Black Spiders have been around since 2008 gradually building a fanbase but not yet getting to the next size up in venues. Could Cvrses be the album to take them to the next level?
Never Enough kicks off the album and is a fun, upbeat song with a hooky chorus which gets things off to a great start, while also setting a pretty high bar. Cool Reaper follows and is one of my favourites with it’s simple, spiky riff and driving drum beat, the bar is cleared and maybe raised some more.
Sorry Not Sorry is another great track and I do find the chorus quite funny with it’s refrain of “not really sorry, not even close” – is this a reference to online apology videos? Again, is a ridiculously hooky chorus that will have you singing along after the first listen. Sorry neighbours (not even close, haha!).
Idol Hands features a beast of a riff, the song builds really well towards the chorus, that again, gets in your head from the first listen. This one gives me Mason Hill vibes, which is no bad thing for me, especially while we wait for something new from them. Very tasty guitar solo too, making this one possibly my favourite (again).
Idol Hands features a beast of a riff, the song builds really well towards the chorus, that again, gets in your head from the first listen. This one gives me Mason Hill vibes, which is no bad thing for me, especially while we wait for something new from them. Very tasty guitar solo too, making this one possibly my favourite (again).
Dia De Muertos is a slower, more stripped back song that shows another side to the band and is equally effective as the more fun, upbeat tracks, proving they can do “a bit more serious” very well too. Could this be my favourite?
No Superman is just so infectious and catchy, it’s ridiculous. Seriously, this album should come with some sort of warning label on the cover, it contains so many hooks! Killer solo on this one as well. Go! is full of punk-like energy and is sure to be a future live favourite making crowds go crazy keeping up with the pace, I can already tell that.
No Superman is just so infectious and catchy, it’s ridiculous. Seriously, this album should come with some sort of warning label on the cover, it contains so many hooks! Killer solo on this one as well. Go! is full of punk-like energy and is sure to be a future live favourite making crowds go crazy keeping up with the pace, I can already tell that.
Obey is also destined to go down a storm with a live crowd - short and sweet, full of energy with a chorus begging to be sung along to, it’s another winner.
Rotten To The Core closes out the album and is a slower number to start with beginning with acoustic guitar and percussion, giving a Western campfire vibe and is a nice change of pace.
Rotten To The Core closes out the album and is a slower number to start with beginning with acoustic guitar and percussion, giving a Western campfire vibe and is a nice change of pace.
Some lovely harmony vocals follow before the beat picks up and we’re now on horseback crossing the plains. More instrumental layers are added next with a really effective guitar picking pattern sitting just below the surface of the other instruments.
Post-rock, post-metal? I don’t know how to tell the difference personally but I’m starting to get more of a feel for these things and after attending the last 6 ArcTanGent festivals I really should know by now.
The chorus of “this whole world is rotten to the core, I don’t think that we should take it anymore,” is seemingly at odds with the joyous music, yet shows the band have a serious side too.
I think the term blistering is the most appropriate for the solo that ends the song and indeed the album. That makes it sound as though it’s quite a departure from the rest of the album and in some ways, it is and yet fits perfectly just the same.
Having gone back to listen to their last album to see how they compare, I can say that Cvrses is a positive move forward and I think existing fans will be impressed, and should also gain the band many more new fans too if there is any justice - like me for example. 8/10
Vulvarine - Fast Lane (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Vulvarine love rock n roll, they love Mötorhead, they love Girlschool, they love The Runaways and they love The Donnas. They love dirty rock n roll and Fast Lane is packed with it from the opening riffs of The Drugs, The Love And The Pain, they will remind you of all the bands I mentioned alongside acts like Status Quo, Ash and Tokyo Dragons (go look them up).
Hailing from Austria Vulvarine released their debut album in 2020 and an EP in 2023 and they have been pumping out high energy rock since then combining denim wrapped biker rock, catsuit clad glam and some pop punchiness for a sound that hard not to smile to. With Fast Lane they look to sharpen their hooks with some refined song writing that gives them a few more tricks to play with.
Be it the dark Demons, the grooving Alright Tonight, the sleazy Fool is a US radio ready single as Dark Red comes with a bit of punk sneer. With the penultimate track, the cover of Cheri Cheri Lady by German pop duo Modern Talking is given a high energy blast and has Filippa Nässilof Thundermother on guitar. Vulvarine take to the Fast Lane with this second album and it could quickly make them household names. 7/10
Kazea – I, Ancestral (Suicide Records) [Duncan Everson]
Having gone back to listen to their last album to see how they compare, I can say that Cvrses is a positive move forward and I think existing fans will be impressed, and should also gain the band many more new fans too if there is any justice - like me for example. 8/10
Vulvarine - Fast Lane (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Vulvarine love rock n roll, they love Mötorhead, they love Girlschool, they love The Runaways and they love The Donnas. They love dirty rock n roll and Fast Lane is packed with it from the opening riffs of The Drugs, The Love And The Pain, they will remind you of all the bands I mentioned alongside acts like Status Quo, Ash and Tokyo Dragons (go look them up).
Hailing from Austria Vulvarine released their debut album in 2020 and an EP in 2023 and they have been pumping out high energy rock since then combining denim wrapped biker rock, catsuit clad glam and some pop punchiness for a sound that hard not to smile to. With Fast Lane they look to sharpen their hooks with some refined song writing that gives them a few more tricks to play with.
Be it the dark Demons, the grooving Alright Tonight, the sleazy Fool is a US radio ready single as Dark Red comes with a bit of punk sneer. With the penultimate track, the cover of Cheri Cheri Lady by German pop duo Modern Talking is given a high energy blast and has Filippa Nässilof Thundermother on guitar. Vulvarine take to the Fast Lane with this second album and it could quickly make them household names. 7/10
Kazea – I, Ancestral (Suicide Records) [Duncan Everson]
Post-rock, post-metal? I don’t know how to tell the difference personally but I’m starting to get more of a feel for these things and after attending the last 6 ArcTanGent festivals I really should know by now.
I don’t know where one starts and the other has someone screaming, “Get orf my land!” to be honest but my education continues with this album from Kazea, a three piece band from Sweden.
On first listen I wasn’t blown away if I’m honest but felt there was something here worth more time and I’m glad I stuck with it. Before I knew it, I’d listened to this at least ten times and still am now.
Trenches is where the line starts to blur between post-rock and post-metal (I think) with the screamed vocals coming in half-way through maybe being the thing to push the boundary. The music itself is still mid paced with a distorted guitar tone and the other, more standard vocal style combine well with the screams to great effect.
Whispering Hand is a faster paced blast through more standard sounding rock territory, although utilising the same guitar tone so it fits in nicely. A Strange Burial is next and more the kind of thing I’d expect to live in post-rock town, all big chords, slow drums, atmosphere and instrumental except for a sample from a movie (I’m guessing as much anyway).
On first listen I wasn’t blown away if I’m honest but felt there was something here worth more time and I’m glad I stuck with it. Before I knew it, I’d listened to this at least ten times and still am now.
Trenches is where the line starts to blur between post-rock and post-metal (I think) with the screamed vocals coming in half-way through maybe being the thing to push the boundary. The music itself is still mid paced with a distorted guitar tone and the other, more standard vocal style combine well with the screams to great effect.
Whispering Hand is a faster paced blast through more standard sounding rock territory, although utilising the same guitar tone so it fits in nicely. A Strange Burial is next and more the kind of thing I’d expect to live in post-rock town, all big chords, slow drums, atmosphere and instrumental except for a sample from a movie (I’m guessing as much anyway).
This short track leads directly and effectively into Wailing Blood which initially continues on from the previous track before morphing into something quite different. This track somehow seems quite epic despite coming in at just over four and a half minutes, featuring peaks and troughs of sound, with slower, stripped back moments which skilfully blend into faster choruses without being jarring. Great drumming in this one too.
The North Passage makes effective use of those dynamics again and the dual vocal style shown earlier is even more effective here. Seamlessly Woven closes out the album and this is probably the most easily classified as what I imagine post-rock to be.
The North Passage makes effective use of those dynamics again and the dual vocal style shown earlier is even more effective here. Seamlessly Woven closes out the album and this is probably the most easily classified as what I imagine post-rock to be.
Dark and moody with layered guitars and a long instrumental section in the middle which is just gorgeous, before the vocals come back and in and the track just keeps building and building before coming full circle to close out with just a simple piano repeating the main riff to end. Bloody wonderful.
I hadn’t heard of Kazea before this album, but the editor suggested I might like it, and he was right. There’s enough variety here that if one track doesn’t appeal too much, another may very well tick your boxes but at the same time there is a consistent sound to the album, so the tracks sit cohesively together.
I hadn’t heard of Kazea before this album, but the editor suggested I might like it, and he was right. There’s enough variety here that if one track doesn’t appeal too much, another may very well tick your boxes but at the same time there is a consistent sound to the album, so the tracks sit cohesively together.
I have a feeling that I’ll be listening to this for quite some time to come. 9/10
Ellis Mano Band - Morph (SPV) [Matt Bladen]
Elis Mano Band follows that great blues tradition of naming yourself after band members. Like Tedeschi Trucks Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Crosby, Stills And Nash and Fleetwood Mac.
Ellis Mano Band - Morph (SPV) [Matt Bladen]
Elis Mano Band follows that great blues tradition of naming yourself after band members. Like Tedeschi Trucks Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Crosby, Stills And Nash and Fleetwood Mac.
Ellis Mano Band is made up of vocalist Chris Ellis, guitarist Edis Mano, bassist Severin Graf, drummer Nico Looser and Lukas Bosshardt on keys.
They're all from different countries and Morph is their fourth album and because it's their fourth album, they have tried to redefine or perhaps refine what their sound should be. Rooted still in blues rock, here they continue on an evolutionary path towards a more mature, diverse style.
They first played these tracks in support of Deep Purple and Ellis Mano Band clearly have drawn inspiration from bands like Purple who languish on the blues but always want to add different flavours. Virtually Love starts off this record with some Springsteen/Petty-like rollicking rock n roll however Count Me In and Madness And Tears are reminiscent of Bowie and Madrugada.
That Madrugada comparison continues with the album, throwing in some Tom Waits, some Stevie Ray Vaughan and Southern rock too. Heartfelt, blue collar music from this talented group, Morph sees them fluctuate their influences to great effect. 7/10
They're all from different countries and Morph is their fourth album and because it's their fourth album, they have tried to redefine or perhaps refine what their sound should be. Rooted still in blues rock, here they continue on an evolutionary path towards a more mature, diverse style.
They first played these tracks in support of Deep Purple and Ellis Mano Band clearly have drawn inspiration from bands like Purple who languish on the blues but always want to add different flavours. Virtually Love starts off this record with some Springsteen/Petty-like rollicking rock n roll however Count Me In and Madness And Tears are reminiscent of Bowie and Madrugada.
That Madrugada comparison continues with the album, throwing in some Tom Waits, some Stevie Ray Vaughan and Southern rock too. Heartfelt, blue collar music from this talented group, Morph sees them fluctuate their influences to great effect. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment