Five piece Ghost Robots are an alternative rock band from Waterford. Band members Michael Doyle (Vocals), Dael O’Brien (Drums), Evan Hayes (Bass), David Hearne (Rhythm Guitar) and David Rudden (Lead Guitar) will be releasing their self titled album early next year and we had a little listen to it. As expected Ghost Robots sucker punch you into their unique sticky indie rock with flashes of epileptic psychedelia. This high intensity album is jam packed with catchy melodies and body pounding instrumentation that will have you completely immersed and engulfed in their darkened entrancing sound.
The album kicks things off with ‘Bad Habit’ this gritty riff ear worm is the perfect track to reel you in with pounding drums and dynamic soaring vocals. Strident blazes of guitar and blissful pop melodies make it a fiery anthem ablaze with motivational fist pump attitude and spirit. ‘Hollow Thoughts’ is a hungry razor sharp composition of nimble acute guitar and a snappy forceful beat. It is gravelly rough and ready frenzy, coated in swirling psychedelia and mind bending aggression. ‘Invader’ is an attack of euphoric rock. The edgy shrill of earsplitting guitars on top of hard pummelling drums give the sound of headbangingly good rock. Its a hyped intense track exuding aggressive swagger and a forceful characteristic. It is a “tour de force” with mesmerising electric power driven vocals. ‘Louder Louder’ , ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Richer Than Kings’ continue the five pieces’s unique, energetic whip lash rock with sizzling riffs and flexible rhythms all while maintaining a smooth refreshing cool tone. ‘Geronimo’ gives us a sensual almost strut- like punchy swagger. With fuzzed steamy guitar and sticky beat this track oozes stuffy attitude and gluey textures. ‘Razor Blades and Ashtrays’ is a rush of hair raising eerie tones and mystery. With an infectious piercing guitar riff and whisper vocals for the bridge its a spooky warning of dangerous occurrences with outburst of frustration. The album concludes with ‘I Am Not Contagious’ a swirling brew of spiralling psychedelia and chilling haunting vocals teamed with a heavy sturdy beat that remains the foundation and a solid to hold on to as the rest of the track swirls and intoxicatingly weaves around pulling you into its deep pit of trance-inducing danger. The coaxing velvety vocals bewitch and charm you into its spellbinding entrapment leaving you dizzy, confused and wanting to hear more.
An incredible album from Ghost Robots these guys have a bright future ahead looking forward to the release next year.
Ghost Robots will be playing at Whelan’s on OCT 15th make sure you check them out they are brilliant live.
While you are waiting for the album release watch the video for ‘Under Fire’ taken from Ghost Robots EP ‘Sell It To Me’ below
New York City’s Public Access T.V. have released their smart, smooth and effortlessly cool debut album. ‘Never Enough’. The four piece swan in with their laid back sunny vibes exuding panache and present us with an album to get excited about. John Eatherly (lead vocals, guitar), Xan Aird (lead guitar, vocals), Max Peebles (bass, vocals) and Pete Star (drums, vocals) give us their brand of spine- tingling rock and roll that is a triumph from start to finish.
‘ Never Enough’ kicks things off with ‘In Our Blood’ a rapid snappy infectious track that hooks you in from the start. With smooth swagger filled vocals, brawny flexible drums and of course the incredible slick guitar. This track is infectious and tight. With attention paid to perfecting the small details you wont be able to stop yourself from dancing. ‘Evil Disco’ brings us Public Access T.V. ‘s groovy sensual sound. Its funky elastic rhythm and 70s vibe give a strut quality. The velvety deep almost sleazy vocals coax and lure for the verses. The ear worm melody and chord progression will ensure this song will stick in your head and leave you prancing down the street with this track as your soundtrack. Its so dangerously smooth and polished if it was a floor you would slip on it and break your neck. ‘Summertime’ is a fuzzed hazy catchy track with an impulsive clap along effect. The steamy sharp guitar and flexible beat lures your hips into a swing while Eatherly’s vocals pine and almost whine with emotion. With lingering notes on vocals the track is soaked in longing and craving. The sticky intensity of the track changes up a little in the middle adding energy and vibrancy and light peppy backing vocals. The jazzy piano feature brightens the track and lightens the gluey mood to a freeing peppy tone. ‘I Don’t Wanna Live in California‘ is a revamped version of ‘ Metropolis’ which I must admit I found was somehow lacking to the original. I feel it didn’t need the revamp. they have given the track a spacey vibe with a disco feel and changed it around a bit. Thankfully they kept the shredding guitar solo and the hazy sunny vibe and added more spice and oomph to the laid back sound. The malleable beat and springy