Thomas Giles – Don’t Touch The Outside


It’s long past the time of day when Thomas Giles (aka Tommy Rogers of Between The Buried And Me) began being able to do whatever the hell he wanted. To be fair, to say his day job band has moments of eclecticism is like saying that Brexit negotiations have been a little bit difficult. And that diversity of spirit, of zig-zag, is absolutely at the core of fourth solo offering Don’t Touch The Outside (Sumerian Records), a record that is everything and nothing, and that is laissez-faire in respect of genre while being incredibly focused in trying to keep the listener moving.Continue reading


The Mon – Doppelleben


So here’s me expecting The Mon to be a product of a maniacal Scottish ego. Imagine my surprise to find that it’s an alter-ego of Urlo, bassist and vocalist of Italian heavyweights Ufomammut: and, far from that trio’s cosmic crescendo, Doppelleben (Shadow Kingdom Records) is far more introspective and pared back.Continue reading


Black Peaks – Bossk – Gold Key: Live at The Underworld


It’s a sell-out. This won’t come as any surprise to those who have followed the rapid, upward trajectory of Brighton’s Black Peaks but this is, as they say, a bit of a “moment” for a band that many have got justifiably excited about. This current tour, a showcase for their second album, the widely admired All That Divides (Rise Records), will see the band traverse the UK, but this stop off in the capital, on the same day that Marmozets are playing up the road and Crossfaith playing down the road still has touts asking (and getting) silly amounts of money outside the tube station is proof positive that this band have engineered more than a little bit of excitement about them.Continue reading


Daughters – You Won’t Get What You Want


You Won’t Get What You Want (Ipecac) sees the welcome return of Rhode Island creatives Daughters: this being their first album since their 2013 reformation, and fourth in all. The band’s affinity for complex noise is undiminished yet has refined with age and experience.Continue reading


Pijn – Loss



Several years ago I reviewed a local gig containing a set by Manchester-based post-Hardcore band Knifecrimes, and enjoyed a chat with their fresh-faced East Anglian guitarist. These days Joe Clayton still classes Manchester as home but is now a sought-after producer and mastermind of the multi-faceted, enigmatic Pijn, whose first album proper Loss (Holy Roar) is a pulsing ball of creativity.Continue reading


Fvzz Popvli – Magna Fvzz


Rome trio Fvzz Popvli indulge in the somewhat metallic trend of using the letter v as a u, but given their Latin heritage, it’s relatively acceptable. Their music is an enjoyable romp through heavy, hostile Psychedelic haze, and second album Magna Fvzz (Heavy Psych Sounds) offers up black comedy, snarling attitudes and sinister twists in equal measure.Continue reading


Black Peaks – All That Divides


It is refreshing to know that it is still possible for bands to make a genuine impression and progress on merit. Black Peaks have not arisen on wings of hot air belched from a hype machine based on market research, haircuts, stylists, or a neat-line in zeitgeist paraphernalia and right-here-right-now shallow bandwagonistic anthems, but as a collective who are on the cusp of succeeding, of truly making an impression on the alternative music landscape, due to the fact of being talented musicians with obvious chemistry, and the ability to craft great works of art distinctive to them alone.Continue reading


The Primals – All Love Is True Love


The opening discordant, overdriven stabs of ‘Hello Cruel World’ set the tone for The Primals debut album All Love Is True Love (Southern Lord), a tone that summons the spirit of the fuzziest, poppiest and dirtiest moments of Nirvana’s In Utero (Geffen) jamming with The Pixies and that is every bit as gorgeously sincere as that sounds. So it may come as a surprise to learn that this grunged explosion comes courtesy of John Henry of Metalcore savages Darkest Hour, accompanied by Chad Fjerstad (Dead To Fall) and Andrew Black (The Explosion), a project you’d, like me, have been forgiven to have expected to be churning something more crusty or Hardcore based.Continue reading


Rise Against – Wolves


Death, taxes, an underwhelming New Year’s Eve and Chicago melodic punk quartet Rise Against delivering the goods. Them’s your guarantees.  And it is to the elation of my ears that the latter continues to ring true on eighth album Wolves (Virgin).Continue reading


Hey Colossus – The Guillotine


Back in 2015, Hey Colossus blessed their willing congregation with a double album release, In Black & Gold and Radio Static High which still remain critically acclaimed to this day with their heavy Desert Rock and bluesy influences painted throughout each composition. With Hey Colossus’ dedicated fanbase showing immense satisfaction from the aforementioned, one has to question whether or not the band can live up to the high bar they set at their previous go-round.Continue reading