Marner Brown - Dirty Weekend

Take a simple, effective riff and a glance into a familiar, hedonistic lifestyle - naturally succeeded with regret ("sitting in my bed trying to wash away the weekend") - and you get a pretty decent indie rock and roll crowd pleaser. An infectious, radio-friendly chorus and a littering of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the up-and-coming London band’s latest single suggests future festival potential.

Sean Peacock

(Never Mind The) Stars - France

A promising start and a welcomed finish, but 'France' manages to make a catchy tune quickly become repetitive and monotonous. Of the thirty seconds one could initially enjoy, the single offers nothing enticing, except for providing a little amusement when listening to the lyrics. It does achieve “non-pretentious musical fun,” but if not eating the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream that the single will soon help advertise, this is one to skip over when on shuffle.

Aliena Haig

The Bridgeheads - The Best One

Despite The Bridgeheads claim to "rich guitar textures, variations in dynamics and complexity of drumming" the ironically named single ‘The Best Ones’ conveys a sound that is bland and empty of imagination. The single begins with some ill-mixed drums and guitar which eventually develops in the chorus: unfortunately, at this juncture the singer launches into some tuneless falsetto and listening becomes unbearable. ‘The Best Ones’ conveys a failed attempt to imitate Radiohead, but without any of the skills and creativity that the latter naturally possess.

Becky Such

Tigers That Talked - 23 Fears

A likeable release from the Leeds based band Tigers That Talked, attempting to be melodramatic and epic simultaneously – and succeeding, just. A little forgettable and irrelevant, it takes a few listens to get your teeth into ’23 Fears’, but it’s pleasing and enjoyable nonetheless. Think Kings of Leon’s 'Notion', absent of heavy guitars or swagger. The dance remix is similarly good, but nothing spectacular.

Sean Peacock

The Perfect Crime - Everything Else Can Wait

I’m not sure what the sound effect at the start of track one, ‘Hailstones’ is, but it is certainly not hailstones. It is something far more disturbing, and not in an altogether positive way. It is clear from the adventurous and complex rhythms (‘Are We There’, for example) and dynamic confidence that the band have been together from a young age: this Cambridgeshire three-piece definitely know how to make a huge sound. Unfortunately, the lyrics lack subtlety and are littered with obvious rhymes, taking you back to the nauseating teenage emo stage in your musical education that most people would rather not re-live, frankly. Take for instance the lyrics "Let’s go back to the start again, Let’s go back to when we were friends" in ‘Hounded’...not exactly ground breaking stuff. None the less, there are moments of real promise, but sadly every time one of their intricate and harrowing melodies has grabbed your attention, it is interrupted by lead vocalist Adam Mortaro’s scream, that can only be described as ferocious barking. It’s powerful stuff... maybe I’m just not angry enough.

Rose Spittles

Feel My Method - Blackpuddin'

Blackpuddin’ is one of the strangest creations I’ve ever listened too, an unsettling mix of Yamaha keyboard sound effects, vulgar lyrics and the occasional scream. Almost every song sounds the same. I suspect one of their musical influences may be The Prodigy - they’re obviously attempting to reproduce a similar Rap-Rock-Electronic combination Liam Howlett and co. have mastered so well. Sadly, Feel My Method fail miserably. The most listenable track on the album, 'No Soul', is almost catchy and danceworthy but some bizarre occasional grunting sounds ruin the nearly achieved effect. The lyrics are slightly more comprehendible than the mumblings which characterise the rest of the album, but sadly this isn’t enough to save them. ‘No Soul’ is followed by their ballad track 'Hold On’, Feel My Method claim "you gotta have the ballad", I beg to differ. After 6:33 minutes of warbling I’d barely managed to hold on to my sanity. I can safely say I never want to feel, see or hear Chazegge’s method ever again.

Rebecca Hollingdale

Andy Lucas - Weekend Millionaire

Darkly humorous lyrics and macabre subject matter made up my first impressions of Andy Lucas’s debut effort, Weekend Millionaire. Song titles such as 'Miserable Musical Prostitute' and 'Einstein and the Taxi Driver' are immediately eye-catching - however, while his songs are often lyrically amusing (“It’s easy to be flippant when you’re zombie-ed on Prozac”, or Einstein snubbing Newton as a “jammy little apple-finding fuck”), his music is often simply not as striking as his words. In his liner notes, Lucas describes his “music and stories” as “a little untamed slice of madness”; 'Birds' and 'Burn' exhibit trailing and tripping melodies, and 'Talk Of The Town' offers a melancholy cello strain, but for the most part “Weekend Millionaire” it is yet another jazz & blues influenced pop record. If swirling arrangements and sardonic lyrics are what you seek, Andy Lucas is unlikely to disappoint; but while not altogether unoriginal, Weekend Millionaire is relatively recycled.

Rachel Belward

The Union - Black Monday

Comprised of Thunder guitarist Luke Morley and ex-Winterville members, The Union offer a razor sharp taster of their self titled debut album with the release of their single, Black Monday. What starts of as an acoustic piece soon erupts into a vibrant dose of electric rock that simply oozes passion and cool with every note. If this classy number doesn’t convince you to check out the rest of the album then give it a listen anyway, you won’t be disappointed.

James Fairfield

We're back...

After a nice summer break, NSR's back and ready to broadcast. We'll be keeping the blogs updated with all the reviews, interview and opinions of our music team. So, without further delay, the articles...

Ben Lowes-Smith and Mark Corcoran-Lettice

Tenny Ten - Swaggnificient

Reviewed by Antonio Alves da Silva

For a song that tries to uplift the mood you’re a quickly shot back down into a state of wanting to tear your hair out; achieved by the seemingly catchy chorus that becomes grating and the singer’s inability to rap. It’s a brave move, however a foolish one, to follow in Peter Andre’s steps by creating a new word and using it to name your song. I would like to say that the music is the only redeeming quality to the song, but only part way through and you realise that it is highly repetitive and soon tire of the overall bad song.

0/5

Mumford and sons – Roll Away Your Stone

Reviewed by Antonio Alves da Silva

Overall the song is impressive and easy to listen to. Initially you’re met by a folk style intro which unfolds into an energetic duet between guitar and lead vocalist; the contrast between quirky guitar and gruff voice provides an interesting feel which progressively becomes more powerful and sinister. Throughout the song there are sudden changes from soft to loud that’s works as the different sections flow smoothly with one another. It’s a pleasant twist to conventional folk music that gives a fresh sound to mainstream music you listen to on the radio.


4/5