Buy Beat Motel at www.beatmotel.co.uk
Gadgie #19
A5 – 30 pages
It’s hard to talk about any issue of Gadgie without sounding like gushing moron, this is one of my favourite ever zines. It’s a mix of tales of the author’s youth, thoughts and opinions, travelogs and a few reviews. The first time I read Gadgie I immediately clicked and identified with some of the tales of the authors youthful exploits, I assumed this was as him and I are of a similar age but apparently there is no set age range for your average Gadgie Zine fan, a recent interview with Marv Gadgie reveals that he has a fair following of OAPs! The stories are uncomplicated and effortlessly funny. Out of all the zines I read this is the one that I end up reading out loud to my girlfriend, gotta share the joy! If tales of a misspent youth and news and interviews of seat ripping hardcore are your thing you MUST buy this zine. In fact even if you hate all music then you still MUST buy this zine, I will be stunned to an early grave if I ever hear that anyone read this and didn’t surprise themselves by laughing out loud at least once. Buy it, or the ape will get ya!
Send £1 and an A5 SSAE to Marv, Gadgie Towers, PO Box 93, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 7YB, Engerland
Got the Fidgets #4/ Mosh ‘n’ Go #4 (split, duh)
A4 – 40 pages
After I got over the pounding headache the Got the Fidgets cover gave me I really got stuck into this zine. The layouts are kinda traditional and the contents really reminds me of an old Bury St Edmunds zine called Mmmm Juicy. But seeing as that probably means chuff all to you I’ll describe the zine properly… Got the Fidgets appears to be written entirely by girls, and boy oh boy do they show a passion for what they do! The interviews are intelligent and include Rx Bandits and Rebelation who appear to be a ska band, I say ‘appear to be’ cos what the fuck do I know about ska? The biggest section of this zine is the reviews, they are light and airy (that’s a good thing) and are more like a mate telling you about a gig down the boozer than just a cold review.
More ska stuff awaits you in the other side of this splitty, Mosh ‘n’ Go starts by explaining that there will be no scantily clad laydees in the issue, but ignore that and stick with it as Mosh ‘n’ Go is a very readable zine with some really smart art in both the layouts and the features. Interviews include Sick of it All (with some shit hot photos from my ole PunkNews.co.uk comrade Tom Barnes), The Mingers and Roman Dirge. My only complaint is that both halves are the zine are kinda short, but I guess that’s bound to happen with splittys.
Find out how to buy it by emailing Laura at laura_bear@hotmail.com
Negative Reaction
A4 – 36 pages
Rude, shocking, highly offensive, and with jokes that are all in the worst possible taste… everyone loves zines like this even if they won’t admit it in polite company. Reading this OiCore zine is like being 15 again and tittering at the latest foul jokes to go round the playground, and you love it, you know you do! The interviews are some of the funniest I’ve ever read, including the class line spluttered forth by Fat Bob of Hard Skin, “We’re in touch with our gay side, that’s all there is to it”. I’m really not at Oi fan at all, but that doesn’t really matter with Negative Reaction, there’s loads of stuff that had me laughing out loud within minutes of parting the covers. If men in braces is your kinda think you might like to know this issue of Negative Reaction features The Stagebottles, Emergency Deadline, Argy Bargy, Razor Bois, The Itchy Tits & MDM. This is a real blokes mag, by which I don’t mean it’s full of lasses norks (well maybe just a few), just that it’s put in print what most blokes talk about with their mates down the pub. Even if floaty fruity indie is yer thang you should still buy this zine and have it hidden away like a secret little guilty pleasure. Kev from Negative Reaction has written a column for this issue of Beat Motel in response to the Mr.T column in issue #1. Go find it!
