Katsuo - Stereo Jesus

Katsuo - Stereo Jesus

Katsuo is somewhat of a electro/techno genius. Before listening to the single, I had no idea what to expect because it isn't my choice of music. However, if you're a sucker for catchy lyrics and good electro tracks, you're in for a treat.

There is a lot going off in the track, and it all blends together beautifully to give a song with a great feel, and definitely a party vibe. After listening once, you'll be singing it all day. After listening non-stop, you will want to go out and party. Katsuo is quite literally a 'Stereo Jesus'. Also, after thinking the song couldn't get better, I was proven wrong with the use of headphones. Serious recommendation!

I personally look forward to hearing more from Katsuo, and even though I've never been greatly into the genre, this is my first step into loving it. I can guarantee you'll be the same.

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/theycallmekatsuo?fref=ts

Katsuo's 'Stereo Jesus' single -https://soundcloud.com/theycallmekatsuo/katsuo-stereo-jesus/s-ABWe6

A final note - Check out his remix of Billie Jean on his facebook page, a cover worth listening to if there ever was one.

Holland Ep Review

As I listen to “A forest, A river” I become filled with an elated feeling of joy, finally a band who can harmonise vocals with a beautiful drum beat. The lyrics in the song are beautiful too, the line “A soundtrack to the only happiness you know” is pretty apt at the moment. Sounding like “The Killers” meets “Mumford” (Minus the banjo)
Then, as it fades out in comes a faster song.
Everything you know is lost but us” Comes at you like a moderately paced hurricane, the speed’s there but still containing all of the melody of the previous song. The lyrical prowess shown so far gives me high hopes for this EP. “Landscapes” Comes in very instrumental, gentle strumming, then soft vocals, Sounding like Brian Molko of placebo (again less whiny but still as soft) The riff in the background is entrancing, you feel like you’re floating. Then the chorus comes in and you can’t help but hum along, you give yourself over to this. “Wake” is slightly different to the three songs prior the guitar is a little heavier and the lyrics a little darker, yet still you can’t help enjoying the music, it’s like being at a funeral where you can’t stop enjoying the tune, you know it’s dark but at the same time it’s frighteningly beautiful.
 “Our friend the obstacle” is where this band really kicks in, with an upbeat intro to match Mr Brightside. It stays melodic while building up. But there’s no payoff, don’t get me wrong it’s a pleasant song but it seems to be a build up to nothing (aside a mild instrumental in the middle)
“Deafening Waves” Is a great song, melodic and pleasing, Less upbeat than the others. But the title seems to give that away.
“Havant” Sounds a little Funeral for a Friend, the first few seconds sound like into oblivion and then the vocals sound like them too, The Bass outdoing the guitar is a nice touch, makes this song rather sweet.

 Finally there’s “On a wave” What a perfect outing track, slow and soothing, you find it a nice fade out with a perfectly executed solo at the end, then leading into the eventual fade.
 Overall EP rating, 4/5 – Nice to listen to, soothing, great listen.
I look forward to hearing more of this band in the future, sounding like Funeral for a friend meets killers, placebo and emery all in one this band contains aspects of greatness that can be utilised to their strength. Watch this space Holland are going to hit England and I want to be here when they do.

