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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Aug 8, 2021 20:40:30 GMT 1
THE PALE WHITE - Infinite Pleasure
Release Date: April 23, 2021The Pale White Are A Three Piece Indie Rock Band From Newcastle (yey), UK Comprised Of Brothers Adam (Lead Vocals, Guitar) And Jack Hope (Drums), And Long Time Friend Tom Booth (Bass). The Trio Have Fast Been Gaining Attention For Their Signature Melodic Guitar Work, Thunderous Rhythm Section And Magnetic Live Shows. Across A Series Of Early Singles And Two EP Releases, The Band Have Continued To Gain High Profile Support From The Likes Of NME, MTV And BBC Introducing, And After Securing BBC Introducing's Track Of The Week, The Band Were Invited To Play Stages At Glastonbury And Reading & Leeds. With A Five Star Live Review From The Independent Comparing Them To US Rock Royalty Queens Of The Stone Age, The Groups Reputation As An Unmissable Live Act Has Started To Spread. Opening For The Likes Of The Amazons, Sam Fender, Foals, Twin Atlantic, The Libertines And Band Of Skulls. "Infinite Pleasure" is their debut album released probably at the wrong time for the band wit hte entire industry in limbo but there we are 1. Infinite Pleasure 8 2. Glue 8.5 3. Take Your Time 8 4. That Dress 8.5 5. Nothing Lasts Forever 7 6. Medicine 9.5 7. Confession Box 8 8. Anechoic Chamber Blues 7 9. Sonder 7.5 10. ...Still No Taste N/A 11. Frank Sinatra 7.5
SummaryAs touched on earlier, I'm not sure this limbo the music industry finds itself in has helped anyone but it hit these guys badly. I thought they were going to breakthrough to the relative mainstream but the album failed to chart and they don't even have a Wikipedia page, this was kind of low key released with no push at all is harsh because this album is so much better than a lot of lesser indie rock that topped the chart in 2021! There are some real indie banger highlights here, single "Medicine" reached the top #5 in my chart, "That Dress" and "Glue" are pretty great too, overall "Infinite Pleasure" is a more than solid Indie rock album 7.95/10
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,603
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Post by TheThorne on Aug 8, 2021 20:59:45 GMT 1
Agree this album was so long awaited , I had pretty much forgotten the band by the time it did come out, so I even missed their 2021 songs but I have since listened to the album and will rank very high in my year end album list. Real shame it should have been a Mercury contender
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Aug 8, 2021 23:36:43 GMT 1
Agree this album was so long awaited , I had pretty much forgotten the band by the time it did come out, so I even missed their 2021 songs but I have since listened to the album and will rank very high in my year end album list. Real shame it should have been a Mercury contender Yeah it's the highest rated debut album from a British act in my list so far so it would make my list too 😃 I think I first charted then in 2016 so it's certainly been a long wait, I must've given them enough of a listen early on for them to always pop up in my release radar Hopefully get a few more albums up next week, finally feel like I'm getting through my list at last
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Aug 14, 2021 13:42:39 GMT 1
THE RELENTLESS - Cruel Games
Release Date: May 14, 2021Following on from the release of Paradise City on Amazon Prime in March, the show’s band The Relentless have released an eight-track album of songs called "Cruel Games" via Sumerian Records. The record – which features a multitude of talent from the rock world including the voice of Palaye Royale’s Remington Leith, music by Lee McKinney of Born Of Osiris, and original lyrics by show creator / Sumerian Records’ Ash Avildsen – consists of the material performed by the band on the series, from their excellent Smashing Pumpkins cover of Disarm to Cruel Game featuring a guest appearance from Halestorm’s brilliant leader Lzzy Hale 1. Seven Kinds Of Sin 7 2. Cruel Game 7 3. Nothing Lasts Forever 7 4. Lost In Control 7.5 5. Cat’s In The Cradle 8.5 6. Rookie 9 7. Curtain Call 7 8. Disarm 8
