Rival Schools

United By Fate

Rating:4/5

I'll admit, I'm pretty late to the whole Rival Schools party; in hindsight it seems almost like sacrilige that a band so close to the bands I like the most should have so wholly and totally missed my attention, but ho hum, there it is. Anyway, a lot of words have presumably been penned about this record at one point or another, and I have no desire to add a huge number more to them. What I will say is that if you're into any number of vaguely interesting or experimental bands that namecheck post-hardcore bands from the late 90s, you'll probably love Rival Schools. Except of course you already know this; it's only me that's late to the party.

So, Travel by Telephone, the opener is a brilliant trainwreck of rock attitude and pop melodies, a theme that extends to oft-checked highlight High Acetate. Used for Glue is very much at the other end of the Rival Schools spectrum; heavy and emphatic, it's probably the sort of track that inspired so many emo bands to list them as a reference (and probably help towards me not checking them out at the time). That said though, I actually kind of prefer that full-tilt sound. Tracks like Good Things may have a seductive groove and an attractive post-grunge single chorus, but in truth when I want that I'll go to Silverchair instead, thanks.

Right then, Rival Schools. Get a copy, introduce yourself to the four named tracks above and then delve deeper if you like; I'll post a review of their long-awaited follow-up Pedals on here soon. 

 Everyone an Army

A Coastal Dance on the Grave of Romance

Self-Release

4.5/5

I know what you're thinking – that's a pretty long title for an EP. Well, yes it is; it wouldn't take Sherlock Holmes to spot that one, but don't be put off by its hipster implications. To steal a line from Richard Pryor, “they don't play that shit” - instead what's on offer is some '90s-ish alt rock with a shade of modern post-rock and progressive in the mix.

The title track stops and starts, growls and fuzzes like the best tracks of Siamese Dream, but instead of the angsty rage of Billy Corgan the overall vibe is kept somewhere left of the early Muse material. It's dramatic and drips gravitas, but remains anchored to something more earthy; this I suspect is more a function of their vocal range than a conscious decision.

Track two, 'Versailles', continues this theme – again we're faced with Pumpkins-esque guitars, but this time the vocals borrow more from Maynard's work with Perfect Circle; there's a subtle sense of harmonic depth and the way the guitars and vocals interplay is terrific. 'Venous Hum' on the other hand is more akin to Failure's second album Magnified, or perhaps cult US act Exeter. There's the same space-rock affectation as well as driving bass riffs, and the chorus has a suitably baroque charm to it; while not as storming as the previous two tracks, it's a given that there's already an audience that would love this.

Closer 'The Christmas Truce' represents a change in gear; taking a more shoegaze-indebted – and indeed noisier – approach to creating the textures leads to a muted slow-burner of a track, rife with neat melodic ideas and confluences of harmony in unexpected places. After an almost obligatory breakdown there's a great Oceansize-y section that reminds of 'Paper Champion' from the Music for Nurses EP to close.

Perhaps the only criticism that can be levelled at such a strong collection of tracks as this is whether or not the hints of leftfield development in the tracks will lead them in more abstract, experimental directions on later material. At present EAA dip their toe in the waters, but by-and-large seem content to be a well-honed alternative rock band; who knows if this will change in future.

Reuben
Racecar is Racecar Backwards

Rating: 4.5/5

The list of bands I was too bigoted against to appreciate while they still existed grows again by one. So, let's quickly deal with the why I was an idiot - and then we can get to talking about this record. Basically it was two things; first, a show where Reuben played in my hometown and acted like little prima donnas, and second, that a bunch of pretty douchey guys and fucking emo kids liked them. Erm, that's about it really. 

So, of course, when I finally took the time to actually listen to them properly it naturally turned out that they were fucking ace. Their second album isn't much to write home about, but their first really is; the best way I can explain it as a shoutier version of the album Septembre could have made if they'd ever actually gotten their shit together (and I fucking loved Septembre). 

The singles 'Let's Stop Hanging Out' and 'Freddy Kreuger' are naturally ace, but the opener 'No One Wins The War' really is the song that sells the album. Rocky, catchy and with a little off-kilter jagginess to the riffs, it's a little like the aforementioned Septembre's track 'Always' and really sets the tone (and pace) for the record to come. Personally, my favourite is 'Tonight, My Wife Is Your Wife', which, so the story goes at least, is actually about the town I grew up in. Ace. 

