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Monday 29 September 2008

Album Review - The Walkmen - You and Me - Noize Makes Enemies

Amidst the propulsion of The Kings of Leon to previously unknown and unpredicted fame – on this September morning, The Walkmen’s new album seems more relevant than ever.


The New York three-piece demonstrate all the coarse rock of Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club, with the profound impression of a largely vintage check shirt toting band, as their dissatisfied rural sound grinds over each track.

Hamilton Leithauser’s gritty country rock vocals on songs like ‘On the Water’ convey a believable sense of blues, as the band’s maturity – 5 albums in – sets the bar that little bit higher and separates them from the rather wet-behind-the-ears in comparison, Followill family.

The harsh bass and post-punk guitars that previous albums have embodied are not thrust onto the listener in such an unavoidable way with the fourteen track ‘You and Me’, but the band’s trademark sound is still at the forefront.

Although The Walkmen’s country sound does fit in well with the scene of Autumn- as cowboy boots and Topshop’s tartan shirts hang from countless fashion conscious students- despite their clear talent, it is rather likely that their disgruntled sound will tend to grate on more optimistic ears.

Yet, if you like your traditional rock and are partial to a bit of a country blues – The Walkmen’s latest album is indeed worth a listen.

Wednesday 24 September 2008

Album Review - Screaming Tea Party - Golden Blue - Noize Makes Enemies

What do you get when you cross two Tokyo guitar and bassists and a London born female drummer?

No, this isn’t some exhausted Christmas cracker joke but the ingredients for arty punk outfit, Screaming Tea Party.

Their mixture of backgrounds and unusual nature creates all the insatiable shambles of the early Libertines work and what sounds like a cross between The Clash and The Mae Shi – no doubt the result of their impressively diverse and worldwide influences.

And this band’s debut EP’s crux is fundamentally all about the diverse.

Ranging from screams and epic guitar riffs to a chilled Moldy Peaches sound, it’s hard to get your head around this three piece. And whilst the punk side to their music is clearly what laces all of their hearts, I’d argue that their hard to fathom style and highly cultured approach is exactly what will make them so addictive.

If you’re sick of the same old shit leaking out of Radio One’s towers and you’re looking to shake up your music collection; I suggest you let Screaming Tea Party chuck you into their international punk world; it’s unlikely you’ll be turning back.

Album Review - Flobots - Fight With Tools - Noize Makes Enemies

Every now and again, a band comes onto the radio and within the first few seconds, a compulsion to turn up the volume, to listen closer, is felt.

Flobots are that band and they come with a message.

I’d forgive you for a lethargic eye roll at the latter part of that sentence but unlike so many scensters who cling desperately to the concept of depth and concern for the wider world; with this six piece, it’s for real.

Sounding not dissimilar to Rage Against The Machine combined with The Roots, as a result they have all the genre-splitting likeability of bands like Linkin Park and Gym Class Heroes.

The band hail from Colarado and tellingly, formed in 2005 after the American election. Their lyrics tackle racism, globalisation and the greediness at the hands of the people in control but in a refreshing way that is not condescending or superficial.

If you haven’t already heard ‘Handlebars’, it is likely that you are in solitary confinement because the response to the band’s debut has already been phenomenal. Lyrics like “I can lead a nation with a microphone” and “I can keep rhythm with no metronome” teamed with a painfully catchy beat, make the band outstandingly appealing.

With their new album ‘Fight with Tools’ displaying all the familiar likeable attributes, it is likely that Flobots are here to stay.

Album Review - Aidan Smith - Allotments - Noize Makes Enemies

Now onto his fifth album, Manchurian, Aidan Smith, clearly hasn’t run dry of his trademark creativity.

On paper, the structure of his songs just shouldn’t work; teaming endearingly poetic lyrics, soft vocals and a sort of sporadic collision of brass instruments, but somehow it just does.

Allotments is a rather gentle creation that has a very traditional overtone – with upbeat melodies on “Morning Was Your Picnic” creating a sound that is not wholly dissimilar to The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club work.

Yet, tracks like “Drapes of Black” maintain this jovial nature, but in the same way that Dev Hynes of Lightspeed Champion confuses his delighted listeners with a paradoxical sound of dark lyrics and cheerful tunes, Smith incorporates murkier lines like “The birds murder each other for food, I squawk and spark like a Narcissist each time that I am pissed.”

