Setlisted’s ones to watch at The 1234 Festival

With 1234 Festival nearing ever closer we picked our favourites from the massive lineup that you have to see! From festival veterans to the newest talent have a read below and make sure not to miss these acts! There’s still time to bag a ticket so get yourself one and we’ll see you there.

The Cribs – The Wakefield trio have consistently been one of the best live acts around now for over a decade. Six albums in now their live show is an absolute titan of a set featuring all the classics and some newer highlights such as Pink Snow from last years For All My Sisters.

Spector – A criminally underrated indie-pop band, Spector have delivered two brilliant albums and their live show lives to the same standard. If you’re looking to dance to some self-deprecating bangers with big choruses the London four piece are for you.

The Wytches- It goes without saying that these boys are unmissable live, debut album Annabel Dream Reader was a packed with heavy-hitting bangers.  With recent release ‘Home Recordings’ The Wytches set will no doubt be darker and better than ever.

Crows- This London four-piece are as in your face as it gets expect frontman James Cox to spend half his time in the crowd and the rest staring into your soul. This year’s EP Unwelcome Light is one of the best releases so far and will no doubt pack a punch live.

Sisteray – Guerilla Gigs and massive tunes have made it impossible to ignore Sisteray. Recent track Gentrification is huge, it’s a no holds barred fuck you to the property developers tearing the last remaining bits of life in London apart. We spoke to the guys last year, read what they had to say here .

Shame – Utterly engrossing, a bit gross and borderline intimidating Shame are making big waves in London and look set to do so far beyond. A boiling pot of influences from The Stooges to The Damned they perfectly balance wit and wildness. We interviewed them a while back, have a read here.

-Jack Winstanley

New Release : K.I.D Vicious // Rupert Bear

Our good pals K.I.D Vicious have dropped a new demo and you need to hear it. We were big fans of Mick’s Tape and this little teaser has got us more excited than ever for their next EP.

The two minute tirade against Rupert Murdoch and his gang of merry phone-hackers is a dark and sinister snapshot of the world of modern journalism. Sounding like someone forced Sleaford Mods to record music in the 7th circle of hell this aint for the faint hearted.

-Jack Winstanley

Album Review : Angel Du$t // Rock The Fuck On Forever

‘Rock The Fuck On Forever’ is proof that Punk will rock the fuck on forever. Composed of members from hardcore bands ‘Trapped Under Ice’ and ‘Mindset’, Angel Du$t are a newer band who prove you don’t have to be as a tough as Terror, fast as Agnostic Front or as heavy as NAILS to cause waves in today’s hardcore scene. By dissecting ‘RTFOF’, you realise this album has influences from all areas and eras of punk music, right from the gritty underground hardcore scene with gang vocals and furiously fast drumming, to classic 70’s bands with catchy Ramones esq. chorus’ containing an array of lyrical material.

The album kicks off as well as any punk album can with the blistering and stylish ‘Toxic Boombox’. The main hook consists of just drums and vocals which although a simple idea is definitely effective in practice and is a method that also works really well on the track ‘Hurt You Bad’, a personal highlight. The track ‘Upside Down’ is a notable high point on here also, one of the slower tracks, it’s floaty guitars and vocals give a more melodic nod to current bands such as ‘Adventures’ and ‘Basement’ delivering an all round nice piece of songwriting. ‘Rectify’ ‘Somebody Else’ and ‘Stay’ are also great songs reminiscent of their earlier releases “A.D” and “Xtra Raw” with a more hard hitting straight up 80’s hardcore vibe.

The album is by no means flawless however, although Angel Du$t are a breath of fresh air in modern hardcore and are undoubtedly opening the scene up to a wider array of influences, the song writing does fall short occasionally especially on a few slower tracks. They’ve already proved they are capable of pulling off a slower sound with ‘Upside Down’ but tracks like ‘Bad Thing’ and ’Twist N Shout’ lack any real conviction overall and are definitely the distinctively weaker moments on here. The lyrics do come across a little vague too at times, lacking any real meaning compared to the usual direct message of Justice’s TUI lyrics. The ambiguity does bring positives however and hearing lyrical content stray from the typical hardcore path is a nice change. The overall vocal style and delivery does work really well with the music and is one of the things that draws you into this band the most. Overall this is a really great record that points hardcore in a great forward thinking direction musically and may be up there as one of my favourite punk/hardcore releases of the year. It’s definitely worth a listen if you’re into any type of punk music. Also the horns on ‘Stranger Things’ fucking rip, very Gorilla Biscuits!

-Tom Baran

Album Review : Yak // Alas Salvation

It’s quickly moved from plain-speaking observation to painstaking cliché to proclaim rock ‘n’ deceased, or worse, write about a plaintive four-piece of straight white males in a way that implies that rock ‘n’ roll is a cold corpse, being revived in the laboratory of “promising young lads” by way of their “proper tunes” and “real music”. But the thing about Yak is that they’ve injected an excitement into guitar music that is so refreshing that it’s hard not to divulge and indulge in cliché after cliché. Oli Burslem, Andy Jones and Elliot Rawson together are a three-piece that have – with last week’s debut album Alas Salvation – put together an album that vibrates and tremors under the weight of all the rage, passion, energy, technique and (above all) danger that is held within its grooves.

