This Burning Age – Desolation

It has taken a while to get here but now inciting ears and emotions, Desolation proves the wait was more than worth it. The new EP from British electro rockers This Burning Age is the third in a four EP cycle which began last year. The three track encounter is a rousing and forcibly provocative proposition proving that whatever has happened and evolved in the time between releases, the This Burning Age songwriting and sound has potently grown through it.

The EP’s songs feel physically and emotionally fiercer than ever but equally more inventively woven from the depth of sound and flavours which have always marked the band’s sound and releases. Originally a solo project for vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Friday, the Birmingham band emerged on the live scene as a full line-up after the release of debut album A Muzzle for the Masses. Wanting to take its heart and success to live venues, Friday enlisted guitarist/keyboardist Jon Farrington-Smith, bassist Davey Bennett, and drummer Christian Jerromes (since replaced by Jack Josypenko) to the band, with the years since seeing This Burning Age play with the likes of Fearless Vampire Killers, William Control, Heights, and Hundred Reasons amongst many.

   The band’s sound fuses essences of post-punk, industrial, Synth-pop and post-rock to really simplify its tapestry, with influences arising from bands such as NIN, Interpol, Rammstein, Sonic Youth, and Smashing Pumpkins. It is a fusion which potently gripped attention through the first pair of releases in the four EP project. Both Supplication and Devotion revealed an evolution in the band’s sound with a fresh thick web of textures to that within the band’s album, whilst exploring the theme of love and sex in their destructive form across their songs. That growth has continued with Desolation, its tracks inspired by a look at death and the human condition. As to the timeline of songwriting between the EPs we cannot say but there feels a new maturity to the band’s latest EP which not only seriously ignites ears but offers the potential of even bolder and deeper things ahead.

First song up on Desolation is Tatterdemalion, a quickly voracious and rousing proposal but one just as quickly slipping through an unpredictable and tempestuous landscape of intensity and creative resourcefulness. From its initial fuzzy flame of riffs, imposing rhythms stir the blood with just as potent scything grooves getting involved. The song hits a commanding stroll before relaxing into a prowling gait lit by a great steely twang of the bass. This ‘restful’ passage in turn welcomes the distinctive tones of Friday, his expression and emotion as open as ever as keys glow with simmering but bright temptation around him. Fiery expulsions of energy and heart then drive the soon to break chorus, its ferocity lingering to add richer hues to subsequent melodic and slightly restrained moments. For the main though, the track is a cauldron of inventive twists and turns, an array of styles colluding in a striking blaze which at times pokes thoughts of bands like Joy Division, in others of the likes of Pitchshifter and Smashing Pumpkins or Trent Reznor and Anti-Clone.

The outstanding start makes way for Drown In Silence, a song which leans more or certainly quicker to its industrial and electronic rock side as lively cascades of punchy rhythms and suggestive synths fall upon ears before dissipating for the emotive reflection of voice and atmospheric melodies. Calm before the storm, the track is a furnace of emotive energy and heart but again thick intense shafts which share time and the imagination with increasingly volatile and ferocious crescendos, all these keen essences uniting in an explosive and dynamic climax to another increasingly contagious persuasion.

As striking and irresistible as they are, the first two songs are slightly over shadowed by the closing Ab Aeterno (From Forever), a mesmeric introspective unveiling from Friday in voice and emotion. A crystalline twinkle of keys light a creeping mist of evocative melodies from the song’s first breath, the vocals emotionally raw as guitars and stirring beats add their weight to the unfolding intimate drama. Like a mix of Bauhaus and very early U2 embraced by the dark ethereal craft of Nine Inch Nails, the song glows with charm and shadows, eventually igniting in a searing fire of sound and suggestiveness.

It is a transfixing end to a breath-taking release from This Burning Age, the band’s finest hour without doubt though you get the feeling even now that we have seen nothing yet.

