FIVES: THE BEST WONDER YEARS SONGSThis week Lansdale, Pennsylvania’s The Wonder Years released their fourth album - ‘The Greatest Generation,’ a record that sees the pop punk quintet reach their creative peak in a number of ways. With a wealth of material in their discography, Already Heard's Sean Reid and Tom Knott took on the tricky task of picking out the five best songs from The Wonder Years. Find out what we picked and let us know if you agree or disagree?
INTERVIEW: MALLORY KNOXFollowing the release of their superb 'Signals' album, Mallory Knox have certainly become ones to watch in recent months. We caught up with the band to discuss joining Search & Destroy Records, how vital the festival season and touring are, what it feels like to be a part
of the expanding British rock scene and much more.
ALREADY HEARD RECOMMENDS: OVER THE OCEANOver The Ocean have crafted a compelling, brooding record with their latest effort ‘Be Given To The Soil.’ With intense specific precision and delicate accuracy that echoes the likes of Explosions In The Sky and Sigur Ros. Jesse Hill from the band to discusses how the
album came together, the importance of precision, being compared to post-rock pioneers and more.
VERSUS: BRING ME THE HORIZON - 'THERE IS A HELL...' VS 'SEMPITERNAL'After a top ten UK album and an outstanding UK tour with festival dates on both sides of the Atlantic to follow, Bring Me The Horizon are having a fantastic 2013 and are now featured in the latest edition of "Versus." It's ‘There is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There is a Heaven, Let’s Keep it a Secret’ vs the bands latest release, 'Sempiternal.'
ALREADY HEARD TRACK GUIDE: ALEXANDER - SAY HELLOWe catch up with Newcastle Indie Rock quartet Alexander to find out more about their debut album 'Say Hello' for a “Already Heard Track Guide” feature.
INTERVIEW: TITLE FIGHTHaving briefly returned to the UK for the Hit The Deck Festival before starting a European
tour, we caught up with vocalist/bassist Ned Russin to discuss the bands progression in sound, differences between UK and US festivals, their recent split with Touché Amoré,
having friends on tour and more.
New Biffy Clyro Video (‘Opposites’)
Biffy Clyro have revealed the music video for the title track of their latest album - ‘Opposites.’
The video can be viewed by clicking read more.
Live Photos: Lordi - The Garage, London - 12/05/13
View on Flickr. Photos by Connie Taylor Photography
Live Photos: Kaledon - The Garage, London - 12/05/13
View on Flickr. Photos by Connie Taylor Photography
Live Photos: Hostile - The Garage, London - 12/05/13
View on Flickr. Photos by Connie Taylor Photography
Sonic Boom Six Announce New Single (‘Karma is a Bitch’)
Sonic Boom Six have revealed the next single from their latest self-titled album will be ‘Karma is a Bitch’ and is set to be released 17th June through Xtra Mile.
1) Karma is a Bitch
2) A Little Bit of Reggae
3) Virus (Acoustic Version)
New God Damn Video Released (‘Heavy Money’)
Black Country noise trio God Damn have unveiled their new video for ‘Heavy Money’ and can be viewed by clicking read more.
May
16th London, Macbeth w / Vuvuvultures
17th Birmingham, Adam and Eve
25th West Bromwich Now We Are Weekender
30th Norwich Arts Centre w / Wolf Alice
June
7th Leeds Santiagos
12th London Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, Artrocker New Blood Festival w / Wet Nuns
26th Bristol Fleece
29th Birmingham Sunflower Lounge
July
2nd Leicester Cookie Jar
19th Stoke Sugarmill
21st Sheffield Tramlines – Detestival Presents…
27th Redhill Redfest
Letlive. Announce UK Headline Tour
Letlive. will be making their return to the UK later this year for their first headline tour on these shores.
A new album is expected to be released through Epitaph later this summer with details yet to be announced.
October
03 Bristol The Fleece
04 Southampton Talking Heads
05 Birmingham Asylum
06 Leeds Cockpit
07 Newcastle Warehouse 34
09 Manchester NQ Live
10 Belfast The Limelight
11 Dublin Fibber Magees
12 Glasgow King Tuts
14 Nottingham Rescue Rooms
15 Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
17 London Underworld
Tickets go on sale 9am on 17th May.
Live Review: Dance Gavin Dance, Closure In Moscow, Affiance and Violet - NQ Live, Manchester - 14/05/2013
Oh hey NQ Live, you’re looking mighty fine! It’s been a while since I’ve stepped in but someone’s invested money and done up the place so it does look pretty damn sexy. It feels like a venue rather than a dingy basement and with plenty of tours stopping off it’s good that it’s being recognised.
Violet are first up and unfortunately I’m able to conjure up an idea of their sound based on the fact that there are two frontmen; clean and screamed vocals. There was more energy from the screamer, initially inviting the sparse crowd forward and the uptempo rhythm of some of the songs really pushed him to give off more movement. The clean singer was incredibly melismatic in a very, dare I say it, Jonny Craig fashion. It’s clear the band are influenced by Dance Gavin Dance and this type of American metalcore/screamo etc, further proven by the bassist wearing an A Lot Like Birds tee. The piano samples come through and do make a welcome change what I expected, reminding more so of Chiodos. I can’t feel much of a connection and it all does feel very similar and they don’t seem to be on the same level as the other bands on the bill. Still, this is the exact tour they need to be on to find the fans they’re after; their new release should see them come back a lot stronger. (2.5/5)
FIVES: The Best Wonder Years Songs
This week Lansdale, Pennsylvania’s The Wonder Years released their fourth album - ‘The Greatest Generation,’ a record that sees the pop punk quintet reach their creative peak in a number of ways.
