The Permanent Smilers – One Real Big Identity Crisis

One Real Big Identity Crisis, the new album from UK band The Permanent Smilers, is a release with no apparent direction or framework to its intent and enterprise; a release which basically lives up to its title but boy is it a slab of irresistible fun. Through thirteen songs, band and album take on a torrent of different styles and nostalgic flavours which really should not work alongside each other as coherently as they do, and all come with a humour and mischief which adds to rather than overrides the adventure of the individual characters. It is slightly deranged but not chaotic and thoroughly unpredictable yet not messy considering the vast sounds employed from song to song. Most of all though it is simply a compelling proposition which comes from left-field, keeps its heart there, and leaves the most enjoyable experience in its wake.

There is little we can tell you about the band itself, though The Permanent Smilers is fronted by Richard Lemongrower who was the songwriter behind Norwich band The Lemongrowers, a band releasing two albums on Noisebox at some point in time. Produced with Jonny Cole and mixed by David Pye, One Real Big Identity Crisis takes little time in lighting ears and imagination, though it opens with maybe its weakest song. That is a little misleading as it takes a song to get a handle, or try to, on the release anyway but certainly Identity Crisis did not really grip attention as much as elsewhere and left thoughts with a slight wondering of what have we got ourselves into. Strongly swung rhythms and similarly intensive riffs clasp ears within the first breath of the song, their bait a jabbing lure against the unpolished yet engaging tones of Richard. It is an easily flowing and energetic slice of rock ‘n’ roll with the bass of Jonny Cole pungent bait at the centre of the stomp. Truthfully there is little wrong with the song but it lacks a spark in its presence which evades the reaction it probably deserves and is easy to imagine being found with others.

The good if unsure start is soon a thing of the past as Uh-Oh takes over with its festive folk swagger and emerging carnival like devilment. Sporting a splash of Tankus The Henge to its relaxed but vibrant stroll, the song is a constant swing of melodic hips as it moves towards an unexpected and mouth-watering slip into a Dukes of Stratosphear like ethereal psychedelic charm and climate, returning back into festive mood soon after as if it had just emerged from a dip in the sea. The song is fascinating and bewitching, and just the first of numerous adventures into different landscapes, as shown next by the punk pop devilry of You Know Where To Go. Bred from seventies power pop and carrying a mix of The Flys and The Lurkers to its hookery, the song just hits the sweet spot with its insatiable energy and mischief, before making way for the more relaxed melodic embrace of Elastic. The keys and guitars of Richard weave another enthralling web of sound here, this time with a sniff of sixties pop to it which is punctuated by the crisp beats of drummer Pete Fraser and dark bass lures of Cole. By its close, the song somehow becomes a thumping anthem without losing any of its melodic and gentle elegance, a potent feat for any song to offer.

Both Just No Good and It Doesn’t Work Anymore keep album and ears bouncing with energy and pleasure, the first using a garage rock spicing again teased by a sixties almost Doors like toxicity, whilst the second again spawning from the same kind of seeding brings a rawer punk grouchiness with its presence. Each has feet and emotions joining their rigorous coaxing before Ghosts allows a breather for the body if not the imagination with its Simon and Garfunkel meets Burt Bacharach like embrace. The brass persuasion of Dave Land seductively flames over similarly captivating keys and vocal caresses through the song but as always there is a scent of devilment to the song with thoughts wondering at times if they should be enjoying this as much as they are. There is no escaping its thick charm though.

The next pair of songs brings a rich sense of XTC to their enterprise and persuasion, Rebel broadening that over time with a seventies kissed soar of progressive fuelled psyche rock whilst its successor, Voodoo has the stamp of Andy Partridge to its flirtatious pop and virulent enterprise. The pair leaves nostalgia glazed lips licked and, through the latter especially, ears basking in psyche pop of the most delicious kind complete with jazzy brass and funk spirited unpredictability.

You Know When To Go dives straight back into punk infused rock ‘n’ roll for its brief but sparkling instrumental before Unforseen manages to conjure an encounter which recalls the quirky indie pop of The Monochrome Set and the plainer but no less tasty essence of Tom Robinson. The song alternatively stomps and swirls around ears, every passing hook and melody it conjures an intriguing and quaint yet voracious tease before it moves off into the distance allowing the outstanding See Through You to make its lingering mark. Acoustically shaped with an avalanche of panzer gun delivered rhythms, the song initially is a smouldering and majestic sway of sound. It subsequently explodes though into a tempest of energy and revelry which only lifts a great song to a heady plateau. Imagine the volatile energy of De Staat at their most devilish with the epidemic hunger of eighties punk/power pop and you get a sense of the glorious treat.

