Try-Hard.

A zine that focuses on great DIY bands. http://www.facebook.com/tryhardzine

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An Anecdote//Self Titled

Mystery Swedish emo-violence outfit, An Anecdote, have almost nothing about them online, but that takes nothing away from how intense this first release is. This self titled record touches upon consumerism, fascism and police brutality in a completely grounded way, while musically, taking an up in the air approach. Odd chord structures with aggressively desperate vocals really stamp a trademark on this S/T EP. Particularly desperate is the song 'A Night in May'. “I can't breath, please stop, let me go, it hurts, I wanna go home//Head to the car, you're under arrest//I don't care if you can't use your arms ever again.” This shouted over a very Ochid-esque riff and pounding drums, really feels like the heavily Shikari-influenced vocalist is talking from experience and that makes this record a very personal and genuine one.

Chaotic and raw all the way through this album, An Anecdote manage to keep the tone perfect and the content exciting enough to keep anybody interested in heavy music captivated. Blast beats galore, gritty screams and harsh guitars, it’s really a skramz revivalist’s dream.

Bandcamp//Facebook

Disclaimer:

When I wrote this piece An Anecdote didn't have a Facebook page, but they do now, which is cool.

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Realm of Torment.

Southampton is home to a wide array of hardcore and beatdown bands, however somewhere in the midst of mindless breakdowns all meaning is lost. The music is heavy, but where is feeling? Nowhere to be found. Realm Of Torment find a balance between passionate and fist-clenchingly heavy, and that is what makes them poles apart from any other metal-influenced band in Sotton.

 The former 6-piece, now 5-piece metalcore outfit have parted ways with their two vocalists for the release of the newly released 2-track promo tape, out on Rage and Liberation Records, which feels like a solid choice in all senses. The promo is as hard as they come, holding countless elements of classic metal and metalcore from This Is What The Edge Of Your Seat Was Made For… era Bring Me The Horizon to Self Titled Slipknot and it’s pulled off in way, that stays completely faithful to the genre. It’s got all the breakdowns, slow-blasts and environmentalist lyrics you’d want, showing massive promise for when the full-length is released.

Realm Of Torment are also finally making their way out of Southampton to spread their heavily early 2000’s vibe on a 4-day weekender with other Unchained Youth Collective bands, Overturn and Nihility to play DIY venues over the UK playing with class bands including Splitknuckle and World Weary.

Bandcamp//Facebook//Rage

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Algae Bloom//Horrible Demos.

There’s something that’s unbelievably hit and miss about lo-fi. The miss is almost always due to a band trying way too hard to be edgy and underground, an annoying trait at best. However when lo-fi hits, it hits hard. Norwich two-piece, Algae Bloom (taken from the Told Slant song of the same name), capture every inch of passion in their first release ‘Horrible Demos’, a nice, disheartening name for what really is one of the most exciting screamo releases this year.

The band themselves, made up of guitarist/vocalist Matt and Leigh on standing drums and lyrics, have stated on bandcamp that ‘these songs make up part of a greater narrative about getting better through constant striving’ which really adds to feel of complete desperation and hope for progression. The second song ‘I’m Not Strange’ in particular holds lyrical themes of the bores of normal life and the fact being strange is actually the complete opposite. This band really hit a minimal lo-fi spot and combining that with their incredibly harsh vocals it makes a dream mix for a promising band.

Full tape out on WOLF TOWN DIY soon.

Bandcamp//Facebook//Wolf Town DIY

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Healing Powers//Self Titled

The follow up to Healing Powers’ split tape with Northern emo-punk outfit Wade was never going to be easy. It’s a release that is held in high regard within the UK’s scene of DIY music due to it’s complete originality from both bands. That originality has flowed into their new 7”, displaying a sound which encompasses shrill, passionate vocals, mixed with a quaint undertone that holds through the record.

The lyrics are beautifully honest and capture raw emotion in song, (I hope that one day, I cry because i'm happy // I want to find something of interest and beauty in everyone that I come to know.) and while incredibly down at points, possesses some wonderfully euphoric qualities. Instrumentally, the whole record is so thick. Everything sounds full and clear, which makes it a pleasure for the ears. The way the bass fills out the guitar is just perfect and no matter how fast or slow, the clarity is there and that’s greatly important when it comes to this type of sound and as great as the Wade split is, this time around it’s really brilliant to see Healing Powers standing on their own, proudly displayed, for all to see.

Bandcamp//Facebook//New Song

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Say Yes To Love by Perfect Pussy Review.

In an age where “lad culture” is the dominant social movement, misogyny, sexism and carelessness are at an all-time high. Attending awful clubs, getting smashed on £20 worth of dreadful booze and “pulling birds” without any consideration for the lady in question, to gain credibility seems to be the activity of most importance to a generation of clueless teens. Perfect Pussy are one of few rays of hope shining through the murky ideologies of today.

