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Instores Now! |
CHRIS
WALLA - FIELD MANUAL [ARCHITECTURE]
Better known as in-demand producer to names
like The Decemberists, Tegan & Sara and more, as well as the
guitarist for indie-rockers Death Cab For Cutie, Chris Walla unleashes
some of his solo material on this album. Bright and catchy tunes
are what he serves up, and the good thing being they aren't overproduced.
Given he is a highly rated producer himself he has steered away
from using too much studio trickery and the songs have a nice natural
feel and become memorable for their delivery and not just because
it sounds good. There is a bit of a political tone when you look
into the lyrics, lots of lyrics about real world situations make
the songs easy to relate to, without being in your face. General
tone of the album is upbeat and glowing, fans of Death Cab will
dig it, and i'm sure a lot of general power-pop listeners will also
jump on board. A very solid album.
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Instores Now |
VARIOUS
ARTISTS - FAST FORWARD - VOLUME TWO [UNIVERSAL]
A Triple J listeners wet dream is this 2cd
compilation loaded with "Indie Trax", lightening the carry
load of every second "club dj" around the place, as all
they'd need do is bring this cd along, rather than their bag load
of discs, press play and all the popped collar trendies in the 'alternative
clubs' can dance away to the popular singles as opposed to going
out and actually watching the bands. There really isn't too much
that appeals to my ears on offer, though if you do frequent these
kind of clubs, then you are probably already frothing at the mouth
to pick this up. Songs from The Hives, Gyroscope, Josh Pyke, Old
Man River and Tegan And Sara are about the only ones that stood
out of the 43 on offer. There were no new 'discoveries' just a lot
of action for the "skip" button.
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[WEBSITE]
- Available Through Universal -
Instores Now |
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| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Available Now!
Limited Edition includes Bonus DVD |
BULLET
FOR MY VALENTINE - SCREAM AIM FIRE [SONYBMG]
I must admit I hadn't given this band too
much time of day in the past, so when i put this one in and was
instantly getting right into it, I was pleasantly surprised. While
the metal heads will probably be having a go at them for not being
tough enough (but secretly crank it when they're mates aren't around).
Those who like a bit of heavy guitar driven action without all the
constant screaming will lap this up. The production is immaculate
as is the playing, plenty of awesome moments of shredding and bashing
going on, all the while it's sealed in a nice package of melody.
Well balanced overall to create a result that should only see their
popularity increase tenfold without them taking the cheesy commercial
route to do so, or straight out rip other bands off. They've taking
obvious influence from Metallica and Iron Maiden and thrown in their
own touch to produce a sound that so many only dream they could.
Very solid album from start to finish that will only do good things
for this band very much on the rise.
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Available Now! |
PROMISE
OF REDEMPTION - WHEN THE FLOWERS BLOOM [I
SURRENDER]
Promise Of Redemption is Shane Henderson from
pop-punk outfit Valencia playing acoustic tunes. A very personal
album as this one is about and dedicated to the memory his girlfriend
Dana who passed away in 2006. He kicks off the album with a little
introduction piece to say "this is my way of getting through".
Sounding very much like early Dashboard Confessional, the raw emotion
really shines through in the songs that are very well written and
extremely well delivered. He has a great voice for this type of
music and because of that you don't find any boring or samey type
moments on here. A very personal record given an extra personal
boost with a note from Shane included, as well as a signed cover
and a packet of flower seeds. Something unique, yet so fitting for
this album. Well worth checking out if you like passionate, well
written acoustic tunes.
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Available Feb
11
Pre Order now for FREE SHIPPING! |
MAE
- SINGULARITY [CAPITOL]
This is the third full length album from Mae
who hail from Virginia, USA. Touring as part of the Soundwave lineup
this month has obviously allowed this album a local release, a good
6 months after it came out in the US. Enlisting big name producer
Howard Benson to record this album the band offers a commercially
friendly power-pop sound. A sound that has been done a thousand
times over which makes it hard to find that point that has them
standing out from the pack. They juggle between ballads and 'almost'
rock songs but fail to really stamp their mark on the sound. You
can have all the studio tricks to make things sound perfect, but
when the songs lack hooks, no-one will stand up and take notice.