One Real Big Identity Crisis closes with the acoustic lullaby of Sleepyhead, the album ending as it started with a track which does not catch the ardour triggered elsewhere but certainly graces ears with tantalising propositions. This album is one unexpected and seriously enjoyable adventure; not breaking down boundaries or venturing into the unknown but never providing a moment when you are not surprised or wrapped up in its refreshing simplicity woven by skill and invention. There is only time left to lick lips all over again as we close off and dive straight back into The Permanent Smilers’ irresistible arms, something we suggest you do too upon release.

One Real Big Identity Crisis is released in April via IRL Records with new single Identity Crisis out in March.

http://www.thepermanentsmilers.com/   https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Permanent-Smilers/1539697962929725

RingMaster 23/02/2015

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

Hawk Eyes – Everything is Fine

Debut album Ideal set the seeds for a lustful appetite which the following That’s What This Is not only cemented but took to new feverish heights; so anticipation for us and their fans for new album Everything is Fine was not exactly calm. Every want and expectation demanded of UK rockers Hawk Eyes it has to be said is swiftly met by the bands second full-length but it is only half of the story. On their breath-taking new encounter, the band explores new instinctively primal and raw depths within a greater and furiously fevered invention. Everything is Fine is rock ‘n’ roll at its most rugged and voracious, but also offered in its greatest imaginatively virulent form.

The heart and persuasion of the Leeds band began in the guise of Chickenhawk, a proposition similarly making a potent impression through their live presence and the album Modern Bodies of 2010. It was from the name change to Hawk Eyes though, that the unit tapped into a broader and richer vein of attention and personal creative exploration with a similarly expanding and creatively rebellious sound. The first album under the new guise, Ideals set a bigger roar within the British rock scene which That’s What This Is pushed even further but now having had Everything is Fine raging through ears into the passions, it is easy to say they were just hearty appetisers for a much bigger inventive meal.

The writing of the PledgeMusic funded Everything Is Fine began in 2012, songs emerging within and round the band’s constant hunger to tour and play shows, which included supported the likes of System of A Down at arena shows and playing the biggest music festivals across Europe, as well as SXSW over in the States. Even writers block for vocalist and guitarist Paul Astick could not derail the oncoming creative storm driving the new album, the man solving his problem by absconding to a hole at Spurn Point in Yorkshire on a really bleak evening with the outcome an oppressively dark and wonderfully ravenous title track.

The album though starts off with the inescapable lure of The Trap, a song making a gentle and slightly melancholic entrance with an air and dark stringed caress to match. Its first minute is a tantalising coaxing for ears and imagination before parting its veils for the pungent and anthemic rhythmic lure of drummer John Mackenzie aligned to the just as compelling throaty bassline offered by Ryan Clark. The outstanding vocals of the band are soon crooning and lifting the energy of the song, never letting it off its leash but prowling the senses and emotions with riveting expression and expertise. There is a breath of Dioramic and Pigeon Lake to the track, a harmonic and shadow wrapped breeze which only lifts the passions further as the opener crowds excitingly around the listener leading them towards a superb hook loaded vocal and almost combative climax.

The exceptional start is backed feistily by the sonic agitation of The Ambassador, a song grasping a dirtier hardcore laced vocal and rhythmic confrontation to its melodically clothed and tenaciously muscular breast. Hooks tease and riffs abrase from Robert Stephens and Astick, as vocals eye ball the listener with their boisterous tones and narrative. It is a blend ensuring body and emotions continue to be tightly clasped ready for the exceptional call of Die Trying. Soon offering punk vivacity to its heavier metal seeded tempest, the track equally finds an alternative rock contagion which offers shades of bands like Baddies in its unique creative brawl. It is a thumping encounter bringing further spices to its magnetic turbulence, a grungy essence as intriguing and gripping as the sinew driven aspects of the masterful persuasion.

There is strong variety to the flavours of the song and even greater diversity to the album, as straight away shown by the raucous heavy rock stomp of Permission with its progressively honed melodies and the catchy warm stroll of The Ballad Of Michael McGlue. The first roars like a mix of Queens Of The Stone Age and Therapy? whilst the second looks at another more indie/alternative rock canvas coloured with funky beats and melodically inflamed evocative hues. Both captivate with ease, though the sudden stop of the latter and the immediate charge of the following More Than A Million soon has album and listener hitting greater exhaustive energies. The wonderfully toxic snarl of the bass and accompanying acidic grooves chain the passions instantly, whilst the continually impressive vocals of Astick along with the unpredictable nature of song and individual creativity within the band, enthrals as they lure body and voice into the swing and anthem of the track.

Terribly Quelled shows its aggressive proclivity next, snarling with resourceful and inviting belligerence attached to punk fuelled anthemic suasion before Night Music absorbs a Faith No More like climate as it provides another fascinating and increasingly addictive inducement complete with roaming rhythms, mesmeric vocals, and sonic blazes. Both songs leave emotions high though are soon in the shadow of the outstanding I Never Lose and the album’s scintillating title track. The first of the pair twists and flirts with an agitated new wave bloomed enterprise reminding of the likes of We Are The Physics. This is aligned to an unbridled stalking of heavy rock ‘n’ roll rabidity for striking success, whilst the latter is a tempestuous consumption of ears with a post punk and discord lit bluster of predatory imagination and sonic causticity. It is also, from within its corrosive smother, one seriously infectious proposal brilliantly closing with a thrilling parade of enterprise which hints of very early Adam and The Ants.

Everything Is Fine is brought to an engrossing end by firstly, the controlled yet ferocious avalanche of rhythmic intimidation and sonic examination that is Enemies, and lastly the seven minute plus TFF. The final song does not quite match up to all that went before it, yet leaves the listener engulfed in a tapestry of melodic and dramatically multi-flavoured adventure, which shows just how exceptional other songs are to outshine it.

In many ways Hawk Eyes had a head start thanks to the already hungry appetite for their sounds already bred by the band previously but Everything Is Fine surpasses all hopes and greedy demands with quick and masterful majesty. Start those best of year lists right now and put Hawk Eyes right at the top.

Everything Is Fine is available from February 9^th through Red Vole @ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/everything-is-fine/id962728478

Check out Hawk Eyes on tour@

Thurs Feb 12, Maguire’s Pizza Bar, Liverpool

Fri Feb 13, Barfly, London

Sat Feb 14, The Joiners, Southampton

Mon Feb 16, Louisiana, Bristol

Tues Feb 17, Bodega, Nottingham

Weds Feb 18, Sound Control, Manchester

Thurs Feb 19, The Cluny, Newcastle

Fri Feb 20, Nice N Sleasy, Glasgow

Sat Feb 21, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

http://www.hawkeyesmusic.com

RingMaster 09/02/2015

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

 

Grassroutes – Subliminal

Breathless and basking in a ska shaped incitement which never tires however it comes, we eagerly suggest checking out the new single from UK rockers Grassroutes. Drawing on the ska/ indie fusion which goes to good use by numerous bands, the Leamington Spa quintet give it their own unique flavouring and rampancy to leave ears excited and knees buckling under the weight of the enthusiasm it inspires. Subliminal is a devilment, an insatiable persuasion which if you have a penchant for ska and the likes of Madness, The Vox Dolomites , and The Talks all rolled up into one new adventure, the closest we can come up with to describe their sound, then Grassroutes is for you.

There is plenty more to the Grassroutes sound to that suggested above of course, one additional spicing maybe coming from the Jamaican descent of vocalist/rhythm guitarist Jay Hall and certainly through his reggae inspirations. Linking up with lead guitarist Ben Knight, a long time school friend, the pair started indie rock band The Royal Players. It was the seed and gateway to the emergence of Grassroutes, with line-up changes over the years subsequently bringing bassist Justin Bygrave, keyboardist/guitarist Levi Washington, and drummer Jimmy Barnwell into the band’s fold. Year and a half on from its start, the band is still earning a potent reputation for their live performances and now working on their debut album, to which Subliminal is a teaser already brewing up impatient anticipation in some quarters.

The first breath of the song brings an earthy bassline and charming melodies cast by guitars and keys. It is a catchy entrance enhanced further by the slightly gravelly tones of Hall and an increasingly stronger swing to the song which infects bass, riffs, and keys alike with every second. An anthemic chorus with full band vocal participation sparks another wave of rich pleasure; its punk lined revelry flirted with by great Mike Barson like mischievous and infectious keys. It all combines for slavery of feet and emotions. A bustling riot and temptation of sound is never an offering to turn away, but especially in a track like this where from its infectious and relatively restrained moments, it ignites with increasing virulence on its way to an exhilarating climax.