Cosmo Jarvis - Think Bigger

We were sent over the latest release from Cosmo Jarvis, a little known solo singer/song writer amongst many other things he likes to do in his spare time.
After doing a little research, and by that I mean I looked on Facebook, I have found that Cosmo Jarvis isn’t a professional musician and instead forces himself to learn an instrumental part to a song when the time is needed, truly dedicating himself to his work to make each track sound the way he wants it to.
Anyway on to the important stuff, how good is this little known solo artist from Devon? Well, he is pretty damn good if you ask me, and here is why.
Kicking off with a funky little number called ‘Love This’ Cosmo pulls you into his own little world made up of beautiful instrumental work and a soothing voice that even your mother would listen to.
After hearing a fair few albums of similar genre I was expecting the album to follow the same genre layout throughout but Cosmo shakes it up a little bit with the second track ‘Train Downtown’ by adding in some rougher vocals to appeal to the more ‘Hardcore’ fans who don’t listen to anything unless it has an angry man with daddy issues on the end of the microphone.
‘Tell Me Who to Be’ is the third track, and at the point of writing this I wasn’t really planning on going into a track by track review, but I may as well now. This is a solid track, beautifully written and sang with a blend of many instrumental sounds to bless your ears, granted this may not appeal to most people but if you go in with an open mind I think you will really enjoy it.
The next track is called ‘Lacie’ which I think is a song about Cosmo’s cat. If you listen to the lyrics it kind of makes sense. Music wise it’s a bit of a dull sounding track to be honest, not the best work on the album it drags the previous tracks down and is ultimately going to end up being one of the tracks that are skipped on your mp3 player, this should most definitely be ‘put to sleep’ as Cosmo sings about in the song.
‘Sunshine’ is up next, which sounds like a cross between a western and a pirate shanty, but sounds fucking epic! Cosmo changes his vocal style from a
soothing, calming sound to a rougher, grittier sound and it all really blends together perfectly, nothing really compares to the sound, it is very unique sounding, a blast of fresh air in a clouded music industry surrounded by the same sounding shit.
The vocal format carries on into the next track, ‘Good Citizen’ which for me is another flop in an otherwise flawless album, it sounds like a cheesy generic rock track, and that’s all I will say about that because my mum taught me not to say anything if I have nothing good to say.
‘Friend of the Devil’ is next on the hit list and redeems the album from the previous track, a very folk rock sounding track that is completely out of the blue showing that Cosmo is very flexible with his writing and singing and can literally do anything he puts his mind to.
‘Hopeless Bay’ is track number eight and has an echoed vocal effect throughout and slightly reminds me of something that would be featured on a Toy Story film, a very Randy Newman feel to it.
The next two tracks are very similar in sound format and basically return some consistency to the albums sound, which in this case isn’t really what you would want, after experiencing a wild mix of genres I think a few more genres thrown in would have been awesome.
Finally , the title track ‘Think Bigger’ closes the album, again a high pitched echo vocal style with a soothing sound, it is always risky picking a title track and I don’t think Cosmo made the right call with this one, I think ‘Tell Me Who to Be’ is a very strong contender for that job, which is easily my favourite track on the album and possibly one of my top ten I have heard this year, beautiful track.
All in all a very, very good album with some crazy genre mixes, an awesome talent has been discovered and we will definitely keep an eye on his future endeavours.
RIFF FINAL RATING: R R R R

Moose Blood 'Moving Home' EP Review

There is always something of a desire to delve into the story of a young band to put their songs in some sort of context, but with Moose Blood much of this seems abundantly clear from the start. A “group of “four friends drinking coffee and writing songs”, this Buckinghamshire four-piece state in one breath that “Emo is an gang”, and follow their assertion up with 6 tracks of gleamingly pretty guitar music and deeply personal lyrics.
However they feel their music fits into a genre they hold so fondly, or into a broader musical spectrum, what is clear is that they hold their emotions and their influences proudly on their collective sleeve. This is true of the delightfully uplifting “Carbis Bay” – alluding to a warm-hearted affection for American Football, and contributing to an overall narrative of a bittersweet relationship with their roots and home comforts.
Continued references to films, TV, literary influences (most notably in the aptly-named “Bukowski”) and – of course – coffee, provide a backdrop to the recurring idea that identity can be found in the smaller artefacts of life. Moving Home is a snapshot of the hearts and minds of four young English musicians, but with their endearing affection it would not surprise me if thousands found comfort in their music.

To The Bones - Emperor's Ride Single Review

To The Bones – Emperor’s Ride Single  

Tracklisting  

1. Emperor’s Ride  
2. Magazine 

Being said to ‘rock like an absolute motherfucker’ by Rocksound Magazine and obtaining good reviews from various other sources, I had exceptionally high hopes for To The Bones’ new single Emperor’s Ride.  The track gets off to a good start with catchy bass rhythms that forebode a good, energetic tune worthy of Queens Of The Stone Age… but then, as they say, some things are too good to be true. Just when it sounded as if I was about to be blown away by brilliant vocals and fist-pounding choruses, vocalist Rhys G. Bradley squeals down the microphone and crushes any hopes that Emperor’s Ride would be a good song. The drumming is brilliant and the guitars are perfectly competent but both are heavily overshadowed by the wailing and yowling that has the potential to summon neighbouring dogs and shatter a few windows in the process. 

The second track from the single, Magazine, is only a minimal improvement from the headline track and is, once again, completely ravaged by the shrieks and bawls of the vocalist in an otherwise extremely talented band. Although howling and screeching may appeal to some of their Facebook fans, how these vocals managed to impress the likes of Kerrang! and Rocksound is a complete mystery.  

Abbie Harrop 

The Bastard Sons - Bones EP Review

‘Bones’ E.P. - The Bastard Sons

The Bastard Sons are a band from York that formed in early 2011. They describe their sound as ‘dirty rock and roll’. They started playing a few gigs in their home town and then were shortly approached by the record label Lockjaw Records. They then went on to create their debut E.P. ‘Bones’.

‘Bones’ consists of 6 songs which define their genre and lifestyle completely; what a way to start off a music career with a hard hitting record. The whole E.P. flows really nicely. The first song, ‘Hot Town’, starts with all the band shouting and then kicking into the song with some power chords that come at you quite violently; it really gives the start of the record a live feel. The second song, ‘Soul Fur Coat’, is extremely guitar and drum driven. The Vocals on this track differ from singing to screaming quite frequently, which draws you into the song a lot more. The guitar solos just fill the song up and make it an all-round awesome tune! 

