Okay, so I’m lazy enough to use the image from last months reviews in the pub… sue me. As usual we moved Fighting Boredom headquarters to the Brewery and prepared to critique the music we have been send, found and had thrown at us this time. I forgot headphones so had to go to the shop over the road and buy ultra cheap ones. Martin bought us 6.2 percent beer so it all got a bit hazy, alongside the singles this week we also managed to persuade the Brewery to let us do a Fighting Boredom night there… anyway, here we go.
The Hope Conspiracy – The West Is Dead
To start the evening we have ace hard core punk bastard fighting attack music. It slows down to grindcore doom ready to erupt again and stays on a level then into a huge punch-a-thon sabbath riff, it’s an excellent start to a singles review. The photographer says that I think it’s great. More punk than metal but it’s like metal punk loads of energy really snarly and nasty and you can understand what he’s saying.
Susanna – Everyone Knows
A jazz start but goes into odd quirky pop, just strange enough to be good sounds like lost love and humiliation. The Photographer says he doesn’t see the point of the fluty bit, she’s got a great voice with an odd twang to it, not really my bag though.
A Place To Bury Strangers – Don’t Turn The Radio
This is okay, they’ve done better, it’s a gothy electronic groove. Nasty sounding but not nasty enough. The Photographer says it’s just a bit meh, heard better from them.
Sentiment Dissolve – Omnipotent Panopticon
Starts all lovely and prog then hammers into death metal – nothing new but okay, I do like the vocals. Grunty and in tune. It seems far too long though, next! The Photographer says it has unintelligible lyrics, ridiculous speed metal in the middle, both the start and finish are pointless – leaves me cold.
MAQUINA. – Desterro
Think Suicide meets Ministry, a great sound and ace ramping up.The Photographer says I quite like it, quite like that I cant hear the vocals but thats on purpose, bit of a killing joke riff going on here.
Then Comes Silence – Stay Strange
An Emo banger, whatever that is, it’s okay just not very interesting, The Photographer says it’s terrible.
9-Volt Velvet – Riptide
An ace surf garage punk rock track, with a great whispering vocal. The Photographer says it starts off all chirpy, I quite like it, nice hooky guitar, it’s good.
Maldy, Angel Doir – Pila D Cuero
This is Rap, in Spanish and it’s bloody ace. However, the Photographer says that it’s the South American height of electronic rap and it’s rubbish innit.
Cowtown – Can’t Talk Now
A quirky cool indie pop song, nice instrumentation, off beat and it’s very Talking Heads, I like this one. The Photographer says that it sounds just like talking heads and even got the same voice, it’s very dated.
Fred V – Take You There
This grows nicely, it’s poppy drum and bass, but I do find the vocoder vocal annoying, I like the stuttery beats underneath though, conflicted by this one, maybe there’s a better mix without the vocal. The Photographer says the vocoder voice is awful and the backline is just dreadful.
Softcut – One of the Pack
This has nice lovely big cuddly distorted guitars and a lazy female vocal. It has quiet bits and a more shrieky vocal inside too, nice wonky bit towards the end and a long fade out. The Photographer says that it sounds like 90s indie and it’s alright, very Lush.
Wyndrider – Motorcycle Witches
This sounds exactly how you think it does, sabbath doom done brilliantly with a brilliant clear guitar solo half way through before it slams back to distortion. The Photographer says that If you like psychedelic stoner rock you’ll love it.
St. Vincent – Big Time Nothing
This is a nice fuzzy pop song with a funky bitit reminds me of Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer but odder. The Photographer says that they are hammering it on Radio 6, not impressed just average.
Amadou & Mariam – Mogolu
Afrobeat dance music very sunny and bright. The Photographer says I don’t like it, it’s background for holiday beach bars music.
Kee Avil – Gelatin
A drone then stuttering beats and pulses, odd quiet vocals, strange noises all around, odd and I like it, whispers over chaos. The Photographer says that it’s very bizarro world, minimal stripped back strangeness and that I need to hear it in an album.
