Release Date: February 27th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: www.mortad.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mortadmetal
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mortadmetal
Rating:
With female fronted metal bands seemingly on the increase, the so called ‘novelty’ is beginning to wear a bit thin. For the most part, this can only be a good thing, as the music is judged more on it merits than by the image of the outfit. Yet, of course, the comparisons with the heavy hitters such as Arch Enemy remain as common as ever, which is a slight issue for Mortad, as the impression we get from them is that they’re remarkably similar to the Swedish extreme metallers (albeit with nowhere near their songwriting aptitude).
Tags: Mortad
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Release Date: February 27th, 2012
Label: Century Media Records
Website: www.napalmdeath.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/officialnapalmdeath
Twitter: www.twitter.com/officialnd
Rating:
Extreme metal royalty in their own right, the twenty five year and counting career of Napalm Death has been astonishingly consistent. With such genre defining releases as ‘Scum’ and ‘Fear, Emptiness, Despair’ shaping what we will come to know as grindcore, the band’s fearsome, bludgeoning wall of noise sound may have remained unrelentingly vicious, yet it is maybe for this reason that it’s easy to forget that the Birmingham quartet have always found room to embrace the leftfield. This is no more apparent than on the band’s quite exceptional fifteenth effort, ‘Utilitarian’.
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Release Date: February 27th, 2012
Label: Columbia Records
Website: www.thetingtings.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thetingtings
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thetings
Rating:
The Ting Tings first exploded onto the UK music scene back in 2008, with the upbeat and fun number one single, ‘That’s Not My Name’. Since then, not a lot has been heard from the Manchester duo, until their latest release, ‘Sounds From Nowheresville’. And, to be completely honest, not a lot has changed.
Tags: The Ting Tings
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Release Date: February 25th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: www.emmaelizabethmusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emmaelizabeth5
Twitter: www.twitter.com/emmaelizabeth5
Rating:
The young singer/songwriter Emma Elizabeth, originally hailing from London, hosts a clear talent for composure and performance. Her most recent EP release, ‘The Coldness Of Winter’, is a laidback and modest approach to modern acoustic driven music. There appears to be an already firmly set trademark in Elizabeth‘s work, in which she will alternate between two notes, much alike that of Snow Patrol or Benjamin Francis Leftwich.
Tags: Emma Elizabeth
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Release Date: February 24th, 2012
Label: Unsigned
Website: www.bloodinvenice.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bloodinvenice
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bloodinvenice
Rating:
Italian three-piece Blood In Venice started off their careers as part of a Muse tribute act, but soon realised their potential and set off on their own to show us just what they are capable of with their new EP, ‘Let The Drama Begin’. Telling stories of “forbidden romance, regret and denial, impossible passion, beauty and death”, it’s safe to say that these newcomers weren’t kidding about with the title of their EP, and with topics like this, the poetic, Shakespearian sounding band name makes perfect sense. Across this record they manage to bring their previous influences inspired by genre heavyweights Muse, but mix it with their own theatricality to produce a solid sound and a sturdy base to move on from.
Tags: Blood In Venice
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Release Date: February 21st, 2012
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Website: www.ournameisfun.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ournameisfun
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ournameisfun
Rating:
Without question, the recent success of fun.‘s single ‘We Are Young’ has been nothing short of phenomenal. Topping the Billboard chart for six consecutive weeks and breaking digital download records left right and centre, the pop community has really got behind their ultra-sugary brand of pop with gusto.
Tags: fun.
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Release Date: February 21st, 2012
Label: Saddle Creek
Website: www.cursivearmy.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cursive
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cursivetheband
Rating:
Indie rock is a very hit and miss genre. If you want to take the mainstream route, you’ve got bands like Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand that provide some simple yet enjoyable songs. Beneath the cardigan clad surface though is the ‘proper’ indie rock, if you will, populated by hipsters galore. It’s here then, that you’ll find Cursive, now on their seventh full-length album, entitled ‘I Am Gemini’, which I’m told follows a familiar pattern of twins separated at birth, eternal struggle between good and evil, meeting later in life at some arbitrary point. It’s one that’s been done many times before, and one that will be done a lot better than ‘I Am Gemini’ in the future.
Tags: Cursive
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Release Date: February 21st, 2012
Label: Rise Records
Website: www.cheapgirls.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheapgirlsmusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cheap_girls
Rating:
Cheap Girls make a big noise. This trio of unassuming rockers may look unremarkable on paper; another generic rock band pedalling thick grooves with pop-punk sensibilities, but it will only take one spin of the peculiarly-titled ‘Giant Orange’ for their unique and enjoyable brand of music to get under your skin and deep in to your head.
Tags: Cheap Girls
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Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Distiller Records
Website: www.stspirit.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stspirituk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/stspirituk
Rating:
South London boys St. Spirit have released their debut EP, ‘Pigeon’, a record that showcases a brand of indie-rock that is increasingly becoming more popular, and quite rightly so. Opening title-track and first single ‘Pigeon’ is one of the strongest tracks on the record. Although, topically, it is quite odd (in case you were wondering, the title is not metaphorical – it is about a pigeon), there are some great lyrical moments. Beginning with the gentle plucking of the guitar over subtle percussion before vocalist Myles McCabe‘s voice chimes in, the track steadily builds up into an energetic well-composed slice of indie rock that sets the EP off with a bang.
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Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Epitaph
Website: None available
Facebook: www.facebook.com/themenzingers
Twitter: www.twitter.com/themenzingers
Rating:
Punk is a rapidly morphed and evolved genre these days and can be found in all sorts of mongrel forms. One deviation that is particularly difficult to nail down is power punk; if it’s too grimy and raw and it’s almost hardcore, and if it’s too soft and clean then it’s pop-punk. The Menzingers have got it just right by taking it back to its earliest form. A combination of heartfelt lyrics sung with both gravelly undertones and crystal clear pitch complemented with power chords make up their new album, ‘On The Impossible Past’.
Tags: The Menzingers
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Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Hopeless Records
Website: www.silversteinmusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/silversteinmusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/silverstein
Rating:
Silverstein are a hard-working, hard-touring band whose commercial success peaked a few albums ago and with 12 years practice and five full-length albums under their belts, Silverstein have decided to throw a curve ball into the mix and release a collection of 22 songs, all of which total at less than 20 minutes, aptly titled ‘Short Songs’.
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Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Label: Island
Website: www.azariandiii.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/azariandiii
Twitter: www.twitter.com/azariandiii
Rating:
Azari & III. Can be filed under many genres of dance renaissance, but you’d more than likely find them under H (for house – vintage and neo) and even R (for rave), so if those offshoots of dance sound like something you’d be interested in having a listen to, then pop into the filing cabinet that’s better known as the internet and check them out. You’d be forgiven for thinking Azari & III is made up of two DJs – it would make more sense, after all – but the group’s actually made up of four people. These are Alixander III (decks), Dinamo Azari (decks) and two vocalists, Fritz Helder and the fantastically named Starving Yet Full. So, the weird name finally makes sense. The two sound merchants play under those names, so why not name their band after them? Sort of makes sense.
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