The Desolation EP is out now via 5th Day Records @ http://thisburningage.bigcartel.com/

http://www.thisburningage.com/   http://www.facebook.com/thisburningage   http://twitter.com/thisburningage

Pete RingMaster 05/10/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

Bare Traps – Inside

Following up the sizeable impact their debut single made with its release this past July, UK indie popsters Bare Traps have released a worthy successor called Inside; a song easy to expect earning similar reactions to those lured by the Every Time. Bursting with a melodic smile and funk bred rhythmic hips; the song is one feel good involvement for body and emotions.

Hailing from London, the quartet of vocalist Mikey Brown, guitarist Luke O’Gorman, bassist/keyboardist John Grant, and drummer Scott Dillon have drawn on inspirations from the likes of Blood Orange, The Smiths, Foals, and Chic for their sound, a mix which if exactly not in sound, in feel and texture you can certainly relate to as Inside incites instinctive festivity. Debut single Every Time took little time in sparking attention and support, its lively magnetism of melodies seeing the song entice over 5,000 plays on SoundCloud and rising to 7 in the Hype Machine Twitter Charts. Gearing up to unveil their first EP, recorded as the single with John Davis (Bloc Party, Led Zeppelin, The Maccabees, Arctic Monkeys, Beady Eye), Bare Traps now raise the ante with the even more danceable Inside whilst revealing a little more of the diversity seemingly bubbling away in their songwriting and sound.

The song opens on a shuffle of guitar enticing and rhythmic coaxing, that gentle but potent bait continuing as the bass opens up its dark throat and beats begin to bring livelier energy to their enterprise. The voice of Brown has a strong and distinctive expression to its tone, a texture aligning well with the smoother swing of keys and the guitars. With the pungent rhythms it all adds up to an inciting contagion which swiftly has feet and appetite in eager involvement. A whisper of an eighties bands like Heaven 17 and China Crisis hint at older minds across the enchantment of the song but equally it has an indie jangle and resourcefulness which resembles the essence of Foals and a little at times of Interpol.

Inside is also a grower, a song which just seems to gain more character with every listen and placed alongside Every Time, it is already easy to suggest Bare Traps has the potential, craft, and imagination to make a big impact ahead.

Inside is out now via iTunes.

Pete Ringmaster 22/09/2105

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

Ded Rabbit – Scarlet Cardigan

Continuing a very healthy tradition of outshining their previous release with something even more irresistible and creatively mouth-watering, Scotland based indie rockers Ded Rabbit uncage their new single Scarlet Cardigan. It is a song which merges wonderfully raw textures with intricately inventive hooks, contagious energy with rousing vocal drama, and uniting it all in another exhilarating bellow. Ded Rabbit is a band walking the precipice of national exposure, something very easy to say after Scarlet Cardigan.

Ded Rabbit consists of four Yorkshire brothers, Eugene, Fergus, Eoin, and Donal Gaine, who moved to the Highlands in the mid-nineties, subsequently heading to Edinburgh for their studies and the moment where, in their words, that they “began taking music more seriously.” Since then as Ded Rabbit, the foursome has released a trio of increasingly acclaimed EPs, all recorded at Rocket Science Studios (Texas, Belle And Sebastian, Dougie MacLean) and earned a potent live reputation with a presence taking in shows with the likes of The 1975 and Man Made, their own headlining gigs, and festival spots at Rough Beats, Liverpool Sound City, and T In The Park where they headlined the T Break stage this year. Drawing on inspirations from bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Queens Of The Stone Age, Fugazi, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Gang Of Four, Interpol, The Cribs, The Libertines and many more, the band’s EPs have been a just as magnetic affair, Wash Away and Wake Up In A Dream stirring up keen attention previously whilst the recently released Moving In Slow Motion has pushed even keener spotlights their way. As suggested earlier, their new release unleashes another rousing and masterful step forward in the sound and adventure of the band, Scarlet Cardigan which is the lead song from the last EP, setting a new dynamic marker.

