Mike Whellans – Fired-up and Ready

I’m a big fan of the blues, now Mike Whellans is not up there with the greats such as Rory Gallagher or The Blues Brothers but he is still a fantastic artist. This one man band produced his new album, Fired-up and Ready containing chillaxing blues music that would be consider very easy listening. The song Fired-Up and Ready, the first of three of my favourites, brings back good old classical blues with superior harmonica tunes, captivating guitar structure and memorable lyrics, this one is for all blues lovers. The next of my favourites is a song dubbed Early in the morning, a very relaxed song unlike the others as in brings in some flavoursome piano compositions while still keeping the harmonica hot! The final song of my favourite tracks is Lonesome Road, although still a blues song it gives a good country feeling to it, with fantastic lyrics telling a story about an enraged women hunting a man down. The album on a whole is a great piece of work which I would be glad to have in my blues collection.

Review by Aron Riordan

Team Waterpolo - So Called Summer

So Called Summer quite literally overflows with sun-filled passion bursting out amongst the darker parts of the song. It’s hard to resist the vibrant, fast-paced choruses, and the dramatic pace changes between verses work perfectly to create a sing-along anthem. The song slowly builds into a frenzy and rarely drops a gear once it has, and when it does do, it’s to dramatic effect. It’s a summer song for the wettest of English summers, and should brighten up airwaves and dance-floors alike. Listen out for Team Waterpolo bringing a little more light into your life a lot more very soon.

Review by Rob Sellars

The Sound Ex- Palomino

It is easy to see where the Geordie rockers got their former moniker, 'The Sound Explosion', from. When you hear the first chord of opener Enchantment, you'll know what I mean. The thing with the SoundEx is, you know what you're going to get. Labeled as some of the North East's most fierce live performers, with many gigs resembling riots, you would feel that most of the tracks on the album have been geared to work to their full effect live. Probably the best example of this would be 9 Mile Ride, a Foo Fighter-esque rabble rouser that is hard to listen to without imagining an entire crowd bouncing.
Yet, it is the final title track Palomino that warrants the most attention. You really can tell the influence of producer Paul Reeve, probably best known for his work with Muse, as the song is filled with crests and falls as well some more experimental layers. It is probably the biggest statement of intent on the album in its combination of high octane rock and roll and the production wizadry of Jimmy Page.
However, that's about as far as the SoundEx lean to the musical left. To quote Radio 1 DJ, Steve Lamacq, "The SoundEx, you suspect would lay down their lives for rock and roll". That's about the best evaluation you can get for these full-on rockers.


Review by Sam Lunney

VV Brown - Crying Blood [Remixes]

Crying Blood was a decent song but I don’t think that it has the same malleability, as say Cassie-me & you to justify a CD with 4 remodels on it. Contrary to the lack of potential of the track-V.V.Brown’s clearly a girl with some talent-more songs like leave demo from VV Brown would be much appreciated-even her myspace contains several remixes of which the dust boys one is the best-funnily enough not on the promo. Though the weatherall remix is the best on the promo, V.V.Brown still manages to annoy after screeching to the top of some notes. Overall, it’s fairly repetitive and lulls me into an apathetic stupor.
5 minutes of this and you’ll be begging for a disco house injection from snake-hipped Ed Mac of Friendly Fires-shoot up some shoegaze and watch those worries drift away.

Review by Subhaan Khan

Jud - "Sufferboy"

The fifth album from Jud opens at an unabating speed- thrashing guitars and pounding drum beats leaves you in no doubt what this album is about. The tracks make you feel part of the musical process- sucking you in and then spitting you out somewhere in Universal (track 3). This track is moment for the listener to catch their breathe before being whisked away again through the rest of the album at breakneck speed.
Tracks 4 and 5 are the highlights. Daylight (track4) shines through the darkness which Jud excel within. The track stays close to the grimy guitar formula. However with lyrics like “the bad days will fade away” leave the listener in no doubt that Jud might appear tortured souls they still remains a message of hope. Likewise Accelerate sees Jud at their best. The track descends from on high with a crescendo of noise giving way to a song packed with withering statements. Lyrically this is best song on the album. Yet behind the noise the song masquerades as a break-up song with moments of sorry splattered across it.
The middle tracks not as ear grapping as the opening numbers. They sail closely to Jud formula of despair tinged with hope. However this is not to say they are bad songs- both are thoughtful songs built around crunching guitar riffs and pulsating rhythms. Just compared the opening they appear a little lackluster. After this wobble, the real Jud reappear with “What are you made for”-forged with soaring guitars and heartfelt vocals of revenge. A grimy number which will surely become a live favourite. As the album heads to closer the speed picks up again. The relentless drumming driving the tracks on as hard they can. Track 11 is a temporary halt and gives the listener time to reflect on what they have heard and where the album has taken them. The second to last track reverts back to hard rocking glow which basks within the album. “Unless” has all the hallmarks of an album closer- its slightly softer sound with a slow burning brilliance controlled by a military style rhythm.
I like to believe that Jud live in a volcano and come down to shower us mere mortals with songs filled with darkness splashed with hope. Within this volcano the band forge songs out of molten lava creating music with a raw energy and passion. Jud have a zealous and fervent for the music they create which is plastered across everything they fashion.
Despite the wobbles, Sufferboy clocks in with everything- pounding rhythms, dark brooding lyrics, crescendos as well as slower moments to create an album the band can be proud of.

Review by George McSorley

Van She - Cat & Eye

Van She have been all over the Hype Machine like that token drunk that always features at every house party. They come in, trash the place like they own it, try to lure anyone in the near vicinity with a few lewd clichés, and all you want is for them to leave as soon as possible with all their possessions preferably into exile. The exact same applies to new single Cat & Eye, which sounds like Embrace dressed up in the badly smeared slap of a few whooshes to make it “dance-crossover”. Seriously guys, just admit you come from the same school of thought as Alphabeat, and we may well like you. If you continue to take yourselves seriously, you’ll just end up a laughing stock.

Review by Gordon Bruce

Deborah Shaw – The Big Bang

While it might be easier to distribute music and get into the public domain now that MySpace has become an integral part of any act’s promotional push and the internet’s allowed for the (theoretical) democratisation of music, it has, in its way, made it harder to stand out from the crowd.
This is the problem that Newcastle based singer-songwriter Deborah Shaw faces like may others, and it’s readily apparent that her first EP ‘The Big Bang’ is very much an attempt to stand out from the crowd. Certainly, the influences that abound these five tracks – a hint of Regina Spektor here, a touch of Tori Amos there – are a welcome relief from the stifling rock canon of the Beatles, the Stones and Dylan, and her determination to try and avoid the obvious is a true relief. However, she is guilty of relying on her idols a little too much, with first track I Didn’t Catch Your Name, while catchy enough, sounding just a little too close to Spektor’s “Fidelity” for comfort. When she leans a little less heavily on such sounds though, the results are rather impressive: the melancholy, reflective ballad Fly in particular is very promising, showcasing her emotive vocals and suggesting at a much more singular creative vision. While it’s not without its faults, ‘The Big Bang’ is an intriguing and diverse debut release that’s dramatic and forceful enough to make Deborah Shaw a name to look out for.

Review by Mark Corcoran-Lettice

Fables Last Stand - A New Breed EP

Coming to you from Newcastle, this 5 piece bands delivers a 5 star Ep, A New Breed. The Ep opens up with a catchy tune, New Breed, which will have your air guitars standing ready to rock. Head bang your life away with hardcore guitar riffs and energetic drums beats. Their next song, Stray Dog, takes things a lot slower than their first track but still keeping up with first class standards, with powerful, sing-a-long lyrics this is bound to be an end of night song in every rock bar near you. Shooting Star, their third track brings back good old rock ‘n’ roll which will be a major interest for those classical rock lovers out there, get your lighters ready. Ending the Ep with another chill back tune, Don’t Come Down (hard), will remind you why you love rock music with its mesmerising guitar and drum structure and its loveable lyrics. This Ep as a whole is a gift from the power of rock ’n’ roll to us all, so shift the pictures of Led Zeppelin to the left a little and hang this band on the wall of fame.

Review by Aron Riordan

Julian Velard

The man with the Tiny piano will be releasing an album in mid September, featuring some very melodic music. The song ‘Jimmy Dean and Steve McQueen’ is marked by a beautiful piano track. Mr. Velard knows how to make quiet music that can accompany a fancy dinner.

Review by Solveig Werner

Innerpartysystem – Don’t Stop

The newest single by the Pennsylvania band Innerpartysystem is ‘Don’t Stop’ and the only thing there is to say about it is that it is a real mint tune. The band truly emphasizes the electro rock style, by making this a dance song that seems to be not just a lot of repetition but also some musical depth. It is only a matter of time before it will be played on the dance floors and not just on a few radio stations. Innerpartysystem could be the next big band in electro music that is not from France or Germany.

Review by Solveig Werner

Lightspeed Champion - Galaxy of the Lost

‘Galaxy of the Lost’ is the name of the newest single by Light Speed Champion, and it is quite a good one. The lyrics clearly reflect the feeling of being lost at certain times. One thing that makes this song particular is that it is not a song that you can listen to all the time. It is one of those that you have to be in the mood for, when you feel a bit sad that’s when it could fit well, not making you any worse. Being very melodic it has a bit the appeal of a song that could be played in a nice cozy coffee shop.

Review by Solveig Werner