#liam forkes

[indierocktv]

26.05.16 - Liam Forkes on Buzz Radio by LiamForkesOnBuzzRadio

[decembertheory]

18.02.16 - Liam Forkes on Buzz Radio

Featuring Brand New, The Courteeners, and Imagine Dragons, with an exclusive interview with The December Theory! All music copyright of its respective owner and used under Fair Use.

In case you missed the live stream earlier today, you can listen to Matt talking about the new EP with Liam Forkes on Buzz Radio here at 44:25 mins in!

https://soundcloud.com/liamforkesonbuzzradio/180215-liam-forkes-on-buzz-radio

[indierocktv]

28.1.16 - Liam Forkes on Buzz Radio by LiamForkesOnBuzzRadio Featuring music from The Kooks, Enter Shikari, and Mallory Knox! **Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there to host the show this week, but rest assured there's still plenty of some of the best in indie and alt rock, and everything will be back to normal next week! Thanks guys!** All music copyright to its respective owner and used under Fair Use.

[indierocktv]

10.12.15 - Liam Forkes on Buzz Radio by LiamForkesOnBuzzRadio All music copyright of its respective owners, used under Fair Use

[liamforkes]

"I Was Once A Dinosaur - Chicken Pie" - Album Review

In 2011, Norfolk-born Matt Beauchamp and Isaac Crass created acoustic comedy duo “I Was Once A Dinosaur”. They released their debut album ‘Dinosaurs Are Go!’ in 2012, and are at last back with their follow-up “Chicken Pie”. The success of the last album seemed hard to top, however a fantastic job has been done.

As a comedy duo, it is key the music is comedic. This was done fantastically in the first album, and there is no shortage of laughs here. Whether talking about sexuality, nudism or constipation, the songs always take entertaining turns which leave the listener both entertained and hungry for more. As an acoustic comedy duo, this is essential and in this album, has definitely had the desired effect. One thing that the album does surprisingly well is balance childish, immature humour with more adult-aimed controversial humour, except it works well. The album can go from discussing faecal matter to discussing Hitler’s opinions on the Jews, and yet the transitions seem to work, and entertain the listener. This is an unexpected feature of the album that greatly appeals to the listener.

The lyrics are still well-written. The catchy choruses compliment the stories that the verses tell, and the lyrics stick in the mind of the listener, leaving the songs in the mind of the listener. Also, a new cockiness can be heard underlying throughout the album, and while this may not work for some albums, it gives a much more playful atmosphere to the album, and this cockiness comes across as cheeky, however it only adds to the general that this album manages to flawlessly produce. There are also many links to the previous album, and these subtle nods to fans of the band show an appreciation which is to be admired, while they also come across as amusing to people who get these references. This comes across mostly during the final track of the album, The Age Of Man Is Over (The Time Of Acoustic Comedy Has Begun).

On the music side of the album, the chords and instruments vary much from the first album, and while the simple chords weren't a particular issue with the first album, the added layers give a more complex structure to the songs, keeping them interesting and this contributes positively towards the album by making the songs unique and individual, while still retaining what makes them IWOAD songs. The quality of the songs is also noticeably better, and this is thanks to the band recording in a studio as opposed to home recording the music, and this higher quality naturally improves the overall listening experience of the album. The vocals are also further improved than the last album, again adding a natural friendliness to the songs.

However, there are still some downsides to the album. The instrumental parts of some songs can often sound familiar not only to each other, but to other parts of the album, and this can often make some songs more difficult to distinguish and also make the writing process seem a bit lazy, which is not a positive image for the album to give off. As well as this, the album bears many similarities to the first album, and while this is not a downside due to the high quality of the first album, it shows no signs of the band maturing, which would be a nice thing to hear on a second album. Also, the band have only recorded one ‘emotional’ song on this album, and these tracks were some of the stand-out tracks on the first album. While the band are acoustic comedy and so should not focus on emotional music, it is still a positive to reveal the more emotional side of the band, especially with the high-quality lyric writing abilities Beauchamp possesses, allowing potential for very good songs such as this.

  Overall, while Chicken Pie is not a flawless album, it retains everything that made the first album sparkle while improving it. It is simple enough to appeal to all, but is still hilarious. The improved quality of both the lyrics and the music gives off a more complex sound to the album, and the nods to the original album as a tribute to fans of the band do not go unnoticed, showing the band’s appreciation. Definitely worth purchasing.

  9/10

[liamforkes]

"All Time Low - Don't Panic" Review

After 2011's Dirty Work, many people lost faith in All Time Low. Catchy pop-punk riffs had been swapped for dancy-synth beats which simply didn't suit All Time Low's style of music. However, with this album the band tried to go back to the days of Put Up Or Shut Up (2008) and So Wrong Its Right (2008), and the album, frankly, sounds a lot better.

The album kicks off with The Reckless And The Brave, a song released as a free download earlier in the year which talks about a kid with big ambitions as a singer. The lyrics feel a lot more personal than some that feature in other albums ("I feel like dancin' tonight, I'm gunna party like it's my civil right") and already the album feels a lot more personal and a lot more like ATL.

This album leads on to songs like Somewhere In Neverland and The Irony Of Choking On A Lifesaver, which really feel like the All Time Low in 2008, and this is a good thing.

However, there are still many flaws with the album. There is no 'slow' songs on the album, and this means there is never really any emotional connections with any of the songs throughout the album. The song 'Lullabies' (Put Up Or Shut Up, 2008) really felt like Alex baring all to the listener, and this emotional connection really helped the album feel a lot more personal, and thus a lot nicer. There is no song where this is really achieved on the album, and this could've helped to connect with the listener.

Also, the riffs often sound very similar. The songs on Put Up Or Shut Up (2008) all felt like they stood out in their own way, and this makes the songs a lot more memorable. However, it is very easy to forget which song is currently playing. There are only a few cases in which this is apparent, however the variation between songs could've made the album a lot more memorable.

Overall, All Time Low's new outing is a lot better than some of their previous albums and feels a lot like a return to form for the band, however the album would benefit from songs with a bit more flair and perhaps one or two stripped-back songs. If you are or have been an All Time Low fan, then you are sure to enjoy this, however the album won't go down as a Pop-Punk classic.

6/10