Lyrically, there's a good shot of wry humour as well as the same bitterness that would eventually lead to their 'greatest hits' being called We Should Have Gone to University; there's a lot of focus on friends moving away to college and stuck-up girls, but then that's sort of what you'd expect for a young rock band from the commuter belt. Post-album single 'Moving to Blackwater' is the epitome of this; only people living in Surrey of a certain age can really get where they're coming from with that in-joke, but you begin to feel that maybe their prima donna-esque angst about their lack of success wasn't so unwarranted after all. 

In conclusion then, a great straightforward rock record with not a weak song on it; if you're in any way into the British post-grunge bands that spawned around the turn of the millennium then you need to own this record.

Cyril Snear

with Trojan Horse, Douga and Black Market Serotonin

Night & Day, Manchester, 6/11/2011

Rating: 4/5

Right, so first up were Black Market Serotonin. I'm not going to dwell on their set long (mainly as they're on SSD), but from their live show it's evident that Andy in particular has grown greatly in confidence as a frontman over the last year. On the other hand, various things remain more raw about their nascent prog-industrial music; the tunes themselves may be polished, and an album may be on the way, but a refusal to dumb down the music live is both a strength and a weakness. 

Slaved in the past to DAVE (or Digitally Automated Vibe Engine, a laptop), they now find themselves in the hands of a marginally less harsh Juno synth; nevertheless this band of exceptional musicians are still occasionally wrong-footed by the samples, and it does beg the question as to whether a fluid live show or fidelity to the record should be a band's number one priority. For my part, I don't know what the answer to that conundrum is.

Second were Douga; on the record there's a hint of the folktronica-come-alternative pop of the Beta Band, but live that's very much the dominant impression that's carried away by the pleasantly off-kilter indie rock on display (and I mean 'indie' in the sense of '90s US bands, not four-piece bands of dickheads from Shoreditch). With two strong sets of songs under their belt (a single and EP) already, as well as some decent shows, Douga's fortune looks set to improve even further from here on in. 

Third were Trojan Horse. Look, I'm not even going to bother. Here, their album is free. GO LISTEN. The only thing really worthy of mention is that they trashed the stage rather more comprehensively than usual, and I had to dodge a flying Yamaha keyboard. Nice. 

Finally Cyril Snear were ready to tear it up. This marked the first time I'd seen the 'Snear live since hearing the pre-masters for their new record, The Riot of Colour, and live tracks like 'Confabulation' surely rank far above all of their work thus far, both in terms of quality and sheer hard rock whallop. At the moment there's only one band on the scene that look poised to claim the Manchester prog mantle ere vacated by Oceansize; while the 'Horse may be the truer sons of Prog, there's only one home grown post-prog band that can challenge the likes of the Kscope stable in the modern progressive stakes... with their Amplifier support slot and Tool-esque hammerfalls, that band is surely Cyril Snear. 

Given that 2011's not even spent yet it may seem premature to be making bold claims for next year, but let me be the first to suggest that The Riot of Colour will make at least this lowly scribe's 'Best of 2012' list. Fuck yes. 




__________________________________________
And now for something completely different...

County Champion with Trojan Horse

Islington Mill, Salford

Thursday 20th October

Rating: 4/5

I'm sure by now everyone's tired of me periodically emerging from hibernation to pen words about Trojan Horse, but well, fuck off. Tonight on an incredible bill topped by Circles and Secret Chiefs 3 (who I was regrettably destined to miss) were County Champion and Trojan Horse. The latter - if you have ever read this blog before - you will know already, but the former may be somewhat more enigmatic. 

Well, without further ado let me lift the veil. As perhaps the more acute and tuned-in of you will have noticed, the picture is of Charlie Barnes and Ste Anderson from Charlie Barnes & the Geekks... and that's because County Champion is the new name for that very band. At 2000 Trees this year they effectively announced their arrival with a new set of tunes contributed to by every bandmember, and Charlie finally assumed the frontman role he'd hitherto never quite grown into. Out was glitch-pop and in was drop-D (though fear not, he will continue to perform that under his own name). 