The track ‘We never saw the sun’ starts off with some drums then going into a guitar riff which has slight hints of influence from the band Bullet For My Valentine. The song after kicks straight into it with loud vocals and a guitar riff to back it up the song; ‘In Case Of Emergency’ really grabs your ear’s attention! ‘Therapists Get All The Girls’ starts with a tom drum intro and has quite a slow tempo compared to the other tracks on the album but still keeps up as the guitar techniques used make the song huge! The Last song, ‘Salem’s Rot’, is a really good song to finish of an E.P as it is slightly different to the tracks earlier on - the guitar introduces and sets out the whole song which gives hints of AC/DC. You can really connect with songs riffs and lyrics.

Overall ‘Bones’ is defiantly a record worth listening too. With hints of different bands throughout the whole E.P. you can tell that The Bastard Sons are going to be huge.

The Indieannas - moneyman single and Video Review

The Indieannas – Moneyman Single and Video Review

During my first listen to this latest song from Buxton band The Indieannas, I was immediately reminded of another band. It took me a while to figure out whom, exactly, but it demonstrated this song's greatest strength and also its biggest weakness.

For a band that's still fairly new to the scene, this latest offering is decent - hardly anything special, but still an enjoyable listen. The introduction reminded me of Arctic Monkeys, whilst the vocals definitely reminded me of bands such as Kasabian. Not a bad thing, but it goes to show the slight lack of originality. I was left thinking of these other bands instead of The Indieannas.

The music itself is solid enough, catchy after a few listens, but not to the point where it becomes grating or irritating. The lyrics and chorus are definitely good enough to stand with other current bands dominating the genre.

It's just a shame that, despite these good points, the song seems to lack a punch. It doesn't stick with you after the song has finished and I didn't find myself wanting to repeat the song like I do with other bands. It was like a takeaway - enjoyable at the time but not so much that you'd find yourself desperate for more.

As for the video, I was slightly disappointed with it. A lot of bands currently seem to be following a trend slating bankers and the government. Don't get me wrong, I know there are issues, but we don't need to be reminded of it with every video we see! Intertwined with that are shots of the band playing their song (very similar to many other videos from fairly new bands). These shots show the band to be lively and, most likely, a decent enough band to see live.


Verdict:  

Video: Fairly uninspiring stuff about our country’s issues and the usual live footage. However, it is sort of saved by some good shots.

R R r  (EDIT: 2 ½ R's)

Single: The easiest way to sum this up would be to class it as “iPod fodder” – easy to listen to and, if someone would find it, you wouldn't be embarrassed by it but not original enough. It doesn't leave enough for you to actively search for it.

R R R  

Holding Tides EP Review

Holding Tides - Last of the Small Town Heroes - EP Review

“For their début work, ‘Last Of The Small Town Heroes’, Holding Tides have taken existing songs and reworked them with new lyrics, riffs and drumbeats to create a more gritty and dynamic sound.”
This is a small section from the press text that I have read. Since I have personally never heard this band before, I thought this would be a great opportunity to get my teeth in and give this band a listen. This kind of debut shows that they have pure dedication to their music and to the band, and that they are willing to make a change for better.
The EP opens up with a series of radio interferences and news headlines. News reporters speak of the city being under attack in the first track – ‘The Emergency Broadcast’. Straight after comes a hard riff that is sure to get any rocker's head banging. Without holding anything back, they come through with a strong power ballad which almost sounds as if they are trying to make a statement about themselves.
As the EP progresses, it begins to simmer down a bit, which helps get their message across clearer. It's as if it’s saying "right, now they have been hit with a big opener, now let's turn down a notch for a bit." I feel that if this is the case, they have done the right thing in doing so. The 3rd and 4th track – ‘Grace by Green’ and ‘Paraffin’ - let the listener relax a bit and just take it all in. You begin to easily understand the meaning behind them as you “feel” the song.
Half way through, there is an unexpected interlude track, simply titled ‘Interlude’. Although it does come out of the blue, it is very well put together and it really compliments the band. Saying that, the interlude does somewhat differ to the rest of the other songs in the track list. I'm not saying that it is a bad thing (in many ways it's a very good thing because it works really well), I'm just saying, keep your ears open and your mind free for this; if you don't pay attention you might miss it.
As the album comes to a close, it finishes with an explosion of good riffs and classic rhythms. Just like the start of the album, their ending track is another broadcast - the final broadcast.
Overall, I think this is a good band to go and check out. They have lots of potential and they are going to go places, without a doubt.
- Jason