Andrew Bate - Fainting In Coils

In art, comparisons can be a hideous thing. When Andrew Bate first came to the forefront of the Cornish music scene, all the local papers picked up on him as this theatrical piano driven Jeff Buckley-like artist. This sort of comparison, while flattering I'm sure (I'd be flattered at least), does take away from the talent of many artists and this comparison seemed to overshadow Andrew Bate at times and more and more he seemed to become detached from the local scene (either that, or I did) concentrating on other artistic pursuits other than just music.

Latest EP, Fainting In Coils, see’s Bate back with a backing band pushing him to audible heights that we’ve never heard from him before. Opening track ‘Deliverance’ is a slow brooding and haunting track pinned sparingly by an anthemic and tribal set of drumming while an electronic bass-line not dissimilar to one you may have heard on Gorillaz fantastic Demon Days adds an almost hip-hop feel before Bates (as we expect) Buckley-esque vocals come into the fore, more aggressive than before with almost pre-apocalyptic lyrics. ‘Lay Me Down’, possibly a personal favourite of mine from the EP, has almost a Daniel Johns from Silverchair vocal vibe from it, while musically Bate flirts with that rock but radio friendly sound, happy to do the Nirvana made popular quiet verse before erupting into a distortion and groove heavy chorus, it’s songs like this that truly get your feet tapping. After this it becomes more morose and down-beat, leading to the final track ‘Ghosts’, a beautiful classical piano led song (with the noises of children in the background) that cascades in and around your ears creating this daunting atmospheric yet at the same time utterly gorgeous instrumental of a track.

While I can understand the Buckley comparisons, especially in the rockier tracks with Bate emphasis clearly on writing songs that have this soulful funk ability of getting into the groove, Bate clearly has a slight split personality on show here able to fall into the more theatrical solemn side of music, and while it is on his rockier my Buckley-esque numbers that I prefer his sound, it is the ability to combine so many different eclectic influences that sets Bate apart from the legends that he is compared to.

4 / 5

Evanescence - Evanescence

The multi-million success of Evanescence’s debut album Fallen came high on the crest of nu-metals mainstream popularity (with bands like Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach breaking into the UK’s top ten) and sparked a movement of female led rock/metal bands. The new Evanescence album (which is self-titled) comes many years after their sophomore release and for most is labelled a comeback release (much like Limp Bizkit’s Gold Cobra album also released this year).

First track and lead single for the album, What You Want, shows Evanescence’s sound from the outset, the usual driven distorted rock rift, stomping drum beats and dabbles of bright piano while Amy Lee’s vocals sound less orchestrated and more mainstream pop than ever with the band more eager for mainstream popularity than the grandiose style of much of Fallen which makes for those big chorus’.

Sadly for Evanescence though, this description tends to fit for every track on the rest of the album and while Fallen seemed to swoon from feelings of defiance to emotional uncertainty, it’s clear that here, Evanescence and especially Amy Lee, have nothing more left to prove (or write about). What You Want contains the lyric “Hello hello, remember me?”, many of us will be wishing we could remember the Evanescence of old rather than this dross.

2 / 5

www.evanescence.com

Dry The River - Weights and Measures

Dry The River have for a long time felt like Britain’s best kept folk secret, but a busy schedule that has seen them on tour with indie favourites Bombay Bicycle Club more recently means that it won’t be too long before this truly is a thing of the past.

The latest in a long line of singles (but still no debut album release as of yet), Weights and Measures continues where Dry The River left off on previous release No Rest with a quaint and timeless organic sound that belies both their age and also their time in the business. Weights and Measures makes Dry The River sound like they have been around forever but in a good way like perhaps Bob Dylan or Neil Diamond, with a country-esque sound relying heavily on a harmonised vocal delivery as well as a beefy (almost) walking bass line and best of all, a chorus to die for with its sing-a-long lyric “I was prepared to love you” and dramatic musical pauses showing just how emphatic silence can be when used intelligently in a song.

If Dry The River continue to tour as incessantly as they are now as well as craft music as brilliant as this then it surely won’t be long until they find themselves mentioned alongside the likes of Mumford and Sons, Noah and the Whale, Fleet Foxes and maybe in the future, legends like Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Neil Young and Johnny Cash.

4 / 5

www.drytheriver.net

You Me At Six - Sinners Never Sleep

You Me At Six have steadily grown in popularity since the release of debut album Take Off Your Colours and then further more with its follow up, 2010’s Hold Me Down, as well as the in-between albums single, “Rescue Me”, featuring uh...Chiddy Bang (whoever that is?!).

There were rumours that Sinners Never Sleep was to be a heavier affair than the previous two record that had seen You Me At Six lumped in some pop-punk, emo category, unfairly the band had said. Sinners Never Sleep isn’t heavier though, in fact, it is probably softer and almost more ballad(y) than previous effort Hold Me Down. Lead single “Loverboy” is You Me At Six by numbers, with hints of a rock attitude in the guitar but with singer Josh Franceschi predictably drawing his female fans to sing-a-long with the type of anthemic chorus that the band have tried and tested so often that they have it down to a tea now. “This Is The First Thing” and “Crash” are your stereotypical slow dredges of American soft rock, we’ve heard this all before, boy is emotionally hurt, so boy writes song about it and musically it is so middle ground, so Wind-up Records meets well, Simple Plan, how very unimaginative and contrived.

