The Paranoid Style - Rock and Roll Just Can't Recall

Howdy. It's Monday afternoon and I bet you're all feeling a bit jaded aren't you? Has your KitKat and cuppa not perked you up enough? Mine hasn't. I didn't actually have either, so no wonder I'm feeling a bit less active than a sloth on Cipramil.

So, I'm guessing you all need something to bring you back to life. Thought so. I've got just the thing - a brand new release from East Coast Punk Perfectness, The Paranoid Style (brainchild of Elizabeth Nelson Bracy and Bruce Bennett) RIGHT THIS COCKING MOMENT on Battle and being brought to you via those rather marvellous bods at PinDrop Publicity.

Firstly, here are the necessaries - all the links you need to listen/buy etc:

battle.greedbag.com/buy/rock-and-roll-just-cant-recall-1/

spotify.com/album/1rlVrdbIwBNBgPnM2fbdHx

itunes.apple.com/gb/album/rock-roll-just-cant-recall-ep/id964262793

You can also listen here too:

soundcloud.com/battle/sets/rock-roll-just-cant-recall

Why do you need this EP in your life. You just do. Do you like punk? Do you need to wig out like your life depended on it? If you answered yes to both of these, don't question me - go get this today. 

Opening track "National Sunday Law" is an absolute cracker, jangly with a really fast paced feel to it and a catchy hook. Standout track for thegeneral is definitely "Bound To Be Vacant" for the opening guitar riff alone. It's bloody super and worth your TV license fee alone. Final track "Master Jack" is a cracking way to end things - a softly delicate vocal in perfect juxtaposition with the fuzzy guitars. 

So in short, you need to get your arses in gear and buy this if you like perfect punky pop and need waking up from your musical coma. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find a KitKat...

The Knievel Dead - We Will Fall

What is this skullduggery - Monday afternoon and I'm writing a blog? I know. I sometimes like to throw a curveball at you that's so bizarre it makes a Saturday night repeat of Dad's Army look like a break from the norm.

To be honest, you find me a little breathless and giddy with excitement today. It's not very often that happens. The last time such an event occurred I couldn't sit down for a week. I'll leave you guessing what happened, but suffice to say I've never looked at a parsnip twice, since.

Anyway, the real reason for my breathlessness and giddy excitement is because The Knievel Dead have a new album out called "We Will Fall", TODAY. Yes, that's TODAY. Not TOMORROW. TODAY. (March 2nd if you're reading this today, if you're reading it tomorrow then it was released YESTERDAY, you're a little bit late to the party and I should take you over my knee).

Firstly, there's the necessaries - the link to where you can listen to and make a purchase of said album:

the-knievel-dead.bandcamp.com/album/we-will-fall

You can visit the band's site here:

theknieveldead.com/

Eagle eyed readers will remember I reviewed the band in 2013 when they released a super-duper single called Psychosis. <------ you can follow that link to read and listen.

"We Will Fall" has been worth the wait. Totally worth it. It's a brilliant mixture of laid back, sardonic vocals, scuzzy, fuzzy guitars and brilliant riffage.

Opening track "Take The Medicine" picks up where Psychosis left off, with a fast paced and very heavy rocky opening - brilliantly charged. It's followed by "All Entwined" which has almost Wire-esque sounding guitar to it, very most excellent.

"Dead Behind The Eyes" has the most brilliant opening and the"Hanging From The Walls" guitar pick sounds like it was lifted straight from a spaghetti western - perfect.

Final track of the collection "Nothing More" is a stunning way to end, it's like the comedown after you've eaten too much sherbert (or had too much fizzygood - or whatever it is the youngfolk imbibe these days). It feels nicely mellow and is a fabulous way to round off a selection of songs that have plenny of high octane guitars and tempered vocals.

I absolutely adore these guys and they need as much exposure as possible (not in THAT way you pervs) so please do yourself a favour and put this album in your collection, like, pronto and shizz. It's a superb album and well worth the tiny amount of pennies it will cost you. Give these guys your support!

