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.
Album Review: Watch Commander - Clock And Compass
Meet melodic punk rock quartet Watch Commander, a band that has a lot under their belt since forming a year and a half ago. With two EPs already to their name the quartet has wasted no time in heading back to the studio to record debut full length ‘Clock and Compass,’ a fun loving record that is full of infectious melodies. Having already shared a stage with some big names in the punk rock scene, Watch Commander have achieved more in a year and a half than most would achieve in a matter of years.
‘Clock and Compass’ makes Watch Commander the British Bayside, in particular Si Rutherford’s vocals resembling those of Anthony Raneri. This can also be said for the melodic guitars and, in fact, the overall sound of the record. This isn’t to say that Watch Commander are a double act by any means, although a British spin on the punk rock sounds that Bayside are known and loved for would perhaps have given the record a bit more of an edge.
‘Cheating Death’ opens the album, perhaps the most energetic track on the record and a great way to introduce the quartet’s talents. This is similar to mid album track ‘Stillwater’ another signature track on ‘Clock and Compass’ alongside ‘Turning the Page,’ both bursting with lively drum beats and dynamic guitars.
Just 49 seconds long, ‘Same Ghosts’ acts as a tranquil interlude, focusing on Rutherford’s vocals with softer guitar chords complimenting his peaceful sounds in this track. Other tracks including ‘Twenty-First’ similarly show the calmer side of Watch Commander in that they slow the pace down in the first verse but then welcome back the upbeat melodies that start off the track.
Watch Commander’s first full length is very admirable: after coming so far in such a short space of time and self-releasing ‘Clock and Compass,’ the quartet have definite guts and determination. It would have been nice to hear an album lengthier than 30 minutes but what they lack in quantity the band make up for in quality, producing 11 short but very commendable tracks.
3.5/5
‘Clock And Compass’ by Watch Commander is out now here.
Watch Commander links: Website|Facebook|Bandcamp|Tumblr|Twitter
Words by Hannah Gillicker (@HannahGillicker)