Combining the classic riot grrl elements of Bratmobile and Heaven To Betsy with all the mess and noise you could ever want, they’re bringing something fresh, new and most importantly meaningful to the table. While being drenched in feedback, the New York punks manage to keep a nice and steady structure through the whole record which is somewhat a rarity, especially with the lo-fi sound that the band possess. With soaring guitar work injecting in some wonderful melodies it really brings the record together.

Obviously lyrically Perfect Pussy are crucial, but sometimes inaudible. However, standing for something is important. If you truly believe in what you’re whaling about, even if it is drowned out by noise, you’ll stand out for standing up. And that’s exactly what this band do.

Facebook/Bandcamp/Stream

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Told Slant.

New York's Told Slant play chilled out, sad indie-emo as a result of frontman and drummer Felix Walworth's bedroom punk project. The 4-piece's full length was released in 2012, but the band have been gaining more and more exposure from the ever growing global emo/punk scenes around the world. The greatest thing about this band however, has to be the lyrics. They're genuine, honest, brutal at times while on the other side of the coin holding uplifting qualities. "but who's going to kiss your undressed chest when I'm gone? // on some night when you won't pick up the phone // I'm living horribly // so I don't want to know how you're doing," Honest and beautiful.

Bandcamp & Facebook

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I haven't posted in AGES, however I asked Crying a bunch of questions. They're one of the most exciting bands around at the moment. Mixing chiptune with a poppy punk feel, they're blending it up in the best of ways.

Crying! How're you?

Ryan: We are all doin’ fine!

That's great! Now, Could you start by introducing yourselves & what each of you do in the band?

Elaiza: Hello, this is Elaiza. The singing/songwriting/snacking is me!

Ryan: Hey, I’m Ryan. I play guitar and program the Game Boy. Nick’s playing bass and singing on tour with LVL UP right now, so it’s just us!

So, for people that don't know. You mix chiptune (video game/8-bit music) with an emo-punk blend. That's how I interpret it anyway! Could you explain your sound & how you became a band for us?

Ryan: I actually see us more as a power pop/pop-punk band with a keyboardist and bassist that just happen to be tracks on a Game Boy. I’ve always loved music that mixes distorted guitars with electronics, but I think using Game Boy (and the software LSDJ) was more of me just having fun and experimenting. It then became clear that I wanted to focus on it.

Elaiza: Ryan sent me an e-mail two summers ago saying his band was looking for a singer. A friend (our good pal Megan!) showed him my solo music and he thought I would fit well with the group. What started off very slowly somehow came together with much more confidence and progress around last spring. Now, it seems we're becoming more in tune with one another in the songwriting process [and our friendship ha]; we hope it translates in the new material!

You released your debut EP "Get Olde" in August of this year. How has the record been received & have you any plans to release it physically?

Ryan: So far, it’s been really positive. We want to release it physically, but are still figuring things out.

Being featured on a Topshelf Records sampler is pretty huge for a band in the emo/punk scene especially when you've only had music out for a couple of months. How did that come about!?

Ryan: They’re familiar with LVL UP and Spook Houses (bands that Nick and Dave from Double Double Whammy are in) and heard us since we’re related. Fortunately, they liked us enough to share us with everyone else!

Your song, "Vacation", was featured on thisisfakediy.co.uk's best of bandcamp for October. Is it nice to see your music being shared overseas & were you expecting that to happen?

Ryan: I wasn’t expecting the response we’ve gotten so far. The overseas stuff is really great too. In addition to that one, we’ve been included in a few posts from Japan. I assume that if English speakers can find us online, then anyone can.

With such an odd sound, do you find it hard to find shows to jump on or is Purchase, NY's scene "pumping"?.. as my grandad would say.

Elaiza: The nice thing about shows is that there is no formula. A bill doesn't have to "make sense" in terms of keeping a uniform aesthetic. More often than not, the people with whom we've played shows in the past have different styles and sounds, but everyone is friendly and on the same page about Doing The Thing. We're all just fans of one another, really. 

When you guys write lyrics what sorts of subjects do you try & tackle? Are they really deep or fun & carefree?

Elaiza: Lyrically, it's a mix of both. Everything is personal, but you can…dance to it? People should dance more often, at shows and in general.

What would you say are your biggest influences? It's doesn't have to be a band. Ideologies, people around you & just general mentalities are totally valid too!

Ryan: I think my biggest musical influence in terms of band philosophy is The Go! Team. Their whole thing was just mixing everything they loved together and delivering it in a super fun and energetic package that sounded original.

Do you prefer to play with full bands or chiptune artists?

Ryan: I don’t think we care! At the same time, it would probably be really cool for us to play with a loaded chiptune lineup. I’ve attended two Blip Fests in NYC and it feels like a more spiritual experience than other shows since everyone is there to celebrate a specific set of sounds.

Who are your favourite chiptune artists?

Ryan: Out of the three of us, I’m the only one that regularly listens to chiptune. I think my favorite chiptune and chiptune-related artists are Anamanaguchi, George & Jonathan, Infinity Shred, cTrix, Chalkboards, and Maxo. There are too many other amazing artists, though.