At its core Yak’s sound is a ravenous garage rock titan, with elements of psych, experimentalist noise and even classic bubblegum pop straddled to its chest for the downright insane ride. Yak combine really interesting influences with raw power, two elements that are all too rarely pitted against one another in the realms of geetar music. And even more of a rare beast; their live sound, on this record, translates beautifully in a thrill-a-minute journey through the noisiest kinda wonderland. The star of the LP is frontman Oli Burslem, really. Without once more ploughing back into clichés, Burslem is a ‘proper rock star’. Sure, he does look like Mick Jagger if he were an X Wing pilot, but London’s coolest ex-antiques dealer also puts across such a charismatic persona in every single song of Alas Salvation, the listener’s perspective is thrown from place to place in every single song, but not a single word of the record sounds contrived.

 Take 8 minute sprawling closer Please Don’t Wait For Me. With it’s cut-up song structure and soft space-rock leanings, genre-wise it makes its way into the same category as the ‘astral ballads’ that The Flaming Lips do ever so perfectly on Yoshimi and Soft Parade, but the forlorn words of longing are genuine and capture a really beautiful state of melancholy at the end of all the chaos. The other bookend on the album is opener Victorious (National Anthem), Yak’s most political, punk’d up number, channelling such an apathy and rage in the format of a blistering 2 minutes that pulses its way through visceral noise at greater pace than the heart of an overdose. The guitars sound dangerous, the vocals frantic barks that recall vivid dystopias and the performance just jarring and unhinged and, above all, so bloody intense you’ll need a breather. But as anyone listening to Alas Salvation will know, a breather isn’t something you get. No. Instead, you’re sent spiralling down into the similarly intense version Hungry Heart, which is basically like The Cramps coming up on psychedelics. And from there, you’re prevented from respiring once more as the track that proceeds Hungry Heart is a snotty UK garage rock number call Use Somebody, that combines this big Kinksy British Invasion of a riff with Burslem’s increasingly animated screams of “you gotta use somebody! Use somebody!” He continues; “this rock ‘n’ roll is starting to bore us all”, a scathing remark that just quite truthfully captures the majority of guitar bands atop a messianic wave of fuzz-feedback. But on the other hand, it’s not like there aren’t softer moments, and whilst they don’t ooze the genuine danger and malevolence of the fiery garage dinner bringers, they provide depth to Yak’s sonic palette and ensure the record’s dynamic ranges from turbo charged rock ‘n’ roll to moments of refined, mellow beauty. Roll Another comes after the initial onslaughting trident of songs, and showcases a tender, even scared, side of the band, whilst Doo Wah, arriving somewhere at the tail end of the record, combines “doo-wah doo-wah” noises with some of the more melodic side of alternative rock to make for a pretty elegant number.

As I’ve already said though, through and through this album’s a real live wire – it’s dangerous, and it feels like it’s about to detonate for its whole duration, like it does on the psychotic murder spree of a number Smile or in the building intensity of Harbour The Feeling’s chorus. It also feels like a permanent danger to your speakers, with its hectic dynamics brought on by Burslem’s rage and passion. As well as that, the way in which Burslem manhandles the guitars sounds live, and in how they’re less polished – in both tone and technique – make them sound absolutely furious. In the same way that Iggy and the Stooges create that sense of confrontation with guitars that sound like irregular slams to the face, the way that Burslem’s guitar’s hop around the ‘perfect’ way of playing something fills this record with charisma and danger and just about everything else you ever needed. Lots of bands have rode the crest of hype in recent years, and produced average debuts (how bad were Slaves and Peace’s albums from last year?), Yak have used their platform as a greatly favoured band in the press to release a debut that’s incredible, challenging, alive and dangerous.

– Calum Cashin

Read more of Cal’s work here 

Album Review: Eagulls // Ullages

Eagulls are back. The five-piece, hailing from Leeds, return with their second full length EP titled Ullages; an anagram of their name. Released on Friday 13^th (like, probably, every record ever) on Partisan Records it brings with it strong 80s vibes fuelled by nicotine and teenage angst. I just expected more.

The album gets off to a slow but solid start with Heads or Tails; crawling guitar melodies layered with George Mitchells’ all too familiar moaning vocals, reminiscent of Robert Smith and Ian Browns’ love child: “It’s hard to tell who we are” he groans while heavy symbols and booming drum beats rain down like a youth dragging a stick across a metal fence, in the best possible way.

Euphoria follows with dominant bass lines continuing the steady theme of Ullages. The strings kick in, reminding us, again, of The Stone Roses (obviously), finishing with a heavily distorted warping of guitar strings, a huge contrast with the beginning of the next track.

