Having teamed up with Black Keys frontman Dan Auberbach for the last two albums, on his new one Mood Swings (American Recordings/Republic Records/Snakefarm Records) Marcus King is helped out by producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin. Gone is the seventies, bluesy Rock N’ Roll of the previous record Young Blood, in its place is R&B, Soul, Jazz, Pop and Classic Rock influences with King’s smokey, bluesman vocals taking centre stage. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Rock N’ Roll
ALBUM REVIEW: The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards
Rock ‘N’ Roll might be a young man’s game, but it is not stopping the Robinson Brothers from again coming together on Happiness Bastards (Silver Arrow Records) to prove they still have it. If Amorica was the last album you picked up by these guys, then things have changed dramatically. If you are one of their more avid followers then you have heard their transition away from merely being a Led Zeppelin/Rolling Stones hybrid, so this album makes perfect sense.
ALBUM REVIEW: Sweat – Love Child
Sweat are a Los Angeles trio composed of guitarist/vocalist Justin Smith, drummer Anthony Rivera, and frontwoman Tuna Tardugno who handles both the band’s vocals and album artwork.
REVIEWS ROUND-UP: ft. Amaranthe – Blackberry Smoke – Bokassa – Shooting Daggers
When Swedish Europop-metalcore (they’re a difficult band to put a tag on considering how distinct their sound is!) sextet Amaranthe announced their arrival with 2011’s self-titled semi-classic album, it was hard to imagine them, as great as their first shot was, still being around thirteen years later. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Jack J Hutchinson – Battles
Having initially fancied himself as an abstract artist, Jack J Hutchinson picked up a guitar and the rest, as they say, is history. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Rival Sons – Lightbringer
You wait four years for a Rival Sons album and, just like buses, two come along at once. Lightbringer (Atlantic Records) is the new record from the Californian quartet, following on from companion piece Darkfighter which came out in June this year. With the everpresent Dave Cobb behind the desk, their eighth album is a compact six track offering that mixes their classic, fuzzed up Rock N Roll with atmospheric Folk and acoustic elements to great effect.
ALBUM REVIEW: Duff McKagan – Lighthouse
Duff McKagan is an interesting character. Having released his first solo album in 1993, a big gap followed till 2019’s Tenderness, with Lighthouse (BFD Records /Orchard/Sony) his third. This of course is but a fraction of McKagan’s musical story. Consistently coming across as the most likeable out of the classic Guns N’ Roses lineup (in which he played bass and for his part was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), such a rock pedigree is already more than most mere mortals would ever get a sniff at.
ALBUM REVIEW: Tjære & Lil Snus – NikotinTapen
Norway’s very own Sandvika and Finnmark-bound newcomers Tjære and Lil Snus have been doing an impeccable job in representing a consistent branding of an anti-authoritarian death cult that is against bogus, ingenuine, mass-produced capitalist systems in the industry. They strongly aspire to show people who understand their values and what they’re aiming for and to advocate what they stand for.
LIVESTREAM REVIEW: The Melvins – Melvins TV Volume 3: Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!
After a year and change of no live shows, every single band on the planet has got to adapt themselves into the world of live streaming. The few live stream concerts I’ve seen have portrayed each band’s unique style and vision, but none as bizarre as The Melvins’ Volume 3: Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! which aired last Saturday, May 1st. The complete show is exactly what you would expect from this legendary band. The live stream started with acoustic versions of ‘Dark Brown Teeth’, a King Buzzo cover, and ‘Up The Dumper’. The most interesting and funny aspect of this particular live stream is that it felt like you were hanging out with the band in between songs. Each transition from song to song had a small interview that started with the whole band, then with Buzz Osborne, followed by Steven McDonald, and finishing with Dale Crover. Each interview featured hilarious stories of the band and their lives that covered the usage of masks to, of course, weed. The overall performance of the band was superb with a sound the sound quality you would expect from a band like The Melvins and the visuals were in the more psychedelic side that went along well with each of the played tracks. Overall this was a fun and refreshing way of conducting a live stream event and one that only sets up for the upcoming return of live shows.Continue reading
LIVESTREAM REVIEW: The Ocean Collective – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
The last live show I attended was on February 22nd, 2020 watching Opeth at the Apollo Theater in New York City. It was a magical night, but little did I know that was going to be the last live music I was going to be watching perform in a year. I miss live shows, as I’m sure every single one of you does as well and I was particularly reminded of this since the beginning of last week. Having said that, when The Ocean Collective announced that they were going to play a live stream show of their amazing album Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic (Pelagic Records) in its entirety, I immediately jumped to my feet and said: “I NEED to watch that”, I knew it was going to be magical as everything the German band does.