Suzerain are one of those bands that are undeniably good at what they do and, lucky for them, it’s the kind of sound that might catch on.
The bands new two track single ‘What Happened’ (out May 31st) is by no means faultless, but definitely an example of well thought-out and precision delivered music – it’s edgy, powerful and, at the same time, compellingly catchy; they’re the kind of tunes that wouldn’t be out of place playing at any indie club or on Radio One, and - if their endorsements (The Metro, Feedme Music) are anything to go by – I’d wager that it translates in to an energetic and engaging live show.

Suzerain do have a slightly Gary Numan-ish tinge to their vocals, though if it hadn’t been for the note in the press material citing their inspiration from electro-indie, I probably wouldn’t have been able to put my finger on it – it doesn’t stand out. What does, however, is the music and the influence of the punk and pop-punk genres most notably (and I say this as the highest compliment) Jimmy Eat World. The title track has a real Salt, Sweat, Sugar feel about it – in fact, the only thing that lets it down, being the radio edit, is the bizarre sound effects employed to cover the profanity which also seem to be scattered liberally around the track. But even though it does hurt the integrity of the track it’s not a critical wound – it still stands as a good solid piece of music in all respects.

While the B-Side (Leave It There) possesses all the energy of the single it also has a slightly darker edge to it, taking a little extra from the rougher end of the punk spectrum, but still holding on to it’s pop-factor and – if these guys can push through – I’m sure there’s a bright future for them and a place waiting in the music industry.

(If they cut down on the comedy noises)

It takes a certain style and sense of finesse to properly merge the sound of two very different bands in to listenable music – that said, even the best culmination of Vampire Weekend and Kings of Leon (a band I loathe, despite recent improvement and an outfit I’ve nothing but admiration for respectively) would be an ugly lovechild - and I can’t say with any confidence that Ice Black Birds possess that much needed air of grace about their fusion just yet; they teeter dangerously only the cusp.

The Brighton outfit’s new single ‘As Birds We’d Be Fine’, a two-track 7” and download only release (available from the 13th of June), is a bit like a bad haircut – it takes a while to get used to and, even when you do, you’re never truly satisfied with it.
The opening title track is homage to full on indie rock, strongly reminiscent of Kings of Leon’s ‘The Bucket’ & Vampire Weekend’s ‘A-Punk’ but without the pizzazz that sets either of those two bands apart from the crowd and though it doesn’t seem to matter so much in contemporary music, for me, vocals – if a band has them – are still a make or break factor. With that in mind, despite some excellent backing vocals and harmonies, Ice Black Birds verge on break with theirs being muddy, unrefined and just on the cusp of tuneful.

Against all odds, this works for some bands; but the key to success is diversity of texture. If you’re going to have (what I’m sure are intended to be) rough, bluesy, vocals then you need a good crisp tone on your instruments – and that’s the one area that I think this band show an occasional spark of potential genius that, sadly, just evens the odds on the negatives where it should be a shining light.
The layering on ‘As Birds We’d Be Fine’ is, on occasion, quite exquisite: the simple riff – played at the top end of the guitar – is bright and clean and shines through the dirty (but creditably inspired, though again, very Kings of Leon) bass riffs.

Doors (the second, and final, track of the single) has a much dancier ambience about it. Proudly exuding considerably more of the faux-classic rock riffs and ambience of Wolfmother and smacking of Mick Jagger it still, sadly, maintains the easy comparison to Kings of Leon being very comparable to the quartets own Four Kicks.

All that said, I get the impression from this CD that Ice Black Birds would make a fantastic live band and, if Club NME are to be trusted (a dubious statement in itself), then that’s certainly the case. There’s an energy about this second track that’s missing from the first that, akin to the rolling stones, I imagine could fill the dance floor quickly with skinny young things. And yet it lacks the artistry of structure they exhibited on ‘As Birds We’d Be Fine’ and to me this shows a blip in consistency – there’s no stability about their songs.  A bit of variety in terms of style and structure can add a third dimension or even a sense of danger to a band, but in those cases it’s ‘considered disarray’ – it’s meticulous – and it’s not about sacrificing quality.

