Author: Ben Walton Page 4
Antlered Man - Giftes 1 & 2
Every now and again, a band will come along and offer something so bizarre and different that it makes the task of writing about it very difficult indeed. One such band is Antlered Man, a...
Review posted on 3rd April 2012
Young Guns - Bones
Young Guns are the latest in a long line of super hyped rock bands who are 'primed to take over the world' or 'ready to save rock and roll'. Rarely do the bands in question,...
Review posted on 7th March 2012
Various Artists - New Heavy Sounds Volume 2
Sadly, it is not at all uncommon to hear some out of touch oik of a journalist declaring that 'rock' or even 'guitar music' is 'dead'. While I would certainly agree that guitar music does...
Review posted on 16th January 2012
Little Fish - Wonderful
It has been a little while since Little Fish's first album; Baffled and Beat swaggered on to the scene in all its post-grunge, indie glory, featuring songs with such confidence and a sense of twisted...
Review posted on 12th January 2012
Hawk Eyes - Mindhammers
Hawk Eyes, or Chickenhawk as you may previously have known them are a Leeds based alternative metal band, and this EP is their first 'proper' release following their name change.The first thing you notice about...
Review posted on 9th January 2012
Manic Street Preachers - London O2 Arena, 17th December 2011
On realising that in this day and age, there is very little guitar music impacting on the top 40, The Manic Street Preachers are celebrating 21 years in the charts by playing 38 of their...
Review posted on 3rd January 2012
Warm Brains - Old Volcanoes
Old Volcanoes takes its cues equally from a mixture of Britpop and mid-90s US college rock, so whichever way you slice it, it has come to the party about 15 years too late. Nevertheless, what...
Review posted on 3rd January 2012
Cradle Of Filth - Evermore Darkly
Whichever way you slice it, Metal as a genre of music is, for the most part, over the top and very, very silly. Just look at Manowar or the brilliant and sadly missed Type O...
Review posted on 13th December 2011
LaFaro - Easy Meat
The very instant that you press play on the new LaFaro album Easy Meat, you know exactly what you are going to get, as an unhinged clatter of drums tumble frantically out of your speakers....
Review posted on 7th December 2011
Chris Cornell - Songbook
It has been said that a truly great song can be stripped down to a basic vocal and instrumental accompaniment, and still be every bit as powerful and affecting as a full band version. This...
Review posted on 22nd November 2011
Buffalo Killers - 3
I always get terribly conflicted feelings when reviewing blatant retro-rock albums. On the one hand, they bring nothing new or particularly imaginative to the table, but on the other, what is necessarily wrong with that?...
Review posted on 14th November 2011
No Joy - Ghost Blonde
No Joy are a band sitting behind walls of feedback and heavy distortion. The songs on Ghost Blonde are impressive enough, but it hardly re-writes the rule book.The album kicks off with Mediumship, a charming...
Review posted on 3rd November 2011
Ringo Deathstarr - Shadow
Having recently bagged themselves the opening slot on the Smashing Pumpkins upcoming UK and European tours, Ringo Deathstarr are clearly starting to make waves in the alternative world. This EP comes as something of a...
Review posted on 27th October 2011
Liam Blake - You and Other Stories
Just from one cursory glance at the album cover of You and Other Stories, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is an album which dangles dangerously close to being a collection of over...
Review posted on 13th October 2011
Pearl Jam - Twenty
The Mighty Pearl Jam have been celebrating their twentieth anniversary in a big way this year. Where some bands are content to do a celebratory jaunt of the touring circuit or simply put out a...
Review posted on 6th October 2011
Letlive - Fake History
Back in my teens, the first music genre I truly fell in love with was hardcore punk, as well as some post-hardcore. While my friends were discovering the likes of Metallica and Iron Maiden, I...
Review posted on 29th September 2011
Night Noise Team - Slow Release
In all of their promotional materials, Night Noise Team like to tell us that they are a band with a huge number of influences, with their members hailing from all over the place. Unfortunately, this...
Review posted on 27th September 2011
The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps
For somewhere near twenty years now, Greg Dulli has been the go-to guy for crafting music to fill those dark corners and to soundtrack those creepy moments where there seems to be someone behind you....
Review posted on 19th September 2011
Howard James Kenny - Shelter Songs
Every now and then as a reviewer, you get an album come through the post which is an absolute anomaly, but an anomaly which leaves you thinking "why aren't there more artists out there doing...