SummaryWhile “Cruel Games” stands up as a solid rock album on its own merits, this is an album by a fictitious band from a TV series. As a result, seeing the “Paradise City” series will give you a bit more context, Rookies is hte highlight of the album for me but the excellent cover of "Cat’s In The Cradle" is pretty great too, Cruel Game features Lzzy Hale from Halestorm and hte whole thing ends with a nice cover of Smashing Pumpkins hit "Disarm", its a fun album, not really meant to be taken too seriously. Check out the series Paradise City and more importantly, check out Palaye Royal 7.62/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Aug 23, 2021 17:13:46 GMT 1
SAINT RAYMOND - We Forgot We Were Dreaming
Release Date: April 16, 2021Callum Burrows, known professionally as Saint Raymond, is a singer-songwriter from Nottingham. He took the 'Saint Raymond' name from the street that he grew up on and his grandfather's name. He began his career playing small gigs and open mic nights around Nottingham before gaining popularity in 2013 when he released his self penned, debut extended play Escapade on Gabrielle Aplin's Never Fade Records. It featured heavily in the iTunes album chart upon its release and the lead track "Fall At Your Feet" was promoted as iTunes Single of the Week. Burrows received early support from BBC Introducing and after a successful slot on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds Festival in August 2013, it was announced that Burrows had signed a major record deal with Asylum Records. I saw him live in Derbyshire in 2013 with a backing band, he was a solo artists back then, they said on stage it was their first gig together! But they were great. Burrows embarked on a headline tour in the UK and Ireland in September 2013 before announcing in October that he would be supporting Californian girl band Haim on their sold out UK and European tour in December. In April 2014, Burrows was announced as the opening act for Ed Sheeran's three-month Autumn Multiply Tour in the UK and Europe. In September 2014, Burrows announced that he was working on his debut album Young Blood and the album was released on 3 July 2015 on Asylum Records and it reached no. 8 in the UK album chart. Since then he has released a load more singles and now his second album "We Forgot We Were Dreaming" 1. We Forgot We Were Dreaming 7.5 2. Right Way Round 8.5 3. Love This Way 7 4. Talk 8.5 5. Alright 7 6. Wide Eyed Blind 7.5 7. Solid Gold 8 8. Soft Landing 6 9. Gone By Morning 7.5 10. Killer 6 11. Only You 7.5 12. Amsterdam 7
SummaryHuge choruses and catchy hooks are a common theme for Saint Raymond but on "We Forgot We Were Dreaming" we see him mixing indie anthems with heartache. The album was written over two years and recorded in Bath with producer Joe Page, Saint Raymond explains: “The album is generally about relationships – whether that be friendships or love interests. It encompasses things I have picked up from around me seeing people falling in and out of love. It’s also about the relationship we all have with ourselves and in our own minds. There are a few songs on ’We Forgot We Were Dreaming’ that are about mental health and my relationship with that.” "Right Way Round" and "Talk" are great pieces of indie pop and "Solid Gold" has that classic Saint Raymond sound, my only real negatives are the album is a bit long for an act whose songs sometimes do feel a bit samey, its a solid follow up album though 7.33/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Aug 25, 2021 14:27:49 GMT 1
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA - The Million Masks Of God
Release Date: April 30, 2021Continuing my list of albums I should have listened to months ago is American indie rock band Manchester Orchestra, formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 2004. Despite this being their 6th album they are a fairly new discovery for me, for those not familiar with the band or this record "The Million Masks of God" has been described as indie rock and progressive rock, with comparisons to Mumford & Sons, Band of Horses, Simon & Garfunkel, Silversun Pickups and My Morning Jacket. The album title derives from "Gold Leaves", an early poem by G. K. Chesterton that details the narrator's shifting relationship with God as he ages 1. Inaudible 8 2. Angel of Death 7 3. Keel Timing 8.5 4. Bed Head 8.5 5. Annie 7.5 6. Telepath 8.5 7. Let It Storm 7 8. Dinosaur 6 9. Obstacle 6.5 10. Way Back 6.5 11. The Internet 7.5