DEBBY FRIDAY – To The Dancefloor
Fantastic deep sounding wobbly synth dance music, sexy sweaty and brilliant even before she starts the vocal. The Photographer adds it’s got a great build up and just keeps building and building.
I Hate My Village – Artiminime
A harsh synth sound, emo vocal, not at all sure about this one, its got a strange woozy feel. The Photographer says I don’t like it because of the vocal, the rest of its quite good.
Tendertwin – Asking
Folk indie. Nice and calm, my daughter would love this, goes into slow and quite hard. Then back to quiet. I Like it. The Photographer sums up with a dreary ballad for middle aged teenagers.
Julie Christmas – Supernatural
Grungy guitars and female vocal with a nice bit of screaming, a great song. The Photographer says it’s nice and larey, quite shouty and better than the last one.
Bossk, Crown Lands – The ReverieII x Crown Lands
The traditional nine minute single, this time it’s a slow proggy start then about a minute and a half later it goes all Mogwai , it’s very bombastic, quiet loud quiet etc, it’s alright for what it is. The Photographer says the same as last time and the time before.. there’s loads of these band around doing this Mogwai, GodSpeed kind of thing, this is not the worst, quite like it.
Ora Cogan – Cowgirl
A Country Folk song, slow and sad. The Photographer says it’s alright until she starts singing.
Louvado Abismo – Corrida Lenta
This is hugely Dramatic, over the top diva singing, gothy and dark, I like it. The Photographer just says that it’s gothiness personified.
The Peawees – The Wolf
A decent sixties surf rock garage track. The Photographer says that you could play it at your wedding disco and no one would be offended, not particularly interesting.
Thou – I Feel nothing
Screaming thrash, it’s okay, the Photographer says that it’s shouty, screamy, fast and loud.. it’s okay.
Wardruna – Hertan
Another wonderful track from Wardruna, viking folk done properly. The photographer says that it’s Wardruna and it’ll be in the next Vikings episode. When they play live they just suck you in, just brilliant.
Mandy, Indiana – Idea is Best
Muffled techno beats, static and clicks. It sounds far away, a strange vocal turns into a weird, spacey dance monster. The photographer says that he was expecting this. Disjointed with loads of screeches and samples, we’ll be playing this.
Unglued, Pola & Bryson, Cimone – Warning
This is Hospital Records Drum and bass, it’s a decent pop song, nothing very new with nice stuttery bits. The Photographer says that he dislikes the repetitive vocal of warning, rest of it’s okay, poppy drum and bassy, middle of the road.
British Murder Boys – Now, This Is You
Regis & Surgeon creating mayhem with an excellent techno groove, imagine playing this through a PA. The Photographer says Fucking great single of the week.
The Hula girls – Zombie Stomp
The Hula girls – Zombie Stomp
A great surf stomp, sounds like the batman theme which is always a good thing, the Photographer calls it excellent surf twang.
Mamaleek – Vileness slim
Is this rap or just a speech, slurred and menacing, the music is a sweet background for crooning but the vocals turn it on its head, then it goes all Bauhaus drums and distorted guitar with growling, and a choir in the background, disjointed, messy and excellent. The Photographer sums up with suicide rap.. most depressing.
Umbra Vitae – Belief is Obsolete
Great thrashing metal/punk song, nice and short, the photographer says.. just fucking next.
Curses – Elegant Death
This has a nice synth line, it’s a little slice of electronic darkwave. The Photographer says yes, he got that but it reminds me of something else, it’s alright, a bit dark and a bit electronic but it’s not Attrition.
Below the Stones – Goliath
Old school metal and it fucking rocks, an ace song. The Photographer adds that it’s okay, better than average UK metal.
Cristian Vogel – The Understory
This is a great techno track, up and down and echoing. The Photographer says there’s some great bass and wonky bits, if you turn up the tempo it sounds even better it’s on an equal par with the murder boys.
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So there you are, single of the week is a couple of Techno heads from Brum closely followed by a surf guitar groove. Let us know what you think and start an argument, see you next time.
All words by Adrian Bloxham & Martin Ward
Beer and Wifi by Twisted Barrel Brewery in Coventry
