Reviews

After what is sure to be one of their most successful tours ever, supporting Canadian mastermind Devin Townsend, Haken return with a new studio offering, in the form of 'Virus'. Recorded in secret this new album serves as a follow-up to 2018’s Vector, with the events taking place twenty years afterwards. So, shall we return to Mountview Institute?

The 1975 aren’t a band to do things by halves and their fourth album, 'Notes On A Conditional Form', is a fine example of this. Chiming in at over eighty minutes long and twenty-two tracks in length, it has provided the perfect platform for sound experimentation as we see rock, pop, hip-hop and even house tracks make an appearance. After a number of release date delays, do good things really come to those who wait?

PATRÓN, the new project of Lo, previously of Loading Data, is a curious melting pot of influences, from fifties rock ‘n’ roll to ‘80s synth pop. Carried by the instantaneously recogniseable vocals of Lo (aka PATRÓN himself), this band have their sound absolutely nailed, but are frequently let down by repetitive, and at times, uncomfortable lyrics.

An immediate, energetic onslaught of hardcore noise is what the new CAPRA release brings to the table. Fronted by the formidable Crow Lotus, this band are taking no prisoners on their self-titled EP.

Flamboyant art-rock trio Palaye Royale have ramped up the musical theatrics for their long awaited third studio album, 'The Bastards'. As far as record release cycles go, The Bastards era by comparison to its counterparts, 'Boom Boom Room (Side A)' and 'Boom Boom Room (Side B)', has been a challenging campaign so far. From tackling troubles with UK venues, to facing the cancellation of the UK/EU run as a result of the current COVID-19 outbreak, overall it’s been a turbulent time in the run up to 29th May. However with successful pop-up shops, some Palaye in the parks and several shows under the belt, the band have defeated these difficulties, as Remington Leith, Sebastian Danzig and Emerson Barrett of Palaye Royale have produced an adrenaline fuelled rock n’ roll record with 'The Bastards'. 

Your favourite punk uncle Jeff Rosenstock has added a surprise release to a lockdown full of surprises, but is 'NO DREAM' what we all need to brighten up the solitude?

In the decade since their debut album, Caligula’s Horse have proved themselves time and again to be a force to be reckoned with on the Australian prog-metal scene, and indeed, the world. This latest offering, 'Rise Radiant', sees them master their sound, step back, and reap the rewards of their labour.

SURPRISE! Can’t Swim have released a secret EP, however it's no surprise that these revisits are excellent. As far as lockdown projects go, this is one of the most imaginative efforts and shows the technical prowess of Can’t Swim as musicians.

There’s always been bands, like Pendulum or The Prodigy, who have forged dance elements with guitar music to create an explosion of both sound and energy, but the line between rock and electronic has recently become even more blurred. Turning to computer generated effects has become commonplace for everyone from Silverstein to The Used and with their third album 'GLUE', Boston Manor joined the ranks. 

While far from being an objectively bad album, 'Afterburner' ends up suffering from some less than memorable songs, which hinder this otherwise great, and quite experimental, ninth Dance Gavin Dance record.