The Diary Of A Pre-Teen Scene Queen
Instead of Clash-like melodies they've got that same whiny voice, but they now lack the variation between the rapper and the whiny one to give the song just a little bit of bite, instead having the full blown whiny one singing melodies we've heard many times before. Nothing's new with this band, and we all still know that they're capable of writing the same songs over and over again. The single version of "What I've Done" comes with the video as well, and it's not much better than the song; in it they attempt to tackle environmental, political and poverty crisis issues with flashing images and horrific clips from different problems around the world, but somehow it doesn't seem to make an impact as all the clips are about different issues and problems in the world and they don't tie into each other, and you start to wonder what the fucking video is actually about! More whiny pop-generated tunes from a predictable annoying band that haven't changed a bit, apart from now that the rapper doesn't rap anymore, they've lost their only edge they had, becoming just another plastic genetically modified pop band. What I've done? They may well ask, you've pissed up your music career
that's what you've done!
You might as well listen to some drunken middle aged men doing ac/dc
karaoke at the local pub. (Or should that be AD/HD? Ed) The Khe Sanh Approach: Bricks Bloc Party on their underground way to an indie shop to buy the latest
Subways release is one way of describing "The Khe Sanh Approach",
but then descriptions of them could be endless as they have the talent
to fuse any folksy junk with a dirty indie backing without making it
sound tedious, experimentally boring or emotionally tiresome. They still
possess a hard rock edge, giving them an upbeat buzz to their eclectic
tunes. I recommend this for anyone who wants to try something different
instead of the samey bands the media produce.
Mind over body? Yes I think we've heard that one before, many a time, never judge a person by their looks, isn't that just an unwritten law that everyone (apart from the superficial) abide by now! Mindflow obviously have a record company with a lot of money as their promotional C.D comes with stickers, a "Mindflow" comic, a laminated colourful press releases and a Mindlfow mouse mat! Well thanks for the mouse mat as I needed that, but the music and every other piece of tat you've put in the promotional leaflet is complete bull. Imagine Power Metal meets Dungeons and Dragons accompanied by some cheesy eighties keyboard, and you'd get Mindflow! Not being too negative (really? Ed), the thing I do like is the way
they've incorporated a bit of their native Brazilian drum music into
the cheesy metal and it works quite well. Bands like these give metal
a name for just being noisy rough music with a cheesy element of epic
fantasy, but it can be so much more than that, so go Poison someone
else Mindflow! Ascendia: The Diary Of A Pre-Teen Scene Queen Ascendia have matured much more since their last set of recordings, as we see from the powerful hook-laden entry "Don't you know" entering with a hammering start before dawning into a clean sounding verse and then the all-out chorus which climaxes with the an epic pentatonic twiddle and some two handed guitar tapping, reminiscent to the days of Eddie Van Halen; tapping is a true god-like guitar technique(I beg to differ - 3 chord Ed). The album also ends with the song "We Are Cool But We're Not Scene" which is annoyingly good, a guilty pleasure I would call it as the lyrics are the usual concoction that many "emo" bands comprise, but the song is just so very catchy and the variation between the tempos and the styles in the verse and choruses, interludes etc make the song more than what the usual "emo" band can produce. The e.p consists of many danceable sing-alongs with true melody, yet managing to add their own twist, they may sound like most of the other bands around at the moment but they're still fucking good!!!!! 9/10 The Psychotic Reaction: Rumble
Kaiser Chefs: Everything is Average Nowadays
Brinkman: I Wish
Mr Happy Chainsaw: The Mr Happy Chainsaw e.p Judging by the name I thought this band was going to be a hard metal
group, but boy was I wrong. Their songs are upbeat and vibrant and filled
with pop-punk energy and catchy choruses, the energy in the e.p is very
hyperactive, addictive and attractive - you can just tell that they'd
be brilliant live! They also have all the required ingredients that
every pop-punk band should have, including samey lyrics about ex-girlfriends
and love. However their humorous buzzing melodies can agitate the piss
out off you from just listening to this e.p as background music. The
songs mostly sound the same and there is hardly any variation between
the sounds and tempos used in each one; also the lead singer tends to
deliberately attempt and American accent for the songs to try and sound
like the great late pop-punk bands such as Blink 182 and Bowling For
Soup. Unfortunately for him, there is still a hint of Essex Boy in it
which makes it slightly incongruous. www.myspace.com/mrhappychainsaw
No Avril we don't want to hear your clichéd pop groves,
-3/10 Manic Street Preachers: Send Away The Tigers
If the Manics are capable of producing such a glamorous album in their older years then I cant wait to hear what they've got in store for us in the next year or so.
10/10 Joey Eyebank Ramone |