Shit The Cow – The one with the devil

The one with the devil is the fifth EP from “scrapyard rockers” Shit The Cow but our introduction to the Swedish quartet and boy are we kicking ourselves for that. The six track incitement is a furore of creative theatre and raw energy treating ears and imagination to an often ferocious and always compelling mix of alternative and hard rock with as forceful punk, stoner, and garage rock infusions.  Hindsight shows that it is a mix which has primarily fuelled the band’s previous exciting releases in their various characters of sound but is at a new pinnacle within this latest encounter.

From 2012 EP volume/cow, Stockholm based Shit The Cow has uncaged a sound which infests the imagination but as shown by our recent discovery of them, thanks to the band themselves, maybe not always awareness. Certainly subsequent EPs, Salt of the earth (2013), Rissna (2014), and 67p have drawn plaudits and a host of new fans but it might just be, with deserved luck, that it is The one with the devil which ignites real attention.

Produced by Ron Haven, The one with the devil swiftly grips ears and induces raw hunger with opener Warcow. At a few breaths over a minute in length, the song is a rampaging surge of infectious caustic punk pop; like a lustfully dirty blend of The Dickies and The Super Happy Fun Club, all fuzzy guitar and irresistible hooks driven by thumping rhythms. Vocalist/guitarist Peter Söderberg sits astride the surging drive of the track, his great vocals backed and surrounded by the guitar/bass enterprise of Daniel Kjellberg and Erik Rosenberg, the pair apparently sharing instruments across the EP. Short but ridiculously infectious, the song has ears and psyche enslaved in little time before the EP’s title track lays down its potent bait.

One With The Devil has a slightly slower stride to its gait but a more imposing weight and tone as it as good as prowls the senses. A glorious hook within a superhero essence captures the imagination as swiftly as the magnetically firm beats of Robin Lindqvist court the instincts to rock ‘n’ roll. Like Eagles Of Death Metal meets Helldorado yet not, the song is pure rock alchemy, a primal solicitation of the passions snarling away with increasing potency

The following El Chupacabra has a similar template to its character, stalking ears as engaging vocals and imagination entangling grooves collude with nagging riffs and rapacious rhythms. Featuring the backing female vocal charm and beauty of someone apparently called Alex, the song is a tempestuous, almost volcanic fire of raw intensity and melodic seduction which tempts and insists on attention as repetitious beats and niggly riffs core the whole bewitching affair.

There is something familiar about next up The Villain, an essence we have not yet pinned down but only adds to the intrigue and enjoyment of the exciting encounter. Again a wealth of flavours and textures are woven into a song by Shit the Cow, those female vocals alongside Söderberg icing on another irresistible slice of multi-faceted rock ‘n’ roll.

The band whips up another punk infested gen with IGGY next, the track a stomping beast of insistent beats and antagonistic riffs aligned to a bass growl to drool over with band vocals which ignite the spirit and indeed the vocal chords. There is a Jello Biafra air to the song, more Lard than Dead Kennedys maybe but very tasty all the same though ultimately song and sound is little like anyone else’s.

The EP is closed by an alternative version of Warcow; a quite delicious and haunting seducing with Alex on vocals courted by a host of portentous sounds and melancholically enthralling keys. The song is quite wonderful, a stunning end to a riveting and exhilarating first listen, for us, to Shit The Cow, the source of a new musical lust we are sure we will not be alone in having.

The one with the devil is out now across most online stores and @ https://shitthecow.bandcamp.com/album/the-one-with-the-devil

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Pete RingMaster 13/10/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Eureka California – Versus

With songs as sonically dysfunctional as the lives in their themes, flavours and attitude at times bordering on dissonant, Versus is one of those albums which nags and pesters until it has attention involved in its mischievous challenge. The release is the new and third album from US garage rock/pop duo Eureka California, a band from Athens, Georgia who over the past three years or so has increasingly stirred up eager fuss for their sonic psychosis around an intimate and self-referential lyrical devilry.

Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jake Ward and drummer Marie A. Uhler, Eureka California made its first mark with the Modern Times EP in 2011, the band at that point a trio. The following year saw the release of debut album Big Cats Can Swim; its awareness stoking success then potently built on by firstly a 7” split with Good Grief in 2013 but more so by well-received second album Crunch a year later. The pair of encounters also saw the band as the duo now luring fresh spotlights with Versus, their first offering recorded in a studio.