SummaryOk this reminds me a little of Dry The River, really good folk driven indie music with haunting melodies, vocally Manchester Orchestra are a lot like Fleet Foxes, full of passion and emotion, at times the album does stay close to the sanitised rock sheen delivered by bands like Imagine Dragons but they just about stay the right side of the line with the odd exception where the programmed drum machines feel a bit too loud and synthetic, the gauzy synths that crop up too often don’t help either and the album does peter out to nothingness towards the end but overall Manchester Orchestra are a nice new discovery for me 7.40/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Sept 5, 2021 20:25:40 GMT 1
CHLOE MORIONDO - Blood Bunny
Release Date: May 7, 2021Chloe Moriondo is an 18 year old American singer-songwriter and YouTuber born and based in Detroit. Moriondo's style blends elements of indie pop and bedroom pop but with the high energy pop-punk edge of fellow wave of Gen-Z artists like jxdn and Yungblud. After a self released debut album and their first major label EP Moriondo was signed to Fueled by Ramen (home of Paramore and Fall Out Boy) and now surrounded by a full band, her second album "Blood Bunny" was released, crammed full of catchy tunes, it is an album I've had a few listens to already after TheThorne recommended her 1. Rly Don't Care 8 2. I Eat Boys 8.5 3. Manta Rays 7.5 4. GIRL ON TV 8 5. I Want To Be With You 8.5 6. Slacker 7.5 7. Take Your Time 8 8. Bodybag 8 9. Favorite Band 7 10. Samantha 7.5 11. Strawberry Blonde 7.5 12. Vapor 7.5 13. What If It Doesn't End Well 7.5
SummaryThe second full-length release for the Michigan indie pop artist does a great job to showcase what this bright young star has to offer, from pop punk moments like "I Want To Be With You", "Take Your Time" and "GIRL ON TV" to bedroom pop gems such as "I Eat Boys" and the more stripped back, slower tempo songs such as "Slacker". Subjects range from kidnapping, torture, and/or murdering the narrator's supposed love interests which seems to be a common trend with 18 year old girls releasing music at the moment because Olivia Rodrigo did too, later in hte album we cover subjects like Paramore on "Favorite Band" and lesbian relationships on "Samantha" and "Strawberry Blonde", I'm pretty nostalgic for their sound but the lyrics are very much aimed at 15 year old girls, musically I like, lyrically it leaves me a bit cold but overall a genuinely good album, there certainly isn't a bad song here and plenty of room to grow, I feel the best is still within Chloe Moriondo which hopefully we will see in the near future 7.76/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Sept 9, 2021 16:47:28 GMT 1
DIAMANTE - American Dream
Release Date: May 7, 2021Diamante Azzura Bovelli known better as Diamante hit the studio with super producer Howard Benson [My Chemical Romance, Halestorm, Kelly Clarkson] to record what would become her full-length debut, Coming In Hot. With the release of her first album, Diamante undeniably stormed the scene in 2018 with a #1 song at rock radio (her collaboration of “Hear Me Now” with Bad Wolves), along with a top 15 song with her own single “Haunted”. Now three years later, and after extensive touring with bands like Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Chevelle, and Shinedown… Diamante is in full force shining brighter than ever before. In 2019, Diamante parted ways with Better Noise and soon after teamed up with Howard Benson and Neil Sanderson of Judge & Jury as an independent artist to make her sophomore album, American Dream. 1. American Dream 8.5 2. Ghost Myself 9 3. Serves You Right 8 4. Obvious 7.5 5. Unlovable 8 6. Wake Up Call 7.5 7. UnFuCk YoU 7.5 8. I Love Myself for Hating You 8 9. Iris (Ft. Breaking Benjamin) 8 10. Hopeless 7.5 11. Obvious (Acoustic) 8