I’ve no doubt that if Ice Black Birds can get a reign on their vocals and a grip on their style (emphasis on their) then they are capable of doing great things on the UK music scene. But, as it stands, they’re drowned out by their own sound-a-like quality and eclipsed by the bands that inspire them as well as the myriad of similar acts.

In the words of the immortal Roy Walker: It’s good, but it’s not right.

I’d never heard of Durham’s Ambershift before this morning and, having only their press material to go on, on first listen of the bands debut single I had no particular feeling, or reason to think, that I was about to be offered anything even slightly new or interesting. I was pleasantly surprised.  

The single’s title track, Another Trigger, is a sturdy opener – it has energy, it has confidence and it’s put together exceedingly well in terms of music and structure. The speedy and uncompromising riffs distributed by Ben Clement smack of early Thrice circa So Strange I Remember You, which - if they continue to mature and expand their sound - can only lead to big things for Ambershift. And while Dave Lord’s vocals do echo Dustin’s early sound they also possess a more contemporary quality comparably to Kids In Glass Houses or Flood of Red, firmly setting them apart from other sound-alike bands and the original model. It’d be a lie to say I didn’t quickly learn the lyrics of the chorus hook and that I didn’t sing them in my car but, while they’re easy enough to pick up, there’s nothing truly exceptional about them – they’re not awful Scout For Girls-esque tripe but they’re not on par with, say, Brand New or glassJAw – but I can forgive that and you should too.

Needless to say, with Chris Sheldon (having worked with Biffy Clyro & Foo Fighters) at the mixing desk, the production is nothing short excellent. But despite this, You Make Me (track two of the three track single) doesn’t live up to its predecessor and is, by all accounts, comparatively quite limp. The transition from verse to chorus (something which has huge impact on Another Trigger) is almost inaudible and a damp hi-hat beat leaves the whole thing feeling quite subdued. Had Ambershift chosen to keep this release to two tracks I can’t help but feel anyone who picked it up would have been left disappointed and probably wouldn’t do so again. But they didn’t and, I have a feeling that anyone that does pick it up won’t be feeling that sense of underwhelment. Fairly originally, the band chose to close on an instrumental version of Another Trigger about which I was originally quite skeptical but, again, was happily proven wrong. Despite the vocal absenteeism, Another Trigger (instrumental) has all the vibrancy, pace and texture of the original and gives the band a chance to really showcase their musical prowess.

With Ambershift there are comparisons to be drawn: you can hear Thrice, Kids in Glass Houses and a host of other outfits (though strangely not any of the influences they cite on their MySpace page)  - but they’re not a copy. This release is a step in the right direction for the band. It’s got depth of feeling, and it’s got balls.

The Lucky Face is a one-man outfit made up of Tim Mullineux  - a charismatic, shaggy-haired gentleman who could easily rival the rock persona of Pete Doherty and the charming crooner factor of Paolo Nutini.  Originally a band, The Lucky Face had quite a following in their hometown of Lancaster but they then split and Tim carried on performing under the name. The Lucky Face’s debut EP, Lounge, was released late 2009; a collection of happy-go-lucky yet heartfelt piano ditties that started pulling fans into the charming reverie of Tim’s music.

‘Like Ronnie Said to Phil’ however, strays away from the indie-feel of Lucky Face’s previous work and hits more bluesy, poppy notes. Harmonicas and pianos accompany Mullineux’s rasping, country vocals for a more mature, Radio 2-friendly track.

B-Side ‘No Personality’ is a more tender song, with a killer chorus (“It’s not my fault you’ve got no personality, can’t be much fun!”) with Tim’s vocals giving this a warmer, Smiths-esque feel.

Although unsigned, The Lucky Face’s combination of adorable front man and unpredictable genre-mixing will no doubt propel Tim Mullineux into the heads and hearts of many.