One of the singles off the album, My Life in Rewind, is the third track and it’s a real ‘lighters in the air’ moment. It’s about as soul-destroying as a Smiths song but its muddy bass line gives me life. Imagine an 80s film montage where the protagonist stares out the window for far too long watching the rain. It’s one of those kind of songs.

Harpstrings is next, it’s just an instrumental track but it shows Eagulls’ ability to create more shoe-gaze-type music. It fades out and fades straight back in again to Velvet. A strong melody plays alongside while Mitchell moans about “the world falling apart” and badly dealt cards. It’s a decent track evocative of a punk Jaws.

Psalms… it’s not great. It would be if I hadn’t just listened to the last two tracks. By now I’m a bit bored and a lot sad. Sorry, I just want more. By the time I get to Blume I just want to start skipping tracks.

Skipping; that’s the next track and it’s a flipping tune, a gift from the heavens, a faith-restorer with a filthy bass line. It’s a dark, moody blur of screaming guitars and howling vocals: “All I ever wanted was an answer, but all I ever got was a broken record playing.” It’s more of what I expected from Eagulls and possibly one of my favourite tracks off the album.

Then comes another single: Lemontrees. And it’s a brilliant follow-up from Skipping. This is the song I look forward to hearing on their tour. Mitchells’ vocals are far more prominent and the melody is far catchier with obvious Cure influences. It’s the most praised track on the album and with good reason. Quite frankly, it’s a tune.

Hefty, marching drums kick Aisles off, next. It’s gritty and dramatic but those drums are the only thing that holds it together, without them the song would just be a mass of screeching guitars and vocals. It’s noisy and dramatic, and will ruin your eardrums. And then it just ends. It’s a weird one.

And finally White Lie Lullabies. It’s the perfect end to an awkward album with, again, very Smithsy vibes. You know when you get in bed but you’re smashed off ya nut and the rooms spinning? That’s what this sounds like. It’s repetitive and steady and just as noisy as its predecessor but sickeningly relaxing in a twisted sort of way.

The album, overall, seems confused. I think I’ll grow to like it more but it wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s certainly different from its self-titled, older sibling but it’s not unrecognisable and worth giving a chance if you’re already a fan.

-Emma Murphy

 

Album Review : Drake // Views

Running through the 6 with our Apple Music monthly subscriptions. Unfortunately for now it’s an Apple Music exclusive, but this still doesn’t detract from the excitement that is Drake’s fourth studio album, VIEWS, finally being released to the world. This album follows up from the crazy success and meme filled mixtape that is If You’re Reading This, You’re Too Late, a mixtape that really set the landmark for rap/hip-hop projects and saw Drake come in swinging, delivering an album that managed to be on par with Nothing Was The Same and Take Care.  He’s teased this album for a while now, in the forms of Hotline Bling, Summer Sixteen and current summer smash single One Dance. All of which have received nothing but praise for the Toronto born rapper. Does this 82-minute ode to his hometown live up to the expectation, let’s find out.

Keep The Family Close

The opener of this album couldn’t be set more of a scene for this album. “It’s a little chilly out there” the words of a female voice really set the scene for the snowy Toronto atmosphere that Drake is clearly trying to convey here. The song kicks in with Drake letting that infamous falsetto out instantly whilst he croons over how family comes first over the ‘friends;’ he thought he had. “All of my ‘let’s just be friends’ are friends I don’t have anymore / How do you not check on me when things go wrong?” this could be aimed at specific people in general in Drake’s life, but it’s more fun to think he’s clocking all of them at once. Plus that gospel orchestral outro that sounds like it’s been plucked from the mind of Future is to die for.

9

Straight away, we’re thrown into an anthem straight for the people of the ‘6’. This track finds Drake expressing how he’s flipped his hometown upside-down due to the crazy success of his career, this is why the track is called 9; he flipped the 6… pretty clever. The pride Drake carries for Toronto is very evident in his music, but to have it all packed into one song is something special. The production on this track is that classic drum beat snare we expect from Drake, plus whoevers decision it was to sample Movodo’s Dying as the hook for this track knew what they were doing. Fun little bit of trivia for you to, the tracks length is 4:16, which is also the area code for Toronto, cool right

U With Me?

This’ll be shipped to radio soon enough. Opening with a sick DMX sample “What these bitches want for a nigga?”, this track already is interesting considering DMX’s harsh words towards drake, that being said it really sets the tone. Noah “40” Shebib, who of course has produced half this album, had some help from the one and only Kanye West on this one. We see Drake questioning the loyalty of his girl and whether she’s really fucking with him or not. We have some memorable lines from this one “You toyin’ with it like Happy Meal” and the way he switches up his flow in the final verse serves so much life, it’s so unexpected and really makes it the stand out moment of this song.

