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 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.
Album Review: Koji - Crooked In My Mind
Koji brings us his debut full length ‘Crooked In My Mind’, an acoustic based album supported by the Lauryn Hill band, La Dispute, Title Fight, and Balance & Composure. The man behind Koji, Andrew Koji Shiraki, is an advocate for many groups, like Invisible Children, and often involves storytelling, visual art, and media into his live shows to bring the focus to empowering youth with positivity. This motive shines through in his lyrics, and you are left feeling that every note and every word is deliberate.
An acoustic-based album can be difficult to pull off, but Koji has no trouble crafting a dynamic album that avoids monotony and is instead full of interesting and unique lyrics, melodies, and rhythms. ‘Distance/Divide’ is sultry, with melancholy lyrics that give a touch of dramatic emotion while keeping it mysterious. Vintage sounding guitars give it a throwback vibe that sets it apart. ‘Creeping’ highlights Shiraki’s clear, powerful voice and meaningful lyrics whilst incorporating strong instrumental melodies.
Album Review: Still Bust - A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not)
For a band that has been together ten years, a debut album seems a little overdue. Just reading a few tales of Still Bust’s illustrious career tells me these guys have something about them that sets them apart, all this by stories that have nothing to do with the music. I’ve never really listened to much of this genre before, but I can see why it gets the attention it does, and Still Bust contain the angst ridden energy I’d expect from any band of this genre.
Looking at the song titles shows that there’s either been a lot of thought gone into naming these songs, or not much at all. Some of the most ambitious titles I’ve seen for a band, especially for a hardcore punk band with some songs not even breaking the minute mark. ‘If You Don’t Like Video Games (You Probably Have Other Interests)’ suggests that while it took ten years for this album to come about, Still Bust obviously have the talent necessary. If you’re a fan of these guys, I doubt this is a disappointing release, no Chinese Democracy I’m assuming. All the adrenaline I’d expect for a debut that seems long overdue. The riffs hold substance and are what stand out to me most, especially in the interestingly titled ‘Tastes Like Asbestos (From Little Richard Came)’.
Album Review: Golden Tanks - R.D.H.B.
Punk rockers Golden Tanks don’t do things in half measures. Their short and sweet EP ‘R.D.H.B.’ is a blinder, really encapsulating the band’s genre and producing an energy fuelled, ballsy set of tracks.
From opener introduction ‘859’ the commotion arises, with punchy riffs, aggressive screams and hard-hitting percussion coming together to create a fierce riot, already confirming that Golden Tanks know exactly what they’re doing. This could be said for the whole of the EP, including stand-out title track ‘R.D.H.B’ which takes on a rock ‘n’ roll vibe with an infectious rhythm that repeats in sections throughout; a perfect head banger. Closing track ‘Fangs’ is just as captivating in its own right, reiterating the ferocious side of the band with dark, elongated roars in amongst the trademark vocal structures. The continued energy fuelled rhythms round up into an abrupt ending, leaving a very memorable and admirable mark on the punk rock radar.
Album Review: Old Gray - An Autobiography
Old Gray are finally getting a UK release of their debut full length record ‘An Autobiography’ on Dog Knights Productions on the 20th May and it’s been well worth the wait. Recorded with Will Killingsworth (Orchid, Ampere) at Dead Air Studio – it’s an album that is instantly emotionally attractive to listeners, much like the original records of their influences.
Old Gray had been receiving a lot of praise for this record before I got the chance to sit down and listen to it. I didn’t hold my breath, for fear of this being another fad band that’d come and pass, much like they tend to do, especially in a screamo capacity. When I finally listened to this record however, I was completely blown away. Not only did I become instantly emotionally invested in this band – I believe it’s one of the most well constructed screamo records I’ve heard in a long long time and off this alone, Old Gray are here to stay.
Live Review: Takedown Festival - Students’ Union, Southampton Uni - 11/05/2013
It had been one hell of a trip but we finally made it Southampton Uni, easily parked up and headed to get our wristbands. It quickly became apparent that the whole set up and feel of Takedown Festival was much like that of Slam Dunk, but on a much smaller scale.
We kicked of Takedown festival with Bristol based band A Tale of Two Cities at the Small Town Records stage. These guys had a huge sound and were giving it everything they had especially the bass player who constantly drove the energy with his bouncing as he passionately sang along to every word; there were a few cheers from the audience, which gradually got bigger throughout ATOTC set, but unfortunately a “whirlwind of pure, flawless energy” didn’t lift the roof like Already Heard had expected. This may have been due to the daylight flooding into the venue that may have taken the edge off the “gig” vibe. Highlight of the set was latest single ‘I Plead Guilty’, instantly hitting the audience with an infectious guitar hook, with a chorus of interwoven vocal harmonies on a bed of hypnotic guitar riffs powered by the relentless rhythm section; this was the track that showed the potential of ATOTC. (3/5) (HM)
