Category: Rock
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Asylums: Genetic Cabaret
Asylums first album Killer Brain Waves was great: heads down no-nonsense rock played fast and tight but with lots of melody and a nice DIY ethos about it; a good band having fun. They obviously did ok out of it (and the second, which we missed) and this new one sounds more expensively made … […]
jerobear
A Perfect Life In A Perfect World, A Town Full Of Boarded Up Windows, Adrenaline Culture, Asylums, baroque, Blues, brother, Catalogue Kids, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Clean Money, Congleton Chronicle, Dull Days, early, funk, Genetic Cabaret, jazz, Jem Condliffe, music, Platitudes, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul, The Distance Between Left And Right, The Miracle Age, Who Writes Tomorrows Headlines?, Yuppie Germs -
Biffy Clyro: A Celebration of Endings
This is Biffy’s ninth album and possibly the most approachable: all the early roughness has gone, along with most of the pomp and theatricality of the later stuff. It’s just (just!) a classic melodic rock album; some heavy moments, but more reliance on melody. It’s a positive and upbeat album, too, and pretty well instantly […]
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Pottery: Welcome To Bobby’s Motel
This a fine album, interesting and meaty, with added cowbell for those who feel modern music lacks such percussive adornment. The title track kicks it all off, opening with a frantic snare roll and then the speeded-up soundtrack to a Tarantino movie, lots of tom toms, psychedelic guitar and a voice-over about dreams, then, after […]
jerobear
baroque, Blues, Bobby’s Forecast, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, Down In The Dumps, early, funk, Hot Heater, Hot Like Jungle, jazz, Jem Condliffe, music, NY Inn, pop, Pottery, Pt. I and II, Reflection, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul, Take Your Time, Texas Drums, Under the Wires, Welcome To Bobby’s Motel, What’s In Fashion? -
Fontaines: DC A Hero’s Death
We’re often not impressed with bands billed as “the future of rock” but we can make an exception for Fontaines DC. This new album is special; so good it had us singing – SINGING – to one track about three plays through. That literally never happens. It only seems 10 minutes since their debut album, […]
jerobear
A Hero’s Death, A Lucid Dream, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, early, Fontaines DC, funk, I Don’t Belong, I Was Not Born, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Living In America, Love Is The Main Thing, music, No, Oh Such A Spring, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul, Sunny, Televised Mind, You Said -
The Psychedelic Furs: Made Of Rain
The Furs were British (formed in London in 1977) but are most famous for an American movie, when John Hughes used Pretty In Pink for his film of the same name. We can’t be the only people who know them for that one tune. They “went on hiatus” after finishing touring in 1992 and although […]
jerobear
Ash Wednesday, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Come All Ye Faithful, Congleton Chronicle, Don’t Believe, early, funk, Hide The Medicine, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Made Of Rain, music, No One, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul, Stars, The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll, The Psychedelic Furs, This’ll Never Be Like Love, Tiny Hands, Turn Your Back on Me, Wrong Train, You’ll Be Mine -
Sergeant Buzfuz: Fox Pop
At the end of last year, we reviewed Penguins Go Pop, a Norwich band led by local legend Richard Penguin, formed in the late 80s and reformed in 2013. They played catchy tunes telling quirky stories and were very much the DIY ethos of early indie, originally an approach and not a guitar sound. We […]
jerobear
Back To The Willow, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Clouds In Your Eyes, Congleton Chronicle, early, Fill In The Blanks, Fox Pop, funk, In The Folds Of Her Robe, jazz, Jem Condliffe, music, Penguins Go Pop, pop, Rear View Mirror, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Sergeant Buzfuz, soul, The Tongues They Wag Away, The Years Dressed In Gold, Then There’s Idiots With Money, There’s Idiots, Theresa McKee, Who Art In Seven Hills / Rare and Racy, Your Time Is Tomorrow -
In This Moment: Mother
An odd album, this, “drawing on spiritual and philosophical ideas, they have created a concept that transcends cultural and metal boundaries” said one review, by which we think they mean (“we just regurgitated a press release”) “threw in some covers of huge songs to make an album to sell a few more copies”. We’ve never […]
jerobear
As Above, baroque, Blues, Born In Flames, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, early, Fly Like an Eagle, funk, God Is She, Holy Man, Hunting Grounds (feat. Joe Cotela of Ded), In This Moment, Into Dust, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Lay Me Down, Legacy, Lzzy Hale and Taylor Momsen), Mother, music, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, So Below, soul, The Beginning (Interlude), The In-Between [Explicit], The Red Crusade (Interlude), We Will Rock You (feat. Maria Brink -
Jon Anderson: 1000 Hands
The lad from Accrington hasn’t rushed this one: it’s an album he started 28 years ago. The title is a reference to the fact that numerous guest musicians perform, including Yes bandmates Chris Squire, Alan White and Steve Howe, as well as the likes of Ian Anderson, Steve Morse and Chick Corea. Thankfully the album […]
jerobear
1000 Hands, 1000 Hands (Come Up), Activate, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, early, First Born Leaders, funk, I Found Myself, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Jon Anderson, Makes Me Happy, music, Now, Now and Again, Now Variations, pop, Ramalama, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, soul, Twice in a Lifetime, WDMCF -
Sabaton: The Great War
This came out a while back but we forgot to review it (we bought it, so no PR company cares). While we remember World War I and the horror of the trenches in sombre fashion, Swedish metallers Sabaton evoke the glory of battle and the hot, red blood pumping in your veins; the lyrics don’t […]
jerobear
82nd All the Way, A Ghost in the Trenches, baroque, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, early, Francis Pegahmagabow, funk, jazz, Jem Condliffe, music, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Sabaton, soul, The Attack Of The Dead Men, The Future of Warfare, The Great War, The Red Baron -
Parachute For Gordo: Best Understood by Children and Animals
This is a great album, a clever ramshackle affair of what sounds like jams but is probably carefully arranged. The feel, if not sound, is somewhere between bands such as Ozric Tentacles and bands on the more stoner side (musically, anyway) such as Holy F–K or even Goat. You could also compare them to Explosions […]
jerobear
A Dingo Ate My Discos, Alpacacino, baroque, Best Understood by Children and Animals, Blues, brother, CDs, Chronicle Series, Classical, Congleton Chronicle, Dalai Llama, early, funk, jazz, Jem Condliffe, Markhor Parkor, music, Parachute For Gordo, pop, Reggae, Review Corner, reviews, rock, Snakes For The Blind, soul, Toucan Play At That Game, White Noise Bear (I Am The Horse)
Review Corner 