Throughout their eight years together, Dan “Soupy” Campbell and company have produced a wealth of material; four albums and several EP’s and compilation appearances to be precise. With so many stand out anthems of apprehension and pulling through the bad times, this edition of “Fives” proved to be a tricky one for Already Heard’s Sean Reid and Tom Knott.
Take a look at what Sean and Tom picked out as they delve into The Wonder Years’ discography.
What are your favourite songs from The Wonder Years? Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter.
Passing Through A Screen Door
The first single from the bands new album, ‘Passing Through A Screen Door’ captures all that is great about The Wonder Years; a bold, catchy chorus, introspective lyrics and tons of energy. As “Soupy” gives one of his most heart-wrenching lyrical performances as he questions “Jesus Christ, did I fuck up?” I can’t help but feel a personal connection; the second-guessing, the anxiety and wondering where did I go wrong is something I’ve experienced in recent times. It’s about being pushed to your limits and challenging your character as a person.
‘Passing Through A Screen Door’ is The Wonder Years at their most open, whilst musically it demonstrates their growth and progression from “whatever-core” you want to label their early material, to a structured, melodic and passionate band who are confident and who show realism in their songwriting. (SR)
Interview: The JCQ
Previously known as The James Cleaver Quintet, The JCQ play melodic and frantic post hardcore/punk rock noise with plenty of sing alongs, all performed by smartly dressed men. You may remember a Lucozade advert a few years back when a band was playing ‘Buck Rodgers’ by Feeder whilst riding down a hill… Yeah, that was them. And this is now.
With new album ‘Mechanical Young’ out in June, we grabbed a hold of Jack and Maud from The JCQ to discuss the new album, the name change and 5 words to describe their new album… And that’s Baby Godzilla soundchecking. Yeah, they play REALLY loud.
‘Mechanical Young’ by The JCQ is released on 17th June on Hassle Records.
The JCQ links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Questions by Mikey Brown (@MikeyMiracle)
Deaf Havana Announce New Album (‘Old Souls’) & UK Headline Tour
Deaf Havana are set to mark their return later this year with a new album called ‘Old Souls’ and a UK headline tour.
‘Old Souls’ will be released on 16th September with the tour to follow in October.
In addition the video for first single from the album, ‘Boston Square’ can be viewed by clicking read more.
01. Boston Square
02. Lights
03. Everybody’s Dancing and I Want To Die
04. Subterranean Bullshit Blues
05. Night Drives
06. 22
07. Speeding Cars
08. Saved
09. Mildred
10. Tuesday People
11. Kings Road Ghosts
12. Caro Padre
October
Thu 17 Southampton Guildhall
Fri 18 Bristol O2 Academy
Sat 19 Birmngham Institute
Sun 20 Edinburth The Picture House
Tue 22 Liverpool O2 Academy
Wed 23 Nottingham Rock City
Thu 24 Cambridge Corn Exchange
Fri 25 London Roundhouse
Topshelf Records Sign Crash of Rhinos
After being selected as one of our 50 bands to watch in 2013, Derby’s Crash of Rhinos have signed to Topshelf Records in the US.
The band remain on BSM Records here in the UK.
A new album called ‘Knots’ is expected to be released later this summer.
Fans can hear a preview of whats to come in the form of ‘Opener’ by clicking read more.
Anamanaguchi Join Alcopop Records
New York indie rock chiptune band Anamanaguchi have joined Alcopop Records.
The bands new album, ‘Endless Fantasy’ is digitally available now and a free song (‘Planet’) is available to download/stream by clicking read more.
Emmure, Miss May I & More Announced for Impericon Never Say Die UK Tour
Emmure have been announced as headliners for this years Impericon Never Say Die UK tour.
Support comes from Miss May I, I Killed The Prom Queen, Betraying The Martyrs, Hundredth, Northlane and Rise Of The Northstar.
October
6th Birmingham O2 Academy 2
7th Glasgow Garage
8th London The Electric Ballroom
9th Manchester Club Academy
10th Cardiff Solus (University)
Tickets go on sale on Thursday 16th May.
Already Heard Recommends: Over The Ocean
Hailing from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Over The Ocean have crafted a compelling, brooding record with their latest effort ‘Be Given To The Soil.’ With intense specific precision and delicate accuracy that echoes the likes of Explosions In The Sky and Sigur Ros, the quintet take you on an honest, dark journey that demands all of your attention. Over The Ocean are not a band you play as “background music” as you become immersed in the their stunning sound.
After blowing us away with ‘Be Given To The Soil,’ we caught up with Jesse Hill from the band to discuss how the album came together, the importance of precision, being compared to post-rock pioneers and more.
Already Heard: Can you introduce yourself and your role in Over The Ocean? Jesse Hill: My name is Jesse Hill, and I play guitar and sing. I also write the lyrics.
AH: For new listeners, how would you summarise the bands sound?
Jese: This is always a difficult question for me, because I’m too close to the music to be objective. I would describe it as being dynamic and very moody.
AH: From hearing ‘Be Given To The Soil,’ the album has a strong post-rock feel with comparisons being made to Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, and Sigur Ros. Would you say that’s fair?
Jesse: That seems fair. We have certainly referenced all of those bands at some point during the songwriting process. The uncomfortable thing about comparisons like that is always the fact that we have a pretty straight forward vocal sound, which all of those bands have done away with.
AH: Can you tell us how ‘Be Given To The Soil’ came together?
Jesse: This album came together in around three or four months of writing. Some of the songs were arranged as a group, some I wrote more or less on my own and then brought them to the band to flesh out. We did quite a bit of writing for this record with me, Ben (the bass player), and Whittle (the drummer). Basically just the rhythm instruments. Writing songs this way helped us build frameworks for the other guitars to decorate. I think we’ll do more of this kind of writing in the future.