Even though their set was blighted by technical difficulties, you know it's a good sign when Mike Vennart and Gambler from Oceansize turn up to see your first show, and with a setlist that included 'Nasty Bastard', '18' and 'Balloons', County Champion certainly played to their strengths. Their sound is a concise blend of math and progressive, shot through with a slight post-hardcore edge. It sounds, if I were to boil it down to a single song by another band, kind of like the heavier passages of 'Only Twin', off Frames. There's that same epic abandon, the sense of the vocals riding a wave of previously contained, but now unleashed energy.

After the totally brilliant Champion boys had shuffled back into the crowd, it was time for the 'Horse to kick off their second show in as many days. They've always been an exceptionally hard-working band, and these days it seems there's not a week that goes by without a slew of Trojan Horse gigs. As they grow in stature, I'm gradually becoming one of a number of familiar faces at their gigs, and lest it smack of me laying out my wares smugly for all to see, I've got to say that it feels great to have seen a band grow from being a completely underground entity to being a major force on a local scene. That it should be a band as capriciously brilliant as TH is just icing on the cake, really. Here's to Prog Nouveau. Vive la revolution!

Mount Fabric

Threads 

Hairy Wolf Records

Out Now

Rating: 3/5

Someone's listened to their Muse b-sides. So there's a new Mount Fabric EP, Threads, and this time they've apparently decided to ditch all of their excess influences, for the simple fact is this whole affair sounds exactly like either Muse or Radiohead.

Take track one, 'The Lightning Fork'; the pre-chorus is 'Sober' from Muse's Showbiz, and the chorus is 'Lucky' from Radiohead's Ok Computer. Now personally I'm going to forgive that, as I rather enjoy MF, but I can see a lot of people (even those not initially turned off by the Muse/Radiohead comparison) that will switch off after realising that.

Anyway, the former being true, 'Squelettes' is a guilty-pleasure of an upbeat number, 'ROC' the token ballad/atmospheric piece, and 'Cortisol' the more 'experimental' electronic track; think '13 Step'. Perhaps it sounds like I'm being a little unfair here, but let the record show that nowhere did I say these tracks were bad – they're actually all very good (with the exception of closer 'Fault', which is rather too close to '90s adult-oriented pop-rock for my taste) – but they aren't original, and it's not unfair of me to observe that it's going to be a deal-breaker for some. 

Vasco Da Gama

Vasco Da Gama

Paypertiger

Out Now

Rating: 4.5/5 

On 'Nada Mas' the spaz starts immediately (can I say that?), with a set of manic harmonies before pleasantly strong vocals and reverb-drenched harmonies enter the mix. The overall effect is probably the mildest verse on the EP, and it's rather unfortunate that peoples' first exposure to it will come in autumn, for it's got an undeniable summer-pop lilt to it.

'Long Ships, Massive Hands' meanwhile has an almost power-pop vibe to it; I'm reminded of 'Tomorrow's Papers' by Luther Russell (bizarrely enough), and more so than the previous track the drums are allowed to coast to the fore in the composition, highlighting that truism of math- that it just isn't possible without a truly exceptional drummer. Though on the EP the excessively trebly guitars aren't fully counterweighted by the bass, live this song is an absolute belter, and it's definitely one of those tracks that grows substantially better once you've contextualised it by seeing Vasco play a show.

While we're on the subject, let's just deal with their band name too, because it's fucking awesome. I mean, besides the fact that it's one of those band names that I really wish I'd thought up first, it somehow manages to pretty solidly evoke the sheer bipolarity of what Vasco are trying to achieve with their songs.

Their grand math-pop gesture is Guts Ahoy!, which sounds actually rather like Wot Gorilla?; rather it's the EP closer, 'Teach the Young Team' that sets the template for their future success.

Complicated and catchy, obtuse in arrangement, it's nevertheless packed with pop hooks and great melodies. There's no question of it being their 'dumb pop song', or something they should be embarrassed by; for simply constructing something so brilliant is bloody hard. It's almost too cool, too brilliant for its own good, but I can't hold that against Vasco. I'll be humming it for weeks to come, and if you check it out I'm sure you will be too.

My prediction: an album of tracks like 'Young Team' and 'Long Ships...' and Vasco will be huge. In the meantime, slake your thirst with this exceptional EP and get excited about what's yet to come from this thrilling young band. 

