Album Review Archives Page 9 of 10

Reviews

ALBUM: Dance Gavin Dance – ‘Instant Gratification’

April 14, 2015

Michael Bird

Judging what you’re going to get from a Dance Gavin Dance album has historically been made impossible by the group’s infamous revolving door approach to its personnel, let alone their distinctly muso take on post-hardcore. But ‘Instant Gratification’ is a new beast – the loss of rhythm guitarist Josh Benton aside it’s been recorded by […]

Reviews

ALBUM: Kingsland Road – ‘We Are The Young’

April 13, 2015

Michael Bird

The real winners from among those who enter reality TV music competitions are often those that don’t come in first place. The UK X-Factor has various examples of this, the most obvious of course teen pop sensation One Direction. London four-piece Kingsland Road appears to want to replicate that success, although their exit from the […]

Reviews

ALBUM: Sworn In – ‘The Lovers/The Devil’

April 7, 2015

Matthew Powers

Ah, young love – So wild, so free, so…full of conflict. It is this very topic which Illinois-based deathcore youngsters Sworn In are choosing to emulate on their follow-up to 2013’s dark horse ‘The Death Card’. Tackling another conceptual layout for this outing, ‘The Lovers/The Devil’, might seem a bit hasty and more than a […]

Reviews

ALBUM: Hollywood Undead – ‘Day Of The Dead’

April 6, 2015

Matthew Powers

Rap-rock. It’s a world where many musicians dare not tread. Coincidentally, genre-hybridizing has become increasingly popular lately (even accepted). Enter: Hollywood Undead, a band who has been blending genres together for over 10 years now. It must be odd to be in the band members’ shoes though. Bands like Dangerkids and Hacktivist are actively blending […]

Reviews

ALBUM: While She Sleeps – ‘Brainwashed’

March 31, 2015

Michael Bird

As pointless an exercise as “what if?” history is, it’s tempting to consider where While She Sleeps would be by now if their rocket to the top had not had its engines cut by the news that vocalist Loz Taylor required throat surgery. Their debut proper ‘This Is the Six’ had owned metalcore in 2012; […]

Reviews

ALBUM: Sleeping With Sirens – ‘Madness’

March 24, 2015

Michael Bird

In the wake of an album as gingerly received as ‘Feel’ was, for Sleeping With Sirens to open the promotion of its successor with songs as comparatively raucous as “Kick Me” and “We Like It Loud” was a bold move. Where the 2013 album attempted to streamline the group’s rough edges and elevate them above […]

Reviews

ALBUM: We Are Harlot – ‘We Are Harlot’

March 24, 2015

Matthew Powers

History repeats, in music especially – The reemergence of nu-metal in recent years for instance. Some bands are so rooted in an older sound that it feels as if the musicians came from a time machine and not the modern music scene. Such is the case with Roadrunner Records’ most recent signing We Are Harlot, […]

Reviews

ALBUM: Of Mice & Men – ‘Restoring Force: Full Circle’

February 24, 2015

Michael Bird

There’s nothing like a reissue to justify promotion of an album long after its rightful life span. In an age in which touring and not sales bring in the bulk of income for musicians it’s a wonder more don’t do it. Of Mice & Men in particular seem to have picked up on this, both […]

Reviews

ALBUM: Imagine Dragons – ‘Smoke + Mirrors’

February 17, 2015

Michael Bird

Heading the trifecta of indie bands that broke big in 2013 (joined of course by Bastille and The 1975), it was Imagine Dragons who scored the wildest success of the bunch thanks to the clutch of anthems included on their grandiose debut ‘Night Visions’. Songs as immediate and enormous-sounding as “Radioactive” and “Demons” were never […]

Reviews

ALBUM: Fifth Harmony – “Reflection”

February 3, 2015

Michael Bird

Reality television and music has proven a consistently toxic combination. It’s easy to see why – reality TV is after all celebration of the mundane that overdramatizes everything it touches. On both sides of the Atlantic televised talent shows have become the default entry point to the music industry. This wouldn’t be a problem if […]

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