SummaryConceptually, American Dream touches on personal struggles and authentic experiences that have universal appeal and relatability, which pair nicely with the mainstream, radio-friendly nature of the album, her work with producers My Chemical Romance, Halestorm and Kelly Clarkson are really evident, opening tracks American Dream and Ghost Myself couldn't be any more Kelly Clarkson esq. Diamante states, “With American Dream, I was given the ultimate artistic freedom to express my most personal moments, stories, confessions, flaws, fears, hopes, mistakes, desires, vices, heartaches, and redemption in a way I have never been able to in the past.” She continues, “Every word on this album is my personal diary screaming in your face. This album has no limitations, restrictions, or filter, really. That’s why the music video for ‘Ghost Myself’ had to be equally raw and purposely gritty; it’s a song about being at war with myself. I knew there would be no better way to show this internal battle than through an underground fight club scene between me, myself, and I.” American Dream is mostly Haven friendly pop rock, things do get a bit heavier on "Obvious" before slowing down on the ballad-like “Unlovable”, which gives the album an element of a diversity, not usually a fan of slower songs but she nailed this one, its both powerful and emotional. We then get three harder rock songs tracks in “Wake Up Call,” “Unfuck You,” and “I Love Myself For Hating You.” which are more along the lines of what you would expect from a metal band such as Halestorm before a nice Goo Goo Dolls cover featuring Breaking Benjamin, the album closes with an acoustic led alt rocker and an acoustic version of "Obvious" which I actually prefer to the heavier version. My verdict, another home run for the rock chicks, 2021 has been such a good year for young artists exploring and experimenting with the rock genre 7.95/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Sept 22, 2021 14:07:59 GMT 1
WE WERE SHARKS - New Low
Release Date: May 21, 2021 Canadian pop-punkers We Were Sharks when they signed a deal with Revival Records in 2019. After two years, they’ve finally welcomed their first album with the label, formed in 2010, the band's current lineup is Randy Frobel on vocals, Jason Mooney and Colin Jacques on guitars, Matthew Sears on bass, and Will Plummer on drums. The band has released four studio albums including "Highways" in 2012, "Not a Chance" in 2015 and "Lost Touch" in 2018, and of course their latest album New Low. Clearly inspired by other Pop-Punk bands like, Sum 41, All Time Low, Good Charlotte, and Blink-182. 1. Shameless 7.5 2. Bring Me Down 7.5 3. Problems 9 4. Over This 7 5. New Low 8.5 6. Burning House 8 7. Ashley (Pt. 2) 7.5 8. Golden 8 9. Omens 7.5 10. Ready To Go 8SummaryAll the songs on the album are fairly fast paced mostly in the classic mid 00's pop punk mould, you can’t help feeling nostalgic like you’re back in the glory days of Pop-Punk in the early 2000s when listening to an album like "New Low". It's not all pop punk by numbers here though, at times there are even elements of Alt Rock, with songs like "Golden" sounding more like You Me At Six or Mallory Knox, single "Problems" is a banger with an R&B vibe, "Bring Me Down" sounds like Sum 41 at their best and album title track "New Low" is classic pop punk and so is "Burning House". “New Low is a collection of songs that we created that focuses on being down but not out,” says frontman Randy Frobel. “No matter what may have tried to keep us down or hold us back, we always take the hit and keep pushing forward.” A solid album at that, one more notch under he belt for the Tiktok generation pop punk revival 7.85/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Sept 30, 2021 13:35:20 GMT 1
KISSISSIPPI - Mood Ring
Release Date: August 6, 2021Kississippi is the solo pop and indie folk project of 26 year old Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Zoe Allaire Reynolds. Originally a home recorded solo project for Reynolds to explore her folk songwriting on acoustic guitar, Kississippi cut its teeth touring on Fest-friendly pop punk, and the project solidified its emo cred supporting third wave genre progenitors Dashboard Confessional. But like her earliest songwriting heroes Cat Power and Liz Phair (who Reynolds describes as “vulnerable and weird girl rock stars, which was something I saw in myself”), Kississippi songs transcend genre, and lend themselves just as well to slick arena-ready production as they do rock instrumentation. After working closely with Philadelphia studio mainstay and mentor Kyle Pulley on 2018 debut Sunset Blush, Reynolds felt encouraged to explore the sonic possibilities in electronic-focused pop, taking inspiration from favorite bands like Beach House, CHVRCHES and Purity Ring. She learned to produce with studio software Reason, delving deep into its “fun synth sounds and weird tools” to develop the lushly-layered demos that would inform 'Mood Ring'. 