David Aldo - Just You

Happy Sunday to you, and once again I'm back with another blog entry to see out the weekend and usher in the new working week. What does Sunday require? It requires a slice of something sweet and decadent from the pie we lovingly call "Perfect Pop" and I have just the thing to share with you. So, if you'd be so kind, pop the kettle on and sit ye'selves down to listen in.

I'm delighted to introduce David Aldo to you all today. I was asked if I'd consider putting something together on his latest single "Just You" which comes ahead of the release of his new, eponymously titled album in April.

First, here are le necessaries - here's the link to his video

And here is the link to David's website where you can find further details of where and how to buy his stuff:

thedavidaldo.com/

"Just You" is a brilliant number. It is, as I alluded to at the start of the blog, a slice of perfect pop - and one that needs very few listens for it to become instantly recognisable. It's got a brilliantly catchy hook and it reels you in from the start. Great harmonies alongside a really soulful vocal from David make this a song that should be a staple part of your playlist over the coming weeks. 

When the album is released I'll update this page to let everyone know, but in the meantime this is a great track to keep you going until April!

Michael Feuerstack - The Forgettable Truth

Hello gentle readers and welcome to Super Blog Saturday. Today is one of those rare days I get to loaf about and do absolutely nothing, which I'm not terribly good at. So instead of sitting in front of the television with a family bag of Kettle Chips and a silent film I'm online feverishly typing out a review.

The good news is, I have some stellar, stellar music for you today. I've been very lucky to work with PinDrop Publicity a lot, over recent months and this week I've another absolute corker from their stable to share with you.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Michael Feuerstack and his wonderful new album "The Forgettable Truth", which comes out in the UK on 2nd March, but had an earlier release in Canada last month.

First of all, here's the link to his bandcamp page so you can preview some of the tracks:

michaelfeuerstack.bandcamp.com/album/the-forgettable-truth

Here's the link to Michael's website:

michaelfeuerstack.com/site/

And finally, here's the video for one of the lead songs on the album, "Clackity Clack"

Michael Feuerstack - Clackity Clack

Once again, I've been a lucky bunny and able to preview the entire album - not just the single and readers, you are in for a treat. Clackity Clack is a brilliant song, and well worth a listen, but that's not the only thing worth checking out. Michael is an artist of some note in his home country of Canada and as well as being a solo artist in his own right, he's collaborated over the years with Jeremy Gara from Arcade Fire, too. This new album, while released under Michael's name is a collaborative effort with some of his regular contributors Pietro Amato, Peter Xirogiannis and Mike Belyea.

It features some really strong songs - the aforementioned "Clackity Clack" is a superb number - softly gentle and wistful, emotionally stirring. But there are some great contrasts too - such as penultimate track "Blue Light" which has a great choppy, staccato feel to it. Opener "Receiver" is a sterling start, featuring a superb, driving guitar. It's a well produced album - showcasing Feuerstack's great vocals and there is a lovely, quiet passion to all the songs.

This is hopefully the album that will break Feuerstack to British audiences - and justifiably so. It's well worth adding to your spring playlists.

Bug Prentice - Nicholas Ray

Hello, hello hello and a very Happy Sunday to you, one and all. We're at the point in the week where none of us are looking forward to Monday, and we're clinging on to the weekend like a lush to a gin bottle.

We all, therefore, need some most very excellent music to keep us all going. As usual, you can rely on me to bring it to you.

I've been aware of Bug Prentice for quite some time now (and I'm really lucky to call Ally Craig from the group, a friend - a lovely lovely smashingly talented fellow he is too - as are his supertriff compadres Ruth Goller and Stephen Gilchrist) . However, I've never been fortunate enough to review any of their material, but all that changes today with a timely feature on their new single "Nicholas Ray", which is due out in March on Bandcamp.

