Filed under: Album Reviews
Release Date: Out now.
Record Label: Self-Release.
Turku, a coastal city in the south of Finland, is an unlikely place for an up-and-coming prog band to hone their skills. Rich in 13th century architecture, the city has a long affiliation with classical and orchestral arrangements: the closet you will find to “guitar music” is the overbearing sound of the student’s karaoke night: drunken vocals and a distorted backing track.
For this reason alone, it is understandable why Nauticus feel the need for change. Ironically titled, The Wait, the experimental ensemble have been putting their time to good use; bridging the post-rock juggernaut of the ‘00s, with quirky, eclectic metal. Punctuated by woe-is-me howls and plenty of shredding, Nauticus’ wait has been long and chaotic.
Release Date: Out now.
Record Label: Superhot Records.
By Simon Hadley
There is much to admire about Stubb, London’s finest blues-rock trio. Their raison d’être is simple: delivering awe-inspiring grooves and fuzzed-out licks that are made to be worshipped.
Half a century past its inception, and in the midst of yet another surge of woozy riffing and lyrical tomfoolery; even the brightest light in the underground sticks rigidly to the rulebook. The cream of the crop, Jack Dickinson is content on following the fretboard musings of Clapton and Co – not to mention their affiliation with floral shirts – with startling precision.
‘Galloping Horses’ best spans the album’s breadth: vintage power chords, soulful vocals and a consistently intense rhythm section; culminating in tumbling drumfills and a blissed-out, psychedelic solo. While their heroes came, saw and conquered before disappearing just as quickly; wouldn’t it be great if Stubb could stay for a little while longer.
Filed under: Tracks
‘Space Cubeship’ is our second taste (after ‘Outrun’) from Acid Cosmonauts’ first signing DSW (better known as the Dawn Storm Watchers). The Italian’s forthcoming debut LP, Stoner, Stoner, Stoner is due out on May 12.
Filed under: Tracks
Portuguese hard rockers the Classified signed to BOTR at the end of last year, and to celebrate the release of their forthcoming debut on May 12, the Barcelos four-piece will be leaking tracks for the next 11 days; the first is the riff-heavy stomp of ‘Dead Man’s Hand’.
Filed under: Album Reviews
Release Date: Out now.
Record Label: Full Speed Ahead.
Having played in a Slayer tribute band for the best part of 20 years, Florence’s Whiskey Funeral can be forgiven for toning down the heaviness. Inspired by the Hellacopters and the Ramones, their self-titled debut follows the primal template for high-energy punk’n’roll: loud, down-tuned guitars, relentless drumming and a vocalist with too much testosterone. Not to be taken seriously.
Filed under: Tracks
Garage rock tends to invoke an air of timelessness, if only because of its ability to transcend decades and trends within a matter of seconds. Taken from their debut EP, ‘Smoky’ blends faraway vocals, with the flamenco rock of the band’s Basque heritage.
Filed under: Tracks
Way, way back in 2010, we featured I’m Alive , the debut EP from Californian stoner-punk’s Doors to no Where; well, they’re back, and ‘Bones’ is the first cut from their forthcoming album, Lucky You.
Filed under: Single/EP Reviews
Release Date: Out now.
Record Label: Self-Release.
Down are inspired by Sabbath. The Sun Preachers’ are inspired by Down. With a vocalist that is able to mimic Phil Anselmo’s hoarsely screams to a tee, Faces of Ashes is Bordeaux’s Over The Under: southern-fried, doom-filled licks, that are filled with sorrow.
Filed under: Tracks
San Francisco’s far-out heritage is legendary; which is why it is even more puzzling to find 3 Leafs, a West Coast collective, whose compositions mirror the psychedelic, spaced-out sprawl of late ‘60s utopia; surviving in a fragile, online bubble. Taken from En Super Forme, this free-spirited jam is a woozy reminder of a bygone age.
Filed under: Tracks
Taken from their free-downloadable debut, ‘Secret Mountain’ is the latest output by a German four-piece that have had more incarnations than albums: the Gas and Heute, to name but two. Third time lucky, perhaps?
