The Vanns have released their new single ‘Mother’ taken from their long-awaited debut album.Developing a strong live show and presence off the back of high-profile support slots with artists including Catfish and The Bottlemen and Ocean Alley, as well as selling out their recent run of shows of their own on the east coast, The Vanns have been at work on their craft since their inception in 2013.
‘Mother’ is a laid back groove rooted indie rock track as The Vanns stroll through this exhilarating number with a suaveness and prowess that is admirable. Jangly guitars saunter through the verses, relaxed and sun kissed before blistering and scorching into the epic chorus. With an elastic hip moving bass and punchy drum backdrop the band build and layer this track superbly to create the most thrilling and exciting track. With raspy vocals cooing through the verses and expressive chorus it’s an instantly likeable rock n’ roll tune that packs a serious punch. Refined, swagger dipped and laced in oodles of passion and fantastic instrumentation ‘Mother’ gives us another reason to keep an eye on The Vanns. There are big things ahead for this band.
Birmingham band TREMENDOUS have released their new single ‘Bag Of Nails’ taken off their debut album ‘Relentless’ due for release in September. This fiery power ballad flows with the blistering might and passion that TREMENDOUS are becoming known for. With a lamenting bittersweet melody on guitar piercing and stinging behind a punchy drum and crashing wall of sound this track is fist pump ready and is a brawny tear jerker. The raspy vocals caress the whiskey soaked melody with warm tenderness as the verse jangles along with a melancholic tone. The chorus explodes with all out ballsy rock power and adrenaline while maintaining that exasperated passion. The classic rock slinky guitar lifts the track into epic status as TREMENDOUS display their emotional side through this shredding number.
Birmingham glam rock band Tremendous have released their new single ‘Open For Closing’. This anthemic old school number drizzled in glam rock-sprinkles of delight is a powerful track that packs one hell of a punch. With their keen ear for melody Tremendous belt out an infectious gem saturated in swaggered rock ‘n’ roll persona and mighty instrumentation. Shredding guitars shrill, whine and soar with air guitar worthy grandeur while the punchy drums and elastic bass create that compelling backdrop. It’s arena ready and filled with oodles of raw gusto as the dynamic vocals knock you for six while the smooth earworm melody glides in and charms your very soul. You can’t get more powerful, anthemic and kick-ass as ‘Open For Closing’.
Indie Rock’n’rollers King Kartel have released their new single ‘Lock & Load’. This slinky infectious number stomps in swagger soaked and steaming in exhilarating instrumentation, ready to revolve around in your head for days. With a driving punch on drums pounding through your very core and velvety panache-dripping vocals gliding over the sweet melody this vaporous tune is one sleek charmer. It’s catchy with tasty guitar lines weaving their nimble way through the drum thuds with glossy sharp finesse. The song oozes a rock n roll persona as the track builds tension up to the guitar solo. This solo is the delicious icing on the cake as it shreds and shrills creating that sublime crescendo.Another dazzling hook filled anthem from King Kartel.
Manchester post-punk four-piece Little Avis have released their second single of 2019 ‘Ghalib’.While the band has been around for a number of years the run of singles which started in January 2019 with “So Pretty” marks a resurgence for them and a commitment toward a post-punk sound.
With blistering guitars and stomping drums ‘Ghalib’ bulldozes Little Avis’ swagger steeped musicianship into your ears. It’s a chilled yet sweltering brew of alternative rock, indie and punk- splattered rock’n’roll. Scorching guitars slice through the snappy buoyant rhythm allowing this infectious number to blend the bands laid-back style with spiky attitude effortlessly, making for an exhilarating listen. With smooth panache-filled vocals, lush backing vocals and a catchy melody- this slicked back number is instantly like-able and cool.
About the track Frontman Lee Hunter said, “Ghalib is a homage to the Indian poet of that name containing a mixture of the poets own words and my own inspiration came from my research into my own Indian roots. The lyrics delve into the angst of loss, a longing for retribution and honest introspection, concluding the fragility and volatility of existence and the certainty of what comes to all that exist.”
We had a chat with Oliver Dobrian drummer and backing vocalist for power trio Filmspeed to talk about their music, touring and how they form their tasty tunes.
Tell us about Filmspeed and how the band came about?
Nick and Craig have actually been playing music together for over a decade under various names and projects. Through the magic of the Internet, I joined the band about 2 and a half years ago and we haven’t looked back since! We are a rock n’ roll band based in Southern California, trying to keep the dying art alive.
Your tunes are so slick and very rock n’ roll with a nice dash of indie, pop-punk and hard rock thrown in. How do you keep coming up with these hook filled tunes?
Wow, that’s nice to hear, thanks! We are always
striving to write catchy earworms that get stuck in your head. I think it just
comes from our collective love of music and our various influences manifesting
in whatever we play. By listening to as much different stuff as possible, it
gives us a large pool to draw from when we’re making our own stuff.
You recently released ‘Bless My Soul’ and ‘Shakey Love’ two kick-ass swagger drenched catchy tracks. Tell us about the writing process for these tunes?
The two processes couldn’t be more different! For
“Bless My Soul,” we wrote the tune and showed the demo to Jason Hollis from
Punk Aristocrats, who gave us a few rounds of notes and we hammered it into
what you hear on the record. We recorded it with him up in LA. For “Shakey
Love,” we knew we needed a B-side for the single, but didn’t really have any
ideas, so the song more or less got written on the drive up to the studio! We
recorded it in Santa Monica at Manifest Music, and I believe the take we used
on the record is maybe the fourth or fifth time we had ever played the entire
song through, since it had been “finished” just minutes before.
Do you follow a certain format when writing your tracks or does it just flow organically?
We don’t technically follow a format, but it does
generally follow the trend of Craig bringing in a riff or an idea, and Nick and
me working around it from there. We’re all good enough friends to critique and
suggest ideas to each other without our egos getting in the way, so we just
strive to serve the song rather than ourselves, and make it as best as
possible.
There are many shredding, gritty riffs throughout your tracks tell us how you come up with these?
You’d have to ask Craig, haha! He’s just an endless
fountain of cool riffs and melodies. I think he just is constantly making memos
to himself and humming into his phone whenever he gets an idea. He’s got quite
the database by now.
Your songs are full of swagger and confidence does this reflect on your personality?
We like to think so, but probably not as much in
actuality as we give ourselves credit for. We try to stay humble and silly for
the most part.
Which of your songs are you most proud of?
I try not to play favorites in order to give each song
its due when performing it. If I play a song, I love it! I think the same goes
for Nick and Craig too, we don’t tend to do anything we don’t like to do,
musically speaking.
You guys embarked on your first West Coast tour, kicking off in Los Angeles and made notable stops in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco before wrapping up in Anaheim. How did the tour go?
It was amazing! We had such a great time, met such
great people, played some really fun shows. It was everything we hoped it would
be and more.
Do you have a favourite memory or pinnacle high moment from the tour?
It’s impossible to pick just one! From me getting sick
and my face swelling up at our last show, to Craig’s backpack getting stolen by
junkies in Vancouver, to the transmission leaking on our van. Oh wait, did you
say HIGH point? Just kidding, while all those things did indeed happen, we were
laughing the whole way through and had the time of our lives. We didn’t call it
the “Consistently Off” tour for no reason! We’re pretty good at taking
everything in stride and staying content in the moment. Honestly the high
points are always gonna be the shows. That’s the reason we even do the thing.
From listening to your tunes there is an energetic vibe and high intensity, I get a sense that these songs would be epic performed live, what is a live show with you guys like?
Thanks! We actually like to consider ourselves more of
a live band anyway. Our constant goal is to get people to support live music
and just get out of the house to come see a show. All three of us feel most at
home onstage when we’re sharing music with people. So if you come to a
Filmspeed show, you’ll see three guys leaving it all out on the stage and
having the time of our lives every time. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing to
1 person or 100,000, we aim to entertain.
What is your Favourite song to perform live and why?
Personally, I like to treat each time I play a song
like the first time I’m playing it. It helps me keep things fresh and allows me
to elaborate on songs I’ve played hundreds of times. I’m just so happy and
grateful to be onstage whenever I am, it doesn’t matter what I’m playing. So I
guess they’re all my favorite!
Will you guys ever venture over here to Ireland for a show?
Of course! When’s the show? We’re there! We’re aiming to conquer the world, and Ireland’s in the world, right?
Photo credit : Nicholas O’Donnell Photography Design: Stuart Hayes Photography
Mullingar rock n’ roll artist Scally has released his intense video for his new single ‘Filthy Animal’. The video which was directed by Karl O’Reilly of Bunsen Media stars Sorcha Herlihy, Dmitry Vinokurov and Ethan Scally himself. The visual tells the frenzied story of lust, jealousy and rage.
The track itself is another riveting rock n ‘roll number from Scally. With a hypnotic bass groove creeping in behind the thumping drum beats and sultry guitars, this track travels on an exhilarating frisson of hysteria. It’s another in your face, swagger dripping track doused in the exceptional instrumentation we have come to expect from this band. These guys blend the sweltering enticing vibes with all out anarchy meticulously to create a mosh ready blood curdling number that will have you hanging on the edge of your seat craving and frothing for more. With panache plunged vocals and an invigorating wall of sound driving that body moving beat and vaporous sizzle this is one well crafted track. A shredding guitar solo blisters through the punchy slick backdrop – Scally has created another searing number that seeps shrewdly under your skin itching right to your bones.
Dublin based band OverLockers have released their new single ‘Time to Time’.Comprised of Jeremy Burke on guitar and vocals, David O’Grady on Guitar and Vocals, Eoin Madden on bass and Eoghan Barrett on drums the band display their first release of 2019 in true rock n’ roll manner.
Gritty, razor sharp and full of gusto ‘Time to Time’ is a ferocious number from OverLockers. With guitar lines dripping swagger which slide and sizzle off a punchy drum and bass combo this riff driven beast is a force to be reckoned with. The drums pummel through the track with relentless stamina while the nimble bass wanders around the flighty guitars. It’s a moody, “angsty” track with Burke’s animated vocals exclaiming over the boisterous backdrop. For me those wailing, blistering guitar injections are the glorious highlight, they douse the track in red hot fiery panache and provide a blustering rock n’ roll persona.‘Time to Time’ is one blazing inferno from OverLockers.
Our Worth A Listen Track This Week Comes From The Rezner
New indie / alternative rock four piece The Rezner are set to release their debut single ‘Micky’ on March 29th through AWAL on JamX Recordings.Formed at Truro College in 2016, Sam Stone (vocals and guitar), Redley Flowerdew (guitar and vocals), Liam Palmer (bass) and Ze Barradas (drums) have rapidly garnered a sterling reputation for their high energy performances impressing the likes of Sarah Gosling at BBC Introducing Devon and Cornwall as well as Lee Trewhela from Cornwall Live.The Rezner have played the likes of Leopallooza, Looe Music Festival and were on the BBC Introducing Stage of Boardmasters in 2017, and also grabbed themselves main stage slots at Boardmasters and The Great Estate festival the following year.
‘Micky’ was produced by Ben Woods and Julian Able who produced The Velvet Hands debut album and mastered by John Cornfield.This abrasive track is a raw battering of indie garage rock flourishing in a rock n’roll swagger-filled persona. It’s vibrant, catchy and brimming with adrenaline fueled instrumentation to create a wholly satisfying listening experience. The sharp guitars shred, soar and scorch through the crashing assault that is the chorus while flurrying delightfully through the verses. Punchy drums and a fantastic bass groove lays down the irresistible hyper foundation to the track while the expressive vocals whack a touch of punk flavoured aggro into the mix.There are intense screamy vocal moments where the instrumental chaos is at its most thrilling however, this band blend and refine their melodies and instrumental refrains perfectly creating pockets of release through the ferocity. The Renzer melded together their garage-rock roots with pop smacked melodies and propulsive rhythms making this an exciting debut. Keep an eye on these guys.
The Rezner will be playing a gig at the monarch in Camden for The Zine and musicians against homelessness on the 26th of march so make sure to catch them there.
Manchester three piece We Three Kings have released their new single ‘Give it to me, GO!’. This stomping wild fuzz-filled anthem is a brisk, all powerful assault of the blues tinged rock this trio do so well. Pulverising drums batter and punch through the track with an elastic, relentless rebound that keeps the song travelling at an intense speed. The jagged raging guitar riffs slice and dice throughout adding an edgy thrilling rawness and slick swagger to the track while the rumble on bass shakes your very soul with its rich groove infested depths and nimbility . It’s an adrenaline shot to the veins of hyperactive rock ready to cause anarchy in the mosh pit and have you punching and kicking the air wholly consumed in the utter thrill and mania of this infectious, fierce number.
Stream ‘Give it to me, GO!’’ below
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
