Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Graphite Records
Website: www.inmeofficial.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/inmeofficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/inmeofficial
Rating:
InMe are one of, if not the most underappreciated band in Britain today. They’re consistently good live and haven’t put out a bad record to date. Quite frankly, they should have a far bigger following that they currently do. Having said that, I for one love the fact they still play in small and intimate clubs and venues. If they’re not putting on an epic show somewhere, then they’re busy writing or working on their side-projects.
Tags: InMe
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Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Barsuk Records
Website: www.phantogram.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/phantogram
Twitter: www.twitter.com/phantogram
Rating:
Phantogram are an electro duo, consisting of Joshua Carter and Sarah Barthel, and produce what they call “beat influenced indie pop”. And, in all fairness, it’s an accurate and fair description of their brand new EP, ‘Nightlife’.
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Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Mom+Pop Records
Website: www.reignofterror.tv
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleighbells
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sleighbells
Rating:
Sleigh Bells have described their new album as “effortlessly robust and heavier than any of the band’s previous output… the sonic equivalent of a beautiful shotgun to the head”. Honestly, this intrigued me. The Brooklyn based duo have re-entered the UK airspace with the follow-up, balls out rock/pop album, ‘Reign Of Terror’.
Tags: Sleigh Bells
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Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Holy Roar Records
Website: www.mourningafter.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lastwitnessuk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lastwitness
Rating:
Following on from the popularity of previous release, the ‘Give Up’ EP, London based hardcore outfit Last Witness have released their second LP; ‘Mourning After’. Despite being named by some as a ‘hype band’ for their merchandise being seen all over the UK hardcore scene, Last Witness have stepped up and delivered an extremely powerful album here.
Tags: Last Witness
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Release Date: February 19th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/boxerrva
Twitter: www.twitter.com/boxerrva
Rating:
Boxer are a four man punk rock band hailing from Richmond, Virginia and ‘Undertow’ is their ferociously catchy debut EP. Dirty riffs and hoarse throat – rupturing vocals make up most of the short but sweet five-track offering. This may sound typical of any other band that are making this sort of music at the moment, but Boxer have taken the fury and raw energy of punk and crossed it with rock instrumentals. So, instead of delivering a barrage of noise, it’s broken up into more manageable segments giving you some time to recover.
Tags: Boxer
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Release Date: February 17th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hillshaveeyes
Twitter: www.twitter.com/hhemusic
Rating:
Hills Have Eyes will have listeners hooked with their new full-length album ‘Strangers’ right from the start. Their short introductory song, ‘Purdah’, featuring the Pokemon battle music, draws you in from when you hit play before it reveals a typical metalcore guitar riff, the same one which leads you in to the rest of the album.
Tags: Hills Have Eyes
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Release Date: February 16th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tallerthantreesuk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tallerthantweet
Rating:
To the untrained ear, hardcore can sound like a load of noise; snotty, shouty vocals, a few distorted chords and a relentless beat. Simple. But, really, it takes a lot of moulding to create the right sound, to hone that punk attitude and to craft the songs with the right amount of passion, vitriol and infectious rage. As you can probably tell from the rating, somewhere along this process Teeside’s Taller Than Trees don’t quite hit the mark.
Tags: Taller Than Trees
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Release Date: February 14th, 2012
Label: Panic Records
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/breagnaofa
Twitter: None available
Rating:
Bréag Naofa may indeed be one of the most surprising bands around just now. With a name that doesn’t give much away, unless you’re up to scratch with Irish Gaelic translations, to which you’d get the words “Holy Lie”. However, upon hearing the first thirty seconds of this EP, you’ll probably have no idea what’s just attacked your ears, as this Seattle band have skullcrushing riffs aplenty.
Tags: Bréag Naofa
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Release Date: February 14th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nextstopatlanta
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nextstopatlanta
Rating:
Picking up this album and knowing nothing about Next Stop Atlanta, one would assume that from their sun-drenched, upbeat pop-punk, they hailed from the sunny southern states of America, not the humble lands of Preston, England. Their second six track mini-album opens with the eerie chiming of a music box over the sound of screeching sirens before the real party kicks in, launching to a high tempo, high energy slice of pop-punk perfection, titled ‘Always With The Drama’.
Tags: Next Stop Atlanta
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Release Date: February 14th, 2012
Label: InVogue Records
Website: www.bellehistoiremusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bellehistoiremusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bellehistoireKY
Rating:
With the weather shrugging off the clouds and cold of winter and an influx of festival announcements in recent weeks, thoughts have naturally turned towards summer. If you’re looking for a quick shot of sunshine in musical form, you could do a lot worse than listening to this début offering from Ohio’s Belle Histoire.
Tags: Belle Histoire
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Release Date: February 14th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theauditionband
Twitter: www.twitter.com/theauditionband
Rating:
Chicago pop-rockers The Audition are back after some changes in personnel and a departure from Victory Records. ‘Chapter II’ is a fitting title then, as the band enters the ever-enlarging wilderness inhabited by unsigned bands. For some, going it alone allows for control; for others, it signals a decline in relevance and quality. With this 6-track offering, The Audition are straddling a fine line. Sticking with the sound for which they’re known, ‘Chapter II’ harks back to days of old but doesn’t offer too much in the way of innovation.
Tags: The Audition
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Release Date: February 14th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dawnofashesofficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dawnofashes
Rating:
Dawn Of Ashes have proven to be a band with a peculiar progression musically to say the least, interchanging on a regular basis between melodic black metal and electronic, industrial metal. Their latest effort, ‘Farewell To The Flesh’, doesn’t veer too far from the latter, however, it does still manage to sound like pretty much one of the most disjointed EPs you will ever hear in your life.
Tags: Dawn Of Ashes
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