Reviews

For any creative who has been honing their craft for a long period of time, it can sometimes be difficult to find growth and new avenues to express their art. So, when you have been a band for more than a decade, fans of your art may think they have seen everything you have to offer. But for Norwegian noise-rockers Årabrot, their ninth instalment 'Norwegian Gothic' is a culmination of everything they have worked towards and a sign that there is much more to come.

Despite all the artistic influences that naturally find their way into this album, The Snuts remain their biggest source of inspiration on 'W.L.'. A debut album of pure lyrical emotion and musical experimentation, W.L. encapsulates the band’s journey from four working class kids growing up with a dream in Whitburn, to becoming one of the UK’s most exciting and vital bands of the new decade.

Dry Cleaning’s debut full-length has been one post-punk fans have been waiting for ever since their first sniff of their debut EP back in 2018. So, does Florence Shaw’s observations of the world around her formulate into an album worth your time, or is the excitement for Dry Cleaning not justified?

When Saint Agnes were locked down the only way they knew to keep busy was by making music and so, 'Vampire' was born. A visceral gothic concept mini-album. They’ve invited us to join their coven, but do we want to listen to this album for our eternal life or not?

Brighton-based Black Honey have always been a band centred around dramatics and theatrics throughout their story telling music. Starting out in the scene back in 2014 as an excitingly eccentric four-piece, Black Honey burst into alternative music with their own brand of signature guitar sounds and wild western aesthetics, showcased on their dazzling self-titled debut album, released in 2018. Since then, this bad-ass band has gone onto becoming a big, bold and brave outfit in UK indie music, having earned a Top 40 album, toured the world with the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, and featured across prestigious festival line-ups. With their fiery sophomore album 'Written & Directed', Black Honey show no signs of slowing down their ascent to convey their cinematic vision.

It has been 10 years since Evanescence fans have heard any original music, but now the wait is finally over with 'The Bitter Truth'. The question is, is it worth the decade long wait?

Death From Above 1979’s combination of in-your-face dance punk with raw riffage is a sound that is uniquely theirs. Now onto their fourth record, 'Is 4 Lovers', the duo have taken their tried and tested formula and incorporated some experimental new sounds.

ERRA is a band that have seriously put the time in. The quintet have been consistently putting out solid slabs of progressive metalcore music, without ever pushing themselves to the front of the crowd. The band have clearly taken stock of what does well and have streamlined their sound to make things a lot more digestible. This is not to say that they have diluted their overall sound to an unrecognisable degree, but they have harnessed their strength and the result is their most captivating release to date.

'Elasticity' is a good mix of Serj Tankian’s signature vocal wails and captivating yet intriguing lyrics, as well as sounds you’d expect from both his usual solo material and System of a Down.

Aggression is quite often the source of inspiration and delivers a cathartic energy into a band's music, but it is rare that this aggression is channelled into every facet of a record. From the pure visceral vocals, the lyrical content and the instrumentation itself, Death Blooms have let their anger at the world consume every inch of their new record 'Fuck Everything', and the result feels like you've just gone 12 rounds with a heavyweight boxer.