Black Francis, Frank Black, Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV; whatever you want to call him, first blasted onto the alt rock scene way back in 1986, the incendiary ball or rage fronting indie pioneers The Pixies. Since those early days, this singer/songwriter has gone on to deliver a bunch of seminal Pixies albums, a handful of decent solo records under the Frank Black guise, the more countrified direction of Frank Black and the Catholics, a Pixies reunion in 2004 and now in 2010, his nineteenth solo outpouring NONSTOPEROTIK.

Recorded in Los Angeles, London and Brooklyn and produced by longtime collaborator Eric Drew Feldman, this is Black Francis at his most overtly sexualized and borderline horny, song titles like WHEN I GO DOWN ON YOU, LAKE OF SIN and the title track itself, all pointing towards this.

Musically, this is initially the continuation of his Pixies era noise mongering, all clanging guitars and discordant riffs battling it out with wailing vocal howls of both rage and pleasure; Black Francis, a quarter decade into his career, still raging and fired up. Opener LAKE OF SIN finds Francis on familiar musical ground, a song not a million miles from the heyday of his Doolittle days, awkward guitar lurches and frenetic drum beats propelling things along frantically and noisily. O MY TIDY SUM and RABBITS continue to move things along in pleasingly noisy directions, and a rousing take on The Flying Burrito Brothers WHEELS imagines the country original as a punked up blues stomp equal parts The Hold Steady and Bruce Springsteen.

With DEAD MAN'S CURVE, Francis returns briefly to the sounds he first explored on his first solo outing way back in 1993, an alt pop bruiser that finds time to inject the odd synth riff into the mix amidst the chugging guitars and gruffly melodic vocalizing. CORRINA is an organ assisted blues rocker built around an infectious chorus line whilst SIX LEGGED MAN is the record's most Pixies like moment, almost sounding like a long lost Doolittle outtake; rediscovered and freshly unearthed here, Kim Deal like bass rumbling and bombastic drum snaps all present, correct and gloriously realized.

A gentler paced respite, WILD SON finds Black Francis adopting a whispered croon over bluesy guitar licks and boogie woogie piano chords, the alt rock legend at perhaps his most sleazily seductive and suggestive, equal parts Serge Gainsbourg, Nick Cave and Elvis. WHEN I GO DOWN ON YOU is the record's most melodic and gently suggestive pop moment, another sleazily crooned affair that finds Francis at both his most sexually suggestive and melodically mainstream.
Title track, NONSTOPEROTIK is a sparse sounding entry that features swelling orchestral flourishes and stark piano chords, Francis delivering another soft crooning performance a million miles from his Pixes era raging bluster, the whole thing taking a Beatles-esque turn with the arrival of George Harrison like guitar work towards the songs climax.
Black Francis as a solo entity can sometimes be a mixed bag, his solo records including a fair few misfires and dull additions along the way since 1993. Fortunately, NONSTOPEROTIK belongs in the more essential side of his musical canon, a successful blend of Pixies like raging alt rock and more gently melodic pop songs that always hit their mark with laser like precision. This is Black Francis at his finest, NONSTOPEROTIK a wonderfully realized record full or surprises.

The first full length release from Castrovalva as a fully fledge three piece, WE ARE A UNIT follows a string of free downloads and a mini LP from these chaotic art rockers. The inclusion of Leemun Smith in the band's line up sees the trio unleashing a record here that pulls its musical cues from a dizzying array of influences and sources; everything from West Coast gangster rap to nose bleeding hardcore to electro rock being touched upon, sometimes all at once in some crazed fever dream of insane noise.  It's safe to say that WE ARE A UNIT is a somewhat unhinged sounding and frantic release, Castrovalva throwing just about everything they can at the mix and unleashing an unholy noise that defies conventions and musical genres constantly. Songs bleed into each other seamlessly at times, at others ending abruptly and lurching into completely disparate sounding sound clashes, the trio shifting from art rock to tough jazz to gruff hip-hop in the space of minutes.