Send £1 and an SSAE for 50p to Trev, 20 New Front St, T/ Lea, Stanley, Co.Duhram, DH9 9LY, UK
The Last Days of Saigon #1
A5 – 31 pages
Weeeee seems to be the only appropriate way to open up a review of this zine. It’s the latest creation of one half of the old Mmmm Juicy Zine team, namely one Mr Yalson. A lot of the humour of TLDOS is very similar to Mmmm Juicy, but a bit more mature some how. Whereas Mmmm Juicy felt a bit ‘clicky’ and left you feeling a bit like you were the only reader not in on some big joke TLDOS is far more accessible. Shit, I’d told myself this review wouldn’t just be one big comparison, bollocks! Articles include a piece about Elliot Smith, some great columns and a great ‘fly on the wall’ style documentary in text of one man, some booze and far too many cable channels. In a similar way to Gadgie this zine isn’t just about the music, there’s tons of other random crap thrown in for good measure, including some great horoscopes. We were already planning some horoscopes for issue #2 of Beat Motel, I guess great minds think alike! Incidently I gave the first issue of this zine to a Polish sailor that turned up at a gig in Ipswich, I’d love to know what kind of impression it’s given him of gigs round these parts! The author Yalson is prolific in sporadic bursts and I hope we’re not left waiting too long for The Last Days of Saigon issue #2 as issue #1 was a fucking hoot, and got me more than one elbow in the ribs for chuckling while the missus was trying to get to sleep!
Send £1 and an SSAE to Yalson the sonic rambler, 48 Raynham Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 6EA, UK
R*E*P*E*A*T #22
A4 – 135 pages
Jeebus, this isn’t a zine it’s a paper tardis! Calling R*E*P*E*A*T a zine is like calling the bible ‘a few words from our sponsor’. It’s quite simply one fucking huge publication; it’s as heavy as a small badger and as thick as a US Marine. But bizarre descriptions aside, this is one great zine. I’ve been wanting to get hold of a copy since I saw a feature on it in a mainstream magazine when I was about 15, now that I have a copy a wish I’d gotten hold if it before. My measure of a truly class zine is one that takes at least a week of bowel movement bog reading time to get through, this beast has been on the Beat Motel shitter floor for about a month. There’s so much content at the moment it feels like I’m never going to get through it. The running order of R*E*P*E*A*T appears to have been detirmined by throwing darts at a spinning a bottle or something so I can never remember what place I was last at when I pick it up. Content includes bits on the Manics (of course), Film Webshites, The Undertones, Bob Dylan, tons of political stuff, Pete Doherty and about a billion reviews of everything you can imagine. Buy this zine now and you may finish reading it some time around 2034. Oh and be wary of the Manics article on page 4, all those backwards letters gave me a pounding headache when I read it!
Send £3 and an SSAE (with £1.14 postage) to R*E*P*E*A*T, PO Box 438, Cambridge, CB4 1FX, ENGLAND
Or you can embrace the digital age and buy it online at www.repeatfanzine.co.uk
Panacea #2
A5 – 24 pages
What a nice cover! It’s all swirly and colourful and by the looks of it was printed at the same place as Beat Motel, maybe I should invest in a colour cover? Anyway, back to this rather attractive looking zine. The content is kinda along the political lines of Reason To Believe but without being quite so hardcore or European mainland based. The articles are fairly light in word count but get the points across nicely, it’s almost like this zine offers wee snapshots of several important issues. The writers are opinionated (that’s a compliment) and cover a variety of subject including animal welfare, fascism in America and Michael Moore. Reports include Wasted 2004 and Marxism 2004 which are both written with a really nice matey tone. If you’re a wee bit illiterate like me then this zine understands your needs, the live reviews don’t actually have any words, just purty pictures! To summarise you really should buy this zine, it’s not going to scare the bejeebus out of you like some of the more hardcore political zines, but should act as a gentle tap on the shoulder and an enlightening whisper in your shell like.