Get it from Paypertiger here. Check out Vasco on Facebook here.

Casino Zone - Heart of a Dog = Sub Animal Noises

I swear the older I get, the more I enjoy this band. Like The Crocketts meets Yourcodenameis:milo or At the Drive-In. Sick, in other words. Check out their new track, 'Heart of a Dog = Sub Animal Noises'. Pretty funny video too, let's hope that the EP is as good as this single. 

I promise, when I get a job...

...that I will try and get updates to be a bit more regular around here. Anyway, in the meantime have two more free EPs from my label. Both come personally and critically recommended.*





*trust me on this one, it's 1am and I can't be bothered to find the links, but the press clippings are on their artist pages, or you can Google.

Blindness

Confessions (EP)

Rating: 4/5

 

I have to admit, I wasn't totally sold on this EP at first. Of course I mean only until I'd heard the break at about three minutes in of track two, 'Broken'. After that I was sold.

 

So first let's dispense with the soundbite PR bit (and admittedly probably the reason this ended up on my doorstep); the driving force behind the band is Debbie Smith, who was the live guitarist for Curve. Naturally then, as you'd expect there's some similarity with Dean Garcia's post-Curve project, SPC ECO, although Blindness' sound is notably darker, more in tune with Curve's pseudo-goth asthetic than the joyous dream pop of SPC's recent Big Fat World EP.

 

Besides that (and not a reference to Curve in sight), what do Blindness sound like? Well, on track one it's driving dark shoegaze melded with the atmospherics of dark ambient- think Portishead's more unsettling moments- and the pop electronica sensibilities of recent Metric. In fact, however inappropriate that last reference point may appear, it's one that as a listener I kept referring to. 'Confessions' has a drum track that even quite reminds of 'Help, I'm Alive', though one doubts that Debbie Smith owns many Metric records.

 

Though the guitar noisily clawing its way to the fore on 'Broken' is my favourite individual moment, the closer 'No One Counts', with echoes of the increasing band dynamic of Massive Attack circa 100^th Window (and specifically the guitar figures of 'What Your Soul Sings') is the finest individual track. At only three tracks it's a little light on running length, but on the basis of this their next release will still have to be exceptional for Blindness to truly stand out, good though it is. 

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

Tao of the Dead

Superball Music

Out Now

Rating: 5/5

My discovery of this album if anything proves that at least I'm writing for the right people. After reading a glowing live review in Classic Rock Presents: Prog, and trusting that any label willing to sign Oceansize would probably put out good craic, I picked up their most recent long-player, Tao of the Dead, out on Superball Music. It's a concept album, and admittedly I haven't got into that side of it especially yet, but the music has proven infectious enough that it's become the soundtrack to my Californian roadtripping these last two weeks.

Opening with the 'Introduction', you're confronted for the first time by a scalic, harmonized math guitar riff that will return throughout Tao, as it ebbs and flows with the dynamic of a record written almost as a single piece of music. When Steven Wilson announced The Incident, I have to admit that, rather than what he eventually delivered, I was expecting something much more like Tao; gleefully self-referential, sprawling and unrelenting.

Possibly my favourite thing about this album is that, as band members switch instruments, you can almost feel the changes in personnel; where 'Pure Radio Cosplay' and 'Summer of all Dead Souls' have drums that'd be at home on any Shinobu or West Coast punk record, 'The Fairlight Pendant' has a motorik drive to it, and these are just the tip of the iceberg where subtle shifts in playing style are concerned. The punk reference is apt too, for while this record is often going to be heavier than some casual listeners would prefer, there's also a breeziness to it; most of the album is in a major key, and for all the Fugazi-Sonic Youth dissonant turns it's certainly not so hard going that a mainstream rock listener couldn't dig the bulk of it.

With the emotive pull of 'Ebb Away'- directly following the fantastic reprise of 'Pure Radio Cosplay'- the record takes its final turn, as the band embark on 'Tao of the Dead Part Two: Strange News from Another Planet', a sixteen-and-a-half-minute blast of summery math-prog and post-rock meandering that neatly encapsulates everything I've grown to love about this band. Unlike all the other tracks that have preceded it, 'Tao Part Two' changes from a D tuning to an F tuning to mark the transition, though arguably the end of 'Part One' falls shortly before the intro of 'Ebb'; regardless, it's still an impressive feat of musical arrangement and artistic vision.