Review posted on 15th September 2011
Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
Creating music that sounds effortless, and which has a genuine lightness of touch is something that very few bands are able to ever achieve. It is all too easy to overload songs with needless fancy...
Review posted on 5th September 2011
The Black Box Revelation - My Perception
Returning with their third album in as many years, Belgium's Black Box Revelation have teamed up with Alain Johannes (Them Crooked Vultures touring guitarist and serial Josh Homme co-conspirator) for My Perception, an album which...
Review posted on 16th August 2011
Screaming Trees - Last Words: The Final Recordings
It has been said over and over again that Screaming Trees were the nearly men of the 1990's Grunge scene that exploded out of Seattle, spearheaded by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden....
Review posted on 8th August 2011
Ringo Deathstarr - Sparkler
Following the release of their debut album Colour Trip last February, the awkwardly named Ringo Deathstarr have compiled their early releases into one handy set, available on vinyl or digital download. Everything from the band...
Review posted on 1st August 2011
Big Scary - The Big Scary Four Seasons
Following a current trend of not releasing conventional albums (see the Ash A-Z Series, the early stages of The Smashing Pumpkins spectacularly backtracked Teargarden project, and to some extent, the latest release by Kaiser Chiefs),...
Review posted on 18th July 2011
Tellison - The Wages of Fear
The Wages of Fear sees Tellison back almost four years after their debut album. This time around, Tellison seem focussed and as on top of their game as they have ever been, showcasing twelve great...
Review posted on 13th July 2011
Help Stamp Out Loneliness - Help Stamp Out Loneliness
Manchester's Help Stamp Out Loneliness have crafted a great, up-tempo album packed with brilliant summery moments. As a debut album, it shows a great deal of promise.Cottonopolis and Promises open proceedings with a gleeful stomp,...
Review posted on 6th July 2011
Danger Mouse - Rome
Brian 'Danger Mouse' Burton is one of very few musicians whose work in the present day absolutely deserves your attention. Be it his work with the chart topping Gnarls Barkley, the dark garage rock of...
Review posted on 23rd June 2011
Thursday - No Devolucion
No Devolucion is Thursday's sixth full length studio album. Having now established themselves now as a post-hardcore force to be reckoned with, they return with very much more of the same.Fast to the End, the...
Review posted on 21st June 2011
Rival Sons - Pressure and Time
Rival Sons are a band who inspire conflicting feelings. On the one hand, their album cover is hideous, and their songs offer nothing new or original. In spite of this, however, they are incredibly good...
Review posted on 14th June 2011
Moby - Destroyed
On Destroyed, Moby, the multi-million selling pioneer of electronic music strays into decidedly melancholic territory. Recent single The Day - and many other songs throughout the album - set the tone perfectly. This is music...
Review posted on 1st June 2011
Suggested
Leisure Festival - Dreamland in Margate
On the same day that Glastonbury welcomed back Margate's adopted sons, The Libertines, Margate itself put on it's very own Leisure Festival as it...
Pretty Fierce talk to us about collaborating with Doja Cat, emetophobia, arena tours and staying "true to yourself" [EXCLUSIVE]
Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'.
Will Varley & Jack Valero - The Astor Theatre Deal Live Review
Three nights before the end of his current tour Will Varley returned to his home town of Deal to delight a sold out crowd in The Astor Theatre.
WYSE talks to us about her "form of synaesthesia", collaborating with Radiohead's Thom York and the prospect of touring with a band [EXCLUSIVE]
With only a few days to go before Portsmouth based songstress and producer WYSE releases her new single, 'Belladonna', we caught up with her to find...
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Bay Bryan talks to us about being a "wee queer ginger", singing with Laura Marling and being inspired by Matilda [EXCLUSIVE]
Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
Keelan X talks to us about staying true to "your creative vision", collaborating with Giorgio Moroder and being "a yoga nut" [EXCLUSIVE]
Former Marigolds band member Keelan Cunningham has rediscovered his love of music with his new solo project Keelan X.
![Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]](https://images.contactmusic.com/images/home/homepage/luke-de-sciscio-abof-a.jpg "Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]")
Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]
Wiltshire singer-songwriter Luke De Sciscio, formally known as Folk Boy, is set to release is latest album - 'The Banquet' via AntiFragile Music on...
Annie Elise talks to us about the challenges a female producer has to face and "going through a year of grief and sickness" [EXCLUSIVE]
Electronic music pioneer and producer Annie Elise says that the release of her first EP - 'Breathe In, Breathe Out' feels "both vulnerable and...
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