Browsing Tag

Pearl Jam

The Breathing Method let their post-grunge ‘Demons’ out to play in their latest soul-tearing triumph

Posted on 10 June 2024

With a sound Sub Pop should be rushing to sign, The Breathing Method retained their position as Scotland’s premier post-grunge outfit by unleashing their latest single, ‘Demons’. If you can bear the weight of the heavy emotional artillery and not be affected, your soul may be beyond salvation.

The steady and warm-with-affection guitar chords heighten the sting of the raw vocal stretches as they plunge into the abyss of despair and cut just as deep as Pearl Jam’s ‘Black’. But don’t get it twisted, Demons is so much more than your average trip back to the 90s Seattle sound.

The scrambled mental disquietness of the overlaying voice recordings in the track’s Blue October-esque middle eight extrapolates the agony of a chaotically disorientated mind, exhibiting how our demons can make battlegrounds of our psyche after objects of idiosyncratic desire move far beyond the eye’s periphery.

The way The Breathing Method executed Demons, ensuring they match the emotive delivery of Death Cab for Cutie, is a surefire sign that they’re a band worth watching as they tear through the underground and move into the mainstream.

Demons is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Never Built to Last by Forgotten Tides – Reminds Us to Live Passionately

Posted on 25 April 2023

“Never Built to Last” by Forgotten Tides is a captivating rock ballad that showcases the band’s musical talent and lyricism. The song starts with a mellow guitar intro, followed by the powerful vocals of lead singer, Jonny Lees. The lyrics speak of the fleeting nature of relationships and how they often come to an end, despite the initial passion and promises. Lee’s emotive delivery captures the heartache of lost love, making it a relatable and poignant experience for listeners.

Forgotten Tides is an up-and-coming band from Aberdeen, Scotland, and “Never Built to Last” is one of their most popular tracks. According to their website, the band was formed in 2019 and is influenced by rock legends such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Their music combines the raw energy of grunge with modern production techniques, resulting in a unique sound that appeals to both classic and contemporary rock fans.

On social media, Forgotten Tides are active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where they share updates on their music and interact with fans. Their social media presence is a testament to their dedication to their craft and their desire to connect with their audience.

I love this song, “Never Built to Last” by Forgotten Tides is a must-listen for fans of rock music. Its powerful lyrics, raw energy, and impressive musicianship make it a standout track that is sure to leave a lasting impression. The band’s promising future is evident in their growing fan base and active social media presence, and they are definitely worth keeping an eye on in the coming years.

Miss Kill sharpened their knives in their evocatively jagged alt-90s revival EP, Don’t Tell Me Twice

Posted on 18 September 2022

Few artists create a route back to the 90s as creatively as the Bristol sister duo, Miss Kill. Their debut EP, Don’t Tell Me Twice, hits the sonic Seattle mark just as well as it channels the emotional energy of the golden era of raw, sludgy anthems.

I’ve seen countless bios attesting to the influence of Hole, Pearl Jam and Placebo from artists too evocatively inadept to revive that clawingly consuming candour, not Miss Kill. Even the non-lexical vocals are a skeleton key to insecure soul. Each track on the 5-track release affirms the power of their tenaciously heart-breaking songwriting talent that feels so viscerally comforting in a time of such little relative comfort.

One of the lead singles from the EP, All You Gotta Do, kicks up a tumultuous storm of frustration around artful alt-rock instrumentals while the vocals unfalteringly stretch across the melancholic landscape that deserves to be firmly implanted on the playlists you turn to in protest to the exhausting unfulfillment of life and everything it has to throw at you.

Don’t Tell Me Twice was officially released on September 16th. Sink into it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Francis Botcherby brought the Seattle sound to morally bankrupt British shores with ‘Parliament of Wolves’

Posted on 4 December 2021
Francis Botcherby

Cambridge, UK-based alt solo artist, Francis Botcherby, has been honing in on his sound for over a decade; his music has featured on BBC Cambridgeshire amongst many stations. His most popular music video to date has racked up over 100,000 streams, and he has counted plenty of other successes in between.

His latest single, Parliament of Wolves, carries the same protestive lyrical edge as Billy Bragg, but stylistically, Botcherby brought the sound of Seattle to UK shores. With bassline growls that will evoke nostalgia for Soundgarden’s grungy licks and enigmatic vocals that carry a touch of the Mike Patton magic, there’s a fair amount of nostalgia but there is something incredibly refreshing about his shimmering guitars and grooving rhythms that throw further back to the days when Hendrix reigned supreme.

Francis Botcherby’s single Parliament of Wolves was officially released on December 3rd. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Apollo’s Army – Drive: Infectiously Feisty Indie Alt Rock

Posted on 13 August 2020

If you could imagine what it would sound like if The Black Keys threw nuances of raucous Punk and Grunge into their rhythmically spellbinding singles, you’ll get an idea of what will hit you when you hit play on Apollo’s Army’s single “Drive”.

Drive is just one of the super-charged singles which you will find on the US-based artist’s debut album Welcome to the Army which was a decade in the making. Which means that Welcome to the Army is a rare record which offers the teen angst that initially inspired the record performed by an indisputable powerhouse of musicians.

Drive is packed with anthemic appeal thanks to the massive infectious choruses, enigmatic vocals, and then there’s the riffs, my God the riffs. While I’ll roll my eyes at most showy shredding, there’s something infinitely absorbing about Wah-soaked sonic blazing solo work in Drive.

You can check out Apollo’s Army’s single along with the rest of their 2020 album by heading over to Spotify or their official website where you’ll find more ways to stream their snarling Alt Indie hit.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Echoes Of Her looks inward with latest single ‘Reflections’

Posted on 6 June 2020

Solo rock artist Echoes of Her has released new track Reflections: a sombre, haunting dark and abrasive rock track. 

The sense of loneliness and despair is apparent with ‘Reflections’, and with vocal drawls drawing comparisons to the like of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder – Echoes of Her takes listeners on a dark, loud and grinding road. Not like many other releases on our calendar, it’s perhaps that melancholic guitar dread would be a suitable sub-genre for this style of emotional and highly affective rock.

If you’re into experimental rock with lots of howls, guitars and drama – Echoes of Her are well worth looking into with this latest release. Just don’t stand in the mirror too long. 

You can listen to ‘Reflections’ on Echoes of Her’s Spotify page here.

Happy Freuds – Break: It’s full of energy and major throwbacks

Posted on 29 March 2020

If you want something that’s going to throw you right back to the old school Classic Rock days then this is the one for you. Happy Freuds have this contagious energy, manic instrumentation and insane vocals, that real rock feel that throws you right back.

‘’Break’’ is a track that you can’t help but love, it’s energetic, chaotic and has so much personality that shines through, as a listener you can hear how much energy goes into the music and how well it comes out.

They have this talent that definitely shouldn’t go unnoticed, the guitar riffs are so precise and electrifying, the light taps on the drums and not to mention the killer vocals that just completely top everything off, it all combines so well together.

Happy Freuds have clearly shown the Rock world what they have to offer in this track, just by showing how good old school Classic Rock can really sound. A band with huge potential to make it massive and one we can’t wait to see do so.

Be sure to check out Break for yourselves by heading to SoundCloud now.

Review by Karley Myall

Crisis King – Tonight – If You Thought That Extreme Music Could Not Be Eclectic, Think Again!

Posted on 3 November 2017

Crisis King is an artist with a fondness for hard-hitting metal, post-hardcore and industrial tones. His recent studio work, Tonight, is an EP that features 6 original songs. The artist’s music explores genres as diverse as hardcore, industrial, new-metal and more, going for an eclectic, yet direct sound. Opening number, “Die Easy”, is an extremely powerful wall of sound that feels like a stampede of vikings, crushing and burning everything in their path. The song has powerful drums and loud guitar riffs that are down-tuned and aggressive, perfectly matching the vocals.

The dark lyrical themes on the songs of the EP are also a great match with the album’s production aesthetics, but there is also room for melodies here and there.

“The Tides” highlights the group’s most melodic side, yet it still features hard-hitting drums, loud guitar walls and serendipitous changes. Throughout the span of these 6 tracks, Crisis King really stand out for the diverse approach they are able to bring to the table, exploring different sides of their musicianship and offering up an EP that feels eclectic, yet extremely direct, just as you would expect from a band such as Crisis King!