Send 50p and an SSAE to Tony Finch, Panacea, b319 montefiore 1, wessex lane, swaythling, Southampton, so18 2nu, ENGLAND
Screamager #1
A5 – 59 pages
Wa-hoo another local newbie zine! It was even printed at the same place as ours! Maybe we could twin Beat Motel with them or something? This is proof if proof was needed that there’s ‘shit goin’ down’ in our area. Screamager leans more to the pop punk side of things than Beat Motel and is largely made up of interviews. This guy most know a lot of people judging from the calibre of interviews in this first issue, those to receive the Screamager grilling include Leftover Crack, Flogging Molly, Sum41 & MxPx. Instead of columns each contributor says a wee bit about themselves which is fairly original. I do like this zine, I really do, but the layouts (by their own admission) are a little unexciting. The zine starts with an apology about layouts; this is something I never like to see in zines, why apologise? If people don’t like your zine then fuck ‘em! The only thing that I think could improve the layouts would be to try and avoid the huge white spaces on each page, in fact I’d go so far as to say that if you got rid of these huge gaps then the zine would be half the size and would cost half as much to make! But who am I to talk, I’m only starting out myself! The content of this zine does make my aesthetic comments a little irrelevant, and I would heartily recommend this zine to anyone interested in the poppier side of punk. I’m really looking forward to issue #2, which judging from the dates in this issue can’t be far away now!
Send £1.50 and an SSAE for 50p to Nick SFZ, Screamager Zine, Merchant Weavers House, High Street, Dedham, Essex, CO7 6DE, ENGLAND
Time Bomb #7
A5 – 30 pages
Holy pritt stick Batman, we haven’t seen a zine like this for years! Lovin’ the layout in this zine, it’s all over the shop, and I mean in a good way! The lonely hearts adverts that lurk behind most of the articles look great, especially love this one – “Adrian 23, like football and pubs, looking for a lady that wants the same”, yeah, good luck with that one mate! Anyway onto the content… There’s some really intelligent writing in this zine, personally I always think that zines should be the one forum where anyone can say what the fuck they want and be damned with the consequences, and some of the Time Bomb columnists certainly do that! My only criticism would be the apologetic nature of Connor’s column, personally I disagree with his views but the constant apologising makes me wonder if he really agrees with them himself? I had to think long and hard about whether I was going to add that criticism but decided to in the end as I’m really impressed with the stark ‘fuck you’ attitude of Time Bomb, and look forward to seeing more of it in future issues. The interviews are a cut above the rest too, and show a knowledge of the bands that appears to be pretty genuinely matey which makes for a pleasant read. The interviews are like sitting in on a conversation amoungst friends, it’s a style I don’t see often and I love it. My only bit of advice to a potential reader of this zine is make sure you take a pen to the crapper with you, there’s a puzzle page!
Send £1 and an SSAE to Time Bomb, c/o Alex Andrews, 22 the Lorne, Bookham, Surrey, KT23 4JZ, ENGLAND
Trash Pit #6
A5 – 26 kin glossy pages
Arse, the zine reviews in this issue are looking me look like more of an design critic that a content critic, I’m sure it will wear off by the next issue, I think I’m only noticing these things as my own zine is so young and I’ve been spending hours making the same decisions that all the fine zinesters mentioned in this section have. So lets get the appearances bit out of the way straight off, Trash Pit is the best looking zine I’ve ever seen in my whole life, the pages are glossy, the photos are crystal clear and the editor (Rob) must be a pro designer or something, it’s all very classy. This zine leans slightly more towards the metal/ glam side of the music compass with interviews with the singer of the Murder Dolls and Todd Jensen and the majority of the reviews being metal related. But it wouldn’t be fair to say this was an out and out metal zine, it’s got far more to it’s tastes than that. Interviews also include the Wonderstuff and a fantastic interview with pro pain addict Jim Rose. This is a seriously professional zine that I fully expect to mature into the kinda publication that you’ll find in WH Smiths up and down the country!
Send £1 and a SSAE to Trash Pit, 95 Flamstead Ave, Loscoe, Heanor, Derbyshire, DE75 7RP, ENGLAND
Sorry the cover scans are all a bit on the piss, I’m still trying to get to grips with my confounded scanner!
