adam has written the following articles:
The real story never quite got out. Masked by furore over flimsy allegations of police brutality and a joke-like statement from Mean Fiddler dismissing the well-reported riots as extraordinarily “good natured”, is anyone truly grasping the point of all this? As the Leeds leg of the Carling Weekend»
The dust has settled and the gradually building hyperbole has already reached deafening level. But the jury is still out – are Queen Adreena the perfect femme-men post-millennial rock band or some dodgy metal chaps plus a mad bird wearing petticoats? Not quite the latter, for Katie Jane Garside is »
Although all the signs suggest Boston’s Karate will kung-fu kick your ass into US post-hardcore heaven, ‘Some Boots’ comes out fighting with an altogether more considered and worldly-wise approach. ‘Original Spies’ almost blows the album’s load inside the opening track with a loveable tu»
The pairing of US math-metal bruisers The Dillinger Escape Plan with guest mouthpiece for one EP only, shit-eating former Faith No More enfant terrible Mike Patton, unsurprisingly doesn’t result in chill-out mood music. Instead, prepare yourself for an onslaught of Herculean proportions.»
What better way to shake off that post-Reading/Leeds hangover than getting well and truly down to some mind-expanding tunes in Bristol this week. The ever brilliant Max Tundra stars with a DJ set as part of an eclectic bill of "electronica, post-rock, hip-hop and visual arts" at the city's Th»
It doesn’t matter that ...Trail Of Dead have signed to a major label. Erase their defensive “subverting the ‘system’ from the inside” quotes from your mind. Bollocks to the sell-out whingers. Don’t you know – AYWKUBTTOD are the most essential band in guitar music. Um, they are. Promise. ‘Rela»
How often do you hear “buy this record, it’s life affirming”? ‘Do You Realize??’ is more than that. It freezes time, suddenly making you painfully aware of the futility of, well, everything. “Do you realize, that everyone you know, someday, will die?” asks The Flaming Lips' icon»
With Reading/Leeds (aka The Carling Weekend) nearly upon us, select members of the dis team, have selected 3 bands each that you musn't miss. This is the second part, so click here for part 1. Name: »
Right then. Anyone reckon that Raging Speedhorn are, like, for pussies? Or of the opinion that anything not shouted, screamed and generally ripped out at over 4000 decibels is kinda pointless? Ah good, this is for you. Labrat (see what they’ve done with that clever ol’ squashing two words into one?»
Much rabid praise has been heaped upon the shoulders of young Bristol metal upstarts Redefine since they unleashed attention-grabbing debut LP ‘thedaisychaincycle’. Sheer brute Deftones force circa ‘Adrenaline’, the m»
Alas, the list of stars involved in the making of ‘Strung Out’ far outweigh any excitement of this single from the angel-throated Scot perhaps best known for her associations with Death In Vegas. Fitting then that DIV duo Tim Holmes and Richard Fearless should head the celebrity cast (Fe»
Jokes based around resuscitating the putrefied corpse of Linkin Park’s gazillion-selling debut LP ‘Hybrid Theory’ would be too easy. This is ‘Reanimation’, indeed. And it’s not gonna be pretty kids, so look away now. Best to get this out of the way first; Linkin Park, by definition, are the m»
For all its liberal attitudes and lenient drug legislation, Holland doesn’t exactly lead by example when it comes to globe-crushing music. Rotterdam’s veteran beat manipulator Speedy J isn’t about to change all that, but at least he’s on the right track. ‘Loudboxer’ is undeniably from the»
Like haggis, kilts and bagpipes, ‘St. Patrick’ is as traditionally Scottish as it possibly could be, without calling itself ‘St. Andrew’ obviously. The album of its origin, ‘Moving Up Country’, was a tepid pill to swallow – a little too morose and, regrettably, boring to stomach over the course of a f»
Contrary lil’ bastard is Max Tundra. Whacking on any of his records for the first time becomes a pick ‘n’ mix experience; his past creations have variously included appropriations of mobile phone interference, bizarre crooning and dying machinery. Slightly surprising then – or perhaps not – that ‘Lysine’»
This is great. If you’re, like, 12. And haven’t heard Rage Against The Machine before. So don’t know that this rap-rock shit was done, dusted and out-lived fucking light years ago. The Kennedy Soundtrack, eh? Parent-baiting moniker in tow and tours around schools behind them, granted they’d probab»
In eight months a British band will curate All Tomorrow’s Parties. Thom Yorke knows the score. Aphex Twin isn’t shy to share his admiration. They are the granddaddies of modern day electronica. They are Autechre. It isn’t exactly rare to find artists so revered by their fellow m»
No clues as to Polanski’s origins, agenda or even total members is, strangely, the best place to start. When all you’re left with is ‘the music’, and that music doesn’t sound like Travis, then preconceptions aren’t so much dismissed, more never formed. Anyone who suddenly sat up and took not»
Once spiritual home to all things platinum selling, polished and rocking, things have come full circle for the city of a thousand megastars, Los Angeles. Determined to disprove the theory that a band should be greater than the sum of its parts are LA rent-a-metal crew Medication. A supergroup of almost-ho»
An EP of reworkings from a band familiar to only a handful of devoted followers may appear to be a redundant concept, but opening track ‘Deadlock’ begs to differ. In fact it doesn’t so much disagree, more violently convulse and scream bloody murder while chucking head-melting chunks of noise not see»
Electronic rave types sonicanimation may operate among the realms of superstar DJs in their native Australia, but don’t expect us poms to think they’re quite so bonzer on this evidence. Debut UK single ‘I’m A DJ’ levels some commendably cutting critique at the cult of their fellow celebrity vin»
Sometimes artists wedge size nines firmly into their own mouths before anyone can even so much as hear their records. Take Daniel Ash, best known for masterminding gothic overlords Bauhaus, for example. “I love techno and electronica, and obviously I’m influenced by that music, but there’s other p»
When it gets to the point where an Oasis comparison would be unfair to the stumbling boys of Madchester, then new depths of mediocrity really are being plumbed. From the same label that brought you recent quirky über-shit minor chart hit ‘The Wheels On The Bus’ by Mad Donna, ‘Do »
While prone to investigations with sound bordering on quasi-geek aural science projects, Plaid have made a name for themselves as exponents of extraordinary dancefloor-filling electronica. The intriguingly faceless duo – Andy Turner and Ed Hanley – have been teasing out throbbing masses of c»
It’s a frustrating feeling to sense hopeful glimpses of future genius, only to have your expectations dashed when you realise what you’re listening to is merely mediocre, at best adequate. So is the story with this debut album from Scot nu-country acoustic botherer James Yorkston. While his upbringing in»
Don’t you understand Gary? We don’t want the sound of production line robots, it’s gotta come on like killer cyborgs on acid. Hell, even Marilyn Manson’s got the measure of this scary electro-goth thang. South London industrialists Sulpher, who tweak the production on ‘Rip’, do it be»
Mike Patton-approved Japanese mad punk ladies eX-Girl have lined-up a must-see tour in July with a series of headline shows.
Catch eX-Girl in the UK and Ireland during July at:
12th - Dublin Temple Bar Music Centre
15th - Cork Lobby
17th - Brighton Freebutt
»
Fuck. How easily Oasis should be critically dissected in mere handfuls of unkind adjectives and sprinkled Beatles references. And how embarrassingly plod-rock have the most famously eye-browed brothers in music become over their last few offerings? From reliably rock ‘n’ roll, they’ve morphed into a»
It was always going to happen. But at least now it has, be thankful that our transatlantic buddies have some honest competition in the field of retro-Strokes ‘n’ roll. Erm, did we mention The Strokes? Well, considering The Libertines have supported Julian Casablancas’ tousle-haired tossers, t»
Ever watched a film wishing that the accompanying soundtrack could be more than a hotchpotch of the latest ‘in’ bands and badly conceived cover version abortions? Hoping vainly for a truly atmospheric, thoughtful and affecting alternative? Well JG Thirlwell, better known to many as industrial pione»