Listening to Subliminal again and again, a whisper of King Prawn shows itself within the single, a scent which can only ever be a good thing at any time though again like all colouring it only adds to a proposition which is solely Grassroutes. The single is primed to set the year alight, to bring the summer in early though thoughts and emotions are left with just one thing to say…bring on the album.

Subliminal is available from Feb 9^th.

https://www.facebook.com/grassroutesband

RingMaster 03/02/2015

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

 

Tripod – Devil Feeder

You just have to like a release which makes a more than solid first impression but then almost sneaks up on you song by song to present itself as one seriously enjoyable and impressive slab of rock ‘n’ roll. This is what Devil Feeder does. Consisting of thirteen stoner and grunge bred roars, the new album from Norwegian metallers Tripod is a sizeable proposition from its first play but over time and as mentioned almost track by track, becomes something irresistible. It is not an encounter stretching boundaries or redesigning templates but it is an album to leaves ears and pleasure full to bursting with its enterprise and inspiring passion.

Formed in 2002, its Nordfjordeid / Trondheim hailing creators have been stirring up appetites and attention for a long time and especially since their Trøndercore Records released debut album Nevermind This Black Album came out in 2008, though it was with its successor Four Coins in 2012 that Tripod awoke even broader awareness of their sound. In saying that though, the quintet did already a successful tour of China under their belts before it’s unveiling. A subsequent remix of the album came next after producer Beau Hill (Warrant, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper) approached the band with that intention, followed by a line-up change which saw guitarist Jørgen Sporsheim Berg link up with vocalist Knut Arne Lillestøl, guitarist Stein-Inge Øien, bassist Espen Bjørnholt, and drummer Åge Solheim. The recording of Devil Feeder began in 2013 and here we are, with one increasingly thrilling and potent release from a band it is easy to suspect will breach even richer attention through it.

The release opens with Safe Place and a gentle inviting stroking of guitar. It is a coaxing soon lifting its restrained skirt to unleash rampant rhythmic kicks and a muscular dance of guitar and great varied vocals. It is an instantly gripping and infectious proposal revealing that Tripod has a sound which embraces both grunge and stoner with the urgency of tenacious rock ‘n’ roll. There is also a melodic charm and enterprise to the song which only captures the imagination as the opener launches the album off in fine and robust style.

The following Love Stake reveals a great predacious tone is lurking within the bass of Bjørnholt and ready to enslave emotions as a blues kissed sonic weave escapes the craft of the guitars. There is a hard rock essence to the song as well as a Stone Temple Pilots blaze to its sonic and emotive textures, two rich spices aligning to the potent vocals of Lillestøl. The song as the first, roars in its own individual way before letting the album’s title track throw some heavy metal ferocity and folk metal like drama into the maelstrom of adventure brewing up within Devil Feeder. The track bewitches with every twist and fusion of those respective fiery and melodic flavours, leaving thoughts and passions engrossed before making way for the more reserved and gentle I Used To. It and the following Possible open up more varied colouring to the album, the first of the two a soulful croon under blues rock shaded gradually tempestuous skies and the second a song venturing into rock pop scenery with rumbling rhythms and also a changeable melodic climate. Both songs lively simmer in the passions compared to the earlier songs, but each still holds attention and appetite for the album firmly in their enterprise.

The next up Zubr is something different again, a bordering on bedlamic swagger of rhythms from drummer Solheim within a tantalising weave of groove metal enticing, immediate incendiary bait for ears and emotions. It is when the song flirts with a System Of The Down like invention and devilry that the track explodes into an even greater breath-taking and thrilling beast. The best track on the album, it leaves ears and desires greedily hungry for more, something not as forcefully provided by Meant to Be, though it’s piano and stringed ballad like beauty is still a pleasure embracing the senses. Breaking out emotional and physical sinews the deeper into its presence it goes, the track reveals yet another facet to the songwriting and imaginative songwriting of Tripod, with increasing enjoyment coming with every listen.

