Author Archives: andrewcream
The Kimberly Steaks – Chemical Imbalance EP
Starting us off is the early Green Day inspired ‘Chemical Imbalance’, one and a half minutes of well-crafted deppresio-pop which serves as a warning against listening to the darkness in a hungover walk of shame. Gregg laments “I can’t take … Continue reading
Don Blake – Pocket Universe
Opening with the upbeat brain hater “Can’t turn it off”, Don Blake’s debut album Pocket Universe lets us know immediately what’s up. The theme of this record is recovery and self-betterment in the face of depression and the troubles that … Continue reading
Blis. – Starting Fires In My Parents House
Citing American Football as an influence is pretty token for anyone starting an emo band, and I’m usually a bit suspicious. However, Georgia’s Blis. don’t sound very much like American Football. There’s a lot more to them, and I’d say … Continue reading
Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man / Bootscraper – The Bear And The Tiger
When I get sent split EPs, I assume that the bands will be pretty similar sounding. This expectation was ignored by The Bear And The Tiger, which features Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man and Bootscraper. The tracks are all reworked … Continue reading
TWIABP/Kittyhawk/Rozwell Kid/Two Knights – Sundae Bloody Sundae
Skeletal Lightning’s four-band split, Sundae Bloody Sundae, features songs from The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Rozwell Kid, Kittyhawk and Two Knights. First up is TWIABP. ‘Fat Heaven’ passes by fairly quickly. … Continue reading
Oui Legionnaires – It’s Not What You Need, It’s What You’ve Got (so shut it.)
When a link to this latest EP arrived in my inbox I was really excited to see it was from Oui Legionnaires, a punky, emo-y “yelp-core” three-piece from the South West of England, a.k.a. my neck of the woods. It’s … Continue reading
Harker – Gasping for Air
It’s clear from the opening three bars that this neat little two-track seven-incher from Brighton’s Harker takes a lot from that modern Americana guitar music aesthetic. Call it Gainesville sound, call it emo, you know where you are with this. … Continue reading
JFK – You Deserve This
Now, when I was sent this EP to review, attached to the email was the comment “Not sure it will be your cup of tea, but will be interesting to see what you think of it”. This immediately concerned me, … Continue reading
Darwin & The Dinosaur – A Thousand Ships
Last year I reviewed Darwin & The Dinosaur’s EP “Remus” and, whilst finding it promising, I was a bit underwhelmed. I stated then that I hoped their full-length album A Thousand Ships would change my mind. And they’ve only gone … Continue reading
Focus on: Germany, with No Weather Talks
Germany has a thriving DIY music scene, with squats, youth centre spaces and bars/clubs across the country putting on excellent gigs featuring bands from all over the world and, of course, with a strong backbone of local talent. One of … Continue reading
Scene Better Days 