Lemaitre - 1749 EP Review

There are many confusing elements surrounding Lemaitre. They are entering their 6th year of existence, having consistently created music for that entire period, their success has led to them being able to relocate to LA and get signed by Astralwerks, home to a relentless amount of talent and innovation in the Electronic music scene. Despite this success they have yet to release an album and could potentially be described as unknown upstarts.

Confusion aside, Lematire and Astralwerks seemingly have their own plan. 1749, their LA house number and title of their 6th (6th!) EP tucks itself in as just as slick, fun and great as all previous. Their influence despite is clear with groups like Galantis becoming bona fide pop superstars off the back of having two songs that kinda sound as good as a Lemaitre track. I have no reservations in saying that if the best of Lemaitre's 5 EP's were released in an album you would be looking at one of the most defining electronic albums of the decade. 

"Not to Late" the first track has all the key elements that define the Lemaitre sound, however most notable about it is the excellent vocal performance. The vocals sound less like the DJ peering from behind the desk and more like a real performer, this is likely a testament to the confidence gained over they years the band have been performing.

"Closer" is already Lemaitre's biggest song ever. The piano opening is a great sample and the horns throughout show the band still able to explore and create new sounds that leaves them as always unpredictable and exciting. It's accessibility and soundcloud plays show this.

My favourite from the album however is easily "Day 2." The lyrical content is genuinely affecting and personal which is highly impressive. This backed by more beats and samples that have a cute disco groove.

If I was going to be disappointed by any part of this album it would be Nishio 2. Unfortunately for myself it didn't carry the weight and power that its predecesor did however I still did love the "Im so happy" sample and truly matching the original is a mammoth task.

Lemaitre deserve more attention. Will this EP be the record that gets them that attention? Probably not. I'm not even sure if they will ever reach the sort of commercial potential they could (Or more importantly, if they even want to?) but for everyone who has had the pleasure of discovering Lemaitre keep on listening.

Seriously though make an album soon, God.

Dominic Allan.

Listen to all of Lemaitre's music free on Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/serious-url

Dizzy Bats - Until We Die EP Review

The term “Pop-punk” has always been a fundamentally flawed one in my eyes.  Punk is essentially the term used to describe any art or media that subverts mainstream cultural norms, and pop is quite literally the antithesis of this.  Even the majority of the usual adages associated with the genre (whiny vocals and lyrics, simple musical structures) annoy me.  Having said that, Dizzy Bats negate much of my usual criticisms, using a mixture of deeply charming humour and wit. 

The opening song “With You I’m Dead” opens with the kind of lyrics that I imagine could genuinely improve the entire genre were they widely noted.  I have a theory it’s perhaps a step too far for Billy Joel Armstrong to come up with a lyric as darkly humorous as, “You’re a ten and I’m just a Chinese six, what a masochist”.  I genuinely laughed out loud at that line.  It’s an absolute subversion of perhaps my main grievance with pop punk – self-deprecation that is utterly devoid of introspective depth or intelligence.

Title track, “Until We Die” actually puts me more in mind of The Fratellis than any pop-punk band I can name, with a catchy Brit-pop guitar tone making up the main riff.  The lyrics here are either, from what I can deduce, a rather nihilistic deconstruction of family life or about growing up in general.  Lines such as, “Pour it out, no more weed” find Connor Frost bemoaning the new found maturity being thrown upon him, and the trials being an adult leave him facing.  The perceived negativity stems from the repeated phrase “When we start to count down”, which, when paired with the title, implicate a deeply pessimistic view of the ageing process. 

The pace is at its most exciting on the final track “Count My Sheep”.  I was actually most impressed by the intricacy of the guitar passages on this track, as towards the end it rattles and soars above the main melody. 

Dizzy Bats have certainly proven me to be wrong in generally going into any album that describes itself as pop-punk with low expectations.  The facetious dark wit on display here is something I’ve admittedly never associated with this genre, but I welcome it as a positive component to throw into the mix.  I can certainly recommend that you stream this EP, and maybe even download it when it’s available, this band deserve your support.

Charlie McCartney

Cutters - both // neither EP Review

Self-described ‘ambient punk’ four piece ‘Cutters’ have brought a fairly unique release to the table with their rather solemn 3 track EP. Built around some rather personal trials, an integral part of the album’s structure is clearly focused on the vocals, a feature that at some points risks drowning out the potential creativity of the instrumentation.

Opening track ‘List of People Buried at Arlington National Cemetery’ is, and it’s clear from the first few seconds, an extremely fast paced angst ridden anthem. It's easily as punk as this album gets; the following two tracks slow in pace and just don’t have the same punch that is most recognisable as punk. Absolutely not a criticism, however, as if anything this opens their EP up to a wider audience and doesn’t make the mistake of constraining it to a narrow genre with a finite fan-base. Although they deal with various related themes a combining feature is the lead singers struggle with gender-identity fairly prominent in the first track with its opening line “I was born right in between, both and neither, king and queen”. I’m sure many interpretations could be drawn from the song and its lyrics, as is the nature of music, but personally I picked up on the unusually long title’s reference to the respect and grandeur regarding people who have fought physical battles. Perhaps highlighting the discrepancy in how people fighting internal battles are treated and in a community where depression and suicide is prevalent simply pointing out the abhorrent and often needless loss of life. Whether my interpretations are accurate or not, it does show that the author of this song has done a large part of his job in at least making me think.

Neither of the following tracks gave me the same desire to ponder their deeper meanings but second track ‘Wicked & Divine’ is my favourite track from a strictly musical perspective. Where the opening track’s aggressive vocals did perturb me, ‘Wicked & Divine’ provided a more pleasing tone and I genuinely enjoyed the vocals in this song. At less than two minutes long I do feel it could have been longer as the only acceptable reason for a song to be as short as this is when an upbeat anthem leaves you so physically drained from dancing it has to cut itself short. This clearly isn’t the aim of this song and I’d have been capable of enjoying it for twice the time it actually lasted.

Third and final track ‘Fade to Black’ is a slow song with more emphasis put on the instrumentation than either of the other tracks giving some credence to their description of ‘ambient’ but rather uncharacteristic of ‘punk’. Its melancholy tone is quite different to the opening track of the EP and as mentioned, but worth repeating, ‘Cutters’ avoid constraining themselves to a pre-defined genre and this gives them the potential to progress with any future releases.

‘both//neither’ does risk turning away some listeners with the acquired taste of its opening track but I definitely give the track merit for having depth. The following songs are much more easily accessible so I feel most people will garner some enjoyment out of them even if their length is lacking. I do recommend you give their EP a listen at the link provided and make your own mind up on whether it’s something you enjoy enough to buy. Maybe one to watch for future releases and see if they make something of the potential they’ve shown.

Nathan Beck

https://cuttersmusic.bandcamp.com/album/both-neither

Fallen Arches - Footprints EP Review

Fallen Arches is a solo project by fresh face Colin Bell. He appears out of the ashes of previous three piece outfit Sneaky Pete and from a brief glimpse at their work his solo project is more revision than revolution. The synth groove beats of his previous project have been mutated however, into more uplifting indie rock. Throughout the EP his distinctive Scottish voice firmly channels fellow countrymen like Snow Patrol and Twin Atlantic to develop an admittedly highly derivative lyrical sound. This sound can appear grating to many people but looking past it there is still a lot to admire.

The production and instrumentation included in this EP are really excellent. The little orchestral and piano elements again seemingly harken back to Snow Patrol and Coldplay in their big worldly pieces that feel massive, yet retain modesty and never veers into vain, elaborate self-congratulation. As musical pieces they sweep you up somewhat and even with the bane of modern pop rock, the acoustic guitar, being fully utilised this still leaves the instrumentation being sometimes very impressive.

My particular favourite track is probably "Footprints" with its cute piano piece which is highly, almost hopelessly optimistic which I think carries on through the theme of the song. Its choral outro also leaps out and wouldn’t be out of place with a crowd being the choir.

Despite this the main fault of the EP that is apparent throughout is the lyricism. It is to be honest pretty shockingly bad throughout. It is a shame really, in that it takes away so much from the nice instrumentation that is on show. It makes it really hard to recommend this EP as the lyrics do not feel like a forgotten part of the piece that aren’t to be harshly criticised but feel more like an integral part of the music that Bell is deeply affected by. This is why it is even more unfortunate that it went as wrong as it did on this record.

Even with the rather terrible lyrics, the instrumentations shines through and with every note written I can see Colin Bell and the Fallen Arches project growing in strength. I would be lying to say I recommend this EP fully though and would advise you to listen with trepidation.

Dominic Allan

Foo Fighters - Saint Cecilia EP Review

The title of “Biggest rock band in the world” is a precarious one. Any slight wavering, be that in terms of music, rock star lifestyle or what you say on twitter can have a dramatic impact on how the general public see you. 

The Foo Fighters however are a total subversion of this. They seem to dodge any sort of modern expectation of “the biggest band in the world.” Firstly on a music standpoint they will forever be overshadowed by Nirvana and in all honesty haven’t really released a track which could be considered an instant classic for eight years. The band are hardly traditional rock stars with again Nirvana being where a lot of the bands tearaway years reside. Lastly in terms of the near ubiquitous modern adage of spats the Foo Fighters remain totally neutral with Dave Grohl being deservedly one of the most loved people in music. None of this really screams biggest rock band in the world but there is still absolutely no doubt that the Foo Fighters are the owners of this title. Their tours sell to a ridiculous level and their music can be heard on both top 40 pop radio and places like Kerrang.
It is with this that the Foo Fighters can make a genuine, well intentioned message like is made on the Saint Cecilia EP. It must be said however that this is an EP that serves to raise awareness, support and money for the Paris tragedy. It is not an EP about the Paris tragedy.

The EP itself however is really hit and miss.

Saint Cecilia is the first track on this EP, it is a very multi layered track, has all the elements 
that are expected however I really wasn’t a fan of Grohl’s vocals. It is still a solid, good Foo’s record.
Sean comes next with the feeling of an utter filler track. There’s very little to complain about because there is very little here. The album would be better off without it really and I would guess that there was a feeling that there was a need to push for a five track EP rather than a four track.

Saviour Breath and Iron Rooster follow on and they are by far my least favourite on this EP. Saviour Breath has a great intro, from the start it seems like things are going pretty well with solid riffs but eventually the poor lyrics take hold and the entire song drags itself along with the verses being simply stopgaps between the choruses that are the only part of the song that the band has any interest in. Iron Rooster does a similar thing but with solos with the entire song being nothing more than a piece of music which allows the solos to exist within it. This is really lazy and wastes the two pretty good elements in these songs (the chorus and the solos) which could have been kept and used in a really good Foo Fighters song one day.

The real saviour of this record is “The Neverending Sigh.” This is without a doubt one of the best Foo Fighters songs I have heard in a long time. The song really drives with great riffs and vocals and it finishing the record is a real shock which proves that the Foo Fighters can still offer a lot.

This EP is nothing to get extremely excited about, it is not the glorious return to classic form that some early commenter's have spoken of but it does bring back a lot of elements of early Foo Fighters which is very good to see. 

With a couple pretty good tracks, a couple bad tracks and one really excellent track I can’t really recommend the EP totally. It is free however so I would recommend a free download.

Download the EP for free here : http://www.saintceciliaep.com/

Donate to the French Red Cross here : https://soutenir.croix-rouge.fr/

Dominic Allan

Mr Coquedeux - 1983 - EP Review

The world of French house is by now legendary. The music created by bands like Daft Punk, Justice and SebastiAn define a huge part of modern music today. They led an electro renaissance, brought back disco and it could be argued sparked the EDM revolution we see today.  

Despite these successes French house has been quiet in recent years. Daft Punk almost abandoned French house with it being just one of the many types of music present on their triumphant “Random Access Memories”, Justice has been anonymous since their last album “Audio,Video,Disco” disappointed and there has been very little for fans of this genre to get excited over.

One of the reasons for this is certainly due to the high concentration of releases. Being the most popular electronic genre at the advent of the internet age has led to an incredible amount of saturation being felt in the market. Finding the next innovators in a genre can be incredibly difficult when there are seemingly limitless “Edgy” electro remixes of rock songs.

I fear that Mr Coquedeux may be caught up in this. The 2 original tracks on this EP are filled with sparkling production. The songs sound really crisp and the samples are well handled. On the first track on the EP also entitled “1983” The hooks hit impressively well and there is a great groove to the track.  I do however have some scepticism. The volume drops seem kind of clunky and although a stylistic choice I felt the sample from the film “Purple Rain” added little.

The second track “Flamboyant Twist” is my favoured of the two. I can really get behind the rhythms it is putting out and the clipping of the sound on this track sounds a lot more suitable and better placed to me than in the previous track. Incredibly danceable, the progression is nice with the inclusion of the cymbals being exciting and feeling far more like an actual part of the song rather than just a tool to drive the song like so much percussion does.

I am really impressed with Mr Coquedeux. I hope he manages to improve and incorporates some new ideas to forge his own unique sound as one of my main criticisms of him would be the lack of anything really new. However I would still certainly recommend this song and would encourage you to support him, listen to this EP and look out for more from him in the future.

Dominic Allan.

You can listen to the EP here: https://soundcloud.com/fluctus-records/sets/1983ep 

D.S.A - 5TRAXX - EP Review

Scummy records are an independent net label whos main goal is to release music of all genres, a highly admirable goal. Their most recent export is the "only" record by drum and bass - heavy noise - ambient group D.S.A. This EP hits hard from the start and this is a trend which continues throughout the record.

The first track S A T U R D A Y N I G H T T is an eccentric piece of electro. The beats are highly danceable and although the inclusion of the anime girls moans might be all in good fun I see it perhaps as a way to shield criticism to the records genuine elements of which there are many.

The second track is a bit more serious with an ambient Aphex Twin vibe. On this track the group show that they have real credibility and they show that they really do have good talents.

The 3rd and 4th tracks employ some real humouous elements parodying an over usage of violent samples in particularly rap music. The songs sound fresh throughout and over the whole EP none of the songs outstay their welcome, they introduce their ideas promptly and intelligently and at no point does the record get boring.

Also on the 4th track the female vocal sampling is to be particularly lauded. Certainly the most interesting part of the EP it was highly interesting and pleasurable.

This record is certainly highly interesting and although there is no need to totally lose comedic elements and they can add a certain something to the record with the talent on show at points there is no need to rely on it and use it as a shield.

You can get this album for free on band camp from the 14th of October and I would certainly recommend you do so.

Go on D.S.A, give us one more!

By Dominic Allan.