The single instantly reveals a scuzzier air to the band’s sound, something explored more upon Moving In Slow Motion whilst also pushing the band’s cleaner melodic explorations. Vocals and hefty beats are the first union alongside slim but enticing guitar which in turn expands with melodic lures as the song itself blossoms into bolder incitement, a bulbous bass riff just whetting the appetite all on its own. The spicery of eighties new wave/post punk is at its strongest yet in the Ded Rabbit sound in Scarlet Cardigan but woven into something certainly with a whiff of Arctic Monkeys/The Cribs to it, but thrillingly original to the band. Raising crescendos of energy for its chorus and volatile calm for its agitated verse built passages, the track enthrals with unpredictability and breath-taking enterprise from start to finish.

Like a mix of Asylums, The Libertines, and The Woodentops, with at times essences of Josef K too, the free to download Scarlet Cardigan is another enslaving slice of indie rock ‘n’ roll from Ded Rabbit and another thick suggestion that the band ready to take the UK indie scene by storm.

Scarlet Cardigan is available now.

The Ringmaster Review 12/08/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

The Slow Readers Club – Cavalcade

After a clutch of increasingly impressive and fascinating singles across last year moving into this, anticipation of Cavalcade, the second album from UK indie rockers The Slow Readers Club was high and excited for a growing sea of fans, including us. Each of the quartet of songs offered was a riveting teaser and evidence of the band’s upcoming release and diversely sculpted sound respectively. Those propositions still shine like flaming beacons as they sit within the walls of Cavalcade but are matched by a collection of new to the ear tracks which simply seduce ears and imagination.

Hailing from Manchester, The Slow Readers Club have been no strangers to acclaim these past months. Their singles have drawn frequent praise and support from fans and media alike whilst their live presence has seen highly successful shows with the likes of Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Struts, Reverend and the Makers, and The Sunshine Underground as well as well-received appearances at Tramlines Festival, Party in the Pines, and the Blackthorn Festival. Journalist and frontman for Goldblade John Robb predicted that 2015 would see The Slow Readers Club breaking through to become one of the most important bands to emerge from Manchester’s music scene in recent years. Everything has backed up his suggestion and certainly Cavalcade has brought the year one of its major triumphs.

     Creating an emotive and cinematically coloured mix of indie and electro pop, The Slow Readers Club has an embracing and immersive sound which places the listener into the scenery and heart of each song’s narrative as if physically there. Instant evidence comes with album opener Start Again. Its opening cauldron of electro temptation is an immediate potent lure, one only intensifying as a throaty bass line links with choppy guitar riffs and the equally magnetic vocals. It comes with an eighties electro pop breath, as most songs, yet creates a suggestive web of new and unique tempting which is best described as B-Movie meets Interpol but is solely The Slow Readers Club. The embracing keys of Aaron Starkie and the imaginative guitar enterprise of Kurtis Starkie weave an inescapable persuasion, their vocals similarly richly alluring though to be fair every aspect of the song is a lingering incitement, the almost dirty tones of James Ryan’s bass and the punchy beats of drummer David Whitworth equally irresistible, and when it is all united what emerges is a sublime piece of pop alchemy.

Impressive as it is though, the song is surpassed by the following I Saw a Ghost, surely the bands best song to date though it is seriously challenged by other tracks on the album. The band’s recent single, it opens with voice and beats casting a swift and dramatic proposal, one caressed by the warm evocative texture of keys. It is not long before the again wonderfully heavy voice of the bass is aligning itself to the lighter hues of guitar, each contrasting and enhancing the other and the evolving proposition. The entrance of the bass also seems to inspire a heftier energy to Whitworth’s swings, creating a captivating merger of light and dark tones and also as a physical persuasion. The track is sensational, once more seemingly bringing differing decades of pop into alignment for a seriously compelling and intoxicating slice of anthemic tempting.

Forever in Your Debt has a darker emotive air to its presence, from its first breath the bass casting a solemn yet inviting tone to the song and continued by the impressive vocal expression and qualities bringing the song’s premise into ears and thoughts. Bubbly guitar and atmospheric keys add to the brewing drama, every twist revealing new shadows and corners to eagerly explore whilst sound wise there is a post punk like essence tempering the potent heat of melodies and hooks.