Feel No Ways

The production on this track is stunning, the simplistic drum snare with such slight progression consisting the lushest of keys, leaving such a sexy 80’s slow jam. This song sees Drake telling the story of him and a previous lady friend of his that he let go, because their relationship consisted of them doing nothing with the day and this was holding Drake. “I had to let go of us to show myself what I could do” it’s a good thing he did leave this girl behind, look at the success he’s achieved by doing so. There’s a lesson hidden in this swarve cut from VIEWS, don’t surround yourself with people that hold you back.

Hype

Five tracks into this album and we’ve finally reached that ‘I’m-Drake-and-I’m-gonna-tell-you-how-great-I-am-you-better-feel-empowered’ standout moment. He seems to channel the flow and song structure of previous songs like this such as Summer Sixteen and Back to Back. This could be considered playing it safe by using a formula that he knows his audience loves. There’s no harm in it, but it would be great to see drake go H.A.M. in on a boy like on that first listen of Back to Back.

Weston Road Flows

THIS MARY J BLIGE SAMPLE IS GENIUS, MARY’S JOINT IS THE PERFECT SONG FOR DRAKE TO TAKE AND MAKE HIS OWN. This homage to Drake’s past as a child and seeing the development he’s grown into, the success and reaching new levels of the highlife. Weston Road is also the road Drake grew up on, which starts to bring this album together, it’s like a tour of Toronto, all the different areas and the areas these vibes bring. The Flow of his hometown really taps into the R&B routes. The flow on this is so clean and it just works so well, it’s clear to see why this is a fan favourite on the album.

Redemption

This is the first song on the album that actually hits hard, this somber number sees Drake open up about quite a bit on this one, what they all have in common though are former flames. He doesn’t hold back the details and truth, in fact he references it as selling his secrets “Sell my secrets and get top dolla / sell my secrets for a Range Rover”. He opens up about his issues with commitment and how it does hinder his creative flow through life. He also name drops some ex-lovers of his from Sydney, who left when he went missing, all the way to the infamous Erika, who sued Drake for using her voicemail in his magnum-opus Marvin’s Room.

With You

In contrast to the previous song, With You sees Drake teaming up with fellow OVO crooner PARTYNEXTDOOR, you know full well that when these two team up that it’s either going to end in a dance or a cry. Who knew they were aiming to both to happen. Over this dense production, we see the  crooners crooning about previous flames and all the good and bad times and how he still needs her in her life. It wouldn’t be a Drake album without the possessiveness over his exes now would it, at least he makes it good to listen to.

Faithful

It’s rare that a mix of feigned sensitivity and a real swagger can leave such a dynamic compound for a song, but Drizzy’s really nailed it on faithful. It focuses in on Drake’s patience on this girl to find her independence and him telling her that he’ll be faithful in the wait. This track features a snippet from an Amber Rose interview, where she discuses being high maintenance. It features a verse the late and great UGK, from Pimp C, which has been lifted off of the Tom Ford Remix. It also features Drake’s newest signee, dvsn, who carries this song to the end with that incredible falsetto; it’s bliss to the ears.

Still Here

The half way mark has been reached; this album really is a long one. With every album comes a filler track and I believe it’s been reached. Don’t get it wrong, the production on this song is bloody insane, the weird beats Drake gets for half of his songs are on a different kind of level, there’s a brilliant moment where the track just goes nuts. That being said, there’s only so much “Look at me, I’m in the rap game I’m good you know that” you can take from Drake. He has the career level to do it, but it just gets boring.

Controlla

When the tracklisting for VIEWS was posted, the first thing that was picked up on was the appearance of the incredible Controlla, a track that leaked at the end of March, which originally features dancehall legend Popcaan. However Popcaan has been scrapped from the album version and has been replaced by a sample of Beenie Man’s brilliant Tear Off Mi Garment. This dancehall flavoured cut from the album is just as good as it was when it leaked online. It’s once again another proclamation of Drake’s commitment to a girl, a very VERY frequent topic on this album. You can argue about how catchy this song is, it’s brilliant.

One Dance

If for some reason you haven’t this song yet, then you should really change that and change it very quickly. It’s perfected down to a tee, the Kyla sample; the merging of afrobeat and dancehall, the repetitive Wizkid production, there’s really no faults to be found with this one. The beat break during Kyla’s middle 8 sample is still one sure way to get moving in any club ever. With the right kind of music video, this has the potential to be as big as Hotline Bling and gain him his first number one.

Grammys

Fresh off the release off their collaborative effort What A Time To Be Alive, Drake and Future are back at it again with the club bangers. This one comes in the form of blissful Southside production and an ode to the Grammys. He looks back on his musical background and how he’s stuck with his old friends in the game and how he’s in the top 5 of all time. Future however has the genius hook here which consists of “They gon’ think I won a Grammy, I’m showin’ out, they can’t stand me” homing in onto the controversy behind the Grammys not honouring black artists.