1. We’re So In Tune 9.5 2. Moonover 7.5 3. Dreams With You 8.5 4. Around Your Room 8 5. Heaven 7.5 6. Twin Flame 8.5 7. Play Til You Win 7.5 8. Wish I Could Tell You 7.5 9. Big Dipper 7 10. Hellbeing 8.5Summery
"Mood Ring" is the brillant sophomore record from Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter known as Kississippi, full of lush nostalgic guitar work and sweet pop vocals. "We’re So In Tune", "Dreams With You", "Twin Flame" and "Around Your Room" are the best example of this sweet nostalgic almost dreamy pop music, this is 100% up TheThorne street, I noticed you charted "Around Your Room" back in 2020 so well worth checking out this record along with brilliant 80s-tinged opening track "We’re So In Tune" which she just released a video for last month. About the album Zoe Reynolds says "I was listening to a lot of Lorde, Chvrches, Liz Phair has always been a big inspiration for me, Michelle Branch, Kacey Musgraves, and a lot of Bruce Springsteen. There’s actually a couple Bruce Springsteen references on the record. In “We’re So in Tune,” there is a line that’s from “I’m on Fire” (“I’ve got a bad desire”). Closing out the album the emo-pop despondency of “Play Til You Win.” and "Hellbeing" are nice touches that break through the sugary sweet love songs that preceded them, in despair and despondency is truth in its purest form, on "Mood Ring" Kississippi lay it all out there, love and loss. If you like shimmering 80's inspired synth pop then this one is for you 8.00/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Oct 9, 2021 22:08:29 GMT 1
TWENTY ONE PILOTS - Scaled And Icy
Release Date: May 21, 2021Scaled and Icy is the sixth studio album by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. The album's title is a play on "scaled back and isolated", a phrase frontman Tyler Joseph associated with music produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, though the phrase is also an anagram of "Clancy is dead", a reference to the protagonist of their previous album, Trench. Scaled and Icy was written and largely produced by Joseph in his home studio over a year-long period during the COVID-19 pandemic, while drummer Josh Dun engineered the drum tracks remotely. Dun had revealed in November 2020 that they were still working "remotely" on the album, with both members being in different locations during the time. He describes the recording process, "we both have our own studios, which is really nice, so he comes up with a lot of stuff at his studio, sends it over to me, and then I come up with some stuff here at my studio and then send it back". 1. Good Day 9 2. Choker 8 3. Shy Away 9 4. The Outside 7.5 5. Saturday 9 6. Never Take It 8 7. Mulberry Street 7.5 8. Formidable 7 9. Bounce Man 6.5 10. No Chances 7 11. Redecorate 7Summary2018's Trench’s was a atmospheric and dark concept album, with an incredibly eclectic style ranging from alternative hip hop and reggae to alternative rock. In contrast to that last record Scaled And Icy is a sunny, bright and poppy album. The jaunty piano-led opener, Good Day could be Hall & Oates song, the entire album has a bounce and a groove to it, they really went for the feel good summer vibes which makes sense if you’re going by the lore that surrounds Twenty One Pilots where Trench involved a bunch of shady priests and a world called Dema that wants to control everything, then this album is the one where evil capitalism wins and propaganda of the most pop variety reigns supreme, hence why we have the feel good vibes, I cant wait to see where they go next, my guess is reality will shatter dragging them back into the dark world of Dema, not their best but I'm in a minority, I really enjoy the poppier moments so for me this has its highlights 7.77/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Oct 12, 2021 12:36:15 GMT 1
INHALER - It Won’t Always Be Like This
Release Date: July 9, 2021"It Won't Always Be Like This" is the debut studio album by Irish rock band Inhaler that topped the UK album chart. After being tipped for success in 2020, the band had originally planned to begin recording the album in March 2020. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans had to be postponed and lockdown meant the band were able to spend more time on the album and make the songs "more fully-formed and more sure of themselves". The band are probably best known for having Elijah Hewson, son of Bono from U2 as their frontman. The album was overall met with positive reviews. The review aggregator Metacritic has a rating of 70 out of 100, based on 7 reviews with Lana Williams for The Life of Best Fit remarking "offers an impeccable blend of nostalgia inducing guitar riffs". 1. It Won't Always Be Like This 9 2. My Honest Face 9.5 3. Slide Out the Window 7 4. Cheer Up Baby 9.5 5. A Night on the Floor 7.5 6. My King Will Be Kind 8 7. When It Breaks 8.5 8. Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House) 8.5 9. Totally 8 10. Strange Time to Be Alive N/A 11. In My Sleep 8
SummaryAn impressive debut album from Elijah Hewson and the boys, I was meant to see them in May last year but that never happened due to covid which was disappointing, but one thing that doesn't disappoint is their debut album, there was even no room to include 2020 singles "We Have to Move On" and "Falling In" both of which i loved too. The album is pure indie goodness with at times Elijah Hewson unexpectedly having a resemblance to Bono when he hits the high notes. The album saw 6 singles so naturally the best of the album had already been released, the album tracks are nice without having many stand outs, "My King Will Be Kind" and "In My Sleep" being the best of the non released songs for me 8.35/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Nov 8, 2021 12:35:33 GMT 1
YONAKA - Seize The Power
Release Date: July 15, 2021Brighton quartet YONAKA re-invented the mixtape with their latest release, ‘Seize The Power’. The dark-pop outfit reclaim the almost defunct medium releasing this 8 tracks mixtape collaborating with artists such as FEVER 333 and Barns Courtney. It is their usual electro-tinged pop-rock with a dark anti establishment message. The band released "Seize the Power", the first official single from their mixtape of the same name. On the track, Yonaka commented: "It's been so long since we released new music and the time has finally come; this is a new chapter for us. We want you to get lost in a feeling of strength and empowerment when listening to this song" 1. Ordinary 9 2. Seize the Power 7.5 3. Get Out 8 4. Raise Your Glass 8.5 5. Clique 6.5 6. Greedy 6.5 7. Call Me a Saint 9 8. Anthem 8
SummaryGoing into the band’s new mixtape, “Seize The Power”, I’d heard five out of the eight tracks on here already, I have generally loved everything they have released which continues on this mixtape. "Seize The Power" is a strong effort, love the collaboration with Barns Courtney, opening track "Ordinary", "Raise Your Glass" and "Call Me a Saint" were all top 5 hits in my chart so no surprises they rank highly here but the find of the mixtape is the unreleased synth pop banger "Get Out", pure pop song. The only songs that sound out of place are the songs "Clique" and "Greedy", they are ok but are both pretty extreme in sound skirting around rapcore and hip hop, not for me but hte rest of the mixtape is a big dub 7.87/10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Nov 12, 2021 16:05:32 GMT 1
CREEPER - American Noir
Release Date: July 30, 2021American Noir is the sixth extended play (EP) by English rock band Creeper. Written and recorded with producer Xandy Barry during sessions for the group's second studio album Sex, Death & the Infinite Void. Written by vocalist Will Gould, guitarist Ian Miles and keyboardist Hannah Greenwood with Barry, American Noir serves as an "epilogue" to the story told on Sex, Death & the Infinite Void, which ends with the death of protagonist Roe. The EP features five songs and three interludes, with lead or co-lead vocals on three tracks contributed by Greenwood, who plays the role of Roe's lover Annabelle. "Midnight" and "America at Night" were issued as singles prior to the EP's release. 1. Midnight Militia 6.5 2. Midnight 10 3. America at Night 9 4. Ghosts Over Calvary 8.5 5. The Drowning Room (interlude) N/A 6. One of Us 8.5 7. Damned and Doomed 7.5 8. Frozen Night (outro) N/A