It opens with Eureka California’s Night In, a pop jangle with thumping beats and a hungry horde of riffs around the expressive tones of Ward. There is a seventies power pop/punk feel to the track and a raucous feistiness which sets the theme and tone for the album. Like The Undertones/Only Ones meets The Hives whilst spaced out on toxic pizza, the song is a rousing start to the album swiftly backed up by the just as addictive Sign My Name With An X. It too has rebellion in its creative belly and belligerence in its touch as it engineers another slice of bracing garage punk pop. Imagining Melvins and The Replacements colluding with The Super Happy Fun Club gives a hint at the spirit raising, imagination inciting exploit. As all tracks bar two, the song is a swift, psyche infesting shot of creative adrenaline barely touching two let alone three minutes; just diving in, rushing out, and leaving greed loaded exhaustion in its wake.

The fuzzy pop ‘n’ roll of Another Song About TV strolls in next, its initial lure a scuzzy blaze which settles down for a hook stocked flirtation of guitar and voice. Uhler’s rhythms have a less imposing nature to their swings this time around but certainly have meat to their jabs and devilment in their invention across the brief and contagiously sweet incitement before it disappears in an instant to be replaced by the dirtier and more sonically irritable Sober Sister. The track soon has ears bristling in pleasure and thoughts grabbing the lyrical prowess and tenacity which swings through digs and humour at the turn of a syllable whilst spotlighting moments and experiences seemingly twisted from the listener’s own.

Through the grouchy bounce of Ghosts, growling sounds and vibrant vocals uniting to seriously captivate, and the acoustic off-kilter charm of Fear and Loathing in the Classic City, band and album just tighten their grip on ears and appetite. The following Cobwebs on the Wind then sees them uncage more rapacious riffs and chords within a muggy and forcibly enticing invitation to body and spirit before Caffeine lays its raw balladry on ears with initially melancholic causticity which brews up into a raucous tempest of noise and emotion.

Surf rock meets post punk is one aspect of the compelling Realizing Your Actuality which steps up next, its early sultry coaxing over steely rhythms irresistible and only reinforced by the corrosive crescendos which erupt then fall before taking over the track’s thick and inescapable persuasion for extended periods. Weezer-esque in its calm, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club toned in its predacious exploits, the track adds another big peak to the successes of Versus.

Another acoustic incitement in the reflective shape of Everybody Had a Hard Year steers eager ears the way of album closer I Will Write Mine Over Potomac and its own melodic caress leading to ravenous sonic and rhythmic ferocity. A song about “loneliness and fraying nerves”; the track ebbs and flows in intensity with thoughtful calms and a raw agitation which almost grinds on the senses. Though finding it a slow burner compared to others within Versus, it is an enthralling proposal which just gets under the skin as deeply as the album succeeds as a whole.

It might be pushing it to say that Versus is going to be the most unique album you hear this year yet everything about it is fresh and seeps Eureka California distinctiveness. Plus it rocks like a bitch and that is more than good enough for us.

Versus is out now via HHBTM Records and @ https://eurekacalifornia.bandcamp.com/album/versus

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Pete RingMaster 06/04/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Hentai Babies – YO!

Managing to persistently sound familiar and simultaneously unique, primarily down to having developed a one of a kind vivacious sound, UK indie popsters Hentai Babies have been one of the most criminally ignored bands in the British rock scene. Well that is not entirely true as the duo from the Isle of Wight has forged an increasingly devoured live presence and found a flood of radio play with independent radio shows and station, with Reputation Radio leading the way. National awareness it is fair to say has not yet been breached though, despite a host of ridiculously contagious and creatively blistering singles. That may all change now with the release of the band’s debut album YO!, a mouth-watering devilment which sooner than it takes a door knocking Jehovah Witness to clear a lively street, has body and emotions involved in one exhausting and exhilarating stomp.

