Fucked Up
The Chemistry of Common Life
(Matador, 13 October)
Fucked Up are too heavy, and yet too tuneful at the same time, to be classified into one genre. For the hardcore fans this will easily please, trashing MTV’s toilet and being the most talked about thing this year, proving that they can create a scene. But [...]

By the end of 2004 there were three young alpha bands leading the metalcore pack, two of which were Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold. The former have since moulded their racket into a tribute to Bon Jovi, whilst the latter have reinvented themselves as the new Guns ‘n’ Roses. The third band however, have remained loyal [...]

 
Cardinology marks Ryan Adams tenth studio album in all, and his third (credited) release with The Cardinals. It is very much the musical successor to 2007’s solo record ‘Easy Tiger’, and 2006’s ‘Cold Roses’, each of which had similarly strong Grateful Dead influences.  Its sound is far removed from his debut classic ‘Heartbreaker’ or his [...]

The latest offering from the renowned bi-monthly ‘Fabriclive’ series appoints to the decks Freq Nasty, a Fiji born Kiwi raised DJ based in London and Los Angeles. With a career based on chasing deep basslines through many electronic genres, he has succeeded in producing a set that unites the variety, combining dub (Heavyweight Dub Champion), [...]

Rise against have been doing the rounds for a fair few years now, and they know their game. 2006’s The Sufferer and the Witness saw the band at the top of their form, crafting their hardcore inspired punk anthems into sculptures of solid song writing. So does ‘Appeal to Reason’ buckle under the pressure heaped [...]

Australia is huge, arid and god-forsaken in the middle, and just about alive around the fringes. Grey Daturas are pretty much the musical manifestation of their homeland’s inhospitable nature, and describing them as “an improvisational, instrumental noise-trio” doesn’t do justice to just how utterly shot-through with despair and grief their previous records have sounded. This [...]

‘Elephant Shell,’ Tokyo Police Club’s first full-length studio album, sees the Canadian quartet attempting to build on the critical acclaim which met 2007’s ‘A Lesson in Crime’ EP, a record which dazzled its (relatively few) listeners with its blisteringly short bursts of guitar pop. It is clear from the outset of the record that TPC [...]

It’s remarkable how situational music can be. I am driving through Lenton toward Castle Marina Industrial Estate. It’s the middle of the day, and first of the summer’s sun has put a smile on my face. However, Flying Lotus’s debut Long Player, ‘Los Angeles’, doesn’t sound quite right forcing it’s way through my tinny speakers. [...]

When Radiohead announced they’d be releasing their new album for ‘as much as you want to pay for it’ one of the first to stick their boot in was, predictably enough, James Blunt.

Artist: Radiohead
Album: In Rainbows (October+December 2007)
Label: None