SummaryA nice short one with it essentially being a 5 track EP with a little bit of filler but the songs we do have here, wow, they could be the best thing Creeper have released and it was just written and recorded during the sessions for "Sex, Death & the Infinite Void", these guys are crazy talented. "Midnight" is the highlight here, with its gothic Belinda Carlisle meets Jim Steinman vibes, "America At Night" was originally intended to serve as the opener for Sex, Death & the Infinite Void, and was described by the singer as "a song about being a stranger in a new place – for me that was living in America, and finding the darkness that lied beneath the streets of Los Angeles", loved it. "Ghosts Over Calvary" is a nice Hannah Greenwood led alt rocker and "One of Us" is a slower more operatic song, throughout all their music you get theatrical dark tones and lastly we have a more acoustic number in "Damned and Doomed" before an outro. 8.33/10
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,603
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Post by TheThorne on Nov 12, 2021 16:12:02 GMT 1
‘Midnight’ is in the running for my song of the year , just started working on my end of year list
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Nov 12, 2021 17:00:39 GMT 1
Yeah I've been thinking of getting started too because it takes a while, Midnight is up there for me too, spent 3 weeks at #1 so its certainly gonna be in my top 10
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Nov 23, 2021 15:55:06 GMT 1
CHVRCHES - Screen Violence
Release Date: August 27, 2021Screen Violence is the fourth studio album by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches. It was released on 27 August 2021 through EMI Records in the UK. Lead single "He Said She Said" was released on 19 April and the album was announced alongside the second single, "How Not to Drown", a collaboration with Robert Smith, lead singer of the Cure. More recently a Director's Cut with 3 additional tracks was released on October 29th so lets go with this one next and listen to the expanded edition of 'Screen Violence' but for this rating I will just use the 10 track August release 1. Asking for a Friend 7.5 2. He Said She Said 8.5 3. California 9 4. Violent Delights 7 5. How Not to Drown (with Robert Smith) 8.5 6. Final Girl 8 7. Good Girls 10 8. Lullabies 7.5 9. Nightmares 8.5 10. Better If You Don't 7 ............................... 11. Killer 8.5 12. Screaming 8 13. Bitter End 7.5
SummaryAlways love a new release by Chvrches, they were one of the last bands i saw live before the pandemic and always come up clutch, I have enjoyed all four of their albums so far. Is this the best album they have ever released? For me no, too much manipulation with the vocals and at times things get a bit too synthetic for my liking both musically and with the vocals but it is still a very good album that smashes together two unlikely genres in 80s goth-pop and clubland dance anthems. Chvrches have always been known for their iridescent synths but this is mostly synth here, even the guitars use effects to make them sound synthy. Lyrically Lauren Mayberry is her usual angsty self and the cameo appearance of goth pop legend Robert Smith fits in nicely 8.15/10
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Post by greendemon on Nov 24, 2021 15:43:08 GMT 1
I do think this is their best album since TBOWYB; the two that followed it (especially number 3) had a few too many pop/urban influences to my liking. I like my synthpop to sound like it's ripping off the 80s love how you can spot The Cure's influence especially on tracks like 'California' and 'Final Girl'. 'Good Girls' is as good as anything they've ever put out imo.
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Nov 28, 2021 15:51:53 GMT 1
Yeah Good Girls is up there in my top 10 songs of the year which i will be starting a countdown soon!