Child’s Play

Why did this girl have to fight with Drake at Cheesecake, he loves it there. This song is pure brilliance purely because of it’s fun nature. 40’s really outdone himself on this one, the production is phenomenal, especially with that Ha-Sizzle sample, giving this track the joyous feel. The lyrical content of this track finds Drake telling his girl he’s going to treat her to all the good things if she does what he needs. It’s a fun filler track. Let’s face it, that cheesecake factory line really is the highlight of the song; brilliance.

Pop Style

Well the first thing you’d notice about this song is the very necessary absence of The Throne, Jay and Kanye. Now don’t get me wrong, Jay and Kanye are absolute legends, however their appearance on this track was very lacklustre. Jay’s two bar addition to this song was so unneeded and Kanye’s verse was alright, it was nothing special though. That being said the absence of these two has given this song a new light, it’s no stand out but it’s pretty good. Oh and surprise surprise it’s another track about Drake bragging about his success. Once again it’s cool, but not over and over again.

Too Good

Aubrih are back together again and someone needs to crack the secret behind their ability to create brilliant songs together again and again. This tracks about a couple that feel that the love they share towards one another is taken for granted. It’s island flavoured production makes it the distant cousin of their previous collaboration Work. There’s a lot of great lyrics within this song, the standout is “I got high off your expectations” as it really does some up most relationships and the word play is phenomenal. Rihanna sounds incredible and that Popcaan sample that closes out the song is the perfect song closer.

Summers Over Interlude

Although this interlude is short, it plays a crucial part in the structure of this album, which most listeners may not have clocked onto yet. This album plays out like the seasons in Toronto. We started with winter and the sound and style has slowly switched in the way the album progresses. Albums that take you on a visual journey are the ones that captivate the most, so when you’ve got a seasonal concept accompanied with Majid’s vocals, you can’t really find a journey more compelling.

Fire & Desire

Another sombre cut from the album. Fire & Desire sees Drake crooning over a girl that he has deep chemistry with, but she’s got her other guy, but he doesn’t buy it. Whether this is directed at a former flame of his past or a former flame in the public eye – hi Nicki  – is hard to tell, what isn’t hard to tell is how Drake nails this track entirely. The melodic raps being mixed in with the Brandy sample leaves this sultry R&B classic.

Views

This album comes to a close the same way it opened, with that sleek Maneesh production and Drake getting real on a heavier scale. Here he just lays out everything, he strips it bare for all to take in. He covers topics from his exes “My exes made some of my favourite music, I dated women from my favourite movies” and how he’s still running through the 6 – yes, still – but the stand out on this track is the closing line. We see Drake reach a new level of self-awareness and it’s quite the mic drop on the album “If I was you, I wouldn’t like me either”. What a journey, ey.

Hotline Bling

Weird that he included this as a bonus track. There’s not much to say about it really, it sticks out like a sore thumb on here, but let’s face it it’s still such a perfectly simple song.

 

Overall, Drake has overhyped this album. Now don’t get too aggressive all of a sudden, the album is – of course – incredible, Drake bought his A game and left us with a decent body of work. However, if he’s going to sit there, really hype this album up and to be at the level he’s at just to repeat the same safe formula, then it’s going to feel underwhelming. It’s a Drake album, it’s going to be good, going to have those bangers and the ones that make you think. He pushed the boat out slightly, but not enough for this album to stand out and be something to talk about for years to come.  You could argue that it’s the expectation that’s been left upon him, which is true, but if you’re going to play into that expectation you better make sure it lives up to it.

-Connor Spilsbury-Brown

Single Review : Moose Blood // Honey

Your favourite pop-punk brit boys have returned with a smashing new single, HONEY!

Side note, if I may: I find it incredibly difficult to label them “pop-punk” as they are not, at all, your typical Blink-182/The Story So Far type which are bands that entail all aspects of that genre. Moose Blood seem to be part of a complete sub-genre – agreeable to some aspect of pop-punk but which have a different touch to them, a slightly darker and rockier edge, which adds to their distinct sound and persona. With absolutely no disrespect to the pop-punk genre (I am a self-confessed fan of multiple bands under that label and that will undoubtedly not be changing anytime soon), maybe classing them as this does not do them enough justice or capture their true essence… Maybe they are, at heart, full-frontal emo (another term I am reluctant to use), part of the aesthetic which is the craze-of-the-moment: suppressing “dark souls” behind Marlboro cigarettes, pastel purples and Spotify repeats of The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot…

Providing their sound with a label is too much of a hardship to bare, so I’ll let you ponder that for yourselves.

The new (long-awaited) single is boisterous, charming and ultimately Moose Blood stamped – a catchy chorus is a pure talent of these boys and they most certainly have not disappointed. Lyrics of heartbreak and a pursuit of moving on, something again the boys again are not shy of providing us with, put with the loud chords and hearty drums form the restless and memorable rhythm. Triumphantly, contentedly and gladly – you know it’s them; it’s pushed right up in your face and is predominantly a mature-sounding, stand-out song.

