Beats & Noisecapes

Originating from Canada, Your Favorite Enemies is an uncompromising indie rock band with a challenging sound that will not leave anyone indifferent.  Between Illness and Migration presents a great collection of songs, heavy on distortion and noise, but with enough variety. Most of their songs are built on carefully crafted feedback and noise, but there's always a strong sense of melody with occasional acoustic guitars and piano coming to the fore.  My particular highlights must be the towering Empire of Sorrows, the more straight forward and rocking Where Did We Lose Each Other (see the video below), the quieter and beautiful Little Sister and the excellent bonus track Old Noisy Friend.  For anyone who likes indie rock, alternative rock and noise rock with a healthy balance of melody and walls of noise, this is a challenging and ultimately hugely rewarding album.  I can only imagine what these guys will be like live but judging from their album and some videos o

Originating from Jamaica, Etana's third album is a wonderful mix of soul and  pop with a roots reggae backbone that stays true to Jamaica's golden age of reggae. The album is quite varied and every song is incredibly powerful. Etana manages to infuse every track with raw honesty. She is determined to inspire and every song is soulful and uplifting. Recorded in the legendary Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica, this is a high quality and flawless production that looks back to the golden age of reggae whilst sounding modern. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Originating from Poland, Maciej Paszkiewicz is the man behind Undermathic and this is his third release. Throughout the album, a vast wasteland of phantasmagoric cities and machines is explored. Indistinct Face feels more like a soundtrack than a collection of songs. This is experimental music at its best. Lush strings and arrangements contrasts with harder beats and sounds to create a haunting and beautiful whole. Undermathic may not be everyone's cup of tea but for someone who appreciates experimental music and is open minded Indistinct Face delivers an outstanding album that keeps revealing new shades and details in subsequent listens. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Amorphis is one of those bands that has been around for a very long time, delivering consistently good albums and, somehow, managing to always remain underground. Circle is their 11th album and it shows what an accomplished band they are. Their sound is epic and yet grounded. The melodic hooks and complexity of the songs demonstrate their musicianship and experience.  The band's trademark sound mixes death and doom metal, with folk and progressive elements. This album is no different, but it contains more straight forward and accessible songs whilst still maintaining a powerful and heavy sound. Circle is not mind blowing but it is consistently good. It's definitely a strong and accomplished album that seems more accessible than their previous efforts and will hopefully bring them new fans. I can think of few bands more deserving. Rating: Good Vibrations

Originating from Sweden, Nuet is Dorena's third album. The band describe their sound as: "Music for love, dreams and warm summer nights." That's pretty accurate. The first song, Semper, begins with a dreamy arpeggio that lures you into the album. The song is beautifully crafted and the band builds layers of sounds to create a lush sound that is, at the same time, incredibly minimalist. That first song, sets the template for the rest of the album. Dorena is quite minimalist but manages to build melodies and sounds that are simply beautiful and lush. The songs are catchy but at the same time understated. Of course, there are parts when sharper sounds and noise build up, but this is mostly a very bright chilled-out album. Borrowing, again, from their website: "Dorena crafts beautiful and nostalgic post-rock without pretensions." Without pretensions is right but what a brilliant album! I honestly can't even mention a favourite or stan

Jello Biafra has always been one angry, political jester and he is back as sharp as ever. White People and the Damage Done presents all the classic traits of Biafra's work. Biafra cannot contain his anger aided with bucketfuls of fun and sarcasm. The lyrics are current, sharp and witty. The album is not just old school though. Biafra and the band experiment with the sound, using some country, swing and cabaret influences. In fact, the album seems to lean towards punk-cabaret, with a really riotous and theatrical fun tone all throughout. The album ends with four remixes or alternative versions that explore new musical territories even further and are actually excellent. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Karl Bartos joined Kraftwerk in 1975 and left the band in 1990. He is credited in some of the best Kraftwerk songs and was an integral part of the best years of the band. This new release is made up of old songs that Karl apparently found in a diary he had written at the time. So yeah, it sounds retro.  Most of the songs of the album don't break with Kraftwerk and explore similar sounds and territories. The single, Atomium (see the video below) is an example of this, a song that could've easily been in a Kraftwerk release.  The album is uneven and it some forgetful moments, particularly The Binary Code and Musica Ex Machina right in the middle of the album. But the album doesn't just look at the past and it's at its best when it explores new territories. My particular highlights are International Velvet and Without a Trace of Emotion which go into more electro-pop territory, The Tuning of the World with its metaphysical questioning, . Kraftwerk fans

This review will be short. Les Revenants is not a standard Mogwai album but a soundtrack to a French zombie TV show. The music is haunting and beautiful. The band uses lots piano and xylophone sounds. The music is gentle but simmering with tension that never explodes (no classic Mogwai wall of guitars and noise here). I haven't seen the show, but this music is just pure bliss. I can't recommend it enough. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Tooth and Nail is classic Billy Bragg but with a couple of different shades. Firstly, the political tones are still here, it wouldn't be him without politics, but they are subtler and the lyrics tend to be more intimate. Secondly, he continues his progression towards a more American sound. I don't like country music and there's a tinge of it here, but thankfully it works. I wouldn't say the single (see the video below) is one of the best songs, but then again they hardly ever are. The album is packed with great songs but my particular highlights are the following.  January Song, the album opener, a beautifully succinct and personal song that sets the tone for the whole album. Handyman Blues, a great song with a beautiful guitar hook that will stay with you. Goodbye Goodbye, a beautiful, haunting and melancholic folk song that speaks from the heart. The Reckoning, a classic Billy Bragg political song with an upbeat, uplifting tone. And, finally, Tomorrow's

