Release Reviews
Pill Box Hat - Sandown Row
It is tempting to be brutally scathing about acts who, like Pill Box Hat, attempt to substitute technical aptitude for imagination. Title track 'Sandown Row' is unbelievably bland, the sort of watered-down indie guitar music that - as a result of its total lack of commitment to anything inventive or arrestin»
The Rock Of Travolta - My Band's Better Than Yours
A quick look at the press release suggests that this could go one of two ways: either this is a rather silly "comedy rock" offering (clues: each member donning Travolta's surname and oversized face, the latter being one of the most disturbing sights to grace a CD in quite some time; the apportioning of roles between»
Relish - You I'm Thinking Of
Debut single from Northern Ireland's "Best Hope For 2001", and the verdict is: a little over-slick, a little under-imaginative. Relish offer us a polished soul-tinged ballad which, whilst nice enough, is ultimately unlikely to cause the object of your affections to swoon helplessly into your arms. If you think t»
Charlie's Angels - It's never gonna happen to me
If I were a PR company I’d say this band were ‘an amalgamation of punk rock ethics and teeny bopping antics’. However - as some of you will know, I am not… Charlies Angels is… ‘Mindless meaningless lollipop licking cheeky sass-drivel for the preteen generation - too soft for dog collars, too naï»
Tsar - Silver Shifter
"Sounds like the Manics" is, of course, a tagline so overused as to be almost useless. That said, 'Silver Shifter' - the result, we're told, of an inter-band competition to write a two-note hook, which begs the question: is what you do with it gonna count? - bears a disturbing if indescribable initial resemblanc»
The Union Underground - ...An Education In Rebellion
The Union Underground are American. They are a stompy nu-metal band who like the word "fuck" a lot. [Don't know if they or their hardcore fans would deny it but they blatantly are nu-metal, so let's have no silliness - they're nu-metal.] They have big power chords and angry lyrics. Does this sound familiar? Plea»
Carina Round - First Blood Mystery
Cannock, my home town, is not really notable in anything, let alone it’s musical scene – the closest thing we’ve got is the fact that Noddy Holder used to practise near here, Roy Wood from Wizzard occasionally makes an appearance in a variety of local pubs, and it’s home to Mel Galley, ex-Whitesnake axeman (back to tha»
South - Keep Close
Following the release of their debut album, 'From Here On In', South release 'Keep Close'. The press release says it sounds like 'futuristic funk rock'... hmm, I think it sounds like something between Alfie and The Mull Historical Society. Maybe the rest of the album is funk rock, but this isn't at all. I»
Proud Mary - The Same Old Blues
I was reluctant to listen to this album and had practically written it off already because I read that Noel Gallagher was the producer. Not the best attitude for a reviewer, but I am not the biggest Oasis fan (if you hadn't guessed already!) and I thought that this was going to be Oasis : The New Breed... kind of like»
Cadaver Inc - Discipline
Gimmicks are all well and good, but if you don't have the musical talent to back up your attention-seeking... <insert Hear'Say joke here>. When your website is under investigation by the federal authorities for being... well, just plain nasty, you know you're going to have to deliver. And Cadaver Inc»
Defenestration - One Inch God
Having toured the country with the likes of Napalm Death and Raging Speedhorn, and with current single Stitch receiving heavy rotation on Kerrang! TV, Kettering's Defenstration are already making waves in the metal world. Combining the heaviness of the aforementioned Speedhorn with a melodic edg»
Super Furry Animals - Rings Around The World
Now I’m afraid that this will be a slightly biased review. Super Furry Animals could release an album with the magnified sound of a cheese melting and reforming in an interesting fashion and I’d love it. If they went and recorded the sound of paint drying to plonk in their tracks I would still go googly-eyed »
Super Furry Animals - Rings Around The World
Dreamy. Experimental. Schizophrenic. Bizarre. Could all be used to describe this, the fifth studio album from the Super Furries, but the one word that really sums this record up is Essential!
