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fourwallsofwater reblogged this from already-heardmusic and added:
I love this EP.
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already-heardmusic posted this
INTERVIEW: ARCANE ROOTSHaving finally released début album ‘Blood And Chemistry,’ we met up with vocalist/guitarist Andrew Groves to discuss the new album, being compared to Biffy Clyro and more.
INTERVIEW: NATIVESCurrently on tour with The Summer Set and a new EP set to be released soon, we caught
up with New Forest's Natives to talk about the new EP and album, the UK rock scene, the transition from being Not Advised to becoming Natives and much more.
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.
Album Review: Mixtapes - How To Throw A Successful Party
It may seem that Mixtapes only just released their latest album, ‘Even on the Worst Nights’ and that this is a mighty quick follow up to such a great album. This is because the songs for ‘How To Throw A Successful Party’ have been lingering around for ages, originally released as a bonus download to those who bought 2011’s ‘Maps And Companions’, and now it is now being released proper. It’s got a vinyl pressing and everything; it’s time to get stoked as everyone’s favourite Cincinnati based pop-punkers are back.
This is not the high-energy, sugar-coated pop-punk that Mixtapes are famed for, as they explore a softer and more introspective side to their music; In short, this is an acoustic album. It loses none of the earnestness and passion of their other releases which have been littered with similar offerings.
The album opens with ‘10AM (How To Successfully Start The Day)’ and begins the chronicling of a day in the life of Mixtapes. Despite the album having a different dynamic to previous Mixtapes releases, the lyrics cover the same ground; they are funny and touching anecdotes of life in a punk band that encompass relationships, friends, hometowns and everything in between.
‘Noon (Protest Song)’ is a rebellion against soulless music and the pitfalls of fortune and fame and it speaks of a band that are comfortable and happy in the music they make. It’s refreshing and relaxing to see a band not try hard to look cool but just enjoy the music they make. Mixtapes are not a pretentious band; they are a band that love making music as a group of friends and this is what makes their songs so great.
One of the best melodies and sweetest moments on the album comes from ‘4PM (Stupid Famous Quotes.)’ It is delicate and heartfelt and lyrically relatable (to this reviewer, anyway,) creating a real highlight of the album.
If there is one criticism of this album, it’s that the songs are very much of the same ilk as the rest of Mixtapes’ back catalogue; songs like ‘2PM (How to End Something Good)’ will sound very familiar to fans of their previous releases. However, this is not really an issue. The album’s delicate acoustic songs are more than enjoyable and each has a distinct personality despite all being three-chord singalongs.
Mixtapes’ songs may be short and simple but they are personal and fun. Aesthetically, they are messy but there’s a lot of heart in their recordings. If you like to date girls only for their looks, then these guys probably won’t appeal, but these guys have got the best personality in the world, and all the love to give; give them a listen and I’m sure you’ll love them like they love you.
4/5
‘How To Throw A Successful Party’ by Mixtapes is released on October 30th on Animal Style.
Mixtapes links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Tom White (@whiteywitters)
