Some sounds are just built to last. The tried and tested alt rock approach of Durham quartet Edenthorn tears it up with simple yet solid riffs, proving that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel just so long as you give it everything you’ve got to compensate. ‘Mind Like A Minefield’, taken from their new album Exist out 20th April, certainly doesn’t hold back. The driving intro riff is reminiscent of Metallica while the whirlwind solo has Pearl Jam written all over it. The energy of this track alone is more than enough to make this worth your time, but the lyrics take this song to another level. Dealing with the trials within that many of us face on a daily basis, fighting against your own thoughts as you overthink every little detail. This song perfectly captures that feeling and at the same times makes you feel like you can one day overcome it.
music
Top Tracks: The Martyn Crocker Band – Everything They Want and More
In this more politically aware time that we find ourselves in, it’s easy to forget that for most people it isn’t about drawing battle lines or making moves on a chess board, for most of us it’s simply about keeping on keeping on in the hope that brighter days are on the way. With this latest single Belwood favourite Martyn Crocker and his new band have perfectly captured the struggle; slaving away to make ends meet while those at the top live the high life, all the while wondering how long this crooked system can last. From the slick production to the trenchant lyricism, Martyn has really upped his game with this uncompromising indie powerhouse. ‘Everything They Want and More’ is the kind of track that everyone, no matter their background, can unite behind as they commit to moving towards a better future, one step at a time.
Album Review: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing at the Seams
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing at the SeamsTop Tracks: Andy Cook – Swirl
This is just the track that your roadtrip playlist has been missing. The latest single from Minneapolis based singer/songwriter Andy Cook is sure to set off your wanderlust and leave you longing for adventure. ‘Swirl’, taken from his upcoming EP Modern Man out 13th April, is about being stuck in a digital age and the burnout that comes with maintaining the online facade of a perfect life and being surrounded by people doing exactly the same thing. It’s fitting then that this Americana gem compels you to leave all that overthinking behind and just hit the open road with ‘Swirl’ as your sole companion. Opening with hints of the Grateful Dead’s ‘Touch of Grey’, and culminating in guitar work reminiscent of The War On Drugs, this is the most enthralling example of Americana I’ve heard thus far this year.
Top Tracks: Harry Pane – Beautiful Life
The latest single from this London based singer/songwriter may seem on paper like your typical folk fare, but there’s some subtle and indescribable quality to it that makes it stand out like some shimmering mirage off in the distance. Musically this new release from Harry Pane feels like the soundtrack to some lone gunslinger treading a solitary path through the desert, walking away from the problems of the past and letting them fade like footprints in the sand. Lyrically however ‘Beautiful Life’ focuses not on the past, but on the new day waiting over the horizon. It is a song that treasures all the little things in life that offer a glimmer of hope and joy, those little moments that help get you through today and give you reason to look forward to tomorrow.
Top Tracks: Canshaker Pi – Put A Record Out
If you’re looking for a song to get you fired up, the kind that ignites a feeling of pure electricity running through your veins, then do I have a treat for you! The latest single from Amsterdam based quartet Canshaker Pi firmly ticks that box. ‘Put A Record Out’, taken from their upcoming sophomore album Naughty Naughty Violence out this May, channels Sonic Youth in their prime, as well as boasting hints of The Damned and Joy Division. These frenetic slacker rock firebrands are equal parts are equal parts rowdy and playful on this track, treading a perfect balance between the raw lo-fi sound of classic alternative rock and the kind of wily little flourishes that give the band a brazen charm that stands out from the crowd. This is a great taster of what one of the best indie acts in mainland Europe can do.
Lament for a Fallen NME
For years I had the same routine every Saturday. I would head into town for a spot of lunch, look around HMV and the record stalls in the market, buy the latest copy of NME and chill for an hour or so in my favourite cafe. Over the course of a very large pot of loose leaf tea I would read every last article and feature. That seems like an age ago now. Pardon the nostalgia, but with the announcement that Britain’s most iconic music publication will cease printing by the end of the week after 66 years in circulation, I’d rather remember it as it used to be rather than what it became. Continue reading
Top Tracks: Some Villains – The Skin
This new track from Somerset alt rockers Some Villains is an absolute beast. The driving drum beat and chugging riffs sound like some unseen creature pursuing you through the undergrowth, culminating in a raw, snarling guitar solo as it surges forth from the darkness and goes in for the kill. Lyrically the new single, taken from their upcoming EP Outliers out 16th March, deals with how something that has been broken can never really be the same again. The wound may heal but the scars remain, though they give us a chance to learn from our mistakes and move forward. We are all broken in some form, but it should never be enough stop you from picking up the pieces and building towards a better future.
Live Review: Typhoon, The Lexington London, 27th Feb 2018
All fans of live music, whether or not they care to admit it, are in search of the same thing. We go to gigs in the hope that it will be special and unique, one of those “you had to be there” moments. With Portland band Typhoon releasing my album of the year, hearing the highlights of the incredible new record Offerings in the flesh is more than enough to make seeing them live something special, but the icing on the cake was that it just so happened to be the first show of their first ever UK tour. I battled the “Beast from the East” on my way down to London, bracing snowy conditions (and even dodging crashing cars right outside the venue), as this was not a gig to be missed. Continue reading
Sleep in Heads – On The Air
Belwood Music 