You can sit and listen to these songs playing lightly in the background
and no-one will complain, but listen close and nothing is memorable
enough to really make you want to listen over again, perhaps it
will be better live, you'll get the chance to catch them later this
month.
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Available Now! |
ENTER
SHIKARI - THE ZONE [PIAS RECORDINGS]
If our ears weren't poisoned enough by their
'Take To The Skies' album, then this one will ensure the job is
complete. A bunch of rare, remixed and demo tracks from the band
who try to fuse dance music with screamo and whatever else you might
want to call it. The result, is well, as bad as that mix sounds
on paper. Screamo these days is bad enough as it is without having
listen to it with a bunch of dance beats behind it. Given that half
the tracks are only demos, it makes it all just that much more painful
to digest. I'm all for bands trying their hand at new things, but
on this occasion it just doesn't work and sounds like a mash of
everything awful you can think of thrown into a blender. Only a
couple of dollars less than a full length album for 8 tracks, most
of which demo quality is pretty poor form too.
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Available Now! |
JACK
JOHNSON - SLEEP THROUGH THE STATIC [BRUSHFIRE]
The perfect example of 'in the mood' music
is Jack Johnson. There are times when you can listen and get right
into the smooth, chilled out sounds, and there are times when it
all sounds exactly the same as the song before it and it just doesn't
work. There isn't much to it, for the most part it's just man and
guitar, occasionally a few more instruments will drop in and boost
the sound. The pace of the album is pretty steady throughout, so
be set for a slow pace across the board, and if you aren't in the
mood for that, then you are going to struggle with the album as
a whole. Songwriting is quality, as is the delivery, there's a reason
why he's up there at the top of his genre, while I reckon there
are better out there, it's not a bad album and will keep fans happy.
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|
| THE
BEER SCALE |
| |
Beer
is good, this though, was not. |
|
Like
a match with no head, didn't spark a flame. |
|
Not
bad, give it a go, might appeal to you. |
|
Solid
effort, worthy of a spot in your collection. |
|
The
beer can wait, go buy this now! |
| |
Don't
just take our word for it, our thoughts aren't the be all and end
all and are just that, our thoughts, go check out these new releases
for yourself and make up your own mind! |
| UPCOMING
RELEASES |
FEBRUARY
4 - Horrorpops - Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill
[Order]
4 - Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The
Static [Order]
4 - The Loved Ones - Build And Burn
4 - Isis - Holy Tears
4 - Gyroscope - 1981
4 - Extortion - Sick
4 - Sacred Cowboys - 1982 - 1985 [Order]
4 - Gaslight Anthem - Senor & The
Queen [Order]
4 - Various - Change! [Order]
4 - Chris Walla - Field Manual [Order]
9 - Bob Mould - District Line [Pre-Order]
11 - City And Colour - Bring Me Your
Love
11 - Jim Ward - Quiet [Pre-Order]
11 - The Reason - Things Couldn't Be
Better
11 - Scary Kids Scaring Kids - S/T [Pre-Order]
11 - The Getaway Plan - Other Voices,
Other Rooms
11 - Bullet For My Valentine - Scream,
Aim, Fire [Pre-Order]
11 - Cradle Of Filth - Harder, Darker,
Faster [Pre-Order]
11 - Various - Soundwave 2008 [Pre-Order]
11 - Lior - Corner Of An Endless Road
[Pre-Order]
16 - Down To Nothing - Unbreakable [Pre-Order]
18 - Time Again - Darker Days
18 - Boys Like Girls - S/T [Pre-Order]
18 - Isis - Not In The Rivers
25 - Receiving End Of Sirens - The Earth
Sings Mi Fa Mi
25 - The Dear Hunter - Act II: The Meaning
Of....
25 - Envy On The Coast - Lucy Gray
25 - My Disco - Paradise [Pre-Order]
MARCH
3 - Our Last Night - The Ghosts Among
Us
3 - Billy Bragg - Mr Love And Justice
3 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig,
Lazarus, Dig!!!
3 - Die! Die! Die! - Promises, Promises
8 - As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions
10 - Gyroscope - Breed Obsession
10 - Moneen - DVD
10 - Presidents Of The USA - These Are
Good Times People
10 - Her Nightmare - Come Anarchy, Come
Ruin
10 - Less Than Jake - Losers, Kings..
[Re-Issue]
10 - Less Than Jake - Pezcore [Re-Issue]
10 - Less Than Jake - Goodbye Blue &
White [Re-Issue]
10 - Less Than Jake - Peoples History
Of [DVD Re-Issue]
10 - Jeff Buckley - Live From The Road
[CD/DVD] [Pre-Order]
15 - The Matches - A Band In Hope
17 - Spazzys - Title TBA
17 - DeVotchKa - A Mad & Faithful
Telling
17 - Mike Patton - Title TBA
22 - Millencolin - Machine 15
22 - Even - Even [Pre-Order]
29 - Pennywise - Title TBA
31 - Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights Of
America
APRIL
7 - Bad Religion - New Maps Of Hell [Deluxe
Edition]
21 - Story Of The Year - Title TBA
Details are correct to the best of our knowledge
at time of publishing, some titles might hit shelves 2-3 days before
the published release date, if you have a date to submit or correct,
email us! |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| UNPAID
DEBT - ANNANDALE HOTEL - 02/02/08
There was no shortage of people caught short when the Sold Out sign
was put up before doors even opened at the Annandale for the final
stand by Sydney punk stalwarts Unpaid Debt. Some went off elsewhere,
others tried their luck doing the dash between bars whenever it
looked like security were distracted then bolted to the stage and
didn't move for fear of being caught. The crowd had been warmed
up by the earlier bands, Reason Strikes from Wollongong, Epic Flagon
from Canberra and The Disables from Brisbane. But it was Unpaid
Debt everyone was here to see, one last time.
Chants were developing well before the screen was raised and the
room was well and truly at capacity when it lifted and a flurry
of fists were raised as the set began. It didn't take long for bass
player Harry to make his token visit above the crowd while the others
made use of every cm of the stage as they made their way through
over 20 tracks from their various releases over the years including
old favourite's like 'Satan's Rollerblades', 'I'm So Happy I Could
Shit' and 'At The Tav' which was good to hear despite the occasional
forgotten lyric.
Songs from their 'Broken Hearts, Broken Bones' ep and 'Southern
Cross Bones' album got the best showing, a couple of covers of Dragon
and U2 songs were there, a planned Bouncing Souls cover scrapped,
as The Disables played it in their set earlier, those up the front
singing along to every word providing some of the loudest backing
vocals heard in the venue. Despite a few dickhead's who didn't last
long looking for a bit of biff the mosh remained active and deep
for the hour and a quarter set, no doubt there were plenty of sore
muscles the next day.
On stage the band didn't skip a beat and put on one of the best
performances i've seen them play over the years, the mix out front
was perfect and you'd be hard pressed to find any of the 500 people
in attendance disappointed, as the set ended, everyone stuck around
for the final stand, the encore. After 8 years and many releases
it all came down to 'Verity' and 'Safe Like Dynamite', and then
it was over. Sydney is down another quality punk band, and a whole
lot of whoa's as they walk off the stage one by one.
A perfect ending to a long running band, you cannot do much better
than selling out one of Sydney's finest venues, with a crowd made
up from people from all parts of the country represented. It's safe
to say they went out on top.
To those who were turned away or couldn't make it, look out for
it all on DVD in the future. It'll be well worth picking up once
released. |
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