EP review: Flat Worms – Into The Iris

Flat Worms - Into The Iris EP cover

This is the first full EP from LA post-punk (very much on the punk side) three-piece Flat Worms since their fantastic eponymous debut album in 2017, and it was worth the wait.

Into The Iris is a six-track, 16-minute adrenaline rush, that barely takes its foot off the pedal. opener Surreal New Year starts at breakneck speed – all fuzzy guitar riffs, impatient drums and a distinct Dead Kennedys vibe.

This continues with title track Into The Iris, which draws on more hypnotic elements and brings vocalist Will Ivy’s lazy, drawling lyrics (you can hardly call it singing) to the fore.

Things barely drop off through Plastic at Home, with it’s nice wobbly bass line and Shouting at the Wall, which has a strong retro feel to it – no bad thing in this case.

Only as we hit the final third of the EP do things start to slow down a little with laid back instrumental Scattered Palms and melancholy closer At the Citadel, a more pedestrian number which unfortunately shows that Ivy’s vocal style isn’t as well suited to the slower pace.

Overall a great EP that whet’s the appetite for another full-length album. Hurry up fellas!

Release date: 08 February 2019

Rating: 7/10

Standout track: Shouting at the Wall

For fans of:

  • Dead Kennedys
  • Idles
  • The Lovely Eggs

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New Music Friday 08 February – What to listen to

This week sees new releases from LCD Soundsystem, Mercury Rev, and Flat Worms. I’ll let you know how I get on with them during the course of the week.

Flat Worms – Into The Iris (EP)

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LCD Soundsystem – Electric Lady Sessions

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Mercury Rev – Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited

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International Teachers of Pop – International Teachers of Pop

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Yak – Pursuit of Momentary Happiness

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Bob Mould – Sunshine Rock

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Elder Island – The Omnitone Collection

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Health – Vol 4:: Slaves of Fear

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Cosey Fanni Tutti – Tutti

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Jessica Pratt – Quiet Signs

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01 Feb releases – Reviewed and rated

Here’s my view on what were the best albums released last Friday 1st February. There’s a fair few links to my fuller (though still not too long) reviews here too. There’s also a Spotify sample playlist so you can make you own mind up about the artists.

The Specials - Encore album cover

The Specials – Encore

The kings of Ska return to put the world to rights – and don’t we just need it.

Rating: 7.5/10 – Read full review

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Boy Harsher - Careful album cover

Boy Harsher – Careful

Strong on ominous, brooding 80’s electro pop. If you liked the music in Stranger Things, you’re on to a winner with this.

Rating: 7/10 – Read full review

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Finlay Shakespeare - Domestic Economy album cover

Finlay Shakespeare – Domestic Economy

A fine slab of acid-infused electro pop that shows great promise for a debut album.

Rating: 7/10 – Read full review

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Cherry Glazerr - Stuffed & Ready album cover

Cherry Glazerr – Stuffed & Ready

A competent and mature third effort from the LA post-punk trio.

Rating: 7/10 – Read full review

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White Lies - Five album cover

White Lies – Five

An enjoyable if unremarkable 80’s-influenced indie, post-punk opus with pop sensibilities. Reminiscent of so much but unable to build upon it influences.

Rating: 6/10 – Read full review

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Unloved - Heartbreak album cover

Unloved – Heartbreak

Invoking the spirits of Motown and dreamy 60’s french pop while injecting a touch of modernity. Some really nice moments interspersed across this album.

Rating: 6/10

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Spielbergs - This Is Not The End album cover

Spielbergs – This Is Not The End

Indie punk with a touch of early R.E.M around the sides. Pleasant enough, but not pulling up any roots.

Rating: 5.5/10

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Girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary album cover

Girlpool – What Chaos Is Imaginary

A punk band exploring new indie direction – unfortunately not entirely successfully.

Rating: 5/10

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Beirut - Gallipoli album cover

Beirut – Gallipoli

Indie-folk with added brass. Strong overtones of The Smiths in both vocal and musical style. Doesn’t fare well by comparison.

Rating: 5/10

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Ian Brown - Ripples album cover

Ian Brown – Ripples

A plodding effort from King Monkey that aspires to classic Roses, but falls far, far short.

Rating: 4.5/10 – Read full review

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Within Temptation - Resist album cover

Within Temptation – Resist

Over-the-top goth metal with symphonic overtones. No doubt would do well as an ‘alternative’ Dutch entry on Eurovision. A worthy successor to Lordi.

Rating: 4/10

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Album review: Cherry Glazerr – Stuffed and Ready

Cherry Glazer - Stuffed & Ready album cover

Stuffed & Ready is the third album from LA’s post-punk trio Cherry Glazerr and a follow-up to 2017’s rather enjoyable Apocalypstick. This is a much more mature effort though. It has elements of Riot Grrl punk interspersed through it, but most songs take a much softer tone that highlights Clementine Creevy’s angelic voice.

