Valley Of The Sun transport us to a desert vista with their hard-hitting, classic blues rock fourth album, The Chariot (Ripple Music) The topographical downside is a straight-ahead tendency to skim the surface of the sand without revealing psychological depth or any hints at complicated thinking below.Continue reading
Success came quickly and early for UK indie pop quartet Bastille, topping the album charts in their home territory with their 2013 debut. Top 5 accomplishments followed for each subsequent album; a run the band is looking to continue with their fourth album, Give Me The Future (EMI), a release that arrives with a fair dose of expectation. Predecessor, Doom Days, critically, didn’t hit the heights of the band’s first two full-length outings, but the lead-off singles from …Future gave assurance that all was back on track.
Muse has shared a brand new single and music video for the especially heavy track “Won’t Stand Down!” The track is streaming on all DSPs. The band is expected to release a new album in 2022 and while we wait for more info, check out the video!
Please indulge me for one moment. I am not usually one for breaking the fourth wall when reviewing an album but bear with…. Back in 2004, I had a polar response to two albums in a way that encapsulates a particular dichotomy that fans (and bands) often find themselves caught up in that has stuck with me as a point of reflection ever since. To change, or not to change, that is the question… I remember the unshakeable feeling of disappointment at just how much Slipknot had changed their sound and attack on Vol III: The Subliminal Verses compared to Iowa (both Roadrunner), and the same deep sigh of discontent that Soil hadn’t changed enough (or at all, with Redefine, J Records).Continue reading
Robb Flynn of Machine Head is hosting another one of “happy hour” unplugged shows live-streamed on YouTube. Robb plays a bunch of covers and originals by fan request, including Muse – ‘Time Is Running Out’, Tool – ‘Sober’, Lynyrd Skynyrd– ‘Simple Man’, and Machine Head’s – ‘The Burning Red’. Check it out!
Croatian trio Them Moose Rush, for those who’ve never had the pleasure, are pleasantly bonkers. It’s kind of like putting Jane’s Addiction and Captain Beefheart in a blender, and seeing what crazy shit results. The chaotic twists and turns within third album Dancing Maze (Dostava Zvuka) are all named after random people’s belongings or actions and allow accessibility despite the complexity of the music.Continue reading
In 2020 Metallica has announced they will take part in the Global Citizen’s 10-hour “Live Aid”-style concert event happening on September 26, 2020 on five continents: Central Park in New York, Lagos in Nigeria, and to-be-announced cities in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The event will be the culmination of a yearlong campaign dubbed “Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream” that will benefit United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals with aims at ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change. Also set to perform are Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Eddie Vedder, MUSE, Ozzy Osbourne, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pharrell Williams with co-hosts for the event Deborra-Lee Furness, Hugh Jackman, Idris Elba, Jill Vedder, Katie Holmes, Rachel Brosnahan, Trevor Noah, and Uzo Aduba.Continue reading
Minimal waffle, maximum music – I’m very aware that there is too much music and not enough time! I’ve had close to 1,000 albums pass through my inbox this year alone (I’ve probably only been able to listen to about a third of them), and what I’m presenting are my favourite albums of 2018, the albums that I’ve connected most with, that matter most to me, one way or another.
Hope you find something new to get into… Continue reading
Over the years Muse have become the masters of reinvention, seemingly able to transform between albums and constantly keeping their fan base guessing as to what direction they would go next. Even with this fluctuating history, their eighth studio output Simulation Theory (Warner Bros.) was a high-stakes gamble, even for Muse.Continue reading
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