With a healthy sense of humor, parody and self awareness, Castrovalva always inject the chaos with a light enough touch to keep things from spiraling into complete insanity; rapping about schoolyard marbles one minute and launching into crazed scat the next. Opener WE ARE A UNIT (INTRO) acts as a neat bookend to the whole experience, the frenetic bass rumbles, relentless drum crashes and hyperactive vocals tying naturally and obviously to the eventual arrival of WE ARE A UNIT (Outro) at the records climax. Between this neat concept, the band go about battering you with noise and confusion throughout; PUMP PUMP and THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT are short sharp shocks of ear bleeding hardcore reminiscent of The Blood Brothers and Lightning Bolt, the latters injection of West Coast gangster rap in the vein of Snoop Dogg or Warren G an unexpected yet inspired sounding touch. THUGLIFE continues to barrage you with amped up hardcore, all yelping vocals and distorted guitar abuse that feels like punch in the nose set to a truly throbbing soundtrack equal parts Black Flag and Les Savy Fav.

WE DON'T GO TO RAVENHOLM reveals the bands nerdier leanings by referencing seminal first person shooter Half Life 2, the Leeds trio unveiling another noisy barrage of guitars and bass noise, though this time round shot through with a healthy dose of melodic intent and even the odd moment of quiet release amongst all the pent up tension and aggression. HOOLIGANZ R US is a bizarre sounding blend of thug sounding hip-hop, tough jazz grooves and art rock; gruff rap roughs up against a muscular brass section and frantic drum beats. Castrovalva adopt a somewhat similar conceit on YOU BETTER MAKE THAT MONEY, though this a more chaotic and frenetic sounding musical beast and one that unexpectedly launches into an infectious hook that proves this is a band who can also unleash the pop sensibilities when the mood takes them.

With BISON SCISSOR KICK we're back to throbbingly noisy hardcore action that finds the band practically exploding from the speakers, clawing their way at you through sheer volume and intent, the lurch into Mars Volta like progtastic space rock another example of this outfits willingness to experiment and expand their sound at any given moment a truly refreshing and liberating experience.

Castrovalva have concocted a debut album in WE ARE A UNIT that almost defies mere categorization and genre pigeon holing, this trio throwing enough disparate sounding influences and styles into the mix to truly thrill, invigorate and excite. Never knowing one minute to the next what's to come, WE ARE A UNIT is a gloriously chaotic and inspired sounding release, Castrovalva one of the most truly experimental sounding art rocking outfits out there right now, a band unafraid to take musical risks and fly by the seat of their pants.

With WE ARE A UNIT, Castrovalva have unleashed one of the years most inspired, crazed and brilliantly demented records.

Dreadzone are a band who have been around for a while. They formed in 1993 and signed to Alan McGee’s Creation Records soon after. They scored their one and only top 20 hit with ‘Little Britain’ and also gained a fan in John Peel, who brought them in for a few Peel Sessions, and often mentioned them when talking about his favourite artists. So was the late, great, John Peel right, are they any good?

Is it me or are Muse getting more and more like Queen over time? At some point are we going to see Matt Bellamy wafting about a hoover wearing tights and a short skirt? These thoughts popped into my head about one minute into the track ‘United States of Eurasia’, when all hell breaks loose on the guitar, Matt starts doing his falsetto voice thing, there’s a crazy piano riff, and in the distance I’m sure I could see the spirit of Freddie Mercury head banging on his stairway next to heaven. Next they’ll be claiming they wrote ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The cheeky sods.

Ripping off rock legends aside, this is Muse’s fifth studio album, but it’s not their best. You get the usual amazing guitar playing, the same old heavy riffs, over dubbed vocals, songs about social despair, oppression, future war, or something, but then you also get some extra wanky bits where Matt is trying a bit too hard to be Beethoven or having a joke at our expense and playing some terrible piano parts. I’m a fan of classical music; I know my Vaughan Williams from my John Williams, and this is Bilbo Baggins.