Three songs in and variety is as open as the connecting prowess of the band’s imagination, the mesmeric Plant the Seed giving further swift proof. Like a blend of Depeche Mode and Bronski Beat, the song is a transfixing croon of dark electro and synth pop, entrancing ears before leading them into an almost visual passage of intimate reflection and radiant persuasion. A track which impresses from the first play and only grows more potent, it is emulated by the melodically and emotionally climatic Days Like This Will Break Your Heart. It is a brooding inventive roar of an encounter which is almost volcanic in its intensity and sonic landscape. Both tracks continue the immense flight of the album perfectly but are put in the shade a touch by the outstanding Don’t Mind. It is one of those serenades which linger with unrelenting persistence, a lively and evocative caress which just connects with situations we have all been through whilst providing an absorbing soundtrack. With a touch of Black/ Colin Vearncombe to its croon, the song is seductive balladry at its most sublime.

The album’s title track is next and needs little time to bewitch as spicy guitar endeavour fuels a feel of The Smiths at its beginning. It’s reserved but potent start soon builds into a thicker and more dramatically hued theatre of emotion and sound where spices of The The and The Associates flirt with the band’s ideation. The track adds to the growing list of the major moments on the album, and there are so many, before making way for Fool for Your Philosophy to reveal its tangy electro enterprise and dark drama. The almost sinister rhythms of Ryan and Whitworth are worth the price of ‘the ticket’ alone, as too the exceptional vocals whilst the vibrant and energetic dance of keys and melodies are a fire in the enthralling darkness of the song.

Both Grace of God and Here in the Hollow hold body and emotions tight, the first a beautiful intensive flirtation with a Frankie Goes To Hollywood charm and vivacity to it whilst its successor, from an enticing simmering start, grows into one glorious anthem of sound and emotion where vocals again are the mighty instigators to the irresistible theatre of the song sculpted by colossal sounds. We mentioned some songs rival I Saw a Ghost for the pinnacle of the band’s songs to date and this is a definite contender.

The enthralling and emotively fuelled Secrets provides an excellent pungent drama next before things are brought to a close by Know the Day Will Come a song which makes a slow and decent enough start but erupts into another creatively incendiary exploration for ears and emotions. It is a thumping end to a quite exceptional album.

Expectations were high because of the band’s previous singles but The Slow Readers Club has surpassed them and themselves with Cavalcade. The bare fact is that it will be astonishing if you find a better rock pop album in 2015 then this modern classic.

Cavalcade is available now, digitally @ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/cavalcade/id979245862 and on CD/vinyl via http://theslowreadersclub.bandcamp.com/merch

http://www.theslowreadersclub.co.uk     http://www.facebook.com/theslowreadersclub

RingMaster 14/04/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard on Reputation Radio @ http://www.reputationradio.net

The Slow Readers Club – I Saw a Ghost

With just a few short weeks to the release of their second album Cavalcade, UK indie band The Slow Readers Club are releasing not only a pungent teaser to their forthcoming offering, but one of their finest moments yet in the shape of new single I Saw A Ghost. It is aural magnetism, an evocative embrace of emotional shadows and intoxicating sound reinforcing the Manchester based band as one of the most fascinating and exciting propositions on the British rock scene

The past year has seen the quartet luring increasing acclaim through a host of enticing singles, including previous single Forever In Your Debt and its predecessor Don’t Mind. They are no strangers to praise and attention it is fair to say, their live presence drawing as much eager reactions as their releases with last year seeing the band play a sold out show at Manchester’s Night and Day as well as successful appearances at Tramlines Festival, Party in the Pines and Blackthorn Festival alongside support slots with bands such as Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Struts, Reverend and the Makers, and The Sunshine Underground. They can also list Peter Hook amongst their enthusiastic fans, a following which from the release of their debut self-titled album in 2012 has perpetually and raucously increased.

