Touché Amoré - Stage Four

Jeremy Bolm's Loss Contributes To Best TA Album Yet

Touché Amoré are a band that have become a huge influence in Post-Hardcore, since their formation just under a decade ago.

Touché's sound is probably the most iconic in the modern hardcore scene; featuring loud, noise-driven guitars and the emotionally charged lyrics being screamed out by front-man Jeremy Bolm. Bolm's lyrics are also a trademark of Touché's music, Bolm is very confessional with his listeners, and he delivers words that offer a guiding light for those suffering from depression, anxiety or self-hate.

Touché's first two albums, 2009's To The Beat Of A Dead Horse and the phenomenal 2011 release Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me, portrayed someone in a struggle to live with themselves, stuck in a spiral of anxiety and worthlessness, through a range of claustrophobic riffs combined with the desperate screams from Bolm, which stand as a cry for help.

'Stage Four' takes a step away from the themes of self-despair and takes a look at another specific story from the mind of Jeremy Bolm.

In 2014 His mother passed away following a long battle with cancer, the loss broke Touché's front-man who was only left with the memories of the final years he had with her. These memories have become the songs on 'Stage Four', Touché Amoré's finest work yet.

The album sees the guitars take a more melodic-inspired shift over the previously utilised noise, and Bolm's passion is captured perfectly in tracks 'Water Damage' and 'Palm Dreams'  where Bolm employs clean vocals, reminiscent of what you'd hear from Sunny Day Real Estate or The World is a Beautiful Place, not glamorous by a long shot, but powerful enough to get the meaning across.

'Eight Seconds' is, without a doubt, the most powerful track on the album, capturing the moment Bolm found out about his mother's passing, whilst on-stage in Gainsville. It's a more traditional Touché Amoré track, clocking at 1:30, but it packs a huge punch in the despairing message of loss and existential pain. It also makes for a beautiful transition into 'Palm Dreams' where Bolm re-visits his mothers home, this track also features some of the finest guitar work by the band in their, almost, 10-Years of existence.

To summarise. With 'Stage Four'  Bolm has not just brought the memories of his mother to life for all to experience, he's also gave her a new lease of life as a martyr for all of us to find comfort within. And for that I say Thank You.

9/10

POST HARDCORE / SCREAMO / MELODIC HARDCORE

FAVE TRACKS: Displacement - Eight Seconds - Water Damage
LEAST FAVE TRACKS:

HECK - Instructions

UK's Most Exciting Hardcore Band Release Long-Awaited Debut

Heck are a Nottingham based Speed/Hardcore band, before this full-length release they had the 2012 EP 'Oche' under old name "Baby Godzilla". During late 2013 and early 14 they started releasing new material under the same alias to go into an upcoming début. But at around summer last year all their social accounts, as well as Apple Music and Spotify content, were taken down. It was reported that the Japanese company that owned to naming rights to Godzilla sent them a legal order to change their name. So after a year that's been pretty HECK-tick (sorry, I had to...) and moving an initial release date from October 2015 to early 2016, we finally have a Heck full-length album.

As a record, 'Instructions' perfectly captures Heck's sound at this very moment in time, whilst they stay true to their very loud and destructive sound. It's incredibly raw and, on many occasions, very mathcore-esqe. Tracks like 'A Great Idea Bastardised', 'Don't Touch That Dial' and 'The Breakers' all have heavy, tempo-changing riffs that manage to make the best of the time they have (á la Dillinger Escape Plan), without having to resort to the generic features of the genre like recycled breakdowns. And lyrically I'd throw comparisons to Mongol Horde (if you don't know who, then listen to them, they're awesome).

To summarise, 'Instructions' is a cracking début by a band who know exactly where they are and what they're doing. From start to finish this album never holds back, and it certainly doesn't stick around. Even though Heck have quit their old habit of tracks that never hit the three-minute mark, they still know exactly how long to leave their tracks, and their concluding 16-minute masterpiece is no different.

8/10

HARDCORE / SPEED METAL /MATHCORE

FAV TRACKS: Don't Touch That Dial - The Breakers - Great Hardcore Swindle
LEAST FAV: Mope  

The 1975 - I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it

Total Change Of Sound In The 1975's Latest Release

In a recent Twitter spiff with indie band Reverend and the Makers, The 1975's frontman, Matty Healy (@truman_black), claimed "We make music for TODAY". This is a statement that I struggle to find evident at all in their latest album.

To put it simply 'I like it when you sleep...' is nothing more than a nostalgia trip through the era of sugarcoated, ambient electropop (that's the 80's by the way...). Sadly the record itself offers nothing new to a sound we're all familiar too. Oh and it's 74 minutes long too.