Formed in 2012 and consisting of vocalist/guitarist/ programmer Paul McCann and bassist Bianca Kelly, Hentai Babies create pop rock with an inescapable addictiveness. Once infested by their sounds there is no escape, it is just getting their jangle into the psyche of the masses which, as all emerging bands find, is the hard part. YO! might and should be that trigger, the spark to widespread recognition for a band and sound which draws on inspirations from the likes of Nirvana, Oasis, Michael Jackson, Smashing Pumpkins, Perfume, Manic Street Preachers, Madonna, and Weezer for their invention, though it is only the latter you would really offer as some kind of reference to the originality of their songs.

The contagious party of YO! starts with Action Jackson, and an instant union of guitar jangles and expressive vocals which have ears and appetite on instant alert. Riffs and rhythms provide a pungent lure from the start too, the basslines of Kelly as throaty as they are seductive, whilst the crisp electronic beats simply match the voracious energy of the song. Punk, pop, indie, it is all in the slice of magnetic rock ‘n’ roll and there is no way anyone will have dormant feet or unused vocal chords by the end of the song. That is a reaction to expect from every song on the album, Canary Into The Cave proving the point straight after. It does have a more reigned in exertion compared to its predecessor, but in sound and enterprise it is just as tenacious and anthemic, and subsequently successful in fully involving the listener physically and emotionally. Hooks and melodies have a spicy tang to their infectious clamour too whilst vocally the band simply stirs up song and ears from start to finish.

   Hentai Babies has a busy sound which as shown in the last song, at times can hide some of the great twists and nuances working a way in songs. The second track provides a whimsical kiss of keys from within its depths but easy to miss as you leap around to the call of the encounter. It is not an issue or flaw but something extra to discover over subsequent plays, not that you are ever given a moment to take a breath with Yo!, the following One Potato Two quickly jabbing with an initial tease of guitar and punchy beats provided by guest drummer Rían O’Gandhi, before opening up into another full-on stroll coloured by a swaggering bassline and the ever alluring vocals. Lyrically repetition plays a big part of songs which might not work as well for some as others across a whole album, but it definitely only reinforces the anthemic quality of songs and makes them even easier to join in on, much to the neighbour’s annoyance admittedly.

Pop Is My Prozac comes next and despite its title actually has body and psyche even more agitated even with its gentler persuasion. No one told the hooks and infectiousness of the song to take it easy on the listener and again by its close the temptress of a song has you gasping for air before Something Uncomfortable strolls in. It also has a mellower presence then plenty of those around it but with a thick rock roar and sinew crafted rhythms to it, the song provides a fresh melodic blaze to the variety to the album.

US band Super Happy Fun Club come to mind with Sports Jerk which follows; a bounding romp of a song with a hook which spirals like a pole dancer around the appetite, whilst the following Harmony swerves and flirts with it grooves and spicy melodies for the same epidemic effect. Both tracks are newer ones in the imagination of McCann’s songwriting and explore new twists of sound and texture, whilst unearthing an even juicier form of the discord which always lights up their songs.

   A swift leap at ears, Bubblegum offers no polite introduction as it explodes in a blur of energy and sonic contagion. Hooks grin and riffs bristle as the punk infested song aggressively bounces around as if carrying ADHD, whilst vocally the band finds their most raucous persuasion yet. It is another leaving exhaustion in its wake though for maybe the only time, the band allows some respite from its energetic tempest with Nail On The Head. A dark flirty bassline comes wrapped in surf rock seeded melodies whilst the vocals also show some reserve in their delivery. A sixties rock pop hue emerges to embrace the enterprise of the guitar, and at one point the image of Freddie and The Dreamers swinging their deranged legs along to the song does came to mind.

Everything feistily erupts again with Super Sad, a song also opening with a big hook which has seeds in the pop of earlier decades. Addiction is a given with YO! and it shows no mercy here; vocally and musically the track an insatiable dance of pop punk ingenuity, quickly matched by the sonic and vocal croon of Sober As A Judge. The diversity of the album never diminishes as each song makes its offering, the penultimate incitement embracing a melancholic and reflective sentiment with matching melodic understanding.

Hentai Babies leave on one final bang in the rowdy shape of Go Fish. The song is a predator, riffs and bassline almost carnivorous whilst the beats sting on impact. Vocally too there is an attitude which snarls with every syllable yet that constant instinct inside the band to brew an epidemic riot of fun and body manipulation is an unavoidable temptation. The song is punk rock at its most boisterously infectious and a seismic end to a quite exhilarating album.