There are sparks when you think “Yes, this is it, they've got it”. There is a cracking guitar riff on “Time Is Money” that recalls the southern blues sound of perhaps Every Time I Die, but even that is spoilt by a From Autumn To Ashes (or A Day To Remember if you are looking for a more recent reference) breakdown that shows clearly that at this point in their careers, You Me At Six don’t know who they want to be.

To put it simply, if you liked the first two albums, you will probably love this. If you expect more from music, avoid because this is nothing new.

2.5 / 5

www.youmeatsix.co.uk

Remember Remember - The Quickening

From the record label of Mogwai, Rock Action Records (A label that I thought was only for the distribution of Mogwai’s albums until now) come Remember Remember and their second album “The Quickening”.

Very much like Mogwai, Remember Remember have their feet firmly dipped in the post-rock side of music remaining on this release at least, vocal-less. Focusing on one melody, they entwine others, throwing in every instrument including the kitchen sink at times building a wall of sound, but unlike their contemporaries (Explosions In The Sky, etc), they do not build to predictable crescendo’s nor do they achieve this through the use of meandering beautiful guitar lines. Tracks like “Hey Zeus” and “One Happier” achieve this sense of originality with classical sensabilities, more eager to rely on violins and pianos rather than drums and guitar, while songs like “Ocean Potion” are drenched in an Asian influence with sweet xylophone-like sounds recalling Brian Eno and Mike Oldfield.

It would be easy to lump Remember Remember with a whole host of bands, Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, maybe Sigúr Rós and even Battles in part but that is where Remember Remember seem to be ahead of the game, using a whole host of the mainstays of a strange genre and mixing them with a more classical use of music to create something not only original and worth listening to, but at the same time, a wonderful collection of inspiring songs.

4 / 5

www.myspace.com/rememberremember

Mogwai - Earth Division EP

The days of Mogwai being a fully fledged post-rock band have been long dead, probably since the release of glorious Mr Beast with its follow ups The Hawk Is Howling and Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, soaked in so many influences that Mogwai grew into a sound that fit their name only, a culmination of experience and talent.

The Earth Division EP continues on the ground that Mogwai have treaded lately. Opener ‘Get To France’ is a piano based track with underlying violin orchestration that nods towards operatic geniuses like Beethoven, rather than the rock and soundtrack influences that Mogwai wore on their sleeves previously. ‘Hound Of Winter’ is a slow melodic plucked guitar focused track with almost sighed vocals that plays its hand at some form of laidback folk. ‘Drunk and Crazy’ is the Mogwai that we would more expect today, a quick upbeat electronic bass line, with the band are at the height of their soundtrack prowess here, mixing rock sensibilities with an almost dance music feel before cutting back the swell to show off their orchestral talents once more. ‘Does This Always Happen’ is almost post-rock by numbers, a basic guitar melody repeated and repeated while clever instrumental touches are added behind and around it, and while it doesn’t reach a predictable crescendo, it does so to its benefit recalling the fantastic work that Mogwai created for The Fountain soundtrack.

The Earth Division EP shows why bands should be allowed to create their fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth album with Mogwai continuing to craft their own sound, a portrait of a mixture of genres. Post-rock bands watch out, these are the dizzying heights that you should all want to reach and with this EP, Mogwai are once again raising the bar higher.

4 / 5

www.mogwai.co.uk

Fionn Regan - 100 Acres of Sycamore

Given the success of The End of History, the mercury award nominated album that saw Fionn Regan rise from the shadow of obscurity and into the limelight with the media spouting the usual "next Dylan" nonsense, it was almost inevitable that Regan would drop the ball on its follow up The Shadow of an Empire, and he did just that creating an album that marked a swift change, more electric and quicker in pace but losing Regans uncanny ability to pen a fantastically memorable lyric in the process. Regan's third album 100 Acres of Sycamore therefore is the perfect place for the record to be put straight and for Regan to get his foot back in the doorway of a room filled with the fantastic singer-songwriters around today.

100 Acres of Sycamore is a return to the sound that made Fionn such an unstoppable force from 2006 onwards. The album titled opener is full of atmosphere, a slow burner that broods with orchestration taking the forefront rather than the single bright guitar we would have seen from The End of History and while it isn't perhaps the horse out of the gate start to an album we would want, it is wonderful to listen to. Dogwood Blossom meanwhile harks back to the simple production that served Fionn well in the past with a beautifully contemplative acoustic guitar melody while vocally, there is just a slight hint of reverb that creates that spine tingling feeling that few can create these days. But they are just rare moments in an album that is too eager to just stay in first gear, while The End of History and even despite its flawed The Shadow of an Empire had personality, 100 Acres of Sycamore comes across as a dross, droney uninspired set of twelve songs that you would not expect from such a talent. Let us all hope for Fionn Regan's sake that his fans forgive such a dire excuse of a record.

1/5

www.fionnregan.com