Content Breakdown
What is out on this #NewMusicFriday?
Take me to the Playlist
This week’s list of albums and EP’s is your usual mix of recognisable and unknown names. For the former, the return of Architects is going to be at the top of many people’s agendas. Their eleventh album, ‘The Sky, The Earth & All Between’, sees the metalcore group comeback with a bang with a bombastic, heavy collection.
When it comes to emerging names, you may recognise South West quintet Oversize having popped up on the site in recent weeks. Today sees them deliver their debut album – ‘Vital Signs’. You can read more about that below. Likewise, London nu-rock outfit paradise fell. will be aiming to grab your attention. Their ‘Songs for ur Head’ mixtape captures Matty Bankhurst’s personal struggles with mental health, wrapped inside an energetic ball of alt/pop-rock.
When it comes familiar names, Nottingham-based prog metalcore mob The Five Hundred continue to show ambition with their third album – ‘Ghostwriter’. While ‘Here Be Dragons’ from German metallers Avantasia sees the “supergroup” deliver another fantastical rock opera odyssey.
Away from rock and metal, you, infinite debut their self-titled full-length. Bringing together This Will Destroy You founding members guitarist Jeremy Galindo and former bassist/keyboardist Raymond Brown, it leans into their instrumental post-rock origins. Unsurprisingly, it results in a captivating record that thrives in delivering wide soundscapes.
It’s a contrast to what Split Dogs serve up on ‘Here To Destroy’; full-throttle punk rock n’ roll. Meanwhile, Cheekface surprise released their fifth album, ‘Middle Spoon’, earlier this week, providing an eclectic mix of punk, ska, and indie. Balance & Composure‘s ‘Live At Studio 4’ recording of ‘The Things We Think We’re Missing’ gets its digital release. Working with long-time collaborator, the recording elevates the cathartic tone of the 2013 album, without sacrificing its rawness.
Oversize – Vital Signs
Coming off the back of a couple of EP’s, South West outfit Oversize have made the leap to Sharptone Records to release their debut album. As a recognised label with a roster that includes Boston Manor, Vukovi, and Holding Absence among a wealth of others, you can’t help but feel there’s some belief in what Oversize are capable of on ‘Vital Signs’.
Its ten tracks firmly swirl around in the ether of shoegaze and alt-rock with a raw heaviness. However, there are moments of urgency as ‘Stalling’ soon delivers with big guitars and bold drums sinking into atmospheric instrumentation, only for ‘Are You With Me?’ to wake it up. Dominated by Sam Shutler’s penetrative drum work and shimmering guitars, it comfortably rides a surging wave of alluring alt-rock/shoegaze. ‘Fall Apart’ cranks things up with its post-hardcore crispiness that doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Although ‘Vital Signs’ proves to be dynamic and richly layered, there are moments where it frustrates. By embracing shoegaze elements, Oversize tend to lean into the hazy, mid-tempo traits one too many times. It leads to tracks such as ‘Something Clean’ and ‘SALT’ to lose their impact. It’s contrasted with ‘The Incline’ where fuzzy, choppy guitars complement Sam McCauley’s caring words of “tell us what’s inside, We avoid the sunshine”. Later on, ‘Vacant’ strides with striking guitars, providing one of the album’s memorable melodies. ‘Vital Signs’ titular track closes out the outing, pulling in all of Oversize‘s strengths into one. The hazy vocals, piercing drums, and layered, distorted guitars whirl into one final compelling offering.
There is no doubt Oversize have achieved in producing a convincing mix of post-hardcore, shoegaze, and alt-rock on ‘Vital Signs’. It’s a textured, and often richly layered, venture that offers something new with each listen. For example, the lyrical themes of grief and isolation aren’t immediate, getting lost in the hazy mix. Nevertheless, Oversize has planted an assured musical seed that they can expand on and explore down the line.
What is out on #NewMusicFriday?
Architects – The Sky, The Earth & All Between
The Five Hundred – Ghostwriter
Avantasia – Here Be Dragons
you, infinite – you, infinite
Oversize – Vital Signs
paradise fell. – Songs for ur Head
Split Dogs – Here To Destroy
Balance and Composure – The Things We Think We’re Missing: Live At Studio 4
Free Throw – Those Days Are Gone (10 Year Anniversary Edition)
Cheekface – Middle Spoon
Eric Bass – I Had A Name
Cloakroom – Last Leg Of The Human Table
Doves – Constellations For The Lonely
bdrmm – Microtonic
(hed) P.E. – Best Of Unauthorized
Brainstorm – Plague Of Rats
Dark Chapel – Spirit In The Glass
Enemy Inside – Venom
Venamoris – To Cross Or To Burn
The Grey – Kodok
Ter Ziele – Embodiment of Death
Arion – The Light That Burns The Sky
Pale Epiphany – Pale Epiphany
chest. – All Good Things End
Fanalo – Fanalo
Killing Daisies – Echoes of Tomorrow
Spoiled – Collapse
Demora – Torpor
If you think I’ve missed something or have a new album/EP/song to tell us about, tell us about it here.
If you’re looking for the latest tracks focusing on rock, punk, hardcore, metal, emo, and everything in between, then check out our ‘Newish Music’ playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.
