Every week Already Heard is sent a plethora of new music looking to be reviewed and be mentioned on this site. We’ll admit the demand can be pretty overwhelming and we can’t cover everything we receive.

Nevertheless, we’re looking to correct this as with “For Your Consideration”; a round-up of releases that may have slipped under the radar.

For this edition of “For Your Consideration”, we take a look at new releases from Mixtape Saints, Glasstide, Chasing Cadence, Towers, and Kenneths.

Mixtape Saints – Bright Lights Burned Out EP

Life is unpredictable. One minute you can be flying towards the stars, the next you can have your face planted firmly on the ground. Take Mixtape Saints for example. After starting to climb up the musical ladder and securing shows with Frank Turner to name one of many, life threw a curveball their way resulting in Sam Ledley to become a full time carer. The band understand the predicament and surely disband due to this difficulty. Years on the fire is still burning as Sam has put together a short EP of acoustic songs in the form of ’Bright Lights Burned Out’ that demonstrate both the musical talent that was pushing the band but also the songwriting skill to transform tragedy into something positive.

With the soul of Gaslight Anthem and the bravery of Against Me!, these five songs paint a picture of frustration and difficulty. Their message rings true with a bright punk rock flame and each hearty vocal says more than its poetic lyrics ever really could. Sad yet truly inspiring both in context and out of it, this is facing adversity and coming out the other side much stronger and much better off than where you started. (JR)

3.5/5

‘Bright Lights Burned Out’ EP by Mixtape Saints is out now on Little Rocket Records.

Mixtape Saints links: Facebook|Twitter

Glasstide – Lights EP

There is a definite hard rock tilt with a dash of pop punk to Glasstide and on ‘Lights’ they showcase a talent for a catchy tune and a bouncy rock groove. The four tracks on offer here may not be the most groundbreaking, but they do make for an enjoyable listen.

This is definitely a band that knows who to nail a hook; both opener ‘Be There’ and title track ‘Lights’ are infectious slices of hard edged pop rock. ‘Since You’ve Gone’ is another slick hard rocker and boasts a cool instrumental section, although it doesn’t venture far out of their comfort zone.

‘You’re No Worth It’ rounds things off with a familiar pop punk melody and provides a well worked finale. In fact, everything on here is well put together and this is definitely a promising band with an interesting commercial appeal. It will be interesting to see them evolve, especially with a little more daring in the song writing department. (EL)

3.5/5

’Lights’ EP by Glasstide is released on September 23rd.

Glasstide links: Soundcloud|Facebook|Twitter

Chasing Cadence – Destroy Something Beautiful EP

‘Destroy Something Beautiful’ is an encouraging debut from Hertfordshire alt rockers Chasing Cadence, featuring five highly listenable tracks with plenty of hooks and heavy rocking guitars.

Despite the awful title, opener ‘It’s Not The Length that Counts, It’s What You Do With It’ is a good solid alt rocker with a touch of hard rock and a big chorus. They immediately show some versatility on ‘Harbour’, which follows with a more melodic approach and a great vocal performance from Jack Harris.

‘Watching The World’ had me reaching for my air guitar, and is a particularly well put together number that really hints at the band’s potential. Although every track stands up on its own, they don’t seem to have settled on a signature sound. This is very evident on ‘Everyone Relax’, which starts out like a ballad and then goes through a number of tempo changes, getting a little confused. However, the end result actually works well and it’s nice to see a band prepared to experiment a little.

With the re-mastered version of their pulsating tune ‘Dear Life’, the TNA Xplosion Wrestling theme, rounding things off, it makes for a quality EP well worth checking out. (EL)

4/5

’Destroy Something Beautiful’ by Chasing Cadence is out now.

Chasing Cadence links: Website|Facebook|Twitter

Towers – Towers EP

Hailing from the south coast, newcomers Towers make a likeable, if not terribly remarkable first impression with their self-titled debut EP. It’s pretty standard Brit Rock fare that’s focused squarely on the Deaf Havana and Mallory Knox model of song writing. The guitar tones are easy on the ear, the mid-tempo choruses punchy and hooky and the vocals classically UK angst. Unfortunately the day time radio rock by numbers approach these elements combine to form has long since become over saturated. It’s not bad, it’s just pretty anonymous. Next time try find something to make yourselves unique eh lads?

Of the three tracks on offer closer ‘Could Have’ is the strongest. Its walls of swelling guitars and powerful message of overcoming adversity and self improvement are easily worth three minutes of anyone’s time, and suggests there’s enough about Towers to make them worth keeping an eye on. (DW)

3/5

‘Towers’ by Towers is released September 30th.

Towers links: Facebook|Twitter

Kenneths – Double N EP

Formed in early 2015, London punks (the) Kenneths have certainly kept themselves busy with this being their third EP. As you’ve probably guess, ‘Double N’ follows ‘K’ and ‘E’, and has all the hallmarks of fun, snotty punk EP. Produced by Descendents’ Bill Stevenson, the trio quickly go about making their mark with ‘All Cried Out’, a broad, catchy slice of punk that lends itself to Green Day’s 90’s peak. ‘Fucked In Love’ keeps up the momentum with a playful bass line and an anthemic chorus (“In love! I’m fucked and in love again”) that is simply infectious.

‘Hollywood’ is more structured with a rolling verse giving way to an explosive chorus, while occasional “ooh”’s and a sunny lyrical outlook of aiming to be a star provides a feelgood vibe. The caffine-infused ‘I Can’t Focus’ sees the EP out in rapid fashion. It’s modern day punk in its purest form.

With a snappy set of hook-filled punk numbers, The Kenneths have captured what they set out to do; re-produce the raucous energy of their live show. After a handful of repeated plays, ‘Double N’ quickly becomes an addictive EP that shows a band who stick to their laurels rather than following any trends. As their status grows with every EP, Kenneths are fast becoming a name to watch. (SR)

3.5/5

‘Double N’ by Kenneths is released on September 30th.

Kenneths links: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Instagram

Words by Jack Rogers (JR), Edward Layland (EL), Dane Wright (DW), and Sêan Reid (SR).