The first half of the album is better than the last, when they still have the guitars plugged in, and Matt must have been forced to sit in a corner with his Telecaster. ‘Uprising’ is a great song, setting a spooky tone for the rest of the album. It opens with a Doctor Who like synthesiser riff and veers off into familiar territory of thumping bass, eerie vocals, and sleazy guitar. ‘Resistance’ sounds like a lament from a future apocalypse. The song swings from a melancholy synth beginning to blistering fuzz driven chorus that is bound to have people punching the air at gigs. ‘Undisclosed Desires’ rounds off a promising trio of songs at the start of the album. Similar in style to ‘Supermassive Black Hole’, it’s melodic, catchy, contemporary, and a unique combination of prog rock and disco.

The album crumbles from there. It seems to get lost in it’s own silliness. ‘United States of Eurasia’ should give writing credit to Brian May. ‘Guiding Light’ is a bit overly emotional and features some dodgy eighties style keyboard over wailing vocals. ‘Unnatural Selection’ is too long and feels like they have ripped themselves off, by using basically the same riff as the heavy bit in ‘New Born’. ‘MK Ultra’ thunders along and has a bit more about it, this is more like the Muse we want, thrashing guitars, slabs of rock so heavy they burn a hole in your hard drive.

The album as a whole is let down by the pants final tracks. ‘I Belong To You’ should have never made it onto a Muse album, it made me laugh at one point, it’s so overblown you could inflate it and kayak down the Thames. The final three tracks are also very grandiose. I think at this point they thought they might as well just go all out with it and crank up the piano to eleven.

So it’s Muse. It’s ambitious; it’s a bit silly. I found it less imaginative than ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ and a bit of a step backwards in some ways. There’s no ‘Knights of Cydonia’ here, or many killer tracks. However, it’s worth a listen for a bit of fun. ‘The Resistance’ is an ode to George Orwell’s 1984. It’s a modern monolith of prog rock genetically spliced with disco and a wacky sense of humour. I don’t think it’s meant to be taken seriously. Just enjoy, indulge. It’s like Hagaen Daes Ice cream, an expensive indulgence. Go on; resistance is futile.

Listenable Hardcore is difficult to find nowadays but Ocean Bottom Nightmare seem to have perfected it on their debut single, ‘What Would Judas Do?’
This track is a brutal yet catchy effort from the Nottingham 3-piece. Impeccably mixed by legendary producer Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro), ‘WWJD?’ boasts the sound of a well-honed super group as opposed to the tender 3-year-old band that OBN really are.
 ‘What Would Judas Do?’ – the band’s first single since their 2009 EP ‘We Are Serious’ - opens with a creeping bass line and sly, confident vocals. It evolves gradually into a whirling dervish of rock sound; terrifying riffs slide into spasmodic drum rolls with a roaring chorus that will bring even the most hardcore of fans to their knees. ‘WWJD?’ is a deliciously inventive single from a band set to make a very loud impression on 2010’s rock music scene.

You've got to give Ghostfire credit for at the very least attempting something a little different from the norm. With THE LAST STEAMPUNK WALTZ this is a band taking their influences from the likes of Nick Cave, Johnny Cash and Tom Waits  and then running it through a sepia toned filter of 1880's cobbled streeted Absinthe slurping London and steampunk imagery; all in all, quite the intoxicating and gothically tinged backdrop.

 THE LAST STEAMPUNK WALTZ draws from all this imagery and influence to emerge as something suitably unique, traces of sea shanty, folk, gothic balladry and the burlesque are enough to keep you intrigued and interested throughout. Whilst Ghostfire are perhaps an outfit whose ideas and influences are a touch more intriguing than their actual musical output in all honesty, THE LAST STEAMPUNK WALTZ still has enough little quirks and charms to recommend it; though a smidge more personality and attitude wouldn't go amiss next time round, the vocals in particular suffering from a distinct lack of lived in gruffness, those Cave, Waits and Cash influences doing them no real favors here.

Still, Ghostfire offer up an interesting and intriguing proposition in THE LAST STEAMPUNK WALTZ, a single that feels like the prelude to something special once this band truly finds its feet, personality and confidence; as such, this is ultimately promising but not quite wholly satisfying.