Ride is next and straight away it is stirring the air with raucous riffs and a throaty bassline within a web of jabbing beats. On top of this appealing proposition Lillestøl provides a flame of passionate and lyrical energy but it is the brush of strings and ever shifting landscape of the song which impresses and excites the most. We said earlier that the album does not exactly set new unique markers down but with songs like this and of course Zubr it is a thought challenged at times.

The pair of Inside My Head with its blues rock spiced bellow and All for Granted fascinates and pleases if without rising to the heights of the previous and other songs t. The latter features some magnetic female vocals to rival the strength and range of Lillestøl and easily leaves ears wanting more, a request fed to some degree by the rebellious rock ‘n’ roll of What You Wanted where grunge and rock pop collude to design another contagious success within Devil Feeder.

The excellent We Own the Night stands before ears next with an intensity which is not exactly a brawl in attitude but certainly has a rebellious nature to its muscular flexing and sonic creativity. There are moments like here where Tripod remind of fellow Norwegians Pigeon Lake in the ability to fuse varied styles in one confrontational yet welcoming storm of enterprise, a craft shown again in the closing If I Die, a piece of emotional and melodic melodrama with a beauty and imagination which ignites the imagination and seduces ears.

It is a potent and masterful end to a quite refreshing and inescapably enjoyable album. Rock ‘n’ roll is there to be anthemic, invigorating, and passionate, all things fuelling Devil Feeder with high grade potency. With the additional inventiveness and devilment which Tripod also adds though, it becomes a must search out and enjoy recommendation.

Devil Feeder is available now!

https://www.facebook.com/Tripodofficial

RingMaster 21/01/2015

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

Kirra – Run Away

With the release of their Sounds from an Empty Room EP last year, US rockers band Kirra suggested they were a prospect with the potential to make great strides in the rock world. Now the release of debut album Run Away compounds that theory whilst showing some of the strong evolving steps expected. The twelve track encounter is a seriously accomplished and forcibly solid proposition, aspects alone making Kirra a band to culture an appetite for and the album something to thoroughly enjoy. With moments of inspired invention and explosive imagination on board too though, it also shows a promise and ability to light addictive fires. If you are looking for a hard rock proposition with a freshness and increasingly striking adventure to spark the day, then Run Away is worth a long hard look.

It is fair to say that the Oklahoma City quartet has been healthily feeding an increasing spotlight and growing fan base at home with a live presence which has seen them play across America whilst taking in shows with the likes of 3 Doors Down, Primer 55, Puddle Of Mudd, Kill Devil Hill, Screaming for Silence, and Saving Able along the way. With its seeds coming in the wish of lead guitarist Daxton Page, after leaving a rock school program, to start a band, Kirra began coming together once drummer Zach Stafford was introduced to Page through friends. Subsequently bassist Ryne McNeill was found through an ad, who in turn suggested vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Williamson to the band. With the line-up completed, Kirra worked on songs and released that first EP in 2014, with the single from it, Downfall finding strong acclaim and support from online media and social media fans alike. Run Away is the band’s offering to the bigger picture of the rock scene, and a sizeable nudge on their awareness and attention the self-produced, Ricardo Sasaki mixed is.

The electronic opening of first song Tappy Gilmore instantly livens up ears and imagination, its initial lure soon bolstered by sinew driven rhythms and a strong caress of riffs. It is a bright opening enhanced again by the vocals of Williamson and a slight Alter Bridge like enticement in the muscular and welcoming proposition. It is also a punchy introduction to the album with great flare-ups of aggression and energy in the melodic landscape of the song.

A darker predatory intimidation comes with Fly next, especially through the great throaty bassline of McNeill and the raw brush of riffs. Swiftly putting the previous song in its shade, it prowls ears as vocals again provide a pleasing if less incendiary colour to the antagonism. With alluring craft and sonic enterprise from Page igniting the imagination and senses as the song relaxes into further inventive temptation, it continues to impress and like the album as whole, gains greater strength and potency over subsequent listens. It is a definite grower much as the following Lies and its successor Lay You Down .The first of the two has a Chevelle spicing to its potent persuasion whilst the second is like a boxer jabbing away from its first breath before building a pungent stroll of darkly tempered and fiery rock ‘n’ roll. Though neither song finds the same level of energy in emotions and praising, each leaves ears fully contented and thoughts hungry for more, a want straight away encouraged by the album’s gentler title track and fed fully by the outstanding stepping forward of Chemicals.