If after YO! Hentai Babies is still an unknown quantity then the nation is deaf, blind, or stupid. For us in the know though nothing changes, the band still remains one of the best unsung talents in the British music scene and equally one of the most exciting.

YO! is out now as a name your own price download @ https://hentaibabies.bandcamp.com/album/yo

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RingMaster 23/04/2015

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

 

Siren – The Row

Loaded with a boisterous and captivating strain of alternative rock aligned to pop punk vivacity, The Row from Italian rockers Siren is a release which may not be driven by startling originality but thoroughly thrills and rewards just the same. Consisting of eleven tracks which hold a creative swagger and contagious presence, the release is a debut to wake up potent attention, if not one to inspire a shouting from the rooftops over the Pesaro quartet.

Siren was formed in 2013 by guitarist Jack Nardini and soon grew with the addition of drummer Mark “Spud” McKenzie, vocalist/guitarist Samuel Frondero, and Marcus Kawaka on bass and synths. There were also personal and creative connections between various members of the band, which it is fair to say has brought a unity which it is easy to suggest helps their sound come over tight and impassioned. The Row is their step into the fuller gaze of not only Italy but the world with its release via Red Cat Records, who Siren recently signed with. Around a year in the making, the release is a gripping temptation of thick hooks and fiery melodies all locked in rock ‘n’ roll carrying a broad smile to its character.

The album opens with Swan’s Tale, a track where we would be lying if we said it instantly roused the passions. Now it would be wrong to mistake this for a poor start to The Row as it is a compelling and intriguing entrance into the release, slowly entwining melodies with a classical seeding caressing ears as male and female vocals seduce whilst a military lilted rhythmic lure make its potent persuasion. The track is pleasing and accomplished but for some reason for personal tastes offers more than it delivers, only whetting the appetite with its symphonic teasing rather than igniting it. It also is deceitful, its presence very different to the sound and revelry which emerges straight away in the following Dr. Saint and subsequently across the album.

The second track swiftly strides with punchy beats and enticing riffs, a hard/alternative rock bounce and catchiness fuelling the following strides of bass and spicy hooks. Vocally too Frondero comes with a contagious persuasion and energy, backed as resourcefully by Nardini and Kawaka. It all combines for a virulent stomp, one with enough reserve to stop it turning into a riot but plenty of aggressive enterprise to make a rich and lingering impression. Its excellent incitement is matched by the equally fiery and excited Mission. Again hooks and melodies hold a mischief in their tenacity and infectiousness, thoughts of Super Happy Fun Club and at times Offspring coming forth.

Through the tantalising intrigue of sound and expression in Lonely Dance, the album leaps another step in irresistible adventure, stalking guitars and sinisterly toned vocals the prelude to an energetically seductive chorus, which in turn is linked to its next expulsion by a teasing of minimal but potent melodies across an anthemic stroll of rhythms. It is a gripping bait of sinew framed melodic rock which is followed by the not quite as striking Track ’92, such the power of its predecessor. The song though instantly inspires the imagination, its open glaze of enticement amidst a mellow breath offering a Blue Oyster Cult air which floats into a canvas of evocative melodies and an increasingly brewing uprising of raw riffs and passion drenched vocals. More a smoulder than a romp as earlier songs, it offers a relentless expectations fooling temptation from first listen until it too stands to the fore of the biggest highlights of the album over time.

Love Is Gone steals tops honours on the album though; it’s niggling riffs and beats from the first second swiftly complimented by a tangy new wave vocal taunting wrapped in wiry grooves. At times the song and its imaginative flirtation borders on insane though it, as the sounds, is honed into a riot of rock pop contagion which leaves a nagging and lingering impression.

The pair of Wave, with its XTC whisper, and Roger Sabbath cast less dramatic but easily as engrossing offerings, the first song a summer breeze rolling in on a muscular rhythmic shuffle with melodies as pungent as the vocal harmonies embedded within its warm charm, and the second a classic rock spiced canter, equipped with jabbing beats and exotically flowing keys. It is the gnarly basslines though which ultimately steal the passions, its snarl a great temper for the flames of melodies and increasingly impressing vocals. Though neither song can match the pinnacle of The Row, both leave appetite lustful for more and emotions happy to throw increasing praise on band and release. Carpet also falls into that richly satisfying category, though with its sneaky stroll and elegant charm of keys, the track creeping with the rascality and buoyancy of 12 Stone Toddler, it puts a further high peak in the album’s suasion.