guitar give the track a bite. Eatherly presents us with a gritty, more fiery vocals and rebellious attitude. ‘End Of An Era’ is old school rock and roll reminiscent of Thin Lizzy. Its a swagger infused track that exudes fiery confidence. The zesty biting guitar adds an old school feel with a blazing riff that is red hot giving the track a razor sharp edge. With spirited energetic perky bass and animated beat it is infectious and dance provoking. ‘Patti Peru’ divulges in their grittier sound. The open line ” I was Ready to Die” gives an image of a desperate man on the edge. Eatherly’s shouty/growl vocals adds urgency and anguish to the track. The sharp guitars and pounding drums give the pop punk bouncy vibe. With sweet backing vocals to sing the track out and another display of proficient nimble guitar, six songs into the album and we are addicted craving more. ‘Careful’ is the mood changer in the album. It takes the roll of the slow ballad Public Access T.V. style. With a sway waltz- like sorrowful tone this track displays suffering and agony in three- four time. The misery and torment is displayed perfectly through the wail like vocals you can almost imagine Eatherly with tears running down his cheeks as he expels his agonising martyrdom to his listeners. Contrary to the shrill of vocals, the instrumentation is delicate and elegant. Fluidly flowing piano and a soft beat creates the perfect sweep of graceful delight. The strident ‘In Love and Alone’ is a short burst of boisterous energy. Its brawling rowdy swagger and interchanging between backing vocals and main vocals slaps you with original innovative rock and roll. The band’s knack for ridiculously catchy melodies keep this track constantly replaying in your head. Its a ruckus causing piece of melodic genius. The bridge is dynamic and frenzy evoking unruly joy. ‘Remember’ is a charming sun soaked easy going track with striking sweet guitar and bright tones. Rumbling drums and gritty vocals add texture to the smooth creamy track. ‘Sudden Emotion’ swirls with intensity and confusion as the verses are subdued and cheery, the chorus brings the explosion of instrumentation conveying conflicting emotions. The content lively vocals keeps a bouncy feel and bop to the track. The repetitive bridge with distant vocals and the soft drum beat slows the track down and gives a fantastic link to the final burst into the energetic chorus. ‘On Location’ is a summer high energy middle finger to the world anthem. Where Eatherly tells us to ” do what you want to do” The whole song seems to build both in energy and tone with blustering guitars and pounding drums while still maintaining a sunny Californian vibe up to its crescendo as the vocals progress to a growly shouty “I don’t wanna hear it” end. The album concludes with ‘Sell You on a Lie’ confirming Public Access T.V. ‘s organic undisputed cool stroll swagger and flair for catchy melodies that are sure to give you stuck song syndrome.
Public Access T.V. have big things ahead. They’re just getting started…
Stream ‘ Never Enough’ below
Brooklyn-based rock and roll band Skunkmello have released their new album ‘Hot Chicken’ today. Matt Bartlett (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Ed Cuervo (guitar, vocals), Jay Holt (bass,vocals) and Jono Ori (drums, vocals) have created their sound which blends the influences of classic rock and blues artists, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Towns Van Zandt and The Rolling Stones. The group’s three previous releases, Whiskey & Oatmeal EP (2012), 2013’s Lowlife Dreams EP which were produced by the band and mastered by Grammy Award‐winner Brian Lucey,( The Black Keys’ Brothers and El Camino albums) and 2014’s Stars & Stripes, have all met with critical acclaim and ‘Hot Chicken’ follows with in the same manner. ‘Hot Chicken’ pulls together the best of classic rock and roll with country twangs and refreshing blasts of blues to make a solid smooth album full of swagger. ‘Cardboard Box Disguise’ kicks things off in a true rock and roll style with husky vocals, luscious guitar twangs and a sick drum beat that pulls you to the dance floor. With it’s catchy chorus this fun upbeat track is infectious and starts the album off on a high with added cowboy “woooh” mid guitar solo its full of 50s rock and roll swagger. ‘Ridin’ The River’ follows with a heavier sound to start. The country twang features strongly again while the song takes a swing persona as the harmonica becomes predominate. The bridge is finger clicking and foot tappingly good. Its feel good vibe is infectious and makes this track so easy to listen to. ‘Prime Time Hero’ takes a blues form with a sensual sway/strut effect. The guitar plays a light springy melody to soft bouncy beats. Skunkmello take blues and make it light and fun in this track. The chorus is simple with “wooo yeah” lyrics and trust me you will be singing by the end. This track is full of sass in a smooth seductive style. ‘Rhinestone Shady’ brings us a rock and roll blues with heavier beats and stronger vocals full of attitude. With a crisp slick guitar solo and clever lyrics this song is energetic and yet a true narrative telling a story relative to their lives. ‘Highway 17’ slows the tone down a little with a country almost whiskey drowned ballad. It is beautifully melodic and smooth and gives a driving on a hot summers evening feel. Its full of nostalgia and melancholy tones with lush sweet harmonies in backing vocal, while the main vocals are slightly animated and emotional. ‘ Slaughterhouse Blues’ brings back that “turn it up loud” rock and roll feel while ‘ Alligator Coat’ gives us some distorted sliding guitars and shakes up their sound a little. ‘Cash Flow Blues’ deals with the problem of money or lack of, which we can all relate to. Skunkmello deal with this problem in an upbeat manner full of humour and an almost speaking vocal in the middle. This song is full of clap along beats and definitely is one to get an audience up and dancing. ‘Sweet Delight’ closes the album in a raunchy blues style. The steamy guitars and soft beat gives a longing sway vibe to the track. While the vocals become rough and husky in places. With “ohhh” feature on vocals that begin soft and build to become intense and louder up to the massive guitar solo and an almost shout in vocals and roll on drums. This softens until the guitar plays us out with a kick ass solo and pounding drums to a sudden end. Leaving you wanting more.
Stream ‘Slaughterhouse Blues’ and ‘Highway 17’ below
The Flux Machine is Luis Accorsi and Raphael Sepulveda. They are a New York City based alternative indie rock band with an edgy hard rock sound. Their new album ‘Louder!’ was released earlier this year and it’s a tornado of hardcore rock music with some sneaky melodic pop and country aspects thrown in which make this album contagious and appealing to all.
The first track on the album is ‘Run Away’. From the start they blast you into a storm of pounding drums with a deep rooted bass that pulses through your soul. This track is full of energy with a catchy anthem like chorus that compels your body to jump and dance. With simple lyrics and “na na na” feature it’s hard to stop yourself from singing along. ‘Square Up’ follows in a grungy eerie seductive manner. The verses are full of gritty deep bewitching vocals with luring bass line and tempting drums. The track bursts into another massive energetic rock pop chorus. The contrast between the dark verses to the lighter chorus is effective and innovative.
The title track ‘Louder!’ is a manic mosh pit of frenzy. It’s rapid tempo and grinding guitar with thunderous drums makes this song the power rock track that lives up to its name. You can just imagine a live crowd going wild to this track. Turn it up and go crazy! ‘Toxic Love’ has a “The Strokes” feel. With distorted vocals and prominent strong drums. Again filled with infectious melodies and catchy easy to sing along chorus. The sweet backing vocals and slick guitar solo add a refreshing change to the tone of the track and breaks up the intense energetic vibe. ‘How It’s Gonna Be’ and ‘Mess you up’ follow with the same high powered energy with ‘Mess You Up’ becoming more grunge and intense. With heavy sound and screaming growl vocals that add an eerie quality and give a wall of death feel. ‘Believe’ is a dramatic change from the intensity of its predecessor, it lightens the mood and slows down the tone giving us a chance to calm down and slow our racing heart beats. It is a melodic softer track that is full of emotion with an airy bright feel. It completely takes you by surprise but shows a delicate side to the band. With cool sunny vocals and bouncy beats. The backing vocals add a psychedelic 70s vibe in places. It is a proper tender hazy sunshine track. ‘Love And Affection’ continues to surprise us as it is also bright and more pop infused only with a hint of country added to the mix. The light bopping beats really lift this song while the guitars give us a taste of that rock sound we are used to. The soft vocal in the chorus give a gentle feel to the song. It’s definitely a surprise but a beautiful song all the same. ‘Wheels Of Love’ eases us back into their heavier sound with a slick blues bass riff that coaxes your hips to sway and move. We welcome the heavier rock sounding drums back with gritter vocals and a scream in places. A confident filled, seductive track that exudes swagger and is extremely strut worthy. ‘Jack, Jim And Johnny’ brings us back to a blues country style. With twanging guitars and a soft bouncy beat that builds as the tempo becomes more rapid until we are presented with a country rock track. This track is full of middle finger attitude. It is a great song to get you pumped. ‘Crash Down’ brings us back to a fast tempo high energy rock track. With a call and response chorus that is infectious. It shows us a fun side to the band with stunning guitar and strong drums that bury and bend deep inside you and pound through your body making you get up and dance.
