sudden level of perception, as if each track’s narrative is being verified by multiple perspectives. ‘Amethyst’ is a pleasant opening track for sure, and seems to bridge the gap nicely between Ignore What’s Missing – but make no mistake it’s far from the record’s highlight, as the best is still to come. ‘The Shape Of Tools’ comes crashing in with harsh vocals that bring instant, Being As An Ocean influenced nostalgia. So early into the EP, it’s a brilliant rush to be greeted with such a treasure. Driven by intricate drum patterns, the three minute delivery is a beast, twisting and turning from one mood into something much more intense.
The mere fact alone that the band hail from China may be enough to draw attention from a western audience, given the relative lack of Chinese groups in the western rock and metal scene; though they list Haken and Devin Townsend – some of the zaniest progressive metal acts around – as key influences. Along with the fact that they are making a name for themselves playing in Beijing’s jazz clubs, there is very little extra information publicly available about the four-piece.
The songs of One are named after various themes, as opposed to being more formal titles, in a similar vein to other Chinees acts such as Nine Treasures. “Travel” is the theme that opens up the album, jumping straight in with little means of introduction at all. From the start, it’s clear that Ou are a band with a unique sound – it is difficult to describe exactly what they sound like. There are definitely some Devin Townsend-esque elements in the composition, with chugging riffs and heavy drumming paired alongside sci-fi sound effects. There are of course also clearly some influences from traditional Chinese music that may make Ou’s sound sound weird to a western listener – but not necessarily in a bad way.
Derelict is the debut studio album from The Nika Riots, a musical quintet from Oslo, Norway. In the broadest of terms they could be described as metalcore in the vein of genre legends Every Time I Die. Their abrasive riffs and impassioned, razor wire harsh vocals certainly evoke the chaos and carnage of Keith Buckley and Co. but it would be reductive, and just plain inaccurate, to describe them as mere imitators. The band describe themselves as playing ‘metal with a hardcore attitude’, their sound typified by heavy riffs, punchy rhythms, screamed vocals and the employment of the occasional melodic section that immediately recalls the likes of legendary Scandinavian punks Refused and more contemporary countrymen Bokassa.
A debut album carries with it a certain responsibility to convey a band’s sonic identity almost instantaneously, and opening track ‘Dereliction Beat’ accomplishes this tremendously, letting rip with a salvo of groovy riffs, searing screams and a rousing chorus that immediately conjure up visions of sweatbox venues, riotous moshing and pints being chucked all over the shop. This sense of reckless abandon runs through the entire 11 track run like a stick of rock, the ensemble seemingly worked up into such a frenzy that they could come apart at any second.