Smith then turns again with the beautiful instrumental ‘Sore thumbs, sore fingers’ which creates an aspect of the addictive thought-provoking atmosphere conjured by niche bands like Mogwai.

Fourteen track, Allotments, is a mature innovation that will draw in fans of Turin Brakes, Cherry Ghost and Athlete but as a result of Smith’s inspired creativity; a whole variety of audiences.

On a first listen, the album may not tick all the boxes for a lot of music fans – largely because of the unusual and acquired sound, but after a few repeats on your iTunes, it becomes difficult not to at least recognise the imaginative talent of Aidan Smith.

Monday 8 September 2008

Single Review - The Automatic - Steve McQueen - Noize Makes Enemies

The Automatic are back. And what a welcome return it is.

No sign of novelty monsters coming over any hills, our Cardiff boys have definitely grown into fully fledged men with a bigger and bolder sound that they make no excuses for.

Rob Hawkin’s vocals sound better than ever as he sings out: “I wrote myself into a new story line, this time was different, this time it was mine” in a way that makes it feel that this change of direction has been a massively empowering upgrade for the four piece.

Adding to the rawer new sound is ex-Yourcodenameis:milo frontman Paul Mullen, replacing Alex Pennie who is to pursue something new, leaving behind darker guitar riffs and body-thrashing bass.

With new album This is a Fix and a tour just beginning for The Automatic, there is one thing that is very clear – things are about to get very exciting for Rob, Paul, Iwan and James as well as for their ever-increasing fanbase.

Thursday 4 September 2008

Single Review - Cut Off Your Hands - Expectations - Noize Makes Enemies

Hailing from the same country as Flight of the Concords, you’d be forgiven for believing that New Zealand laces its water with talent, particularly now with the arrival of Indie four-piece, Cut Off Your Hands.

Singing out the humanist of frustrated emotions; “All these expectations keep on pulling at me” and Cut Off Your Hands grip the listener as vocalist Nick Johnston’s voice fluctuates like a pissed off Robert Smith.

Sounding something like Glasvegas without the Scottish overtones, these vocals perfectly accompany heavy guitars and background chants with all the credible subtlety that the Kaiser Chiefs should have strived for.

With a new album expected for October, Cut Off Your Hands have also been recently supporting Foals on their UK tour and would appear set for similarly big things, albeit with a different demographic.

Tuesday 2 September 2008

Single Review- Ann West- Missed it Again - The Mag

Boasting a career that has left her as an ex TV show host, ex model, ex doctor of metaphysics and ex yoga and meditation teacher, Ann West’s now trying her hand at a musical career.

But with female singer-songwriters currently at ten-a-penny, does she bring anything new to our tired speakers?

Sadly, not.

Her folky pop sound and pleasant voice delivers simple lyrics like “I need to get some sun, laugh and have some fun, lay on the beach and breathe the freedom in” in a way that is not difficult to listen to, but displays little in innovation and fails to excite the listener.

Whilst ‘Missed it Again’ does not offend, there is a definite impression of her turning to music in order to round off her already diverse career, rather than her motivation being an intense passion for music…which in turn makes it rather difficult to be passionate about this debut.

Album Review- Vessels - White Fields and Open Devices - Noize Makes Enemies

Experimental. Post-Rock. Indie. Beautiful. Skitzophrenic.

Meet Vessels. The five-piece from Leeds exude all the spine-chilling ambience of Explosions in the Sky but switch to a pissed off Sigur Ros or 65daysofstatic all within their hour long debut album.

Displaying a broader range of emotions than a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy, Vessels’ musical diversity and talent never fails to impress as seemingly sporadic outbursts of rock slice through the serenity the listener comes to get used to.

Tracks like ‘Yuki’ and ‘Walking Through Walls’ allow Tom Evans’ heart-slowing vocals to effortlessly seduce the listener whereas the darkness of ‘Trois Heures’ and ‘An Idle Brain and the Devil’s Workshop’ are demonstrative of the bands varied influences.

With a mastermind like John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky) responsible for the production of White Fields and Open Devices, it would be impossible not to have high hopes for this debut, but rest assured, you will not be disappointed.