If you buy any of these zines can ya let them know where you saw the review, ta!
Acao Direta
Revolta/repudio/confronto/resistencia
CDLP (WHY RECORDS/ RIPPING THRASH/THRASH & DIE RECORDS)
Hmm, the scratchy ambling guitars at the start of this album made me tighten my arse and hold tight ready for some face ripping 80s metal. I was wrong, but only for a short while… Whilst the vocal are very much hardcore the band sounds very early 80s metal, only better produced, natch. For metal it’s actually not that offensive, at least it doesn’t have those vocals that sound like Big Daddy engaging in a spot of rinding. It’s just a bit repetitive, you know where those riffs that race up and down the fretboard are going to come in, you know the breaks. Judging from all the gruesome pictures and imagry in the slevenotes this might not be a band to take to visit your gran for Sunday lunch, but if like decently played south American sounding metal that’s kinda like hardcore then this could be your kinda thing, it ain’t mine.
Andrew Culture
Airbomb
Pnuk
CD-LP (PNUK RECORDS)
Produced by A.Clegg & J.Wickham at ‘the Romside’
17 track album
Airbomb formed around the end of the nineties, from the guys converting Meaty’s Garage into a rehearsal room, they wanted to write songs that They loved, which you can hear from there second album PNUK, It’s a fast as fuck, pure punk album, no talking, quick changes, Great music, and strong vocals, my only shame is that I cant play it loud enough, The whole album has that great atmosphere that makes you feel like your at one of there gigs. Like in “Devil Car” where I can guarantee you want to get up and pogo. Great lyrics like in “your ex”, and that much needed chill out song where you go grab your beer in “Sunshine”, Oh and check out “Posh ‘n’ Pikey” fastest talking/singing I’ve heard in a while. What more can I say this is 18 songs of Pure Punk, It took a while to produce apparently due to setbacks, like Babies, moving home, and arguments, so cheers Airbomb for a really refreshing punk as fuck album. (Still prefer “Look out Tho”)
Buy online at www.airbomb.me.uk
Jo x
Anti-Pasti
The Last Call
CD-LP (CAPTAIN OI!)
I never had much time for this lot when I was punking it up in my teens in the early 80’s. Had a coupla singles (6 Guns was immense but the EP with the Exploited was shit – both included here) but on reflection it looks like I could have been wrong (wot me? Never!) Hailing from Derby they were obviously influenced by the first wave (Pistols) and second wave (UK Subs) of Punk. This is certainly no thrash fest (speed fans stay away) but the productions good and they’re quite tight with a decent mid-tempo punk sound. Stand out tracks are No Government (much better than their dirge-like single version), Another Dead Soldier, Ain’t Got Me, 6 Guns, I Wanna Be Your Dog (yes, a Stooges cover) and Call the Army. There’s the original 14 track LP (Very Good) and a mighty 15 bonus tracks (some ropey but some gems as well) covering all the singles and more. Also there’s a nice digi-pak with a 16 page colour booklet including lyrics and discography. To be honest if you are a fan then you wouldn’t need any more than this and if you’re a newcomer to 80’s Punk then you could certainly do a lot worse than this. Not bad at all.
Graham Culture
The Ballistics
Allow me to Demostrate
CDLP (SELF RELEASE)
Hearing the hype around this band I was expecting a straight down the line (but very good) late 70s sounding ska record. Was I ever in for a shock! This album is anything but a standard issue ska release. Right from the very first track you are clobbered about the head by massive heavy guitars that are reminisant of the first Blur album (but don’t you dare let that put you off). There are obvious jump about ska moments in this album but on the whole it would be better described as an inventive catchy exciting phrenetic work of musical art. I can’t recommend this album highly enough, I listened to it four times in row the day I got it! Buy this now, whatever music you ‘think’ you’re into you need this album, buy it quick, you need to listen to it now as it’s very much a summer album!