Honey is undeniably a positive indication as to what we can expect on their second full-length album Blush, which is released August 5^th, and the boys really are at the top of their game – they also just concluded an entire sold out UK tour; to a high applaud. The whole “pop-punk” (there’s that word again) scene have been put into a frenzy due to these lads but even the most pretentious of the indie scene are aware of them – their increasing popularity only a result of their immense talent.

They cannot be ignored – so don’t attempt to try.

-Hattie Seabrook

Album Review : Violent Soho // WACO

Remember all those early 00’s late 90’s american MTV rock bands you listened to when you were 13? They all sounded the same and were just copping off the success of their better predecessors? Well Violent Soho are much the same but with an Aussie kick in the balls and several ‘Waco’s’ to the jaw.

Drawing influences from some of the biggest rock acts of the last two decades such as Blink 182, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer; Violent Soho are a straight up Alternative Rock band that pack some real bite. Waco strips the genre back to its basic roots with great riffs, catchy chorus’ and the standard two guitars, bass and drums four piece, all whilst managing to stay interesting. In an age where a lot of newer Alternative Rock bands lose substance/quality in favour of trying to sound authentic and original, it’s a refreshing breath of air to hear a band pull off this pure sound.

Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t like this band and album purely for the fact they’re/it’s a bit of a throwback, there’s far more than meets the eye. The 90’s are currently going through a huge revival on the underground scene with bands such as (Violent Soho’s Side One Dummy label buddies) Superheaven rocking a heavy grunge sound, plus countless bands, such as ‘Basement’, doing similar things on Run For Cover Records. In all this reviving though, Violent Soho really stand out as being one of the fewer number of bands rocking the sound as well as it’s godfathers did.

The first track ‘How To Taste’ has a head banging guitar riff and great chorus that sets the tone of the album brilliantly, every song follows suit. The songwriting throughout this album really is as consistent and on point as it gets, just deciding which tracks to list as stand out favourites for this review was hard. However Viceroy, Like Soda and Slow Wave are probably my 3 favourites.

Viceroy begins with a catchy bass riff and some shrill ‘Mac Demarco’ esc guitars before launching into an absolute beast of a chorus drenched in Luke Boerdam’s distinct aggressive vocal style. Just listening to the song flashes images into my mind of hair, bodies and sweat flying around a small grimy venue in a united ‘fuck you’ to everything, everyone and everywhere (a common reoccurring vibe on Waco).

‘Like Soda’ was the leading single off ‘Waco’ and on hearing it there’s no surprise as to why. With ‘we don’t mind, we don’t care, we’ll be here forever’ echoing as the lead lyric in this more melancholy track, it cements itself as a slacker anthem, and has you wanting to scream the lyrics every time you listen. The songs slow build works perfectly with a real eruption of energy as the whole band kicks in during the second verse.

There are a fewer slower moments in between ‘Waco’s’ chaotic riffs and loud chorus’ however. ‘So Sentimental’ has a more reserved and cleaner sound that leaves you head nodding rather than head banging. With some great vocal lines and lyrics it’s a nice little break from the usual chaos, overall it’s a really solid album track. ‘Low’ is the last and longest track on here, it comes from a much darker place compared to the rest of the album and is an interesting slower twist to end the record with.

Overall ‘Waco’ has a great vibe and I simply can’t say enough good things about it. If you like Weed, Barbecues, music that sounds like it was written in a garage and just some general kick ass rock music, this is really worth a listen. It’s a great representation of the Australian Rock scene, let’s just hope they make their first visit to Europe sometime soon.

-Tom Baran

Q & A : Fish

With less than a week to go until the Setlisted & In One Ear Presents event at Nambucca we caught up with the headline act.

For those who haven’t heard of you, can you tell us a bit about yourselves?

We’re a four piece rock band from Camden area, formed by Asha and Louis who went to secondary school together and then joined by Lincoln who skated with Asha in their teenage years and played in various bands before FISH. We played with Dead Pretties bassist Oscar Browne for a bit before Patrick joined our band, then we became FISH obvs.

 Who would you cite as your main influences?

We all like different kinds of music louis, Asha and Patrick like the same kinda dark guitar music, e.g Alex G, Elliot Smith, Nirvana, Radiohead, Cat Power also Amy Winehouse. Then electronic music/hip hop like James Blake, Pharcyd, Capital Steez all that 90s style boom bap and beatsy stuff. Patrick also likes metal but he’s weird and then obvs The Beatles. Lincoln likes a lot of groove music eg Fela Kuti and jazz stuff also Bob Dylan.

What are your plans for this year?

We’re just trying to play as many gigs in possible, hope to get out of London and tour and carry on recording.

What did you guys think about the Glastonbury headliners?

Coldplay are shit and Muse are shit but everyone knows that i think.

If you could add one famous musician to your band who would you go with? 

Alex G, we love Alex G.

Will you be at any festivals this year? 

Yeah we’re playing Tramlines in Sheffield with Dizzee Rascal, and then are hoping to play others Green Man line up is amazing… if you’re reading this green man drop us a line?

Are there any plans for an E.P this year? 

We’re working on it, trying to find the right sound and recording etc, don’t wanna release something nilly willy that were not 147% proud of ygm?

How was it supporting Wolf Alice at the Forum? 

Before we were feeling nervous and excited! Afterwards we were feeling happy and satisfied it went very well. Louis saw Snoop Dogg there for his first ever gig also it was a very surreal experience for everyone involved!

What can can people expect from the show at Nambucca? 

Expect groovy grunge and Louis and Asha trying to communicate to the crowd. We always play new songs but don’t do covers. Maybe we’ll do a cover of Something In The Way if ur lucky but probs not.

Fish are headlining Nambucca on April 12th! For £4 Entry post your name on the event page –  Facebook Event

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The Fat White Family, Wolf Alice and the Wider Issue of Apolitical Musicians

The Fat White Family often make headlines as one of the only bands in public eye to even try and voice a political opinion, which is fucked up when you think about it, right? These are fucking dark times, marred by the fact that we have a government actively waging war on young people, attempting to rob disabled people, and ultimately ensuring the quality of life drops in the country of Britain for the poorest and most vulnerable. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger, and all these cliches you’ve heard before have only become cliche because they’re so true that they bear reiterating over and over and over. In the 70s and 80s we had the same problem (in fact, it’s pretty omnipresent, but I’m taking a case study here), and musicians across the board chipped in to morally sway the public with their art. Obviously you had punk rock – the Pistols, the Clash, the Dead Kennedys; actively in-your-face raging about social hardships, channelling the apathy of the disenfranchised – but you also had left-leaning indie bands like The Smiths and the members of the Red Wedge collective, you had the birth of ska and two-tone, hip-hop, a variety of big hitting soul on such themes in the US, and so many artists in between.

Music can be seen as the barometer of social change, again, a cliche used so much because it’s true – so does the fact that the independent artists are choosing to be fiercely apolitical bring up any issues? Well, The Fat White Family think so; earlier they said that indie bands at the forefront of the culture should be more outspoken on social and political issues.

Wording somewhat provocatively, they said that “Slaves and Peace and Wolf Alice [are] drivel for nine year olds” who are “irresponsible” for not voicing political issues. From a personal point of view, this isn’t too bad at all is it – overly provocative yeah, but it’s a massive inescapable issue that bands just don’t talk about social issues. I can understand why people have problem with the delivery of that, but the thing is that there’s so much substance to what the Fat Whites are saying that underlies the provocation, so under the initial shock you should really sit up and take note. And those three bands are certainly the biggest culprits, Peace and Wolf Alice being the biggest little indie bands in the country and Slaves – we’ll get to them later, won’t we. Peace and Wolf Alice have over 70k twitter followers each, so obviously they’ve got so much potential to voice things to a big audience should they want to they can bring about plenty of little differences to make the world a better place. But do they? Nah, but it’s okay because they’re posting amusing photos of their members and selling things via the internet, which is lovely.

Hang on – I hear you say – who the fuck are the Fat White Family to say people should be more politically outspoken? They just want attention don’t they? Rebels without a cause? Well, actually, they’re voices for the working class, a band that act as a voice for the marginalised. They notoriously actively organise protests in London. They campaign against the closure of small venues. They use their social media to talk about the repulsive nature of the Tories. They even made the papers when they held a Death Party for Margaret Thatcher. The Fat White Family are genuinely some of the best boys in the whole fucking world.

Anyhow – you know it all already – Wolf Alice’s bassist Theo Ellis responded with “fuck off”, and there was a lotta backlash on social media. Media outlets covered it like it was some kinda major Blur/Oasis thing, which is symptomatic of a slow news day more than anything – it’s really quite cringey that media outlets go outta their way to impose these cliche narratives on bands ‘beefing’ each other when they’re just doing a fairly admirable thing by answering interview questions honestly.

It’s easy to see why Primary School Music Journalism outlets flocked to the juicy teets of cash cows Wolf Alice, poising the story like Angry Working Class Squatters ‘Fat White Family’ Were Beefing Their Sacred Calf. DIY and NME love Wolf Alice – they’re responsible for a lotta unit shifting, because – there’s no two ways about it – they’re more popular. People that read these publications religiously wanna hear about Wolf Alice and be told that their band are doing good things and being good people.

People on social media – by and large – from what I make out did the same, seemingly for the same reason. Y’know, it’s easy to see why Wolf Alice and Peace have this following. Their near formulaic written pop songs and accompanying indie aesthetic is basically as Radio 1 friendly as you can be without being Nick Grimshaw. Wolf Alice make nice music – it’s cool, you can see why it’s more popular amongst people with no grasp of politics than the Fat White Family, who incidentally make music that is rich in artistic merit, challenging and – without hyperbolising – seminal, one of the few artists actually voicing the apathy of the population and documenting these fucked up times with fucked up music. Anyway, maybe this isn’t the place for getting into a My Favourite Band Is Better Than Your Favourite Band, because the issue here has very little to do with musical competence.

But the thing is, despite the media sway, it’s not really like Wolf Alice are in the right at all is it? I mean, they’re in a position of absolute influence, and they’re scoffing at people that think they should be a bit more responsible with talking about social issues? It’s really reminiscent of David Cameron laughing at Jeremy Corbyn’s suit when there’s pressing matters at hand. Wolf Alice have been called out, and the best they can manage is “fuck off” – not great is it? Admittedly, Ellie Rowsell (singer/guitarist) said “There’s an element of truth in what they’re saying. But I don’t think they should call out other bands, you know?” And I think I’d say that that statement is fair enough, and really if you take all the actual things involved parties have said rather than the media spectacle you can kinda imagine Rowsell and the Fat Whites coming round to a nice agreement, really. What I’d say though, is that even though this has been blown outta proportion is that it is indicative of a wider problem in the music industry – young musicians just aren’t in any way rebellious anymore – even some ‘rebel without a cause’ cliches would be alreet right now. Rowsell said that maybe the band shouldn’t have scapegoated particular artists, but I think maybe it painted a more vivid picture of who these apolitical vessels of empty art are.

Slaves are a particularly bad example of this, and if I were an activist, or a punk musician, or both, doing my best to change the world, I’d be fucking pissed off with Slaves. This is partly why, you could say – to put it nicely – I am pretty fucking pissed off with Slaves. They regularly adorn the covers of magazines, words like ‘punk’ and ‘angry’ accompanying them. They were on the front of what I think may have been the last paid NME with the caption “we’re exactly what this generation needs”. Yeah, this generation – riddled by austerity and poverty – need some white guys from the home counties calling themselves Slaves (what a fucking stupid name, eh?) and writing depthless pastiched punk songs about negative female stereotypes. Yeah, they’re musically alright, but they call themselves a punk band, sound like the Sex Pistols watered down for Radio 1, and their only real attempt at a political song is the global warming song that goes “will [the scientists investigating it] give you back your donations or keep the paper stacks”, which doesn’t really make any sense when you think about it, although maybe it does sound political on first listen. Oh, and there’s one that goes “don’t trust the flies, they’re government spies”. No, This Is Not Spinal Tap, this is seriously their second most political lyric from their debut record. Other than that, the band’s material is all very Radio 1 friendly, and although yeah it’s decent fun guitar pop, it’s not too difficult to take issue with the fact that the band’s existence is seemingly a parody of punk rock, in a way that has no benefits for the politically oppressed. And if a punk band aren’t going to use their platform of up to 118k potential social media followers, surely we’ve got a fucking problem? Why are artists refusing to speak up for people in a rut? Why is it that so few bands are writing fucked up music for fucked up times. It’s no wonder that big indie bands are losing their appeal a bit to their traditional audience, and lots of disenfranchised pissed off white kids are choosing to listen to grime over other indie music or rock or whatever the alternative is. And when Slaves are this generation’s most popular ‘punk’ band, it’s hard to not jump on the bandwagon and call it the “21st century’s true protest music”, or whatnot.

Obviously, it’s up to bands to choose what they do with their position of influence in society. Let’s be honest, if people as obnoxiously middle class as Wolf Alice were to try their hardest to be politically enraged, it’s not like it’d be the most sincere gesture. But when as well as the fairly level headed lovely indie darlings Wolf Alice, the big fish of the indie music contingent that regularly make the pages of print magazines also includes people like Austin Williams (of subpar indie pop group Swim Deep) stating that it’s “not his job to sing about David Cameron”. Again, without being too judgemental, maybe it’s hard to imagine a white boy from the Midlands called ‘Austin’ sincerely rallying against poverty or the government or y’know, any political issue other than maybe marijuana legalisation. To be fair to him, he spoke up about tampon tax on social media, which is more than most bands. Peace, Slaves and Wolf Alice haven’t used their social media pages to even talk about anything political, seemingly. So it’s not like we’ve got people like David Byrne or Thurston Moore at the forefront of our culture, who although tending to separate art from politics, are fiercely vocal about issues facing us. The bands that the Fat White Family signalled out are genuinely saying nothing, nothing whatsoever – they and any other band deserve to be made an example of.

The overriding issue is that musicians – once a social group-cum-profession that were so adamantly vocal about social issues – are getting more and more and more lax on voicing social problems. And such is the culture that not only is it okay for musicians to be apolitical, never saying anything about life in an ever-bleakening world, where everything gets more Orwellian by the day, but whenever anyone takes issue with this they’re shut down, like the way the NME and DIY dealt with the Fat White Family. It’s not right. Social change needs to happen, and if music really is a barometer of social change it’s looking like we’re getting more and more self centred, we’re caring more and more about our own wellbeing than the wider issues facing our society – which sounds about right – but y’know, it’s not like it’s too late to turn it around, we just need more people to follow the shamanic, depraved moral compass that is the Fat White Family.

-Calum Cashin

Editor at Vapour Trail