Ultimately however, the greatest thing about Tao is that it's the sound of a band literally doing whatever the fuck they feel like, and being good enough musicians to pull that off. It's fucking brilliant. 

..and you will know us by the trail of puns

...and you will know us by the trail of puns//SSD Podcast #19 by Superstar Destroyer on Mixcloud

The Calimocho Club

Whoa Whoa, Hey Hey

Out Now

Rating: 4.5/5

Need a soundtrack to a barfly night of whiskey drinking? Well, I might just have the solution for you. After announcing their untimely demise a while back, the band formerly known as The Black Knights have returned with their new project, The Calimocho Club. Where The Black Knights were the soundtrack to an alcohol-fuelled frenzy, TCC have changed tack somewhat; while there's no doubt that on tracks like 'Baby Got A Switchblade' TBK's more brutal side lies in wait in the wings, in general TCC's sound is more soulful and melodic, songs to get wrecked and hit the town to, rather than see the place burn.

'War Machine' is the best of these, a laid-back, slow-motion haul that makes you almost feel the drink weighing you down into the soft alcoholic glow of a Friday night, while 'Roll the Dice' is the overall highlight, with a chorus so rad that it'll have you kicking things over just to show some fucking appreciation. 

All in all, it's a pleasant return to form for the blues duo, and given the outstanding songwriting and recording quality of this first effort, let's hope there's more to come soon. 

SSD Podcast #18

On With The Show//SSD Podcast #18 by Superstar Destroyer on Mixcloud

Crosses

EP

Self-Released

Out Now

Rating: 4/5

I remember once my bandmate admitted whilst very drunk that he had a great secret. Casting an eye this way and that, he lowered his voice before speaking. “Dude,” he said in a confessional tone, “I think I like Team Sleep more than Deftones.” He stared into his drink as if it held some sublime wisdom.

Well, I think my Last.fm would testify to the fact that I love the Deftones, but I think I'd have to agree; much of what I love about the Deftones is present (in a roundabout way) on Team Sleep, and my favourite Deftones album, Saturday Night Wrist, arguably was heavily influenced by Chino's experience of working with the musical styles he flirted with on Team Sleep.

Anyway, whilst I had high hopes for Team Sleep coming back with a second record, it looks like that's not going to happen, which is a damn shame. However, there's a silver lining; namely that he had the time to hook up with some of the dudes from Far (admittedly a band I'm not that familiar with) and form Crosses (or †††, if you prefer).

Essentially a more electronic iteration of all of Chino's avant-garde urges, apart from a fatter bass tone Crosses have much in common with Team Sleep. The electronica of opener 'This is a Trick' is balanced out by the dream-pop 'Option', reminiscent of Curve or SPC ECO, while 'Bermuda Locket' has a little bit of Smashing Pumpkins' 'Eye' about it, and with a Corgan vocal could easily be a track from their Adore-era output.

The highlight of the set though is 'Thholyghst', which is kind of a mash-up of 'Tomb of Liega' and 'Live from the Stage' from Team Sleep. It's menacing and atmospheric, and when it finally cuts loose, Chino's voice soars above washes of triumphant, Machina-era Pumpkins industrial fuzz. It's joyous, sending shivers down the spine as it brings a smile to the face.

The question is, with this under his belt, can Chino put a foot wrong? Well, yes. There's no physical release for the EP yet, and no news of an album to follow, which leaves me frankly with a thirst that cannot be slaked.

While I wallow in existential angst, I'd suggest you download a copy for free from their Facebook page. 

Kid For Today

Are You Friendly?

Pipco Collective

Out Now

Rating: 4.5/5

The first time I heard of Kid For Today was when Charlie Barnes nodded in bandmate Josh (AKA Kid For Today)'s direction and told me to check his stuff out. “You'll fucking love it” he assured me with a mischievous grin. 

Now, before I lapse into some kind of semi-autobiographical prose dross let's talk about Are You Friendly?. Well, the first and most obvious thing to say is that yeah, I do fucking love it. Like a kind of hyper lo-fi Beta Band (see 'Hello Mr. Magpie), with swatches of Nice Nice and even Meursault ('Sticks') about it, KFT's music roughly inhabits that area usually branded 'folktronica', though 'Keep on Drowning' reminds more of '5/4' from Gorillaz and 'River Rocks' smacks of well, anything that Beck has ever done (sorry but Beck's stuff does all sound the same). 