Buy it online at https://www.freewebs.com/theballistics/ or call/ txt 07834 837 676
Andrew Culture
Burning Britain – The History of Punk 1980 – 1984
DVD (CHERRY RED MUSIC)
78 MINS CRDVD62
Right we got 30 ‘Acts’ from the early 80’s ‘strutting’ their ‘stuff’. Well I was a punk in the early 80’s and this really is quite awful. The trouble is most of the footage was recorded between 1996 and 2004 so any authenticity is lost. Most of the bands look stupid (witness Discharge 2003 plough through an unrecognisable Ain’t No Feeble Bastard with the fat singer from the Varukers embarrasing himself – punk karaoke anyone?). Anyhow there’s Exploited, GBH, Chaos UK, Disorder, Chron Gen, Toy Dolls, Abrasive Wheels etc. A lot of the stuff here was recorded on the Holidays In The Sun nostalgia fest 1996. UK/DK dvd (also from Cherry Red) ,although flawed, is a much better picture of 80’s punk than this. If you thought the Pistols reforming was revolting then this lot will turn your stomach, like a starving pack of dogs picking at punks remains. Desperate.
Graham Culture
Burning Britain – The History of Punk 1980 – 1984
IAN GLASPER
BOOK (CHERRY RED BOOKS)
400 PAGES ISBN 1-901447-24-3
Unlike the companion DVD this is a much better reflection of 80’s punk and is incredibly exhaustive and well written. It covers all the UK punk bands between 80 – 84 like UK Subs, Angelic Upstarts, ANWL, Adicts, Blitz, Exploited, Business, Discharge, GBH etc etc. Apparently the author intends to do another book on Anarcho-punk (Crass et al). I think the biggest trouble with this book is it shows that most of the bands were identical! All Sid Vicious look-a-likes (and sound-a-likes)! When it comes down to it there’s probably a dozen bands featured that were actually any good but whatever. Some interesting stories (Animal from ANWL on their 1982 tour doing a U turn on the motorway after missing a turn off!) and some crap stories (Something about getting someone to drink a pint of vomit from some never-heard-of band). I think the pictures could have been better (why not use Punk Lives magazine pics – they were better than most of these?) Anyway if you want an encyclopedia of 80’s punk then this is for you – let’s face it you ain’t gonna get another one!
Graham Culture
Doris Henson
Give Me All Your Money
CD LP (DESOTO/ SOUTHERN RECORDS)
Blimey my mates dad is in this band, well it’s either him or the tubby lad in the Hives, and you just know he’s the bassist that had the sensible job and bought the band a van. Shame nobody has told him that his ‘two slugs crawled out of my nose’ moustache isn’t ironic, it’s just shite. Doris Henson quite frankly bore the arse off me. They could have at least woken up the singer properly before making him record his vocals). This album is inoffensive to the point that when their odd synths come in it’s a welcome break, they sound like some kinda musical fart ya see, and well, farts are funny ain’t they. So are big resonant belches, tee hee, oh and when you fart and blame it on someone else, that’s always great. Oh where was I? Oh who cares I’m going to go and watch my girlfriend pot up some tomatoes.
Andrew Culture
Epoxies
Stop The Future
CDLP – (FAT WRECK CHORDS)
Hell this woman’s voice really reminds me of Joan Biaz or the singer of Fairport Convention, she’s got a real classic ballsy powerfull voice that’s just 20 Marlboros away from tearing apart. I appear to be the only person who’s never heard of the Epoxies, now I can see why, this is a great album! It’s got a kinda Dickies all out fun rock feel to it but with some cool Kraftwork Style 70s synth sounds. I’d buy this album, if like, it wasn’t sent to me for free!
Andrew Culture
Goldblade
Rebel Songs
CDLP (CAPTAIN OI)
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Goldblade, I know they’ve been billed down at the Steamboat in Ipswich on several occasions, never heard them though. This album has a scuzzy feel to it, half folk punk with some really rock & roll moments in it, the third track even sounds like Dick Dale! This sounds like the kinda album you’d put on when you roll in from the pub with all yer mates and you’ve still got a bit of fun left in ya.
Andrew Culture
Guitar Gangsters
Let ‘Em Have It
CDLP (CAPTAIN OI)
Competant is the first word that springs into mind, the songs are all catchy, the singing is flawless but untimately seems to lack a spark. I actually wandered out of the room when I put this and came back thinking “ooh, what’s this”? It’s hard reviewing albums on first listening sometimes as I know this is grower, but on first listening just doesn’t do much for me. This album sees the Guitar Gangsters go a bit more rock, there’s a punk edge but ultimately this sounds like the kinda rock album that would have been huge in the states in the early 90s. There’s even a glam moment on track 10, now any album that comes up with something you would never expect is okay in my book!
Andrew Culture
Hiding With Girls
Shortround/ Hoods Up
CDEP – (MIGHTY ATOM)
Smooth vocals, smooth song structures, smooth drum rolls. This is a very commercial sounding band.. The title track just sounds like a million other songs I’ve heard recently, there are a few teasing moments when a drum roll sounds like it’s going to lead up to an all heavy rock out, but nah, it’s just some more nice harmonies. The songs do get better as they go on though, by the third track things have got a lot dirtier and some slightly emoish heavy breaks come in and this band starts to sound a bit like SouthPaw, which is a good thing. So to sum this EP up I’d have to say ‘hmmp’ but I’m going to keep my ears peeled for their next move. Oh and another thing, I swear I know the girl on the back cover!
Andrew Culture
Horace Pinker
Texas One Ten
CD LP – (THIC/ SOUTHERN RECORDS)
According to the blurb this album is a ‘Perpetual Road Trip’, the emo twinges in the first few tracks make it sound like there’s a whinning kid in the car asking ‘are we punk rock yet?’. Horace Pinker make a nice sound, but it’s almost a bit too background for me, they seem to very deliberately dirty it up by putting an effect on the vocals that makes it sound like they made the singer do his vocals from inside a cardboard box full of thumbtacks. I’m loving the bass sound on this album, proper crunchy and bolsters up the smooth gutiars really nicely. I’d recomend this album if Bloko, Taking Back Sunday and Killerest Expression is your kinda thing. In fact the track ‘Scene one, take two’ really reminds me of a kind soft SouthPaw. There’s not a lot ogf variety but the vibe this album has is a good one, kinda reflective but positive. There’s no doubt the songs are good, and I’m taking a chance that this album is a grower, I know I’m gonna be spinning it again.
Andrew Culture
Millencolin
Kingwood
CD – LP (BURNING HEART RECORDS)
Kingwood – The long awaited new album from Swedish Punk Rockers Millencolin.
Who knows what to expect when Punk Rock bands release a new record at the current time, with so many bands going down the route of fashionable depression, but not Millencolin. With Farewell my Hell kicking off the album in good ol’ kick ass Millencolin style, a catchy chorus, powerful drive through the song and a speed that leaves you bouncing around your Green Day postered room waiting for track 2 to begin. The lead guitar performed by Erik tears through each track in the unique Millencolin style harmonising with the rhythm guitar and the excellent bass guitar riffs and vocals of Nikola.
Track 4, Shut You Out displays a return to Millencolin’s routes with a welcome similarity to their earlier classic, Black Eye. Slowing down the speed of Kingwood, but in no way compensating the energy. Quickly followed by Biftek Supernova picking up the tempo again and setting up for the rest of the album.
Track 11, Moosemans Jukebox is nothing short of a classic with a driving bass line through the verse and a brilliantly catchy chorus that, when played loud enough to anger your parents, can send a shiver down anyone’s spine.
Kingwood is a brilliant album that shows there is still a future in melodic punk rock, and Millencolin are sure to be a band who play a big part in that future.
Tony Corrales
Motorhead
Bomber
2 DISC DELUXE EDITION (SANCTUARY RECORDS)
Ahh…Motorhead – what a fine band. Appealing to Punks, Metallers, Bikers, Skinheads etc etc. This is released to celebrate Motorheads 30th Anniversary tour this year and also the resurrection of the ‘Bomber’ prop to the stage show. OK the Bomber album is great but not the best – nowhere near the class 5 stars that is Ace of Spades. Unfortunately the 2nd disc does little to enhance it. On the Bomber album there’s the immense title track and on the 2nd disc there’s the immense Over The Top b-side. Other than that there’s Stone Dead Forever, All The Aces, Dead Men Tell No Tales and the other disc consists of alternate and live versions. It’s OK but unfortunately Sanctuary already released an ‘expanded’ version which has most of these tracks. So even if Motorhead are your thing then I’d recommend Sanctuarys single edition and if you’re a newbie then get Ace Of Spades cd and a decent Best Of (with Bomber on of course!)
Graham Culture
The Partisans
(self titled)
CD-LP (CAPTAIN OI!)
Same format as the Anti – Pasti cd, booklet & digi-pak etc. This was the Welsh Partisans debut LP from 1982. There’s some good mid to fast paced punk stuff on here – 17 years of Hell, Arms Race, I Never Needed You and Partisans but the production ain’t so hot and you can tell they were pushed into a studio before they were ready. Quite young and naïve too. Saying that you can tell what a fantastic band they became on their 2nd LP The Time Was Right. But this is good and has an extra 7 bonus single tracks so if 80’s Punk is your thaang then it would be a decent addition to your collection.
Graham Culture
Refused
The Shape of Punk to Come
CDLP – (BURNING HEART RECORDS)
Wa-hoo I’ve been waiting for an album like this to come along for ages! It’s fucking insane, just as Refused lock into a cool heavy emoish riff the song stops dead and goes into, oh, maybe some random speech, a bit of jazz, some techno, you’re never really sure what’s coming next! It’s like this band has compressed a career’s worth of good ideas and compressed them into one album! This is definitely staying on my ‘listen again’ pile. It’s either gonna be a grower or the spasmodic vibe will grip my shit after a while, who knows, who cares, probably not you, so fuck off. Oh, maybe this album is making me aggressive, need some herbal tea…
Andrew Culture
Stamping Out Stars
(self titled)
CDR-LP
Hailing from Ipswich, Stamping Out Stars’s (or Tim Thorpe and Jon Griffiths) debut album is a fantastic indie pop record. Drawing to mind the genius of Beck mixed with the pop sensibilities of an early Saves The Day this album is as original as it is unexpected. Recorded in it’s entirety in Tim’s bedroom, the production is lo–fi but always manages to stay the right side of messy. Starting off with the mellow and slow paced ‘Dark Escape’, the album never sticks to one formula’s. Hence you have the upbeat danceable ‘Somebody Else’, the heartfelt ‘A Place In France’, the experimental drum track led ‘Interlude’ and REMish ‘The Brightest’. The highlight of this album to me though is ‘Four Days And A Matter Of Hours’. Possibly one of the best romantic pop songs I have ever heard, it’s honest and has one of the most uplifting chorus’s you are likely to hear. At a length of seventeen tracks, this debut album won’t be for all. For those who like the production crisp this possibly won’t be for you. But for anyone wanting to take a chance on a new, unusual local talent should defiantly become a part of this. The album is available at Rex Records in Ipswich or by emailing
stamping_out_stars@yahoo.co.uk
Marc Newby
Suffrajets
Sold
CD Single – (TOUGH COOKIE)
Apprently the drummer of this all girl band recently did time with the BabyShambles, which impresses me about as much as having piles and sitting on drawing pins. I don’t want to like this band, the press do-dah starts by mentioning half the band signed to Sony when they were 19 years old and then goes on to brag about all the ‘greats’ the Suffrajets have played with. But despite this Sold is a smart song that sounds like Fabulous Disaster moved to Essex and listened to a lot of Wire albums. This is a good single, nice tunes, proper gravel voice, inventive gutiar playing, ace production, but ultimately sounds like a band that’s just starting out. I probably wouldn’t buy this but would stop channel surfing if it came up on MTV2, if only for the cool wah wah middle eight. I’d recomend keeping yer eyes peeled and the Suffrajets are either gonna get far better or far worse, they are teetering on a commercial knife edge.
Andrew Culture
Tales Told In The Dark
DEMO
Formed out of the remnants of Junk Culture and Minority/ All Else Fails & Without Reason this band is arguably one of the first Ipswich supergroups. This three track cd is a great representation of what Tales Told In The Dark are like live, fucking brutal. It’s the lastest in a growing number of bands to be recorded & Produced by Ian Crow at Amblin Man Studios and you can hear his touch on this disc, the production is blinding and in parts heartbreakingly heavy. I have it on good authority the guitars were recorded whist ‘seeing how loud the amps can go’ and the result is a like listening to a band with your head superglued to the PA, you need to listen to this cd LOUD. The song structures are wickedly quirky whilst retaining a real aggressive edge. Both guitarists play some really intricate stuff that live pretty much defys believe. I don’t know if they are selling this disc or not, but you should definitely check out their webshite at www.talestoldinthedark.co.uk cos it won’t belong before someone in the know hears this and starts dragging this band off on huge tours and the whole world will know the name Tales Told In The Dark.
Andrew Culture
Tight Phantomz
Crazy When Wet
CD LP – (SOUTHERN RECORDS)
Rah, this is the kinda rock that’s just a switch away from cock. If we see bands like this live we always love ‘em. Not so sure about having it on cd to listen to whenever I want though. Apparently the band owns the studio they used to record this rockin’ album and it shows, I bet they have special studio quality monitors to put their feet up on during solos and a light show in the control room. The tracks are bloody well produced and you can tell they’ve had the luxury of being able to take their time to get it right. It is flat out ZZ Top/ GnR rawk and the dudes voice is a bit like Nick Oliveri in his more sleazy creepy moments. If you’ve been looking for a band to back up Velvet Revolver in your cd collection buy this, if you’re too scared to admit you like cheesy power rock then fuck off and buy something by Coldplay.
Andrew Culture
The Waxing Captors
Freslevens’ Remiains
CDLP – (SELF RELEASE)
The band just keeps on pumping out the releases! This is the third or fourth relase in what seems like just the last few months. Whereas the other releases were four or five track EPs this is an album, sort of. Home recording has spawned a generation of bands that are trying to put out albums before they can tune their guitars leading to a lot of people perhaps ignoring the myriad of releases by smaller bands like the Waxing Captors. BUT, the Waxing Captors are the perfect poster boys of why home recording can be so exciting. Each release they put out has real passion behind it and instead of simply recording their live sound like most home recorded bands this band has really made the most of having none of the time or budget restraints that recording in a convential studio brings. Each track on this album is crammed full of perfect little nuggets and tricks that most bands never manage to integrate in their musical musings, it gives this album a real intelligent edge. If you’ve never heard the Waxing Captors then the closest I can come to describing their sound is to tell you it’s a kind a Pixies/ Clash/ Pistols/ Dub/ Pop beast being smashed about the head with a cricket bat. The sound is a little ‘edgy’ to say the least but it really does add character rather than just being a shit recording. With Freslevens’ Remains the Waxing Captors have struck a catchy memorable vein and have made one of the most memorable and startlingly original albums I’ve ever heard. If I had any money I’d sign this band. I’m not alone, some major labels have been sniffing round this band for some time!
You can buy the album for just £4 from www.thewaxingcaptors.co.uk there’s also a live album for sale on that site that’s well worth grabbing a copy of.
Andrew Culture
Last Updated on February 18, 2023
Leave a Reply