     Run Away the song, is a great croon with another imposing bass sound to match as emotional and sonic flames provide a lingering incitement but it is Chemicals where things catch fire, and for us the album offers it’s seriously stirring and thrilling moments. The song again through the bass, immediately opens up new provocative shadows. It is gripping dramatic bait soon complimented and expanded by the stomping beats of Stafford and an abrasing scrub of riffs. Just as impacting in the triumph though is the continually twisting and riveting ideation which veins the song, guitars and rhythms never staying in one place or offering any particular intent for too long. It helps create a predator of a song with a metal and sonically progressive breeding as flavoursome as its melodic rock enterprise.

This new plateau is continued through the mellower but no less exciting and dramatic Downfall and the sturdier confrontation of Should’ve Been Gone where muscles and textures show as much a threat as they do an inescapable seduction. Both songs reveal new depths and imagination to songwriting and sound, pulling every skill and inventiveness of the band members into enthralling and gripping scenarios. The latter for no obvious reason reminds of Bush at times but both tracks show an originality which lurks in Kirra and shows itself in varying strengths across the album.

Drown and Stay keep satisfaction and enjoyment high, even though neither can quite match the might and exploration of its predecessors despite showing more contagious sounds and courageous invention, especially through the devilish lures of bass and guitars. As in all songs the lyrical narrative comes packed with emotion and reflection on the two tracks, as evidenced again by the mellower and increasingly magnetic balladry of Forgive Me. The song ebbs and flows in its power a little, but with a chorus which just feel bigger and bolder with every roar it is another memorable pleasure from Kirra.

Completed by the brash energy and invigorating creativity of Too Far Gone, the album is a mightily promising and exciting full introduction to the band. It shows a few wrinkles which should naturally iron out in the band’s organic evolution, like the excellent vocals of Williamson lacking a rawer spark or snarl at times to match the more rugged sounds around him. There are songs too which never explode as they hint they might, and you wish they would, but all are things easy to expect being worked out as the band grows into the force their album suggests is in the making. Most importantly Run Away leaves nothing but fattening satisfaction and enjoyment in its wake, and a want to hear much more from Kirra.

Run Away is available from January 21^st @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/run-away/id956087310

http://www.kirramusic.com/

RingMaster 21/01/2015

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

 

David Bronson – Questions

Emotionally intimate and exploratory, with a just as expressive melodic climate, the new album from New York City singer songwriter/producer David Bronson is a warm and resourceful landscape of thought and sparkling enterprise. Consisting of songs which as its title, seems to stem from Questions Bronson has asked of himself and his life, the album is a striking and immersive caress on ears and imagination. It is not an encounter which always consistently lights personal appetites to the same strength as its finest moments, but one emerging as a lingering and thoroughly enjoyable proposition easy to recommend to those with a want of soulful and melody drenched creativity.

The successor to his acclaimed 2013 debut album The Long Lost Story, ‘a decade-in-the-making, 22-song autobiographical double album’ split into two separate releases, Questions sees Bronson looking at his life and the world right now, and drawing on the likes of vocalist Robin Clark (Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Al Green, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, David Bowie), guitarist Carlos Alomar (David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Paul McCartney, John Lennon), guitarist Robbie “Seahag” Mangano, drummer Lautaro Burgos, and Gordon Grody to inventively colour these investigations. Whereas the first release expressed a more indie rock seeded sound around his seventies inspired songwriting, the new album embraces new adventurous flavours such as soul, folk, and gospel in its new proposals, a spicing helping the Godfrey Diamond (Lou Reed)/Bronson produced Questions become a captivating and intriguingly varied encounter.

From the opening Songbird, Bronson and album has ears and attention awake, its acoustic caress of guitar the canvas for some delicious harmonies and the lyrical prowess and insight of Bronson. Immediately there is a Paul Simon like air to the heart of the song but also plenty to make it radiate a fresh and original presence. Vibrant beats only add catchy texture to the gentle swing of the song but it is the gospel bred harmonies which steal the impressive show.

Both Move Like Water and Day By Day glide through personal balladry with Bronson and guitar again offering a sure and warm entrance to which melodies and sultry climates, not forgetting a great throaty bassline in the first of the two, immerse senses and thoughts evocatively. Each pleases with their individual charms but it is with Push that another surge of greed hits ears and personal appetite. The fourth track is an instant drama with keys straight away looming and laying down a single prod before taking a pause, returning a few seconds later with the same Boomtown Rats like potency as they align to the alluring strum of the guitar. It is a mesmeric track, voice and music sketching an easily accessible and emotively connecting narrative in a dance of creative and vivacious enterprise.

The following Task is another stirring and inescapable invitation for feet and emotions to fully engage in, its sway of funk fuelled revelry a swift and fascinating infectiousness with melodic resourcefulness to match. It and its predecessor provide the pinnacle of the album, the thrilling peak to which other songs aspire but with varying success cannot quite emulate. Despite that the likes of the Lennon-esque All These Things and the smouldering dark folk theatre of Life Is long provide thoroughly enjoyable and lingering temptations whilst the melodic rock fuelled My Good Friend with its compelling seventies psyche rock keys, add another strain of bright adventure and full pleasure to album and emotions respectively.

The closing pair of Connect The Dots and Passing Fiction slip into more reserved hugs of melodic and harmonic endeavour which, without finding the same persuasive spark as their immediate predecessors, ignite ears and thoughts with consummate ease. The guitar adventure of the pair is an especially thrilling and magnetic coaxing, the twinges of discord which bless the imagination of strings and fingers as enthralling as anything on the album.

Questions is a definite investigation for certainly fans of the likes of Paul Simon and John Lennon but equally those of current talent like Seth Lakeman and Thom Bowden. The album did not quite ignite enough fire in emotions across its length but really only due to personal tastes and with some quite thrilling tracks and invention involved it is easy to assume it will spark a blaze in a great many.

Questions is available from 19^th January via Big Arc

www.davidbronsonmusic.com

RingMaster 19/01/2015

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

Maxstone – The Decade EP

Having ten years or so to hone a flavoursome and attention grabbing sound around Southern Saskatchewan and beyond, Canadian rockers Maxstone finally released their debut a few months back, a stirring encounter going under the name of The Decade EP which all fans of metal and punk infused rock ‘n’ roll should add to their must investigate lists. Bringing two older songs with a couple of newer written encounters, the release is a seriously enjoyable bruise of the ears bringing a mix of Strung Out, Red Tape, and Thrice like ferocity to their rugged party. At times there is even a hint of Reuben to the creative fire of songs and though the EP is not flushed with striking originality, it only leaves thick satisfaction and fierce appetite for more in its wake.

Made up of Nathan Fafard, Gelvis Sheldon, Brett Marit, and Jordan Godson, Maxstone sets things off with Battle and immediately guitars are a blaze of sonic enterprise amidst a bracing provocation of rhythms. It is a sturdy ear catching entrance which soon embraces similarly raw and impassioned vocals without breaking stride. Punk at its heart but with a delicious veining of metal seeded grooves and sharp hooks, the energetic and at times almost chaotic bluster of the song is as appealing as the technical craft and imagination flirting from within the impressive opener.

The following Mystery Whiskey is built from the same template, its intensity and passion as forceful and busy as in its predecessor. Musically there is less of a roar in the second track than the first, but with the vocals losing none of their thick expression and the chorus finding stronger virulence, the song keeps the EP on a potent and magnetic course before being eclipsed by the final pair of songs.

Panic stomps in first, beats a scything provocateur against the spicy grooves of the guitars. Vocally there is a slight restraint which works a treat as bass and guitars cast their web of melodic punk and metal seeded sonic enterprise. Group calls back up these potent aspects as the song progresses, its anthemic strength accentuated by their roars within another enjoyable weave of fierce melodies and punchy rhythms. Completed by a brief but great classic metal toned solo, the track makes way for the outstanding Greed. The best track on the release it is a blast of punk hostility and heavy rock predation driven by the blistering and skilled force of the drums. Full to the brim with searing sonic hooks and throaty bass grooves aligned to another dose of anthemic vocal persuasion, the track is a rampant incitement which only increases its lure, weight, and intensity as it heads into a heady climax fuelled by the exhausting and scintillating assault of the drums.

The Decade EP is an impressive start to the band’s recording career, the first of many potent encounters a great many will be hoping as it gains broadening attention. It is not going to set the world on fire but for heart felt antagonistic punk ‘n’ roll it will leave no one wanting, only hungry for more Maxstone.

The Decade EP is available now @ http://maxstone.bandcamp.com/album/the-decade-e-p

https://www.facebook.com/maxstonerock/

RingMaster 12/01/2015

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