The Row is completed by firstly the raw and brawling punk bred Spit, punchy keys and beats the bait to which anthemic tendencies in riffs and vocals dance an agitation tune. It is a glorious charge through ears, though once gaining submission it teases with a side step into a drama hued calm before erupting again into that great energetic bluster. It is succeeded by Falling Down, the closing song an exceptional tenacious waltz with jagged riffs, flaming melodies, and emotion soaked strings all adding to its spellbinding tapestry.

From a decent start, The Row proves to be an outstanding and eventful debut from Siren, at times living up to the band name. Is it bursting with something truly new, not really but if you want to know if it is an inescapably enjoyable encounter, of that there is no question.

The Row is available now via Red Cat Records @ https://itunes.apple.com/it/album/the-row/id926291276

http://www.siren.rocks

RingMaster 31/10/2014

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Best Not Broken – Falling In EP

A virulently contagious and warm adventure to infect ears and feet right through to a swiftly bred appetite for its magnetic sounds, the Falling In EP from US alternative rock/pop band Best Not Broken is a perpetual party to romp with. Casting a fluid and compelling mix of power pop, melodic rock, and new wave vivacity over intimate yet world embracing lyrical reflections, the release is a captivating excitement and even as our introduction to the band easily shows why the New Hampshire trio has earned a fine and keenly supported presence at home.

Consisting of five vibrantly enticing songs, the EP firmly puts the Manchester threesome of Eric Jackson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Nik Farr (guitar, backing vocals, programming), and Carlo Carluccio (drums, percussion) on attention’s radar. Formed in 2007, Best Not Broken has grown from a local favourite into one of the more exciting and spotlighted emerging bands in the Northeast of America. Sharing stages with the likes of Jason Derulo and Matt Nathanson has only increased their reputation whilst their 2012 debut EP, Somewhere Good which was produced by Boston music legend David Minehan, pushed the band into a wider arena. Falling In now threatens to take Best Not Broken before the gaze of their widest audience yet and with its invigorating quintet of stirring songs, it is hard to expect anything less than a new tide of fans embracing the band’s incendiary sound.

The potent lure of the release ensnares ears right away as first track I Won’t Stop Loving You confidently sidles in with a melodic haze from which jagged coaxing riffs emerge. It is a quickly binding persuasion which only accentuates the tempting with strong vocals and harmonies alongside gentle yet incisive melodic exploration. The song as it infuses dramatically vocal hooks and smoothly flowing enterprise across its evolving body grows in strength and suasion. Every one of its twists is a delicious spice to the full-bodied slice of rock pop with an eighties seeding, thoughts of Lightning Seeds and Modern English and on the electronic side which also works impressively on the ears, Paul Haig coming to bear on thoughts.

It is a very potent start soon reinforced by the following Breaking My Heart, another track happy to almost amble through ears whilst expelling impossibly infectious hooks and warm hearted melodies. Again that older seeding blossoms within the masterful caress of heat induced melodic and vocal expression, as well as essences which reminds of The Super Happy Fun Club and at times Weezer. Irresistibly enthralling with a punchy weight to its rhythms which only accentuates its anthemic bait, the song smoulders and glides engagingly into the passions from start to finish before making way for the balladry of Listerine. From slow reflective opening vocals surrounded by a sultry atmosphere, the track sways with an increased energy and emotive flame as the guitars and keys shower ears with an evocative cascade of aural tenderness with dramatic pronunciation. As its predecessor, the song is unstoppable in its intensive persuasion and provocative colour.

Tell Me That You Want Me opens up with a wash of sonic hues clad in a Latin temperament before throwing on an eighties synth pop cloak of mesmeric melodies and hypnotic enticing. It is soon working on feet and hips, baiting their resistance to join its enthused swagger with an epidemically cast electro tempting. As with most songs there is a definite familiarity to the offering which only adds to the fullness of its insatiable allurement. The encounter has lungs breathless and feet flagging by the end of its romp, though there is no time to draw breath as the excellent Anarchy is there right away manipulating things like a devilish puppeteer. With reggae spawned guitar stabs and a great dark bass lure, the song strolls with eager revelry under an electro bred sunset. The song continues to keenly but gently entice until exploding with its ravenous pop infused chorus, a quite impossible to resist contagion It is a glorious end to a great release, a final slice of potent rock ‘n’ roll which leaves a lingering toxin for band and EP in thoughts and passions.

