-gen- has written the following articles:
Ah, the pungent aroma of hype. At first a curious and difficult-to-place scent that wafts cautiously around your nose, it more often than not expands into something very stinky and unpleasant. The Bellrays have had lots and lots of hype. By default therefore, they should really be quite smelly by now - metaphori»
'Pretty Like Drugs' is one of Queen Adreena's best singles to date. Their true strength lies in their live performance, where the full force of their fury hits you right between the eyes, and this song encapsulates that beautifully, abandoning the wispier side of their sound in favour of a full-»
Laconia are a fast-paced quartet from the North-east who combine the punchy melodic thrust of Therapy? and Faith No More with the clean fragility of Snow Patrol. They're evidently still finding their feet and working out what they want to be, but there's a strong sense of promise. At thei»
Another reviewer debated recently whether Vex Red are the new My Vitriol. Rock fans on internet messageboards shared mumblings of "Where are they now?" MV, it would seem, were tucked away in a studio somewhere polishing this, their first single in over a year. Well-spent time? It would seem »
I could tear this to pieces if I wanted to. It's not devoid of faults, and if the mood took me, and I really thought about it, I could rip it to shreds. But the crucial thing about this single is, I really don't want to. It's likeable. It makes me groove. It's naïvely optimistic, full of the "I can do fucking anythi»
Two months before the Carling Weekend is even due to take place, it appears that weekend tickets for Reading are close to selling out. Less than a month after the festival organisers began to announce this year's lineup, which has been hailed as a particularly strong one, featuring Foo F»
Before us, in this dingy basement, stands Liam Gallagher's less prodigious brother [no, not Paul]. No!! It's alright!! Don't run away yet!! It does get better, I promise... The man I speak of fronts a band called the Taurus Moaners. They're supporting emo-hardcore nutters Project Abner, and are e»
You know that feeling, when you know you're right, but no-one else is listening? That's what it's like standing in Metro's tonight. Everyone else is watching Electrelane or Six by Seven or Serafin but your correspondent is among 15 or so people waiting for a long-established yet relatively unknown band from N»
Garbage's much-anticipated Five Night Stand show for MTV sees a return to a smaller venue for the transatlantic foursome; their last UK outing was an arena tour, and the tour that tonight's show will finish off has seen them play smaller but still expansive venues. For Phantom Planet, however, this is a relat»
Halo are this year's King Adora. Suitable haircuts, well-honed technique in wrapping themselves around their mic stands, a couple of cute pop tunes and no substance whatsoever. They pilfer the melodies that Muse stole from Radiohead before they got their own identity - shamelessly presenting for our delight v»
"The Strokes are the coolest band in the world," proclaimed Luella Bartley, as Julian and his nonchalant crew of thrift-clad scruffs posed louchely on selected stages either side of the pond. "The Hives will save your life!!!" blared enraptured music publications as five identically-suited men from Scandinavia wroug»
A woman with two bandaged feet - one of them in a plaster cast - eases herself onto the stage, helped by two men. Once onstage she is handed her crutches and she hops carefully across to a chair placed in front of the central microphone. As the other band members take their places, she starts to sing slowly, un»
Easyworld are one of those highly tipped bands who support everybody under the sun for a few months, and then hit the make-or-break fork in the road where they either explode and become huge [helloooooo JJ72] or fizzle away back into obscurity. On the basis of this single alone, I'd like them to take the left fo»
It's a rainy night in North London, and a crowd of A+R people have assembled to take in some new talent. The venue, The Verge, is small and the sound veers between acceptable and appalling, but it's a cosy enough location.
Junk Puppets take the stage first. They're in the unenviable position of playin»
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»
I don't normally write reviews from a first-person point of view. I generally take the conventional, tried-and-tested journalistic thang of writing as a beady-eyed, objective observer. But just for once, fuck that; Miss Black America give the kind of performance that defies objectivity and sends it soaring disgr»
Most people who take a serious interest in music have heard of The Cooper Temple Clause by now. Introductions in the NME, favourable reviews, word-of-mouth ravings about their live performances, and the BUZZ that surrounds this band at the moment are impossible to avoid. Not so many people have actually heard them yet;»
A message posted on the My Vitriol msgboard recently:
"number one...that would encourage the mainstream to buy.... hum. Not such a good idea. its bad enough all of the trendy people nicking my clothes let alone my music. there just arent enough of us to warrant a number 1. Does that make any sense, I think n»
Clearlake are a band that I always meant to pay attention to, and never managed to find the time for. A single on the radio now and then, a review here and there... I kept meaning to sit up and listen but I never did. Usually you'd think that said something about the averageness of the band. Uh-uh. Not Clearlake. »
I liked Feeder. I really did. In fact until this past year (when My Vitriol came along and blew everything sky-high) they were my favourite band. Even after that, I still thought Buck Rogers was a great single. This isn't. It sounds like Crashland. Really, it does. I thought it was Crashland until the chorus fiz»
Let's think back to The Offspring's last single, "Original Prankster". It was appalling. Truly hideous. It seemed to indicate a downward spiral for the quality of Offspring singles, floundering in the mire of novelty-single-quicksand - in short, they had done a Terrorvision. It was so bad that on hearing "Want »
King Adora are a band who are renowned for their sexier-than-thou image. (Despite their also-renowned prowess in the field of being utter mingers.) While this is fun and interesting for about 3 minutes, the novelty starts to wear thin after a while. So it's nice to see that with Suffocate, the Birmingham boys have more»
"It's a rip-off!", I hear you cry. "A blatant marketing exercise for the new album!" MV's forthcoming February single, "Always Your Way", is their second re-release in a row, following November's "Pieces". Tut. They should be ashamed of themselves - making innocent young indie kids and rock fans fork out for a song the»
Could two more different bands have been thrown together? The sleekly styled, glam-grooves of DNA Doll, kitted out in sharp black suits, showcased next to the..well, mental nekkidness of Cheesecake Truck. Yet these two bands have played together before, at the Bull and Gate last month. And if the pair of them went down»
Coming off like a tall Brian Molko, DNA Doll singer/guitarist Marc Eden opens their set bluntly and coolly with "The year 2000, DNA Doll." With an eye cocked to the glam stylings of Mansun via Velvet Goldmine, but more rhythm and funkier basslines, DNA Doll are a band with self-confidence; it oozes»