Rob Zombie is inspired these days. The new movie looks great and this album may just be his best solo effort yet.  It's a very varied album that somehow manages to mix elements from all his eras; including White Zombie.  The album is relentless, fun and it never lets you down. The worst part of it is that it feels short. That's my only criticism (and I guess that in a sense it's a positive). When the album finished it, I just had to start it again because it left me wanting more. I wanted to keep the party going. It's early days, I need to listen to it more, but my gut feeling is that this is better than Hellbilly Deluxe (my favourite Rob Zombie album until now) and it can stand alongside White Zombie's La Sexorcisto and Astro Creep.  An excellent album from start to end, an absolute blast. Rating: Heavy Rotation

What do you do when the original members, from who the name of the band is drawn, leave? The answer is clear, you keep momentum going and deliver a killer album. DGM have done just that. The album is relentless, effortless and flawless. The songs are complex and demonstrate great musicianship. At the same time, they are concise and straight forward (at least in prog terms).  An excellent effort by the band that is easily likeable from the very first listen and grows every time you listen to it again.  Rating: Heavy Rotation

Mesh is a seasoned synth-pop band and their latest release is arguably one of their best. The album starts strongly with Just Leave Us Alone, an incredibly catchy, infectious, dance tune and, from that point, it never lets you down. Automation Baby delivers great song after great song. The band have managed to write a good number of very varied songs that flow between synth-pop, electro-rock and little touches of EBM. In fact, considering the CD packs 14 songs, with eight tracks more in the bonus CD, this is an incredibly generous offering.  Mesh were clearly inspired in the making of this album. The band really has gift in creating catchy hook and anthemic choruses that never feel obvious nor formulaic. An excellent album that has a huge number of potential singles. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Originating from New Zealand but now based in Brisbane, Australia, Alpine Fault mixes symphonic metal and progressive metal elements effortlessly to great effect.  Featuring, a mix of female and male vocals and a violin, Iraena's Ashes is imbued with darkness and melancholy. The songs are complex in structure and follow mostly the prog-metal template, but the addition of the violin (instead of keyboards) gives Alpine Fault a distinctive sound.  The album is uneven but it contains some excellent songs. My particular favourites are the longest track in the album Above the Storm and the instrumental The Watcher Beneath; as well as the two singles - see the videos below. Since the release of the album the female vocalist has left the band, so it will be interesting to see what happens with the band as most of the songs in this album use both vocalists. Perhaps, the newly released video for "Mourning Has Broken" gives us a clue? I look forward to see what

Long Distance Callling impressed me with their first two albums but I somehow managed to miss their third (my fault). The Flood Inside is their fourth effort and it's simply brilliant. From the opening track Nucleus, the album flows effortlessly between dreamy calm passages, simmering rage and explosions of furious guitars that sit somewhere in the border of rock and metal.  Featuring more vocals than ever but still being predominantly instrumental and true to themselves. The Flood Inside also includes some bluesy solos, particularly in opener Nucleus (see the video below) and enough variety between songs to hold up interest.  A great album from start to end that feels like it tells one story. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Originating from France, Rage is Krystal System's third album and the first one I listen to. The music moves between electro-industrial and industrial-rock.  Most of the songs have predominantly clean female vocals. The music is quite electronic but when guitars enter they are quite heavy and metal. Male vocals are use sparingly to great effect. The album is consistent but still displays a wide range in the music and delivers great songs.   Rating: Good Vibrations

When bands have been around a long time, it's often hard to keep momentum. The task is even more difficult when at one time you became one of the iconic bands of your particular genre. That's what happened to Stratovarius.  In the late 90s they were one of the biggest European power metal bands, with excellent albums such as Episode and Visions. They never recovered and the band drowned in fights amongst members.  There were signs of a slow recovery, in the previous album, but Nemesis is a huge leap in quality. This is an excellent album from start to end. The songs are modern, fast, fierce and yet still have all the classic characteristics that made Stratovarius stand out. Melodic power metal with a little prog touch.  This is, undoubtedly, the best Stratovarius album since Visions. Rating: Heavy Rotation PS: Warning, the video is quite bad... but the song is great

This is the first Dante album I listen to and now I'm forced to find their previous two albums. Originating from Germany, Dante's music is progressive metal, with a heavy foundation and a little tinge of gothic melancholia here and there. The songs are long and epic and hauntingly beautiful, listen to the album's opening track below to feel the full epic awesomeness of this band. Rating: Heavy Rotation

What an extraordinary and challenging album! I See Seaweed is epic, dirty, angry and beautiful. I suspect this could be one of those albums that you either hate or love. Personally, I love it. The Drones throw a challenge to the listener with every song here. From gentle simmering songs full of underlying anger and distortion, to punk-rock with warped guitars.  I See Seaweed is simply brilliant and it's time the rest of the world pays attention to this fiercely independent band. Rating: Heavy Rotation