If you wanted to be over critical than a lack of originality to the songs would be the only comment but such their superbly crafted and infectious might it barely registers as feet and emotions dance to the EP’s tune. Whether Falling In will make Best Not Broken a household name outside of the US is debatable but it has certainly laid down powerful seeds to that eventual outcome.

The Falling In EP is available now @ http://www.bestnotbroken.com

8.5/10

RingMaster 03/07/2014

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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The Super Happy Fun Club – All Funned Up

Having already been seduced and recruited into their high octane fun and ridiculously infectious pop punk/rock world through the Go Fun Yourself album, The Super Happy Fun Club make a deeper slavery of the passions with new release All Funned Up. Consisting of ten explosive and contagiously skilled slices of passion, the new album simply steals the heart as the band shows how impressively it and its sound has evolved.

The first notable thing is a seemingly more intense attitude and presence to songs. It would not be right to say it is a more serious approach as the Chicago sextet have only produced the most accomplished thoughtful music but certainly their emotive hearts lead the way through the album rather than the mischievous fun which marked its predecessor. That is not to say that trait is absent as throughout All Funned Up smiles break out alongside an increased ardour but definitely there is a shift in stance and intent.

Consisting of vocalist Stubhy Pandav, guitarists Phil Kosch and Dave Swick, bassist/vocalist Jeremy Galanes, drummer Chris Mason, and Pat Gilroy on keyboards/vocals, members with experience gained through bands such as Lucky Boys Confusion, Treaty of Paris, The Waiting Game, Logan Square, and One Life, the already impressive The Super Happy Fun Club has stepped up another few levels with the new album and stand poised to rip a big smile and hug from the heart of the world.

Like a link between this and the last release, opener Who Drank My Beer slaps ears and appetite in action with a riotous blaze of punk rock loaded with riffs and rhythms riding the ear like a rodeo participant. Instantly infectious and commanding of feet, head, and voice, the brief punch of rock ‘n’ roll makes the perfect starter; urgent, boisterous, and impossibly contagious. Its rapid swipe is followed by Move On another song that leaps upon the listener with all the energy and eagerness of a nun concluding her last day of celibacy, only in my dreams then? Great opening harmonies are followed by the thumping keys of Gilroy stomping around with big intent and attitude whilst the excellent vocals of Pandav explore the drama with his outstanding style and expression. The song is an enterprising and continually evolving slab of rock pop, discovering an almost Three Days Grace like evocation as its climax brews up into a potently emotive fire.

The catchy and passionate song is matched by the more deliberately paced and sculpted Enemy, the song a tide of vibrant melodic hues clad upon stirring rhythms and again unbridled emotion in its heart on sleeve declaration. A track which seems to gain greater stature and power the more you share its presence, the delicious piece of songwriting openly shows the new fervour and musical hunger of the band. With just enough time to catch a breath after the dramatic persuasion of the song, the senses are than thrust into another charge of sinew driven rock with pop punk insatiability to its call. Okay Okay gallops, stomps, and sways through its ever shifting course, the band mixing in a terrific blend of spices and textures to the already mentioned core sound. There is a definite early My Chemical Romance feel to moments of the song whilst in other parts you think of a Fall Out Boy or The Living End, but all employed in the distinctive recipe of The Super Happy Fun Club.

The following Blinders swamps the senses next with big hearted melodies, equally energised harmonies, and passion drenched vocals sandwiched between just as scintillating slower emotion led pieces of personal commentary. It is an epic track with keys and guitars as skilled in the painting of the heart spawned conviction as the vocals and sonic paintwork alongside. It is a towering track which gives the following likes of Fine Distraction (LAX) and Good Year a dilemma to contemplate. Both songs though take it in their creative stride to follow such a pinnacle of the album, the first unveiling an energised stroll of provocative basslines and teasing guitar invention coaxed into greater potency by the ever impressive keys and vocals. It maybe fails to emulate its predecessor but only by a whisper of a wind whilst its successor places a melancholic beauty and absorbing temptation before the ear to also reap only deep recognition and ardour for its elegant persuasion.

Way Back (The Conflict) steps forward to raise a quizzical look on thoughts; the Billy Joel like key prodding wrong footing before the again muscular passion of the song breaks free. It is a strong track which again gets better with each encounter but does fail to grab the success the other songs achieved. Not a problem for next up tender ballad Angels Cry though as it strikes deep and impressively whilst the closing Plus One brings a final burst of energetic revelry delivered with a Sick Puppies like feistiness. They conclude an immensely thrilling and enjoyable release which announces The Super Happy Fun Club as the real potent deal. Pop rock has never sounded better.

http://www.thesuperhappyfunclub.com/

9/10

RingMaster 15/08/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Radio Friendlies -There Is No Radio Friendlies EP

Just when you thought the warmth of summer was over Dublin band Radio Friendlies arrive to unleash a new inviting heat with their excellent new EP There Is No Radio Friendlies. Consisting of four sizzling and vibrant songs, the release is an erupting sunspot in the sky of indie pop to leave one thrilled and energised.

Consisting of Stevin King (vocals/guitar), Dara Coleman (drums/backing vocals), and Kevin Keane (bass/backing vocals), the band has been on a steady rise the past year or so, and a climb which with the release of their new EP on September 28^th, one can only see an acceleration to. The band takes its inspirations from the likes of Ash, The Pixies, Foo Fighters, The Beatles and Nirvana, though many more spring to mind as the songs romp across the ear. One year ago debut EP Signs was released, its arrival well received by fans and media alike, as well as garnering a great interest and download success in Mexico. Shows at venues like Dublin’s Academy 2, The Crawdaddy, Whelans-Live, The King Kong Club in The Village, and An Brog in Cork City, as well as impressive festival appearances including Cube Fest, Duisigh Festival, and Upload Festival, has only elevated their stock, but one feels with There Is No Radio Friendlies, wider recognition is surely on the near horizon.

All The Girls is the first song to engage the ear, its initial guitar strokes bursting into an energised stroll through to the heart. It is an infection which only takes a few moments to begin its magnetic pull with blazing guitar sonics and smart harmonies lighting the air. It is not a song which manages to venture into a full stomp, its pace reserved but openly keen, yet the song has one feeling charged and locked in a firm and heated embrace. Well crafted and imaginative, the band mixing up its stroll in pace and ideas nicely, the song has one licking lips for what is to follow.

What does step up to share their charms is even more impressive, almost putting the opener in the shade. Cry is a definite Weezer sounding love affair for the ear. Gentle and respectful, the track has a shadowed tone which certainly points to that Pixies influence, the melodies having that Frank Black created discord which fires up the passions. Released as the lead single from the EP a few weeks ago, the song is an open invitation impossible to refuse let alone ignore; its body a delicious dessert of irresistible melodic power pop.

Next up Dead brings a punk attitude to the table, its feisty and intimidating yet again controlled air, a stirring and compelling companion for the ear. The thumping pulse of the track gets the blood pumping faster whilst the again melodic might of the band just leaves one riveted. Reminding a little of Hagfish, the song is another triumph to set the soul aflame and bring the voice into play.

The closing Let’s Go, Explode, is the best of the lot. Another pop punk gem likes its predecessor, the track has a snarl to it somewhat absent elsewhere, its riotous heart ready to party and leave only debris in its wake. With an ear blistering groove, group shouts, and juicy hooks splicing the air like sabres, the track is aural excellence, your best friend from its first sonic handshake. Like a fusion of Janes Addiction, The Super Happy Fun Club, and Nerf Herder, it simply brings the fullest pleasure and an inciteful invigorating energy.

The There Is No Radio Friendlies EP is outstanding, the proof that pop punk, power pop, or indie pop, whatever you wish to call the style of sound of the band, is still not only one irresistible taste when at its best but has one exciting new flavour to make the heart drool called Radio Friendlies.

http://radiofriendlies.com/

http://radiofriendlies.bandcamp.com/releases

RingMaster 26/09/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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