Now usually, for an album to last over the 60-70 minute mark it needs to be full of rich and memorable tracks, with little to no "filler" or the generic "boring album track". Maybe have a concept to keep the listener hooked (e.g To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar), or blend a mix of genres and influences to create interesting and, maybe, less heard sounds (Swans - To Be Kind).

Credit where credits due, The 1975 do throw some very Don Broco-like alt rock (because that was SO amazing) into the mix in an attempt to blend sounds, best example being 'Love Me', a very upbeat track that resembles a Duran Duran B-side (I mean that in the nicest way possible).

Unfortunately though, the album is just boring as hell. 'UGH' sounds horrific in every way possible, from the annoying, gaspy vocals to the most generic "funk" instrumentals that sound almost identical to 'Love Me'.  

'Lostmyhead' is a bland attempt at shoegaze featuring horrifically cringey "minimalist" lyrics, whilst 'Please Be Naked' is a rather pathetic instrumental to put it kindly. 

Summing up. it's actually quite sad to see how far The 1975 have fallen since their early material and impressive debut album. But who knows, maybe the Manc lads are experimenting with all kinds of sounds right now. God knows what we''ll get next, hopefully it'll help us forget this ever happened.

2/10

ALT ROCK / FUNK / ELECTROPOP

FAV SONGS:

LEAST FAV SONGS: - UGH - Lostmyhead -

MONEY - Suicide Songs

MONEY Find Pleasure In the Darkest Depression

MONEY are a band who's music tends to focus on the darkest oblivion. Their debut in 2013 saw them uphold the melancholic tradition that is held true within the indie scene of Manchester (re: the Smiths and Joy Division). And their follow up is no different.  

To describe the music on this album I'd have to throw comparisons to the rich and fruitful instrumentals of Pink Floyd (it's a big name to be compared to, but MONEY give off strong vibes), especially in tracks 'I Am the Lord' and 8-minute long, middle mark 'Night Came', which is a fantastic listen and a runaway success as a longer length track. 

Lyrically I'd throw names out like; The World is a Beautiful Place, especially their earlier releases. 'I'm Not Here' is a track that stares down the inevitability of death to the point where this track seems like it's coming from the mind of a man with Coutard's Dellusion (Google it) vocally this track is absolutely beautiful too. 

'Suicide Song' is the shortest track on the album. Clocking in at only 2 minutes long, it is very eerie in its brief presence, instrumentally backed up by an acoustic guitar and harmonising brass instruments, the lyrics seemed to be aimed directly at the listener, or someone in particular, and is a song that definitely stuck with me when the record concluded. 

MONEY take you deeper into their dark and desperate sound with 'Suicide Songs'. With lyrics that are more poetic than ever and their most colourful instrumentals yet. This has to be strong Mercuary Prize contender. 

9/10

INDIE / DREAM POP / ART ROCK

FAV TRACKS: I'm Not Here - Night Came - Suicide Song

LEAST FAV TRACKS:

Basement - Promise Everything

Nothing New From Returning Favorites

Back in 2012, Basement crushed the majority of the UK's Post-Hardcore scene by announcing their break up, this coming months after their breakthrough album 'Colourmeinkindness' saw the group incorporate more shoegaze, indie and emo aspects to their grungy, modern-rock sound. The album's musical quality mixed with vocal skills and tattoo-worthy lyrics gave the album 'Masterpiece Status'. So it's no surprise that they were welcomed back with open arms in 2014 when they announced a comeback.

Basement's return record 'Promise Everything', is everything we've heard from the Ipswich fivesome, and a little less. Every song seems to rotate around the same grungy guitar chords, there's only a couple of real highlights in the whole album. The melody-lead single 'Aquasun' which also signals the album's lyrical and vocal highlights, is probably the best track on here. 'Oversized' shows a very Weezer-esqe sound, with soft guitars and calming vocals, this track is probably furthest away from the dull nature of the surrounding record.

So to sum it up, Basement's return is nothing short of a huge let down, but god knows how much their droves of tumblr fans adore it.

5/10

ALTERNATIVE ROCK / POST-HARDCORE / EMO INDIE T'ING

FAV TRACKS: Aquasun - Oversized

LEAST FAV TRACKS: Hanging Around - Lose Your Grip - Halo

Fat White Family - Songs For Our Mothers

Distasteful, Shocking But Just A Bit Boring Too

'Songs For Our Mothers' is the second album by South London's ever controversial, Fat White Family, a band who have made a name for themselves by whipping their cocks out onstage, calling Lee Oswald (Martin Luther King Jr's assassin)  a "Good Man" in one of their songs and, more recently, threatening to join ISIS if Mac DeMarco kept making music. Shenanigans aside, the Fat Whites make some great music too. Their previous album 'Champagne Holocaust' is a record that creates a magnificent yet satirical sound that keeps you hooked for its duration, all the while touching on subject that are, needless to say, shocking, 'Cream Of The Young' in particular, is about oral sex via a 15 year old girl (need I say more).