Here's the link to their bandcamp page - keep an eye on it for the release date and download for the single from hereonforthwithandhow:

bugprentice.bandcamp.com/releases

You can also visit the group's website here:

bugprentice.com/

and watch the video for it here:

But, here's the lowdown on the single:

Wow. It's fuckinglyawesomesauce.

I suppose I should try and say more. From the outset, the dissonant, off kilter guitars are a real breath of fresh air. It's nice to hear experimentation with soundscapes/chords/ time signatures in something so punky. It's also a track which is slightly leftfield in terms of subject matter - the film director Nicholas Ray (in case you hadn't noticed, it's the title of the song...).

So, in short, this is a single that you will all need to have in your collections as we head towards Spring. Punky dissonance, avant garde flair and just a cheeky little nod towards classic films. What more could you want? That's right. A cup of tea to go with it. They're talented, but I'm not sure they can manage that with every download of the single. So you'll have to put the kettle on yourself. In the meantime, hang tight till March and then go forth and buy buy buy/download download download and give this excellent group your support.

Craig Lawlor - If You Knew

Howdy. It's Sunday afternoon, a time for quiet contemplation, cups of tea and Songs of Praise at 5.00pm. Before we reach this orgasmic pinnacle, I've just got time to bring you some brilliant brand new music from an act I've never featured before on these pages, but one I hope will now be a regular fixture.

Craig Lawlor, hails, like me, from Lancashire, and he really kindly emailed me his new single "If You Knew" last week and I'm so pleased to be bringing it to you today.

First of all, you'll need to know where to listen/buy it from - so here you go:

itunes.apple.com/gb/album/if-you-knew/id956169359?i=956169391

and you can also watch the video for the song here:

...and I highly recommend you do both. This is a wonderful single with a fantastic vibe to it. Brilliant guitars with a great drive to them and a slightly off kilter, distorted vocal which gives the song a slightly psychedelic feel in places. It's a nicely paced number too, it never loses its way and since I've been playing it, I've found it's got stuck in my head (which is always the sign of a great song, if you ask me)

Craig is an immensely talented musician and the video to go with the song is just lovely - nicely muted and sepia tinged. It supports the song really well and shows off Craig's cheekbones quite nicely too.

So all in all, this is a great number, perfect for a Sunday afternoon and I for one, really hope to hear more from Craig really soon. MORE PLEASE CRAIG.

Toliesel - Bones

Hola, gentle readers. It's a sneaky super Monday blog post for you, and I'm hugely HUGELY excited about this one (yes, even though it is Monday, I'm freezing cold and knackered after a day at the coalface).

Last year, some of you more eagle eyed readers will remember I reviewed a stunning EP from a band called Toliesel, on One Note Records. If you don't, you can read the post HERE. I loved it instantly, and it seems like we've all been waiting ages for the follow up. Well (be still my beating trousers) it's arrived and my GOD it was worth the sleepless nights, the descent into depression and th...OK, I'm exaggerating a bit...

The new EP won't actually be out until 21st March, but you can take a cursory glance at it here:

toliesel.bandcamp.com/

..and also make your way over to have a listen to their other brilliant tracks.

However, today sees the release of the single from the EP - called "Bones", which you can stream here:

soundcloud.com/onenoteforever/toliesel-bones/s-pOoB1

I absolutely implore you to do so. The new song marks quite a departure for the band, but it's one that's very worth a listen. The guitars are so infectious, so scuzzy and driven - and the song has a real US Alt-rock feel to it. What makes it different is the wonderful, plaintive voice of their lead vocalist, which gives the song a nice subtle contrast - making it feel just a cut above them being just "another" guitar band. "Bones" deserves your attention and some real air play. It's a hint of some wonderful new tracks to come on the new EP and once that's released in March, I'll be featuring it in it's entirety here on the blog.

But for now, marvel in the gloriousness of "Bones". A top song from a band that have got a brilliant future ahead.

You can find the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/Toliesel/info
https://twitter.com/Toliesel

Please give them your support.