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Post by Razzle Dazzle on Nov 29, 2021 18:58:51 GMT 1
POPPY - Flux
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Poppy has had an interesting career so far, she started off as an aspiring singer songwriter, releasing mostly covers on her SoundCloud then YouTube channel, during this "Moriah Poppy" era she put out some great covers including her take on the Alt-J song Breezeblocks www.youtube.com/watch?v=M73yC9LsNcE She then moved to LA, signed a record contract with Island Records under the name "That Poppy" and released her debut song, "Everybody Wants to Be Poppy" and her first EP, a four-track pop record called Bubblebath, on Island in February 2016. The EP consists of four songs; "Lowlife", "Money", "Altar", and "American Kids" and this was pure bubble-gum pop, sometime after that she met collaborator and producer Titanic Sinclair, rebranded herself as simply "Poppy" and together they developed this weird abstract Poppy is an android controlled by her master narrative between song releases using YouTube videos, them songs really became her debut album "Poppy.Computer", this is when she really blew up as an internet meme and got huge (well internet famous anyway), they used this success to collaborate with Grimes, Kate Nash and Diplo to release her more synthpop "Am I A Girl" album, the album focuses on questioning gender, identity and robots and had a kick ass tour www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM8bsPuvdSM it is probably my favourite Poppy era. During this era Poppy,her guitarist Chris Greatti and Grimes recorded "a couple of songs" for this album, with Poppy stating that one song would be about destroying things and another would be about power. However after some legal wrangling, only one of these songs, "Play Destroy", made the album. The song about power is "We Appreciate Power", which was kept and released by Grimes and features American singer-songwriter HANA instead of Poppy who was meant to lay down vocals at a later date but their relationship turned sour, the album also saw some pop metal which brings us to her 3rd album "I Disagree" which is an earth shattering heavy metal, industrial rock album, Third single "Bloodmoney" saw Poppy nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making Poppy the first female solo artist to ever be nominated in the 30-year history of the category. This album is nuts, it blends everything from J-Pop, deathcore, metal to avant garde and everything in between sometimes all in one song. Which I guess brings us to "Flux", the fourth studio album by American singer Poppy ( real name Moriah Rose Pereira). It was released on September 24, 2021, through Sumerian Records. According to Poppy during an interview with Spin, "[she] wanted the songwriting to be the focal point, more than just the rollercoaster of emotions that I Disagree was." The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen who has previously worked with Paramore, Beck, M83 and St. Vincent. Flux has been described as alternative rock, grunge, pop punk, shoegaze, dream pop, and punk rock. and it certainly hits hte post grunge, shoegaze rocky pop punk 1. Flux 9 2. Lessen the Damage 8.5 3. So Mean 10 4. On the Level 7 5. Hysteria 7.5 6. Her 10 7. Bloom 7.5 8. As Strange as It Seems 7 9. Never Find My Place 8
SummaryPoppy just keeps surprising me, now I'm a huge fan of grunge more so this latest transformation complete with dying her hair back dark brown from the bleach blonde which had always been her look since her debut album. Somewhere between her 2nd and 3rd album she split with long term collaborator and boyfriend Titanic, the controlling shtick that was the android Poppy era became a bit too real and her experiences with the music industry has seen her change her image and music drastically over recent years, going from bubblegum pop to some of the most progressive metal released in the last 20 years and now this 90s inspired post grunge effort, lyrically long time collaborator and former band member Chris Greatti is still working with Poppy, he is a brilliant up and coming writer/producer that not only has featured on every Poppy album but wrote, produced and played on "We Appreciate Power" for Grimes and more recently "Hope For The Underrated Youth", "Parents", "Cotton Candy", "Strawberry Lipstick", "Weird" and about 5 other songs for YUNGBLUD. My highlight here is the Greatti penned "So Mean", lyrically it hits the mark "My head and my heart hate each other Can you keep a secret? Keep it undercover Every day I wake up, it's a struggle, yeah Love me when I'm under your spell Hate me when I'm giving you hell Judge me 'til you're blue like you love to do You taught me how to hate myself, yuck Now she hates everything How did she get here? How did she get so mean?" Other songs that have to be checked out are "Her", another song along the similar lines as "So Mean" about feeling controlled and hating yourself for letting it happen, opener "Flux" has a mad opening, probably the most metal of any of the new stuff and if you enjoy a bit of shoegaze the two closing tracks might be worth checking out, long maybe Poppy and her talented contributors continue to entertain and surprise us 8.27/10
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