The eclecticism of the execution however is this EP's true strength. Morphing from lo-fi folk to world music with jazz or funk flavours, it's at times like a 21st century take on Paul Simon's solo material (see the 'Ocean Song' passage of 'Keep on Drowning'); however many genres and instruments are tackled, it's still somehow elusively, transiently locked into a folk sensibility even as its many moods shift with it, passage by passage. 

For me, the best track is 'Green Lung'; I've always had a soft spot for distorted drums, and the track itself is a pleasing version of Peter Gabriel's multi-vocal-harmonied '80s excursions into African choral music as imagined by Engineers or North Atlantic Oscillation. Both 'Cell Count' and 'Clean Coloured Wire' have a similar electronic warble counterpointed by Secret Machines-style drums, and 'Green Lung' is consequently one 2:47 trip through a good seventy per cent of the things that I fucking love about music. 

Ultimately though, you can't boil Are You Friendly? down to a single track as that simply doesn't do it justice. If you're going to listen to acoustic guitars, fuck Benjamin Francis Leftwich's facile Radio-2-drivetime-mid-life-crisis bullshit and immerse yourself in something of more substance: this.  

Trojan Horse

Live at the Good Ship, Kilburn

17/7/2011

Another day, another Trojan Horse gig. Except this one is different- it's their first foray into our capital for a while, and by a quirk of fate I'm freshly returned from post-prog-math fest 2000 Trees and able to attend. A crushing blow was being unable to attend the Kites/Snear/Horse billing in Manchester last night (though I would suggest being made up for in the form of Charlie Barnes, Three Trapped Tigers and Amplifier, but I digress...), so a chance to see the 'Horse and Kites is most welcome indeed. 

From the word go it's an assured performance of songs that by now will be familiar to anyone that's been following the progress of this band. 'Fire', 'Disciplining the Reserve Army', 'Laces and Racists' and 'Mr. Engels Says' all get played, with 'Laces and Racists' being very much the standout of the material tonight. Nick ends up entangled in his guitar on the floor (was that a wince of pain I saw of beard caught on hardware, I wonder?), and a suitable degree of hardcore chaos encroaches upon what was, until their set at least, quite a civilised event. 

More than usual what is apparent tonight is TH's rock pedigree. Of the bands on the 'Prog Nouveau' scene, they are without a doubt the most 'classic prog' in style, and I'm not the first commentator to come to that conclusion. However, lest we forget, their background lies broadly in the punk scene, and it's a testament to the sheer eclecticism of their album that by choosing different material from it they can remind even as frequent a visitor as I to camp Horse of that fact, topped by a strange pang of surprise. 

Unfortunately, times run behind and I'm unable to stay for Kites' set, instead running down Kilburn high street for a train, making that two Sundays in a row that I catch my train at Waterloo with a minute to spare. Oh commuter belt, you are a harsh mistress. 

Trojan Horse's opener, 'Fire'.

Amplifier
The Astronaut Dismantles HAL EP

Ampcorp/SPV

Rating: 4/5

From this Extended Play, the follow-up to their début Amplifier, one might never have guessed at the problems bubbling below the surface. Granted, their début had a troubled birth, but arrive it did, being later re-released on SPV. The Astronaut Dismantles HAL, however, was their first set of original material for the label, and it builds on the melodic inclinations of the band showcased on the first record, without sacrificing any of the music's complexity, or indeed length. The six (seven if you include secret track 'Scarecrows') tracks are as long as an album, and there's a gratifying cohesion and fluency to the package as a whole. 

From the very first note in 'Continuum', Amplifier play the space-rock card, with Sel's voice staying subdued in tone before he explodes forth with the perplexing 'chorus' break of “JUST LISTEN!”. In fact, despite its substantial run-time, there's something joyously pop about this cut, evidenced on the surreal middle-eight vocal crescendo of “que sera sera, whatever will be, will be!” where once again vocals cut the guitar wash and magnificently ride atop Amplifier's multi-amp squall. 

