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Don Broco – “Amazing Things” Album Review

Forever unique and diverse, the four-piece tribesman of Don Broco return with their 2018’s Technology follow-up of Amazing Things.

Usually, after a relentless success-story of a prior album, bands often resort to bettering themselves and going an extra mile to achieve the almost-impossible feat to topping their previous. Unfortunately, this has not happened here quite as they had hoped. Despite its fantastically anthemic tunes of Gumshield, Uber and One True Prince – that were all released via pre-singles – the album can come across often slightly bloated, and somewhat cringe, at times – inclusive of Rob’s incoherent work of yippe-ka-yay in Bruce Willis.

Despite this though, with its colour of creativity in embracing changes to song writing, the album is just fun, darn weird and experimental in places that pull the boundaries of how they are as a cohesive unit and – really bend the ever-so-tight workings of the genre they fit. Which, you can’t necessarily attack a band for doing such free writing within the album when the implores of conventionality come into play creating music.

The best two collectives together in the album is certainly Anaheim and How Are You Done with Existing? Amongst the harder edges, lie these two golden works that aren’t too afraid to stay calm as laid-back cuts. Together as a bounded story, they are the two that I will often pull myself to keep going back to, reeling myself in, eager to find out more about these songs upon every play.

With its colour of creativity in embracing changes to song-writing, you can certainly understand their reason to evolve their sound and create something unique that will certainly get those amongst them talking. Whatever your own verdict is of this album, you can tell that they just had fun working on it.

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If you were an avid fan and follower of the band for many years, I would advise to stick this on for a few listens before coming to your final conclusion, because it may take a while to get used to.

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Project Revitalise: More than a third of UK music industry workers lost jobs in 2020

The number is 69,000 in total. Due to the crippling financial devastation that COVID caused on the music industry and UK Music, it’s certainly Project Revitalise for our music industry as we long for the return of the numbers we once pre-COVID in 2019.

With hundreds of festivals and music events cancelled and/or postponed – with no valid insurance scheme to fall back on – a wave of job losses surged through with the uptake simply being too much for small to medium promoters and event organisers.

As predicted, the slump was hit the hardest with the live music sector which saw revenues collapse overall by 90% to a mere thousand pounds.

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“We have listened carefully to UK Music’s arguments about a market failure regarding events insurance,” said Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary. “The UK music industry is one of our country’s great national assets, and I give my commitment that the government will continue to back it every step of the way.”

That may be all well and good but with many insurance schemes and crisis funds coming far too late for many, will a financial release from the Government be enough this time around?

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Our music industry is slowly beginning to revitalise itself with the mass sprawls of major festivals returning, international artist tours rekindling music venues and with it, comes the investments of music consumption. But revitalisation as always, starts with you. What will you do to help our UK music industry?

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Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes: ‘Sticky’ Album Review

Unapologetically chaotic, ‘Sticky‘ is a pressure release sharing talks on the dirty and the depraved during lockdown.

With accommodating – and somewhat feral – guests, enter Frank’s town … if you dare.

Carter and Co are back with their fourth studio album out of the door. Where their last album, End of Suffering was an outcry to mental health and toxic masculinity, this one is more of the good ol’ punk classic of f*ck you and everyone around you. In other words, it’s a fantastic familiarity from this echoic band.

Among Bona fide – and soon-to-be- punk icons of Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, IDLES’ Joe Talbot and electro-punk rapper Lynks, we are slowly entering territory of raw, unequivocal talent as Your Town and Go Get A Tattoo become album highlights championing diversity of rock and slab-stone punk.

This album is just as raw as any – as any IDLES and SLAVES album before them or since. Certainly standing on the shoulders of their punk adversaries, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes are paving their own journey.

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My town, it looks like yours
Run down, worn out, all shut doors
Broken windows, empty halls
Where no one gives a fuck at all

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[Note: It’s important to note that during this music video, Frank Carter and Dean Richardson are seen throwing away their prior album End of Suffering. Has the suffering started all over again? Or is it case of simply being fed up with it all and anarchy being the only solution?}

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Time Capsule: Witchcraft by Pendulum

Evening folks, hope we are all doing good so far this week!

As part of the new week, we’re venturing into familiar territory … with a new series.

Bluetooth castings, Walkman emblazoned on the trouser leg. Childhood naivety and eagerness abound with electronica drum ‘n’ bass. Pendulum’s work of Witchcraft is one of those unconditional moments encased in my childhood that will forever be cherished.

Whenever I come back to it, all those memories come flooding in. Simply brilliant.

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NATIONAL ALBUM DAY 2021: Celebrating those music catalogues

Today (16th October) marked National Album Day, a celebration of those mystical, fantastical and downright beautiful albums that changed the course of history and the music industry as we know it.

Nevermind. Abbey Road. Pet Sounds. The Dark Side of the Moon. Back to Black. Let it Bleed. The Bends. Kind of Blue. Are You Experienced.

These are just a few genre-changing, mind-bending evolutions of music projects that were just far too ahead of their times.

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In celebration for National Album Day, what will YOU be listening to on repeat today in honour of?

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FUN FACT OF THE DAY:

[Just to further enhance my point about Adele being one of the greatest and most influential female artists at least of the decade from last nights’ discussion, as part of the National Album Day, BBC Radio 2 calculated the best-selling LPs released by female artists. Adele took the first and fifth slots, with 21 and 25 respectively. Amy Winehouse, Madonna and Shania Twain made up the rest of the top five.]