Second City

Optional Wallace – Self-titled – EP (Self-released)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:59:52 +0000

Combining the oft-forgotten sound of post-punk with modern indie-rock, Manchester trio Optional Wallace welcome you into the darkness.

In this, their two-track demo, there is plenty to suggest that the band could follow in the wake of recent successes such as Interpol and The Editors with their driving riffs and crashing crescendos. A mix of the gloomy, sinister Psycho Candy-era The Jesus And Mary Chain, with clear, emphasised vocals that guide each track on its way to breakdown and disequilibrium.

Opener ‘What Goes Around’ has a chorus akin to Interpol, buoyed by the fact that the rest of the track is more varied than a lot done by the New Yorkers. ‘The Ladder’ is a thumping, energetic number that feels like it could unravel in any number of ways, opting to let loose a la early Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Obvious lines are going to be drawn to some of Manchester’s finest bands of similar ilk. Joy Division, The Fall, even the louder side of The Chameleons.

And burgeoning out of a revived scene in the city, they’re mixing their influences of 20+ years ago with the dark sounds of here and now. And make no mistake, Optional Wallace are ticking all the right boxes.

FOR FANS OF : Interpol, BRMC, The Fall.

myspace.com/optionalwallace

Who Owns Death TV – Cathode – 7″ Single (Self-released)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:59:07 +0000

We here at Second City like our vinyl. And we like our Million Dead too. So over the summer, it was our pleasure to put on Who Owns Death TV in Manchester, a band that features ex-members Jules (bass) and Tom (guitar) – bagging ourselves a copy of their debut release in the process.

One side features the blistering humdinger that is ‘Cathode’, the other a frenzical alt-rock beast in the form of ‘Mary X’. This isn’t Million Dead, make no mistake. The vocalist isn’t Frank Turner, nor does he try to be.

A totally new direction for the former members, and an interesting one at that. It may leave original fans divided, but we like it.

FOR FANS OF : Million Dead, Hell Is For Heroes, Fugazi.

myspace.com/whoownsdeathtv

Dorp – Humans Being – Album (Caned And Able)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:15:28 +0000

South Africans come to London to get their music heard. It seems to have worked so far. Having seen their name mentioned several times recently, but not checking them out, I stick the Dorp album into my CD player not knowing what to expect. I ultimately get a modern pop-rock band mixing together the backing sounds of U2, the hooks of Feeder and an all-round dark-but-happy feel. There’s a slight overuse of the second-long pause but that’s just me being picky. Marketed right, this band could find success through radio play and the like. It’s not groundbreaking, but neither is it brainless. Anything’s better than Scouting For Girls though, right?

FOR FANS OF : U2, Feeder, Bush.

myspace.com/dorp

hAND – Deadroom Journal – Album (Casket Music)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:11:40 +0000

Prog-goth metal, eh? Well, why not? As dark and twisted as you’d expect, this female-fronted three-piece create musical fusion that is quite breathtaking. A very modern sound, citing influences as diverse as Dream Theater, Hell Is For Heroes and Dragonforce. …Actually yeah, amputate a limb or two from each of them, and then throw in the head of that lass from Evanescence (not that I wish her any harm. Honest). The resulting deformed monster would probably sound like hAND. They seem quite young, so for a debut album this is a grand effort. Musically sound; infrequent vocals let the instruments tell the stories. Dragonforce drums, Trivium riffs, it all makes for a big sound. Too big to pigeonhole in fact. Not my cup of tea, but the band will likely be championed by Kerrang! and others soon. And rightly so.

FOR FANS OF : Dream Theater, Evanescence, Hell Is For Heroes.

myspace.com/handgothicband

A Poetic Yesterday – A Little South Of Zero – Album (Rising Records)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:07:37 +0000

As soon as the first song kicks in, I know I’m not the right person to review this CD. Screamo isn’t my forte, but I’ll give anything a go. And I’ll be honest, this isn’t bad. Perhaps it’s the occasional post-hardcore breakdown or the bits that hark memories of defunct pop-punk bands that maintain my interest throughout, or maybe it’s just not as god-awful as the last few screamo bands I’d listened to. With songs as great as their names – ‘Countdown Vs. Catchphrase = Jeremy Kyle’ and ‘The Gloves Are Off, Is That A Wedding Ring?’, there’s definitely something about the band. Hopefully the sound-alikes below will do this review some justice. … I tried.

FOR FANS OF : Thrice, The Used, Killswitch Engage.

myspace.com/apyarmy

Finger Eleven – Paralyzer – Single (Wind-up Records)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 03:01:28 +0000

Rememeber that song from about 5 years ago – ‘One Thing’. Yeah, it’s probably the one you’re thinking of. You might not remember much about the band though. Finger Eleven are a Canadian alt-rock band that have been around long before they stormed the charts. Well this, their latest single, sounds nothing like their one big hit, or their other work. If it weren’t for the trans-Atlantic accent present in the vocals, this could easily be mistook for any bog-standard British indie-rock. Imagine The Coral fronted by Aaron Lewis of Stain’d after a few placebo. Not great.

FOR FANS OF : Stain’d, 3 Doors Down, Puddle Of Mudd.

myspace.com/fingereleven

Scars On Broadway – World Long Gone – Single (Interscope Records)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:55:35 +0000

I had no idea this was a System Of A Down offspring. (In all honesty, from the name and cover, I assumed it was going to be an emo band of bad proportions). But with a familiar blend of metal-edged rock, the eerie vibe and distinct vocals, it’s unmistakably SOAD in some form. It’s lead-guitarist and backing vocalist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan, out of interest, and it’s all that we’ve come to expect from the Armenian-Americans. There’s the standard political message – “Maybe I don’t know how many people are starving in this world long gone”, the ball-busting drum beats, the headbang-encouraging riffs and perhaps all that’s missing is Serj wailing in the foreground. Or not. This works quite well without him, and SOAD fans will no doubt snap this up while the hiatus continues.

FOR FANS OF : System Of A Down, Deftones.

myspace.com/scarsonbroadway

Attack! Attack! – Self-titled – Album (Rock Ridge Music/ADA Global)

secondcityuk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:50:39 +0000

A sort-of South Wales ‘supergroup’; ex-members of Adequate Seven, Dopamine, Midasuno and Pete’s Sake collate to form Attack! Attack! First listens seemed to provoke neutral reaction to their debut full-length – a shrug of the shoulders and wandering concentration. But I can be a sucker for a bit of pop-punk as much as the next guy, so gradually this CD has grown on me. Emitting all the conventions of the genre that you’d expect, it’s no real surprise to learn that this has secured them high profile support slots for Lostprophets and Funeral For A Friend. It’s the sort of album that doesn’t necessarily have a stand-out track – more the sort where everyone will have their own favourite song – mine probably being the rockier ‘Lost For Words’. From recent single ‘This Is A Test’ through to album-closer ‘Time Is Up’, the pace is relentless and doesn’t let up for a minte – not even for an acoustic number or a ballad of any sorts. Attack, indeed. Collectively, it all sounds like Fall Out Boy singing over Jimmy Eat World backing. Something that will divide opinions amongst the general consensus, but pop-punk lovers will surely lap it up.

FOR FANS OF : Fall Out Boy, Lostprophets, Funeral For A Friend.

myspace.com/attackattackband

Superstar Tradesmen? – Interview w/The View

secondcityuk — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:08:13 +0000

Headlining Manchester’s Moho Live tonight, Dundee indie-punks The View have come a long way in a short space of time. Chart successes, festival favourites, championed by their heroes… And they’re still bloody young as well. I don’t need to ask who the lightweights in the band are, as drummer Steven Morrison is the only one of the foursome to be conscious after a heavy night in Hull, so we sit and chat about their meteoric rise, Thin Lizzy and collaborating with Gwen Stefani…

Welcome to Manchester. Can you introduce yourself to the readers?

Aye, I’m Steven Morrison and I play drums.

You’ve just started a 36-day tour of the UK. How’s that going so far?

Excellent, it was good to start off in Scotland as well like!

The venues you’re playing are quite intimate. How does this differ from, say, the festival or arena atmosphere?

Any place that has a good crowd reaction gives us a good vibe. Plus, we’ve got these new in-ear monitors in any case, so it doesn’t matter where we play. It’s great.

You’ve done a few high profile support acts over the past couple of years, such as for Primal Scream. How has this helped your exposure?

It’s helped out in a big way. It’s good being associated with big bands, and it’s good being friends with them as well. Babyshambles helped us out loads.

Bobby Gillespie was rather impressed with you. How was that for an ego massage?!

It was outstanding; he’s an absolute legend. He’s really close to us, we can have a pint and we’ve got loads in common.

Now you’re headlining your own tour, how important are your support acts to you?

They were a really big part of doing this tour. We’ve brought The Law with us – they’re fucking great. When we started to get noticed, people started to pay a bit more attention to the Dundee scene and more bands have come out of it.

Did you ever envisage that you’d do this well?

Not at all! It’s just been crazy and gone so fast. You have to pinch yourself sometimes.

So when you were growing up, what bands made you want to form your own band?

Queen and Thin Lizzy – absolutely. I could listen to them all day and die a happy man. Honestly, ask the boys, when I’ve had a few pints I start singing Lizzy songs dead loud.

Would you ever like to do collaboration with someone?

Aye, any hot birds that play! People like Gwen Stefani or Pink. That’d be a good mash-up that!

You have a new single out, ‘5Rebeccas’. What’s the story behind this?

Well, Kyle knows a lot of people called Rebecca, and it’s basically just going through them and their day-to-day lives really; that’s about it.

Can we expect a new album soon?

It’s just been mixed, so it only needs mastering now. It’s gonna be a stormer! Everyone that’s heard it has gone mental.

Are you moving in a new direction or keeping the same sort of sound?

Na, it’s a lot darker, mysterious, more mature. There’s keys and strings in places. Paolo Nutini came down and did some singing on a track, and Drew from Babyshambles played double bass for us.

Do you have any surprises in store tonight?

Well just seeing Kyle (lead vocals) on two feet by the start of the show would be a surprise in itself!

Lastly, tell Second City readers something random about yourself that you’ve never mentioned before.

I pissed on the roadie when he was sleeping last night. He’s my drum tech and doesn’t know yet. I’ll probably tell him at the end of the tour…

The View’s new single ‘5Rebecca’s’ is out now on CD and 7”.

myspace.com/dryburgh

This Et Al – Figure 8 – EP (On The Bone Records)

secondcityuk — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:30:47 +0000

Despite being released at the start of summer, this release may very well be This Et Al’s last, as the Leeds rockers have since called it a day. We’re still hopeful of that long-awaited B-sides & rarities collection to see the light of day, but if this is the final stone in TEA’s wall, they’ve ended bloody well.

Their familair alt-rock style with high-pitched chorus vocals is back in full force and echoes some of their best songs. The title track sounds very akin to ‘Pigs Make Children Sick’, but we won’t begrudge them that.

What would have been a nice taster for a forthcoming album now just leaves thoughts of what could have been…

FOR FANS OF : Forward Russia, Smashing Pumpkins.

myspace.com/thisetal