'Songs For Our Mothers' sees the group drop the satire a little, and swap the blatant controversy for distasteful remarks of the political and fascist kind. Final track on the album 'Goodbye Goebbels' glamorizes the suicide of Hitler and has lyrics that show the sense of achievement for the holocaust from a Nazi standpoint. 'Satisfied', a very dark, 80's style, synth track is about receiving oral sex from Holocaust survivor Primo Levi.

Nazi controversy aside, the album does have its great moments. Lead single "Whitest Boy On The Beach" is a homage to German Techno featuring the finest vocals on the album from Lias Sauodi. The dirty, Marylin Manson-esqe vibes on 'Satisfied' offer a satisfying chill and 'Hits Hits Hits' is a track with haunting lyrics accompanied by Sleaford Mods-like instrumentals. 

The one problem with this is album is the lack of songs with musical depth. What made 'Champagne Holocaust' so amazing was the Fat Whites' ability to create a diverse range of sounds, but there isn't much difference between tracks in this latest record, there's nothing that resembles 'Auto Neutron' or 'Is It Raining In Your Mouth?'. This ultimately does make the album drag on near the end and seem rather boring.  

The Fat White Family have managed to remain their distasteful self and show their true colors on this album, but can still sound pretty good while doing so. 

6/10

INDIE ROCK / ALTERNATIVE

FAV TRACKS: Whitest Boy On The Beach - Satisfied - Hits Hits Hits
LEAST FAV TRACKS: Tinfoil Deathstar - We Must Learn To Rise - Duce

Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor

Urie Takes Full Advantage Of Being Sole Member

Panic! At The Disco have been going strong since 2005, and since then have underwent numerous line-up changes as well as changes in genre and musical influences.

The last time we were presented with a new Panic! record was back in 2013 with 'Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die', a heavily electropop influenced record that came tied together with dark, self-destructive lyrics that juxtaposed the mostly positive sounding synths and instrumentals.

The first track on 'Death Of A Bachelor' had me worried, 'Victorious' is a track that all the features of P!ATD's previous record; the female-lead chanted lyrics, synth-lead instrumentals that sugarcoat the under-laying guitars and the underwhelming chorus. The following track 'Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time' doesn't offer anything exciting either (unless you're a 60's rock fan in which case the looped, recycled sample of 'Rock Lobster' will keep you entertained).

The record however, does have it's highlights, 'Crazy=Genius' is without a doubt the strongest track on the album, with a homage to 2005's 'A Fever You Can Sweat Out's swing and jazz-punk sound. With infectious instrumentals and a chorus that is impossible to not sing along to. This track is an example of vocal and instrumental success in Urie's solo skills. Lead single 'Hallelujah' is a gospel-style, toned down tribute to partying and the self destructive lifestyle and title track 'Death Of A Bachelor' sees Brendon channel his inner Sinatra and really show off his extensive and impressive vocal range.

This is Panic!'s best record as a solo project. A total improvement on their previous effort. At only 28, Urie still has a lot to offer us and he's only getting better.

7/10

POP ROCK / BAROQUE POP / ALT ROCK

FAV RACKS: Crazy=Genius - Hallelujah - Death Of A Bachelor
LEAST FAV TRACKS: Victorious - Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time 

Diabolus - Wasted Air [EP]

Brutal 2-Track Debut From Hampshire Metallers

Diabolus are an up and coming extreme metal act from Hampshire comprising of 6 members. Their debut EP 'Wasted Air' may be short lived, but it packs a pretty brutal punch.

Diabolus' sound combines the best of the more extreme metal genres, the most noticeable being black/death and slamming death metal. This is made extremely clear as soon as you're hit by first track 'Wasted Air', a track that I enjoyed especially due to the range of guitar skills made evident, first you're greeted by the rapid drums and trem picking, this combined with Luke Robbins' throat shredding highs creates a ridiculously evil sound. This track packs a punch until the very end, and is rounded off by some eerie synths.

'The Bay Harbour Butcher' almost seems to pick off where the previous track was, with a chilling guitar intro, reflective of the concluding synths prior, before the rest of the instrumentals build towards a hard hitting 3+ minutes of brutality. 

If our first taste of Diabolus is anything to go by, then we should all start remembering the name. Big things to come from these lads!

8/10

BLACKSLAM / BLACKENED DEATH METAL / BRUTAL DEATH METAL

FAV TRACKS: Wasted Air
LEAST FAV TRACKS: