Yellowcard - Southern Air - Album review
Words by :: Nicola Craig
Southern Air is the eighth studio album from Florida rock band Yellowcard. Released via Hopeless Records the album features guest vocals from Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low), Tay Jardine (We Are The In Crowd) and Cassadee Pope (Hey Monday)
I admit I wouldn’t rush out to get the latest Yellowcard release, but would Southern Air make my opinions of the band change? Read on and find out.
VersaEmerge - Another Atmosphere Preview - EP Review
Words by :: Nicola Craig
Florida duo VersaEmerge have recently given fans a treat in the form of Another Atmosphere Preview EP, providing tracks from the forthcoming album. The band had said they would be going for an outer-space type of sound, filled with electro and synth sounds and they most certainly have.
The three track EP is packed with sounds catching your attention from the word go, kicking off with No Consequences giving a taster of what is yet to come. With an infectious beat alongside Kusterbeck’s strong vocals a track worthy of plays on dancefloors across the world has been created.
William Beckett - Winds Will Change - EP Review
Words by :: Nicola Craig
Winds Will Change is the second EP release from William Beckett, previously known for being the vocalist of now disbanded The Academy Is…. Having fallen in love with Beckett’s first EP (Walk the Talk), I was obviously very excited to have a listen to this latest release and here’s what I thought about it…
Lead single Great Night is a catchy little number telling us the story of an evening which wasn’t as successful as hopefully planned. “I’ve had a great night, But this wasn’t it”. Packed with short sharp bouncy guitar chords and drum beats, it’s a song I could see myself singing late at night attempting to cheer myself up after a night not going to plan! It’s always a good sign when the first track on the release sticks in your head; however it was soon over taken by next track Warriors.
Miss May I - At Heart - Album Review
Words by :: Rachel Weber
Miss May I might have played it a little too safe with their recent full-length album, “At Heart”. Metalcore fans have been highly anticipating this album since the band’s release of “Monument” in 2011, and most have mixed opinions. It’s typical metalcore, with mostly screaming and a few lines of clean vocals. Compared to past albums, this one sounds increasingly generic. A band can’t succeed by remaking the same album over and over, but Miss May I could have made just enough changes.
The first single “Hey Mister” grabbed my attention and invited me to listen to more. It began with a new and interesting vibe that was still able to remind me of their past work throughout the rest of the song. Though as I went on, I heard more and more songs such as “Second to No One” and “Sirens Song” that seemed repetitive and boring.
William Beckett - Live Review - Mod Club, Toronto - May 12th 2012
Words by Pauline Nyguen
Last Saturday (May 12th), William Beckett played a show with Cara Salimando at the Mod Club in Toronto, Ontario, which I had the pleasure of attending and shooting! At seven ‘o clock, the doors opened to a crowd of about fifty people, which was much less than what I had expected, but this made the show even better because it was so intimate.
Cara Salimando played for about forty-five minutes, capturing the attention of everyone in the venue. Cara’s voice is beautiful, and without a doubt, she has gained a lot of new fans from Toronto. The crowd loved Cara and her heartfelt songs, along with her quirky awkwardness. Following Cara’s set, the stage crew brought out some interesting props: a bedside lamp, some candles and of course, William’s Macbook, which we soon found out held some interesting tracks.
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Luke Leighfield - New Season - Album Review
Words by:: Yasmin Johal
‘New Season’ is the 4th album by 24-year-old UK based singer-songwriter Luke Leighfield. Luke has had a busy few years writing and recording music, playing hundreds of shows around the world, and having his music feature on well-known TV shows including Football First and Made In Chelsea.
The pressure is on for this album to be his best work to date is, and personally, I don’t feel that it reached my expectations. The album is a good mix of slow orchestral songs and upbeat pop rock tunes, but the quick switch between the two genres is somewhat messy, breaking the flow of the record as a whole. Individually, most of the songs work as standalones, but together they seem a confused mix.
RadioDriveBy - On Your Way - EP Review
On Your Way is the second serving from Tempe pop-punks RadioDriveBy. This EP had a lot to live up to, in my eyes anyway, as their debut EP ‘Nothin’ But Better’ really packed a punch as a debut offering. Having interviewed the band’s guitarist Adam Simons, it was clear how proud that the band were of On Your Way and the whole writing and recording process, so I went into this with somewhat high expectations, and boy, were those expectations met.
First off, I was met with the lovely Desiree. From the get-go it was evident that these five boys from Arizona had definitely progressed since their debut EP, and have most definitely grown into their own sound. The chorus of Desiree is perfectly structured, from instruments to timing to melody to production, it’s that chorus that firmly implants itself in your brain and refuses to leave. The bass alongside the guitar interlude was a welcome surprise too, adding a ton more depth into the song. This track really reminded me of We The Kings debut in a way. It shows a lot of promise, and a real creative drive and passion within 3 minutes and 31 seconds.
Blessthefall - Awakening - Album Review
Words by :: Rachel D’Arcy
An album’s cover art says a lot about a record. It gives you the impression of what you’ll be listening to before it even reaches your ears, and the artwork for Blessthefall’s third full length, ‘Awakening’, is no exception. With the dark colors, the water effect surrounding the whole album and the image of a girl clinging onto a pocket watch for dear life represent the album well – a lot of dark riffs and vocals, it’s a decent length in time, and like water, it flows beautifully throughout and the lyrics are deep and meaningful, no matter the listener.
The title track serves as an intro to ‘Promised Ones’. At 1:40, it’s just the right length for an intro, and it builds up and up and chords and drums are added to flow right into the first full length track on the album. ‘Promised Ones’ gets straight into it in true Blessthefall style. Impressive guitar work, respectable chord changes and strong vocals compliment the strong lyrics. “We have nothing to lose” sums up the next few tracks, as the Arizona metalcore quintet really go all out.
‘Bottomfeeder’ has the classic breakdowns required from any band even vaguely associated with metalcore, and though the melody doesn’t differ entirely from ‘Promised Ones’, the lyrics are much that of a fighting song. They’re almost letting the world know that this is BlessTheFall, they always have been and no matter what, this is how they’ll always be. The third track on the album clashes straight into ‘I’m Bad News, In The Best Way’. Beau Bokan’s vocal and Jared Warth’s screams are shown in the best way possible here. This track could almost be summed up in the cover art – Rough at the start, it calms down into a soft melody and vocal in the middle, before building right back up again. There’s almost a hint of a pop-punk element to this track, which only adds to the song.
‘The Reign’ has less screamo and more melodic vocal during verses. The drums on ‘The Reign’ are superb, and show just how talented Matt Traynor is at his instrument. As with seemingly every track, it’s heavy on the break down and refrains, but there’s something to this track that made it stand out more than the others. The guitars are more melodic than compared to previous tracks on the album, giving it a softer edge and improving the overall track.
You Me At Six - Sinners Never Sleep - Album Review
Words by :: Rachel D’Arcy
With second album ‘Hold Me Down’ debuting at 5 on the British Albums Chart, Weybridge rockers You Me At Six were going to have to live up to the hype created on the follow up album, ‘Sinners Never Sleep’. With a dedicated fan base and a buzz around the band, You Me At Six made a shocking move in revealing that they’d be heading in a “heavier” direction with the new release. Fans were shocked to say the least, but when lead single ‘Loverboy’ was released, all their troubles were put at ease, or so they hoped anyway.
‘Loverboy’ is also the track that kicks off the album. It’s a track with a lot of radio appeal, and has a vibe to it you know would be brilliant live. The catchy “la-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum” intro and the guitar through, it’s universally appealing, while still satisfying their die-hard “Sixers”. This track wouldn’t be too different from tracks on ‘HMD’, making it a good choice for an intro track. It’s then straight into ‘Jaws On The Floor’ with its unusual, yet enticing intro. The verses on this track wouldn’t be out of place on ‘Hold Me Down’, but the guitars on the chorus, courtesy of Max Hayler and Chris Miller, are what set this track apart from their old material, especially in terms of chord progression. While it isn’t a stereotypical sing-a-long track, it would fit the job description of a single release from Sinners Never Sleep.
The first collaboration of the album, ‘Bite My Tongue’, is the third track on SNS. Working with Bring Me The Horizon screamer Oli Sykes on the track, a dark tone is set right from the intro. This track, in all honesty, isn’t anything entirely special from You Me At Six, which was slightly disappointing. It took a while to grow on me, and Sykes’ 40 or so seconds on the track were the highlight for me. Josh Franceschi’s vocals are well done through the track, but overall it was nothing outstanding compared to the rest of the album. The same can’t be said for ‘This Is The First Thing’. The drum beat from Dan Flint on this is one of the best on the album, as is the bass, due to Matt Barnes. The slowed down verses build up the chorus to be something you can imagine yourself jumping and headbanging to at a live show. It keeps some characteristics of previous YMAS tracks, with the build up to the chorus and crescendo as well as repetitive lyrics, a good decision on the boys part.
‘No One Does It Better’ could be called the ‘Tigers and Sharks’ or ‘Fireworks’ of the SNS, but that wouldn’t be comparison enough. Think ‘Tigers and Sharks’, with heavier guitars, more melodic and developed vocals, and drums along the line of those in ‘Fireworks’. The lyrics on ‘No One Does It Better’ set the tone for this track and make it similar to the softer tracks on previous YMAS albums, and make it one of my personal favourites on SNS. The intro of the wittingly titled ‘Little Death’ build it up to be something great, but once the verses slow down there’s a disappointment that there should have been more than that.
