Category: Rock

Categories
Album album concept album review Art artist Black Pistol Fire Blog blues Culture Favourites Let's Talk Life live music music Review Rock Rock Music Southern Blues Southern Rock US Music Vinyl Wordpress

Black Pistol Fire: Look Alive

Shake Your Money Maker: Southern Rock and Blues-Rock Fashions into a RE-BRANDING

One particular release that you may have missed this year was the sixth release from Black Pistol Fire. Raucous with their fusion of southern rock, blues and garage punk, Look Alive is a stand-out album that is emphatic in its style aswell as its music production. Fused between the boisterous concoctions of The Black Keys, Cleopatrick and the quirky expertise of Queens of the Stone Age, comes a rock-child that joins the list of ever-growing duo rockers.

Accustomed with the stigma of charcoal black already in a rock deluge, Black Pistol Fire have a certain class and persona when it comes to their tastefulness of blues-rock, which goes farther than merely immersing in the black décor. The album comes out swinging with self-titled, Look Alive and Pick Your Poison, with both indulgent songs swinging a depth into the work of Cage The Elephant and among others. Rampant throughout, the album boasts and brags with such a large pair of cajones, as we’re dazzled through the bright funky lights of of Never Enough and spat out the other side with Level.

The album is not just an aggressive boaster though, it has passive – often contemplating – slow-burners like Hope in Hell and Always On My Mind that wouldn’t be a shock to see such songs escape the song-writing booths of Pixies.

A glorious reprise for a fusion of classics – southern rock, blues and dripped in garage punk – Look Alive is a fanatic favourite to swoon and enjoy within your own time, and will no doubt become a classic in it’s own time.

Categories
Album Art Blog Commentary Culture Entertainment Favourites Let's Talk music music band Music Blogger music industry music news news Opinion Red Hot Chilli Peppers Rock Rock Music Rock Playlist Song UK Music Vinyl Wordpress

If Red Hot Chilli Peppers selling their catalogue doesn’t show how broken streaming is then …

Let’s Talk …

In the most recent news to filter out of the industry, one of the most prominent bands in the quirky rock category – who dominated the charts in the ’90s – have sold the publishing for all of their music catalogue for a proposed fee of £100 million to Hipgnosis.

Now, whether it’s a way to secure a stable future for friends and family, or merely demonstrates the situation of music streaming for artists, the Peppers have joined the long-list of eclectic artists who have also sold their songwriting formats, like Bob Dylan and Fleetwood Mac.

As drummer Chad Smith talks about the future of the band, by looking ahead to new music, it solidifies their position in an overwhelming industry as one of those bands that have been there, done that, and signed the t-shirt. Well, signed the deal, in fact.

Either way, let me know your thoughts on this one – will more international artists join the plethora already once momentum is picked up? What does this demonstrate to us artists who are up-and-coming and don’t have a collection worth selling for millions?

Is the industry ethos of selling, changing?

More importantly, if these artists are selling their work now while it’s hot, do these music artists know something we don’t?

Categories
Album album review Art Blog Culture Entertainment Favourites live music music music band Music Festivals music industry Music Playlist news Opinion Review Rock Rock Playlist Royal Blood Spotify UK festivals UK Music Wordpress

Royal Blood – ‘Typhoons’ Album Review

Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher: Royal Blood

After a 4 year hiatus from their rampant, aptly-named follow-up of How Did We Get So Dark? and Mike’s rise from his struggle with the rock ‘n’ roll life of alcohol addiction … they blow off the cobwebs …let a little light in … and develop a fresh take on delectable dance-floor grooves with their highly anticipated third album, Typhoons.

Who said elements of Daft Punk would work so well with the sounds of Royal Blood, eh?

Although not featuring the same angst and bitter troubles we saw on the two albums prior, Typhoons brings a certain shine to their musical palette of still finding ways to create anthem-pleasers, but not having to always resort to the moods of their eponymous debut. While this may create some disappointment among fans as they wish for more of the same, Typhoons is a true tale of rising from your own self-destruction from “flying too close to the sun.”

An excess of redemption and solace, Typhoons packs the punch in another twisting tale for this Brighton band.

After the befalls of what a rock ‘n’ roll life bought him with alcohol, Mike started on the road to recovery – all to find his sense of purpose again in writing music.

——-

You made me believe I could change
That’s why you’re one in a million and one

–Million and One

——

Life is hard when you’re losing, nothing easy’s worth doing
Save yourself, don’t throw in the towel

-Hold On

——

With it, comes a redeeming of a band once lost, a splash of all-important colour and and still, a rampant discography listing once again that will no doubt shake the timbers of the arenas they are planning on performing in the Spring of next year.