The are touches of 60s-influenced Franco pop on Self Explained and indie-pop on Distressor, though heavy guitars are never too far away.

We have some slow swing on Isolation, before crunching guitars sweep in for the chorus. Some changes of direction on Daddi, along with a smattering of drum machine, make it stand out as more interesting than your standard alt-rock numbers.

There are a lot of competent rock numbers which, when matched with Creey’s softer vocal style, make for an enjoyable listen. This perhaps isn’t going to set the world on fire, but this release will certainly find the band some new friends.

Release date: 01 February 2019

Rating: 7/10

Standout track: Wasted Nun

For fans of:

  • Goat Girl
  • Marmozets
  • Our Girl

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Album review: Boy Harsher – Careful

Boy Harsher - Careful album cover

Careful, the sophomore album from Massachsetts duo Boy Harsher, is full of ominous, brooding electro pop that plays heavily on 80s infuences – to great effect.

The relentless single tone synth bass that pervades across this album reeks of 80s sci-fi horror movies and anyone who’s been enjoying Stranger Things will find the musical style appearing here instantly recognisable.

The vocals of Jae Matthews provide and ethereal backdrop to the sense of foreboding delivered by Augustus Muller’s keyboards. Some tracks are all about creating a sense of dystopia, such as opener Keep Driving, Crush and Careful, which could easily have come from the mind of David Lynch.

However the album has pop firmly at its heart, with tracks such as Face the Fire, Tears, and LA drawing on influences such as early Depeche Mode and even the Pet Shop Boys.

Closer was a strong contender for my album of the week, but what probably took it out of the running was that, while hugely enjoyable, as you delve deeper into the album all the tracks start to blend into one. Bar the occasional trip into weirdness, most of the tracks are relatively interchangeable.

This album will be one that would work well when added to a shuffled playlist. It’s great to hear one of the tracks pop up when you’re not expecting it, but playing through the whole album can start to feel like a bit of a chore.

Release date: 01 February 2019

Rating: 7/10

Standout track: Come Closer

For fans of:

  • The Soft Moon
  • Sisters of Mercy
  • Sink Ya Teeth

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Album of the week: The Specials – Encore

The Specials - Encore album cover

It’s been 18 years since The Specials last stepped into a studio, but with Encore they clearly decided it was time to put the world to rights again – and in the current political climate it feels just as necessary as ever.

The album starts with a couple of tracks that are a departure from standard Specials fare. Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys is a funk-laden, almost disco-like affair and a cry out for interracial harmony.

The funk journey continues, as does the calling out of racism, on B.L.M. Lynval Golding’s autobiographical monologue on the treatment dished out to him as a black man from the days of Windrush to modern-day USA.

Terry Hall provides his own monologue to depression and self-loathing on The Life and Times (Of a Man Called Depression), as does guest vocalist Saffiyah Khan on 10 Commandments, a heavy dub-laden number calling out sexism and sexual violence against women – to my mind the best track on the album.

Elsewhere there are more typical Specials numbers to delight hardcore fans. Blam Blam Fever provides us with an upbeat ska track deriding gun culture, while Vote For Me is another classic Specials number shining the light on hypocritical politicians.

Reggae gets a good airing on Embarrased By You, where Golding perhaps shows his 67 years a little in his rant against the “youth of today”.

There’s even a little tribute to The Doors on Breaking Point, a proper Oompah number that shares a lot of DNA with Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) as it roasts the twisted world of social media.

They may be a little long un the tooth these days, but Tje Specials feel remarkably fresh and just as relevant as when they first stepped onto the scene 40 years’ ago.

Bonus points also for the deluxe edition of this album with features a cracking live set from Le Bataclan.

Release date: 01 February 2019

Rating: 7.5/10

Standout track: 10 Commandments

For fans of:

  • The Beat
  • The Selecter
  • Madness

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Album review: Finlay Shakespeare – Domestic Economy

Finlay Shakespeare - Domestic Economy album cover

Bristol resident Finlay Shakespeare has with his debut album Domestic Economy, produced a fine, meaty slab of electro-pop that draws heavily on 90’s acid house and techno influences. There are some choice cuts here, but it does feel like there is some excess fat that could be trimmed off the sides.

The album as a whole feels like a collection of dance remixes of 90’s indie tunes, and as such has its high points and fillers.

There are some fantastic pieces on here, such as the utterly yummy Dublin that leans heavily on a house beat while layering acid-like effects on top – all carried along by a delightful bass line. Opener Luleå offers us a Blue Monday-style beat and a nice squelchy bass – beefing up Finlay’s rather thin vocal style.

Similarly, Benedict Canyon is pushed relentlessly along by choppy synths, electro horns and that classic 808 drum line. Monadnock brings more of a brooding menace alongside the acid hooks.

The album is far from perfect though. At points it starts to feel a little samey and the softer, slower tracks such as Perris and Pittville rely too much on Finaly’s vocals, which is probably the weakest element on the album.

This is a promising debut for Finlay and offers much promise. Not yet the finished article but I’m looking forward to seeing where he goes from here.

Release date: 01 February 2019

Rating: 7/10

Standout track: Dublin

For fans of:

  • New Order
  • Orbital
  • Depeche Mode

Listen on Spotify

Album review: White Lies – Five

White Lies - Five album cover

London post-punk 3-piece White Lies release their fifth studio album a decade after their first came out, with the band pushing hard on the oh-so-fashionable alternative 80’s vibe. A lot of familiar synth noises back up their guitar work on an enjoyable, but ultimately unremarkable, work.

Opener Time to Give, is quite emblematic of the album as a whole, starting with some soft echo-laden keyboards before moving into a indie-pop vibe with synth overtones. Nice enough, but then it throws in a keyboard break that doesn’t really feel like it fits with the rest of the track and keeps going with it.

Never Alone is piece that uses a throbbing keyboard bass line to push the track along, adding a touch of Editors alongside the pop elements of the track. Pushing the pop even further is Tokyo, which feels like it was written to maximise radio airtime.

Everywhere you turn on this album you can feel the influences screaming at you. Kick Me, for example kicks you in the face with Pink Floyd before a change in direction brings you to towards an actually quite satisfying crescendo. Denial starts like ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police, though the chorus is a lot more dramatic than Sting’s version.

Some of the synth/guitar combos across the album, particularly on Jo?, land somewhere between Bon Jovi and Van Halen, which may be a good or bad thing depending on your predisposition to those artists.

To my mind, the band saves the best until last with Fire and Wings, a classic loud-soft effort that at moments sounds like a collaboration between Gary Newman and Nirvana.

In many ways, Five is reminiscent of the recent Twilight Sad album, but doesn’t quite reach the same heights. Rather than pulling threads of reminiscence from their influences, White Lies have instead chosen a more direct borrowing from their past favourites the album. Add to that the vocals of Harry McVeigh, which are competent if not outstanding and you have a work that is nice enough to listen to, but I can’t see it staying on my favourites playlist for too long.

Release date: 01 February 2019

Rating: 6/10

Standout track: Fire and Wings

For fans of:

  • Editors
  • Interpol
  • The Twilight Sad

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Album review: Ian Brown – Ripples

Ian Brown - Ripples album cover

Ripples is the seventh solo studio album from King Monkey, but if you have any of Ian Brown‘s individual works, you’re not going to get much value from adding this to your collection.

Opener First World Problems is a funky, keyboard/organ driven number that is unmistakeably Brown, recalling some of the finer moments from previous albums. However, lyrically it resembles something more akin to a half-arsed late-night Facebook rant about people ranting on Facebook about pointless shit.

Lyrically thing’s get worse on Blue Sky Day, another organ driven piece, where Brown lays into the fat cats and how they are all out to destroy us. I’m not one to defend the capitalist system, but this is proper conspiracy theorist stuff. I mean he’s going on about chemtrails FFS!

There are some moments of interest interspersed across Ripples. Black Roses has some nice grungy guitars driving the piece along. The Dream and the Dreamer is a laid back funky number that grooves along to a reasonable conclusion.

There is also some nice indie-acoustic work on Easy and It’s Raining Diamonds along with the reggae/dub infused Break Down The Walls (Warm Up Jam).

Title track Ripples is probably the best on the album – an upbeat funky number with a nice breakbeat pushing things along and some interesting guitar work.

Unfortunately this album suffers from two big problems. Firstly, it is instantly recognisable as belonging to the same canon as his previous work in The Stone Roses and his other solo albums – but comes up well short against them in terms of quality. Secondly, there is a severe lack of song progression going on throughout the album. If you’ve heard the first 30 seconds of most of the tracks, then there’s very little point in listening to the rest of it – nothing really changes.

If it’s to be believed that The Roses have broken up permanently this time, Brown may have a bit more time on his hands. He might want to think about spending it working on a new direction, instead of churning out more by-numbers efforts like this one.

Release date: 01 February 2019

Rating: 4.5/10

Standout track: Ripples

For fans of:

  • The Stone Roses (obviously)
  • Richard Ashcroft
  • The Seahorses

Listen on Spotify

New Music Friday 01 February – What to listen to

Another glut of new releases to work through. Of today’s debuts we see the likes of Ian Brown, The Specials and White Lies offering up some fresh material. I’ll review the best through the coming week and rate them all as I go along.

Ian Brown – Ripples

The Specials – Encore

White Lies – Five

Cherry Glazerr – Suffed & Ready

Finlay Shakespeare – Domestic Economy

Beirut – Gallipoli

Girlpool – What Chaos Is Imaginary

Boy Harsher – Careful

Within Temptation – Resist

Unloved – Heartbreak

Spielbergs – This Is Not The End