Gruff, Huw, Guto, Dafydd and Cian return with the follow up to their Welsh album ‘Mwng’. As much as I love ‘Mw»
Phil Doleman - Match of the Day EP
It’s that age old story: boy meets girl, boy happens to be a Premiership centre-forward, girl leaves boy for the club’s new signing amidst a flurry of tabloid speculation. Match of the Day was recorded at home on a cheap computer, but has sound quality that most studios would happily charge a few hundred q»
Slipknot - Heretic Song
For every single Slipknot hater (And believe me I write with most of 'em) this one is well and truly for you. The heaviest rip-your-balls-off-and-ram-'em-down-your-throat noise you will hear this year, it really is that simple. Slipknot have come back and boy, does this make the first record sound like a Geri Haliwell »
Stuart David - The Peacock Manifesto
Stuart David is best known for his participation in twee outfits Belle and Sebastian and Looper, but The Peacock Manifesto, the Glaswegian's second novel, further outlines his name as a talented writer. The Peacock Manifesto follows the story of irate and contrived Scot, Peacock Johnson, and his Ame»
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Seeing your favourite band change in what you perceive to be a negative way is quite a test of faith. Having waited impatiently for what seemed like forever, last year's Kid A was, to me, a slight disappointment. Kid A lovers are quick to say "Oh, that's because it hasn't got guitars!" but it wasn'»
Blink 182 - The Rock Show
Let's face it Blink 182 are never gonna be the thinking mans favourite band. In fact, if you are a thinking man, stop reading this right now and listen to your Pink Floyd records! If, like me, you need a release from the constant barrage of zeitgeist self pity'n'angst and just wanna hear two idiots, laugh»
Uncle Kracker - Double Wide
Double Wide, the debut album from Kid Rock's DJ. Now before you dismiss this as somebody trying to cash in on his best friends fame think again. This is about as far as you get from Kid Rock's "Devil Without A Cause" or his remake album "History Of Rock". Ok so Kid has made a few»
The Divine Comedy - Bad Ambassador
"I wanna get you off... well, ain't that enough?" So sexy electronica woke up a few months ago and decided, hell, let's just be the Eighties. The likelihood of any coherent political or cultural statement rising from the miasma seems increasingly unlikely. Even scandal's getting tiresome. And»
Missy Elliott - Miss(e)...so addictive
However striking Missy is as a woman she will never be accused of having got where she is by having a small pert bum. She invites you to give up the drugs and get hooked on something that will send ping pong balls up your spine, give you butterflies in your stomach, mess with your mind and tickle your toes: Music. <»
Luke Haines - Christie Malry's Own Double Entry OST
When most established artists try their hands at soundtracking films, their attempts usually amount to instrumental reworkings of old tracks which not even the most devout fan would bother listening to (see Tindersticks' Nenette et Boni) or just instrumental new tracks which nobody in their right mind »
Incubus - Drive
Another love song? Just what we need. A ballad, acoustic guitars, "oooh yeahs" blah-di-blah. Boring! …but wait!! This is Incubus! This is not another nu-metal band to disregard and laugh at. Nor is this another insincere mainstream ooze of fake glow in the dark orange tan. And please don’t be fooled by the»
Dharma - Travel The Distance/Chimera
As "Travel The Distance" starts it seems we are promised Coldplay imitations. But then it becomes clear that Radiohead are the deities worshiped here, with the vocalist being the high priest - as he perfects that all important technique of losing track of a word while hitting a high note in a true Yorke fashion.»
"More bands should split up" - Brett Anderson opens up to DiS about the return of Suede
Drowned in Manchester #15 – May 2013
armchair dancefloor 39: Mount Kimbie interview, Bobby Browser, Powell, Move D, Leon Vynehall...
DiS meets John Lydon - Part 1: The Man
DiS Does Singles 20.05.13: Paramore, Laura Marling, The Replacements
DiS joins the Music Alliance Pact + May 2013's global MAP compilation
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