   Now The Slow Readers Club is stoking the fires of those followers and greater anticipation of their new album with I Saw a Ghost. The song is themed around depression, more specifically according to vocalist Aaron Starkie, “It’s about appearing to have a normal happy life but carrying something with you that can descend at any moment and make everything appear bleak.” It is an emotion perfectly embraced and exposed by the music within the single, its body and gait a bouncy persuasion with infectious energy and character but holding onto underlying shadows and dark thoughts just as tightly. It opens with Starkie immediately unveiling his and the songs’ heart in the embrace of his own crafted keys. Alongside them the jabbing beats of David Whitworth punctuate the emotional drama being shown, whilst the throaty tones of bass from James Ryan only add to the dark air though it is all swiftly tempered by the contagious enterprise of Kurtis Starkie’s guitar amidst that tantalising celestial breath of keys.

The song continues to blend dark and light, each entwining the other with craft and tenacity whilst providing a rigorous stroll of infectiousness amidst immersive almost suffocating dark rapture. The Slow Readers Club are usually and understandably compared to the likes of Interpol, The Killers, and The National but it is easy to also suggest moments of the track has elements of The Smiths, especially the start, and bands like Silhouettes to it. As previous songs though, it emerges as something distinct and instantly recognisable to The Slow Readers Club whilst providing the strongest suggestion that there is a new album on the horizon all sort eagerly check out.

I Saw a Ghost is available now @ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/i-saw-a-ghost-single/id973544966 with Cavalcade will be released via Extenso Music on April 13^th.

http://www.theslowreadersclub.co.uk     http://www.facebook.com/theslowreadersclub

RingMaster 30/03/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard on Reputation Radio @ http://reputationradio.yooco.org/

 

Ded Rabbit – Better On the Day

Bounding in with all the enthusiasm of a young pup and the craft of a mature temptress, Better On the Day from Scottish alternative rockers Ded Rabbit, is one of those ridiculously infectious exploits which you cannot escape from. Taken from the bands new EP Wake Up In A Dream, the new single is released just a couple of days before its source, and alone leaves ears ablaze and appetite for the accompanying release hungry.

Based in Edinburgh but Yorkshire bred, Ded Rabbit is a family affair, consisting of four brothers (Eugene, Fergus, Eoin, and Donal Gaine) who know how to write and then deliver a vivacious indie rock proposition or two. The evidence has already been shown and acknowledged with previous EP Wash Away and a live presence which has seen the band play alongside the likes of The 1975 and Man Made, again to potent responses. Influences for the band are cited as including Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Queens Of The Stone Age, Fugazi, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Gang Of Four, Interpol, The Cribs, The Libertines and many more, all spices you can pick out in brief aspects of their songs, though we would venture to say that Better On the Day is the most original song from Ded Rabbit yet, and their most potent.

Straight away it seems to have a new maturity compared to the previous EP, the groove clad heavy bassline opening it up, an immediate rich enticing which just seems bigger and bolder than anything from the foursome before. It is a potency swiftly enhanced by the short jangles of guitar and the excellent vocals, the latter distinctly expressive and unique but most of all magnetic. Just as the sounds tease ears and melodies show their charming face, thoughts of The Farmers Boys comes to the fore, never a bad thing, and as the song explodes into more rigorous exertions thereafter it offers hints of Miniature Dinosaurs.

Better On the Day is a thumping romp showing intricate craft and rampant tenacity in varying bursts of energy whilst never letting expectations get a foot hold. With feet and emotions bursting for more by its close, time to leap on the new EP we say.

Better On the Day is available from February 9^th whilst the Wake Up In A Dream EP is out on February 7^th.

Both are supported by live dates @…

Feb 7th Edinburgh (The Jazz Bar) – EP Launch.

Feb 9th Glasgow (Broadcast)

Feb 13th Blackburn (Live Lounge)

Feb 14th London (Proud Camden)

Feb 15th London (Tipsy Bar)

Feb 16th – Brighton – Hotel Pelirocco

http://www.ded-rabbit.com

RingMaster 03/02/2015

 

 

Antigone Project – Self Titled EP

Creating electronic rock with seemingly a healthy influence of eighties synth rock and new wave, French band Antigone Project recently released their debut self-titled EP. It is a proposition which merges numerous potent flavours into atmospheric flights of sound, each soaked in evocative ambiences and embracing as many nostalgic essences as it does fresh endeavours. The release grows on the ears and psyche, making a strong first impression but evolving into an even more stirring proposition over time and plays. It is fair to say that it did not quite ignite a fire in the belly even then, but like a lover’s caress it coaxes and lingers for a thoroughly enthralling and enjoyable proposal.

