Reviews

All bands grow older, either with each other or bickering amongst themselves in icy seclusion. Both of these behavioural patterns affect the music that the groups make. Either, like R.E.M., the boys are bashful enough with each other to just carry on regardless of anything but self-motivation and that they like spending time together. Whereas the Rolling Stones seem to prefer mutual exclusion and meeting every so often to complain about Ronnie Wood’s haircut and to discuss Mick’s latest conquests. Continue Reading

Reviews

“Next On The Misery List” almost succeeded in melting my stereo like a Tofutti Cutie on the July sidewalk with drums that make Squarepusher sound like downtempo trip-hop. How is he hitting the ride cymbal that fast? Uphill Battle won’t be doing battle with The Pleasure Seekers for The World’s Most Decelerated Band any time soon. Following in the volcano-pissed, highest-octane, crack smokin’, triple-bass, caffeinated footsteps of Napalm Death, Repulsion, Extreme Noise Terror, Final Conflict and Dropdead, these guys make Continue Reading

News

Having cut their teeth as a regular attendant at seminal early ’90s breakbeat raves such as “Desert Storm” and “Voodoo Majic”, with notoriously heavy sound rigs and narcotic riddled faithful, Blowfelt learned some serious low end theory from a disturbingly early age. Whilst on the road with Deekline (“Don’t Smoke”), he heard the groundbreaking “138 Trek” by DJ Zinc, a track which took the theory of UK Garage and wrapped it with a new, more filthy abstract logic. Blowfelt immediately Continue Reading

News

Los Angeles – July 8, 2002 – A sun-drenched tropical beach. Beautiful people sipping cold drinks and bronzing themselves everywhere as the sound of a hot, new Neptunes track wafts through the summer air. What could be better? How about a bikini-clad Janet Jackson stretched out on a beach-towel, singing the hook to your latest hit single. No, reggae don Beenie Man isn’t dreaming. He’s on the set of his new video for “Feel It Boy,” the highly-anticipated first single Continue Reading

News

Word has it that the Vine’s new single is ‘OUTTATHAWAY!’. The track is actually the third to be lifted from their debut album ‘Highly Evolved’, released last on July 8th. Likely release dates may be as early as September to coincide with their performances at the Carling Weekend Festivals in Reading and Leeds on August 23-24. The Vines will play a number of headline dates across the UK later in the year.

News

Check out Beck.com, this week and you’re sure to find full on streams of the new album, scheduled for offline release on September 24th. In celebration of Beck’s 32nd Birthday, and of course, the new release, the site will add a whole new track to the listening post right up until the formal release date. Beck is also known to be lining up a few low-key tour dates for August, concentrating as you can well imagine on the oddball and Continue Reading

Reviews

A Jackknife To A Swan ~ Mighty Bosstones

“A Jackknife to a Swan” is pretty un-ska. They’re busy writing songs about Mafiosos, and the whole affair sounds more like anthemic chorus-metal to me. The horns do come up from a triangle in Bermuda to affect the choruses, but the band seems sick of all that silly skanking business. Good for them, but we’ve got this whole Bosstone legacy to put to bed, don’t we? The up-strokes on the guitars framing “Everybody’s Better” reach artificial realms previously populated by Continue Reading

Reviews

The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

It is one thing to be confused for an irreverent yet sophisticated genius; it is another thing entirely to be recognised as a Martian. Although he is only one of the members of the Flaming Lips, as the central songwriter Wayne Coyne is often identified as a man apart; far removed from our planet. All of these out-of-this-world descriptions are a little unfair as this portrays the man as an unhinged eccentric and his songs to be far-out and “just Continue Reading

Live

The D4 & The Bellrays, Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street, London

Garage punk sells its soul down at the local Virgin Megastore. Is this the beginning of the end of the new wave of garage punk bands as two rising acts succumb to in-store gigs and subsequent signings at Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street, London, over two successive days? By Marc Sallis.10/07/2002 Monday 8th July, 2002 As I fought my way through the rush hour human traffic on London’s underground network I pondered what was waiting for me as The D4 prepared Continue Reading

Live

Oasis @ Finsbury Park, London, 06/07/2002

James Berry weighs up the massively anticipated Oasis Finsbury rock revival. A load of old indie cobblers? Service Berry …10/07/2002 Stumble through the gates into Oasisworld and all seems familiar and well, yet another day in the land of fickle brotherly love. The Jam playing from loudspeakers, chunky sunburnt lads sparked out on their backs by 3pm and precarious cardboard trays of lager being ferried with varied success as far as the eye can see. Then there are the sporadic Continue Reading