#523: Death Cab For Cutie, Manchester Academy

Seattle’s Chastity Belt might at first appear an odd choice of support for the restrained indie of Death Cab for Cutie, but tonight the girls seemed to have reigned in their trademarked rattling garage punk, in favour of a more subdued version aimed at appealing to the now ageing emo contingent in attendance tonight. Fortunately whilst the band seem to have lost some of the snarl and swagger that they harboured on record, they retain much of the pseudo-pop charm that made them great to begin with.

This review was origially written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#522: Forever Cult - Tunnel Vision (single review)

Occupying the murky middle ground between melody and cacophony must be a tiring job, but much like the musical schizophrenics they are, it’s something Leeds’ Forever Cult manage with a vehement tenacity. Coming quickly off the back of previous single Antonio Banderas, the band’s latest release Tunnel Vision is a warped slacker anthem much like we’ve come to expect from FC. Falling somewhere in between the wonky pop of early Nirvana cuts and the abrasiveness of Big Black.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#521: Introducing...Viola Beach

With the clocks going back tonight, you could be forgiven for thinking that with shorter days comes the inevitable bleakness of an English winter. And though you might be right, and I certainly wouldn’t bet against the fact, Warrington’s Viola Beach are a band for whom seasons mean nothing. Operating within a bubble of perpetual summer, their upbeat indie oikishness draws parallels to the likes of Rat Boy, and their latest single Swings and Waterslides is a perfect slice of optimistic slacker-pop that’s sure to offset the cold weather just enough to see us through to their next release. We caught up with the band to find out a little more about them.

This feature was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#520: Ellie Goulding - Delirium

With her 2010 debut Lights, Ellie Goulding instantly asserted herself as a solid mainstream artist while managing to retain a somewhat independent spirit. Despite having the backing of Polydor, it was a record that bristled with moody atmospherics not often seen in the Top 40.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full.

#519: Ringo Deathstarr - Pure Mood

Spending time with 'Pure Mood'. the fifth album from Texan shoegazers Ringo Deathstarr, is much like spending time under the influence of ketamine. Like the dissociative, it lulls listeners in to a false sense of dream-like security before bludgeoning them with amorphous walls of discord;  feeling both natural, yet completely synthesized, it's a record of lush and expansive soundscapes juxtaposed against the oppressive throbs and drones made staple by the genre's pioneers. Though while there are obvious harkenings to the likes of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine, 'Pure Mood' is very much its own beast entirely.

This review was originally written for Little Indie Blogs. Click here to read in full.

#518: GEMS - Kill The One You Love

Based on title alone, it’s clear that Washington’s Gems are a band unafraid to explore the darker side of life. Itself a reference to Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, ‘Kill The One You Love’ is dark, confessional, and at times, otherworldly. Much like the novel from which it takes its name, it’s bound together by narrative strands of love, death and fatalism.

This review was originally written for DIY. Click here to read in full.

#517: Warm Brains - Big Wow

An album built around the paradoxical combination of self-deprecation and self-satisfaction, Big Wow is, by its very nature, a record at odds with itself from the word go. A cacophonous and lightly psychedelic foray in to the realms of lo-fi indie, Rory Attwell has managed to create a record ripe with all the conventions of a DIY bedroom production, while still managing to mask the wealth of subtle nuances that play out beneath its rough exterior.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full.