The Antigone Project is the creation of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Frédéric Benmussa, initially a solo project formed in 2002 and expanded over time by the addition of lead guitarist Nik Nonotte, bassist Manu Ventre, and drummer Fred Monaco. With shows alongside the likes of Moriarty and many festival appearances subsequently under their belt, the Paris quartet has continued to evolve and hone their sound over the years, fusing French and English sung songs into an attention luring collection of songs inspired from the likes of Pink Floyd, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Joy Division, Tool, and numerous more. Last November the band released this, their debut EP, and the Florent Livet (Phoénix, Housse de racket, Bloc Party) mixed and Antoine “Chab” Chabert (Daft Punk, Justice, Detroit) mastered proposition was swiftly drawing acclaimed loaded reactions.

As The Voyager spreads its elegant charm across ears it is easy to see why the release has been keenly embraced so far. With radiant and vocal melodies emerging from keys as a spoken narrative whispers in raw tones, the song is soon sparking the imagination. It eventually erupts into a magnetic flight of sonic intrigue and suggestiveness as rhythms roll across its broadening scenery before settling into a more restrained grazing of evocative vocals from Benmussa and matching sounds. Predominantly though there is a spatial air to the track, a vast soundscape of aural drama and sonic adventure which drives the music and sets the release off in striking style.

The following Lux Machinae bubbles with electro vivacity from its first breath, a darker yawn of keys the only shadow to the track’s melodic dance. Benmussa again immediately impresses with his vocals whilst musically the song has a flirtatious essence of bands like Blancmange and Depeche Mode to its character. Rawer tones from the guitar also infuse the flavoursome tapestry of the song, helping create an almost fiery heart and presence especially in the raucous finale where vocals are as emotionally aflame as the rich sounds around them.

Diversity is openly available on the release as shown again by the guitar led entrance of Egolist. The track glides into an eighties bred sway of sound from that initial coaxing bringing a definite Visage flavouring to the French language delivered temptation. A relatively gentle stroll from the start with a slightly brooding texture to its persuasion, it breeds an increasingly intensive drama which subsequently fuels every emerging aspect of the impressive and riveting romance with the senses. It is the peak of the release but straight away backed by the celestial seduction of Alphabot. Keys once again take charge as they steer the song, creating a soaring sonic expression nicely tempered by a great darkly lit bassline. There is a feel of Interpol and UK band Silhouettes to the emotively crafted croon which only aids the seduction enveloping ears and imagination. The song does not leap from the speakers but binds the listener into a long term and persistent tempting which is just as potent as the more immediate thrills of other songs.

The EP also comes with a trio of bonus tracks, starting with the rhythmic jungle and melodic incitement of Eko. The song explores another avenue to the band’s sound, its body taking on an indie and rock rawness to stand aside of its predecessors. The track is a riveting look into another corner of Antigone Project’s sound and invention, and definitely is more than just a bonus treat, much like God Played A Trick On Us which equally explores new territory with an underlying folk lilt to its emotive balladry. As it simmers with increasingly livelier intent, keys and guitars create a magnetic cradle for the alluring vocals. The song reminds ears in many ways of Colin Vearncombe and his project Black, rivalling anything else on the EP before the outstanding Infinite Pulse provides a closing weave of electronic tempting. Its sizeable enticement comes complete with a bass lure surely inspired by The Cure as well as vocal and melodic theatre bred from seeds of The The. It is a striking end to an excellent introduction to the Antigone Project who, in bridging nostalgic and modern sounds in their unique yet welcomingly familiar way, you can expect to see in more intensive spotlights from hereon in.

The Antigone Project EP is available now via Samla Music @ http://findiemerch.com/en/antigone-project-antigone-project/ and digitally @ http://dooweet.bandcamp.com/album/antigone-project

https://www.facebook.com/antigoneproject

RingMaster 07/01/2015

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

http://www.thereputationlabel.today/