The album finishes with ‘Hate Love’ which is full of “oomph” and energy and is a fiery strong song to end on. The dynamic guitars and spirited drums make this track lively and infectious. With its humorous lyrics and aggressive spirited sound this track will leave you wanting more.
The Flux Machine have created 12, non-stop, power songs that are infectious and memorable and extremely likeable and innovative. They have something for everyone ‘Louder!’ is definitely a fantastic listen.
Stream ‘Louder!’ below
Gideon’s Army is a southern infused Rock ‘N Roll band from New York City they have released a new album, ‘King of the League’, today. The band was formed in 2014 by Robert Bray, the frontman and guitarist of the band who wrote and recorded the first tracks as a solo project. Bray has since taken his act to some of New York’s most well‐known stages, including Pianos, Leftfield and The Bitter End, filling out the group’s line‐up with an array of guest musicians along the way.
The new album, ‘King of League’, was recorded at Virtue and Vice studio in Brooklyn by Anthony Gallo (Bon Jovi, John Legend, and Norah Jones) and is full of classic American Rock tunes. ‘Red Lips’ is a melodic whisky drowned ballad full of nostalgic longing tones. With its simple beat and twanging guitar features it gives a sombre sorrowful vibe, as Bray’s vocals have a dry mournful depressed tone. The guitar piece in the bridge gives a contrasting bright tone to the song which is refreshing to hear. ‘Devil Of Ramadi’ is a smooth track with steady beats and sweet guitar twangs throughout the track. It has a sway like quality with a catchy chorus. The vocals are deep and strong without being loud. There is a sense of emotional strength portrayed through the vocals with the sweet guitars gently lilting in the background adding an effective contrast. It has a Bruce Springsteen feel while still remaining original. ‘Don’t Mind’ is an upbeat energetic rock track with an anthem like chorus and slick guitar solos. Bray shows us a grittier more dynamic side to his voice in this track. With light bouncy drums and slick lustrous guitars this song is sure to get everyone up and dancing in no time.
The band is poised to hit the road again in support of ‘King of the League’ and will look to return to the studio for the album’s follow-up in late 2016! this guy means business!
Stream ,’Devil Of Ramadi’ , and ‘Don’t Mind’ below
Nashville-based alt/blues rocker, Jack Berry has released his album ‘Mean Machine’ via Consequence of Sound and it is a horde of gritty rock, lustful blues and swagger all mixed together, bubbling and festering creating a beast of a 9 track album.
The album begins with ‘King of Diamonds’ a slick groovy blues track with sizzling guitar riffs and punchy drums. Berry’s gritty vocals brings a bite to the track while the instrumental bridge gives us that groovy dance vibe. ‘Human Woman’ again is a bouncy blues rock track with a great hook and riff. The call and response feature in the bridge between the backing vocals and main vocals is a refreshing break before a final blast on instruments. ‘ Bad Dog’ is a “whisky warming” riff based catchy track. This song is full of swagger and confidence and is insanely infectious. Barry howls over a heavy guitar and drum sound as you feel every drum beat pulse through you and make you move while the guitars demand attention with their enticing luring solos. ‘Other Shoe’ slows things down with an emotion filled vocal full of regret and sorrow. Berry’s vocals become more husky in this track with harmony on backing vocals in parts. This track is full of anguish and pain which is conveyed exceptionally through Berry’s amazing vocals. ‘The Bull’ and ‘Told Me Not To’ follow in a similar blues emotion filled melody with attitude, laying the path for ‘Coal’. ‘Coal’ has a “Black Keys ” feel yet with Berry still maintaining his individuality. With a dirty bass line, slick guitars and a pulse beat that hits you like a hammer in the chest this song packs a punch. ‘Kiss Like’ is a mosh worthy heavy driving track full of energy. This track is full of smouldering emotions with lustful fiery guitars and ravaging drums. ‘Heavy Hopes’ finishes off the album on a high with a “Led Zeppelin” style sultry vocals, kicking beats and of course no song on this album would be complete without the dynamite guitar riffs. ‘Mean Machine’ is a brilliant gritty album from the ever talented Jack Berry
Stream ‘Mean Machine’ below
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
