Review
by Dom Gourlay
It seems that rule number one for any aspiring musician who wishes to form a band in Bristol MUST go through the trip-hop phase - or else.
It seems like a lifetime since the last Portishead album, or indeed since either Massive Attack or Tricky made anything remotely list»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Prejudice is a dirty word, and an even more difficult trait to overcome, so when you're entrusted to listen to an
album that's splattered with the words "garage" and "punk" it can prove to be a thankless task
hearing the finished product in its entirity without becoming entrapped in a sense of deja-vu»
In Depth by Dom Gourlay
Nottingham based noise terrorists FACE are currently whipping live audiences into a frenzy up and down the country with their Verve-tinged feedback-singed eardrum bursting sonic assault.
Although the core of the band, Andy Shipley (vocals & guitar), Sean Brooks (bass) and <»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Summer's here kids, and with it comes the sound of a wasp being shredded by a Kenwood Chef, its eyeballs scraped out by a cocktail stick followed by its wings until it's a piece of fluff waiting to reside in your navel.
"Give me one chance? Please?"
But this can't happen, oh irritating black and yell»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
There's nothing worse than having your hopes built up only for them to plunge from a great height in a matter of minutes.
When you see a name like The Revs you tend to expect them to sport mohicans and studded leather jackets and have names like Jerry Attrick and play the most visceral churning buzz»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Kerbang, Kerbang, Pow! Pow! Pow! Ker-langggggg!!
That can only be one thing, right? The sound of Satan Presley serenading
the Waltons accompanied by the emancipated grandchildren of Duane Eddy
twanging away in the background.
“Your head’s too big but your mind’s too small” scream»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
You can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of interesting and worthwhile bands that weren’t influenced by the Buzzcocks. Sadly the only time anyone mentions their name these days is by association with a BBC2 comedy gameshow.
Not that television appearances will ever be a worry for»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
If Catholics love Jesus and Muslims praise Allah, where does that leave those who worship at the shrine of Belle and Sebastian?
In here tonight, for a guess… Because this is what the first Bowlie Weekender felt like.
Obscure classics by the likes of Denim and the BMX Bandits drif»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Step One.
Inspect band name - 'LORRAINE'. Erm...sounds a bit, well, dull really.
Step Two. Examine title - 'THE LORRAINE EP'. You've really pushed
the boat out in the imagination stakes there boys.
Step Three. Read press release. Blah blah blah "Lorraine are»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
"Mud slide for a joyride, drop my pants before I look around / drop rocks on my sunblock…tough search for a good rhyme".
If only Lee, Duncan and the other two had met Pillow Talk twelve months ago then 'Fly By' might have been one of the most intentionally comical moments in pop»
In Depth by Dom Gourlay
Tired of the Strokes? Bored of Oasis? Fed up to the back teeth with Linkin Park?
May I suggest you carry on reading because Nottingham based four piece Sufferkiss may just be the antidote you’re looking for.
Formed on Valentine’s Day 2001, Sufferkiss have rapidly attr»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Fortunately, the days when the words 'Australia's' and 'music scene' were
linked together in the same sentence by the names Angry Anderson and Rolf
Harris are well and truly behind us, and whether or not you like the Vines
and Jet, no one can argue that for the time being»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
I hope I'm wrong but the signs look ominous.
Having been dropped by their record label and then seeing bass player Paul Douglas depart a matter of just a few weeks later, most cynics would be sounding the death knell for Six By Seven.
Add to that the fact that the merchandise stall is awash with»
In Depth by Dom Gourlay
Leeds based (via Scunthorpe) four-piece FULC are a rare commodity – an English rock band who don’t sound like they have some strange fascination that involves metamorphosising into Americans. Originally formed at the back end of 1998, the current line up (Duane Walker – guitar & vocals, »
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Is this really what we need right now, more garage rock of the Scandinavian variety?
To be fair, The Caesars aren't really following the same path as most of their Hives instigated comrades, who seem to have escaped one by one off some production line of »
In Depth by Dom Gourlay
South London quartet Athlete may worship at the throne of Pavement
and Grandaddy while sounding like Steve Harley (of Cockney
Rebel fame) jamming with The Beta Band, and new single ‘El Salvador’
may borrow it’s verse hook from Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’, b»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
It may be hard to believe, but The Cardigans have been around for ten years now, and ‘Long Gone Before Daylight’ is actually their fifth long player.
Whereas their last album ‘Gran Turismo’ was a fast and furious onslaught of larger than life pop tunes and even bigger hits (‘Erase/Rewind’<»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Every once in a while, you’ll discover a book or a song, maybe a piece of film even, that inspires you to get off your lazy ass and do something creative.
Now before anyone rushes out looking for the latest Dom And The Cynics release, don’t bother, cos that last sentence wasn’t meant to be taken literally in»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
One of my ambitions was to be able to play air guitar as good as Bill and Ted, so off I traipsed down to my local GT Sports for that age old air guitar accessory, the tennis racket.
Sadly, it's been lying under my bed now for a good six or more years, destined for a lifetime in a charity shop window, or wo»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
It must be a nightmare if you’ve just started your own band and you’re trying to make a name for yourselves, especially if London’s the place where you wanna make it happen.
Why? Because there are gonna be literally thousands of likeminded souls in the same boat, and only those who can offer something very»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Right.
Do you lot really think dance music means Scooter, Ian Van Dahl and DJ Sammi??
No?
Good.
Cos Johnny Boy are doing that "dance" thing in a sophisticated manner, like Saint Etienne did with 'Nothing Can Stop Us Now' and 'You're In A Bad Way'.
It »
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Well it’s that time of year again, when the NME hold their annual 'Scraping The Bottom Of The Barrel' awards, which basically involves forcing the collective works of some second rate bunch of chancers down people’s throats ‘til their eyes, ears, nose, mouth and stomach need to be removed. Previous winner»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Sometimes you need cheering up, and when your team’s just given away a future England captain for the paltry sum of £2.25m and they haven’t won for seven games, you know things can’t get much worse. (please note that Dom is a sadly afflicted Nottingham Forest Fan - sports Ed)
Until Tempertwig clambe»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
When Fred Durst says he likes something that usually means one of two things - he's either the main financial benefactor or he wants to shag the lead singer, while the end result is usually as banal and insipid as his own musical output.
At a guess, I'd say the first point doesn't apply as he's probably sp»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
The piano starts up. Then a voice echoes. It reminds me of Supertramp. Or Chicago. Or any of those late seventies MOR supergroups your parents tend to play at wedding anniversaries. Oh No…
First things first.
I do have a lot of time for the Mull Historical Society.
‘Watching»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
There seems to be a renaissance going on in other parts of the world (particularly the US of A) for all things 1979, with the likes of Interpol, Radio 4, and (cough…splutter) The Strokes all releasing records that leave the listener without any doubt as to what, when, where or who inf»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
If past history is anything to go by, comedy and music should NOT be mixed, EVER.
We've had Hale & Pace with 'The Stonk', Mr fucking Blobby and Vic Reeves destroying the Wonder Stuff's hard-earned credibility in little over 3 minutes (other way round, sur»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
Back in the spring of 1994 it seemed like the apocalypse was about to end. Kurt Cobain had just blown his brains out and it felt like he'd mutilated the dying corpse of alternative rock in the process.
Little did we know that a revolution was about to take place. Something had been brewing for the last few»
News
by Dom Gourlay
It seems the curse of Liberty X strikes again.
Just 12 months after Britain's best loved 'Popstars' rejects had to change their name, the same thing looks like it may well have to apply to PALO ALTO.
But the question is, which one?
Manchester based four piece PALO ALTO»
Review
by Dom Gourlay
It might be a new year but some things never change.
One of those is the good old NME's crystal ball, which having predicted global domination for their "new rock revolution" now has to wipe that rotten egg off it's pasty face as one of their supposed saviours of rock and roll has to release yet an»