Other highlights include the Zeppelin-esque stomp of 'Into The Space Age' and riff-heavy single 'Everyday Combat', which has since passed into fan-favourite territory, frequently clamoured for at shows. For me though it's the aforementioned 'Scarecrows' that has the currency to go head-to-head with 'Continuum' and 'Everyday Combat'. An acoustic-led number, it shows Amplifier thoroughly out of their comfort zone, stripped-back and at some of their most emotionally affecting. They wouldn't employ an acoustic in the same way until The Octopus' 'Oscar Night', and even then the subtle atmospherics achieved on 'Scarecrows' would be lost. 

Though Insider undoubtedly had its moments, it's hard to see how Amplifier ended up there based on this release; stories of label pressure, time- and budget- constraints aren't hard to dredge up, so if anything it once again vindicates their decision to go The Octopus alone, as if the quality of that album weren't reason enough on its own. The Astronaut Dismantles HAL is a worthy, indeed essential addition to Amplifier's body of work, and it is too often overlooked for being 'just' an EP. Call it a 'mini-album', call it what you like; just don't make the mistake of missing out on it. 

Always the Quiet Ones

Freak Show

Self Released

Out Now

Rating: 4/5

For fans of rock in the mould of Butterfly Effect or Oceansize, albeit boiled down into bitesize four-minute prog-pop nuggets, Always the Quiet Ones have a virtual monopoly in the Northwest. More conscise than Trojan Horse, less aggressive than In Casino Out, more accessible than Cyril Snear... you get the picture. If there's going to be a Biffy-scale success from the current crop, it's going to be Battleships or ATQO. Anyway, I'm sure what you're most concerned about is how this EP stacks up compared to their excellent Headcase debut. 

 

The answer, most simply, is that it's kind of more of the same, and that's hardly a bad thing. A recent review of Metamusic's World to Come EP criticised its capriciousness; I would contend that consistency or variety are equally valid, so long as that is the intention of the artist. Freak Show is nothing if not consistently awesome. 

 

Though 'Sign of the Times' was never my favourite track live, a lashing of overdubs and Blas' trademark howl take the studio version to a different level, and 'Valentina' is a welcome change of pace somewhat in the mould of 'Beautiful Surrender', the bonus track from Headcase. Before its end it breaks down into some heavy riffing, highlighting the main progression between the records; the feeling that somehow chords have been largely eschewed in favour of a more riff-based heavy rock style, with the Smashing Pumpkins echoes now absent. 

 

The highlight of the set unsurprisingly is the title track, every bit as great as its live iterations, but with a slick, radio-friendly makeover. You've got to give it to ATQO; they aim for the big leagues, and they really do sound like they belong there. I defy you to get past the break at 0:24 and not jump onto something, air guitar in hand, power stance assumed, ready to fucking rock n' roll. 'Freak Show' is a bloody winner, and ATQO know it. Why it's the last track on here is anybody's guess, but if they play their cards right, it could well end up being their signature early career tune. 

Wot Gorilla?

New Arrival

Self-Released

Out Now

Rating: 4.5/5

After catching their set at Live at Leeds I immediately got my hands on Wot Gorilla's work to date; that is to say, their self-titled debut EP and this, their second. Possibly the only downside to what is otherwise a nigh-perfect recording is this- 'Fear of Flying', the opener, is by far the best track on here. Not only that, but out of the three tracks and an interlude, the second strongest is also the second track, '3 DAB's and a Chang', leaving the closer, 'Shoes for Traction' to seem more functional where on a lesser EP it might be a stand-out.

Sooner or later I'm going to have to stop saying this because I will have actually learned a thing or two about math-rock, but for the moment I still know little enough to confidently say that as far as I know, this is as good as it gets. Make sure you also check out their first effort as well, if only for the excellent 'We Go Way Back Like Like Spinal Cords and Car Seats' and '6 Double 5 3 2 1', the latter a track name which almost literally has math in it (ha ha). For me their greatest moments are when they go from the most abstract, angular material to the biggest guilty-pleasure pop rock; witness the “was that the engines cutting out?” middle eight of 'Fear of Flying' to get an idea. Though this may be Wot Gorilla's greatest weapon, they use it sparingly and it consequently never gets old.

The final verdict: highly entertaining, quite possibly future-proof rock.

[Both WG? EPs are now free to download; use the links above]