At first, I had my doubts and fears of a band possibly resorting to the comforts of their softer side. Especially how big the band had gotten with their elemental nature and their dark presence in the past – – but the album has a flair of creativity that honestly was not expected from me.

Mike’s tales of struggle are littered throughout this album with Oblivion discussing losing his way with “fire in his lungs” and the demons that bring with bad habits in Who Needs Friends. The noteworthy guitar/bass combo and the beautifully simplistic AC-DC-inspired drumming is still prominent and won’t ever dissipate, of course.

But, Typhoons shows us a side to the Brighton duo we haven’t really seen as of yet. Raucous where needed but still featuring those new twists of dance-floor grooves in Million in One and Mad Visions, it is the next strongest tale for the story of Royal Blood.

Wishing to learn more about Royal Blood?

Discover more:

TYPHOONS: The Evolution of Royal Blood

Categories
Album album concept album review Art Blog Culture Favourites music Music Awards Music Blogger music industry music news news Opinion Rock Rock Playlist Thirty Seconds to Mars Wordpress

Thirty Seconds to Mars: The Majesty of ‘A Beautiful Lie’

Romp with frenetic energy, stellar line-up and an amazing concoction of noise, the band’s 2005 second album has become an instant cult classic.

Irrespective of the number of albums they sold (which stands at over 5 million) or how many emphatic tunes are within this album (which stands at 6 for the well-known), A Beautiful Lie is a nostalgic trip into creating a rock masterpiece for all the ages. The flaship of Thirty Seconds to Mars, ruled the rock roster from ’05 to at least 2011 across the western world.

With their collective reaching infamous heights such as, “The Kill”, “From Yesterday,” “Kings and Queens,” and “Closer to the Edge,” they are the flagship of breaking barriers and selling platinum in not only their home continent, but onto international soil, too.

However, I am also tempted to state the band in past-tense for their musical history, but believe or not – – they are a band that are still active and alive today in the industry.

Despite recent releases that don’t usually resemble the Thirty Seconds to Mars we witnessed back in ’05.

But, this is not new news for a band to change with the times, strip their chaotic rock anthems, and blossom into the ventures of pop to strike resemblance and relevance among an ever-growing listening audience – their rife trap-beat and achingly simple 2018 album, AMERICA showed us exactly that.

But, A Beautiful Lie was something else. Ripe with angst, passion and strong intentions, it ultimately set the precedence for the industry, swung opposing heads to the LA brothers, and allowed them to dominate the tempting top-position in the rock world.

Despite the rock teetering out to enter the plethora of mass culture, it still allowed them to achieve critical acclaim, notable accolades of awards and sell over 15 million albums worldwide – when we were still purchasing albums, that is.

Categories
Album album review Art cleopatrick Culture Entertainment Favourites music news Opinion Review Rock Rock Music Rock Playlist Song Spotify UK festivals UK Music Vinyl Wordpress

The Rock List: April 2021

Fancy a dabble in new rock? Take a gander at the list I’ve compiled below for the most recent rumblings of rock over the past weeks of April.

… The sheer number of female-fronted rock bands is a sight to behold in the music scene right now …

  1. SHY AWAY – TWENTY ONE PILOTS: Exciting eccentrics for the duos’ return.
  2. SMILE – WOLF ALICE: Dark exploits for the rock-indie favourites; another album to look out for this year from them.
  3. LA DI DIE – NESSA BARRETT, JXDN: Romantic-revenge anthem drawing on both rock and hip-hop.
  4. BOILERMAKER – ROYAL BLOOD: Thumping funk-rock from the Brighton duo, altering their course for another rumpus year in music.
  5. VERTIGO – ALICE MERTON: Mystery-abound new stuff after being so quiet for two years.
  6. ORDINARY – YONAKA: What we’re used to from these lot: loud and chaotic.
  7. WEAPON – AGAINST THE CURRENT: New emphatic returning from another female-front rock collective.
  8. BAD PLACE – THE HUNNA: One of the most consistent rock tribes right now; altering sounds to a down-tempo electronic style.
  9. NERVOUS – WHILE SHE SLEEPS: Recent album release in 2021, “SLEEPS SOCIETY” sees While She Sleeps make the top-ten list favourites this week with this hungry power-house of a song, featuring Simon Neil from Biffy Clyro.
  10. NUMB – WATERPARKS: Ambitious rock-pop workers of “Stupid For You” return this year for another album release in 2021 since their 2019, FANDOM.