Any plans for a tour or two soon? I'm pretty sure people will be dying to see this musical blend in the flesh.

Ryan: We have a super short northeastern US thing happening at the end of year, but it’s still being worked out so I’m not going to say much else.

What's your song writing process like?

Ryan: For most of the songs, I write all the guitar and Game Boy first and then bring it to either Elaiza or Nick and they’d write their parts. There are some cases where Elaiza would write the guitar chords or I would write a portion of lyrics or Nick would make a change to the arrangement of certain sections. Most of the songs on Get Olde were just kind of floating around as guitar/Game Boy pieces before the band existed. The stuff we’re writing now is more collaborative.

Elaiza: Writing with other people is hard because, with solo stuff, you have more control over the entire creation process. Working with Ryan and Nick is sometimes difficult because what those two come up with can seem already finished even without lyrics. It's-so-good-that-it's-intimidating kind of stuff. But!, when the lyrics finally make sense, everything comes together and I realize how much more complete the songs sound with everyone contributing something. It's a healthy challenge that keeps us pushing one another to be better.

I know you've just released "Get Olde" but are there any new releases coming up that you'd like to talk about?

Ryan: We’re writing every day and planning our next thing. We’re still trying to get people to hear Get Olde, though.

Ok, so now it's your turn to recommend a bunch of zines/bands/labels/friends/anything vaugely DIY.

Ryan: Double Double Whammy (tape label family) and Chalkboards (chiptune band in Texas). I think it’s alright to plug him since he’s not answering any questions. Here’s his site: http://www.totallyruinedcircuits.com/

Elaiza: Frankie Cosmos and Baby Mollusk are dear friends and some of the strongest girls I know. Also, a sweet blog focused on female-identified artists called The Le Sigh is putting out their first zine and tape compilation, which features those two plus my solo project. We're all playing the release show at Silent Barn on the 17th!

I haven't done an interview in a while but I'm going to ask you an old Try-Hard classic. If you could tour with any 4 bands to any 4 places. Where, Who and Why?

Ryan: The Go! Team in Europe and tricot in Japan. The Go! Team seems like they’re not done, but I still have hope. tricot is slowly becoming my favorite Japanese band and their album T H E is one of my favorite albums this year. I’d want both of them to show us their home worlds.

Elaiza: Nice Try (Madeline Ava is very good) + Usher (minor role in a movie called The Faculty) circa early 2000s? Am I allowed to say that? I want to play a basement show with Usher.

Good choices & of course you can! More people should. 

Thanks very much Crying. Try-Hard wishes you all the best in your future endeavours & hope you cross the pond to the UK fairly soon!

Ryan: Thank you too. Hope we can make that happen!

Bandcamp & Facebook

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Old Friends by The Sinking Feeling Review.

Crisp & clean-cut are two things I don't usually think when I think about emo bands, however Scottish trio "The Sinking Feeling" deliver a super clear & polished release with the passion of a old school screamo record.

Last year, The Sinking Feeling came out of nowhere with their self titled release. It was a release that I really liked & still listen to now, however it had one clear influence, & that was Title Fight. Whereas with this new release I feel like they've really come into their own. Using all three vocalists to their advantage was probably the main thing I noticed with this record. Songs like single "Depends" & title track "Old Friends" really utilises the tools that this band has for great harmonies & sing-a-longs.

First track on this EP "Snakeblood" starts with a cool up-beat guitar riff accompanied by full, thick, bass & drums. This song is a class one to start the record on, due to it's energetic nature, catchy melodies & real polished vocals. To me it sounds like a "Your Favourite Weapon" Brand New era song, & in no way is that a bad thing. A real cool emo punk vibe here. The track ends with a eeire atmospheric bass-led instrumental full of feedback, nosiey drums & thick bass, & it leads lovely into the next track on this record, "Depends".

This tune has a super groove to it & that's one of the things that makes me feel like this record has had such a great progression. The clean nice stop & start groovey feel that the riff has with rough vocals works an absolute treat. I'd also like to say how amazing the female vocals work with both male vocals on this track, if you need a track to sell this EP to you, this one would be it.

This next track was on a sampler that I listened to & I have to say, I didn't really think much to the song, I'm not sure if it was because it was thrown in we a bunch of other songs or not, nevertheless I love this song now, in context of this release it works absolutely brilliant. One of the slowest song, with bass & vocal section (of which i'm a sucker for). One of my favourites on this.

Last track on the record is a perfect closer. A song quite literally about Old Friends. Packed with great dual vocals & an ending that reminds me of an old Fall Out Boy song due to it's repetitive nature. Class song & class record from these Scots, people into emo punk should get on this.

Bandcamp/Facebook

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MANS.- TAPE 2013 Review.

  In 2008 there was the Lion Of The North split... & then there was silence. However it looks like 5 years later MANS have reformed through bringing out a new two song tape called simply "Tape 2013".

This new entry to the MANS discography has come out of nowhere, I would still be none the wiser of it's existence if it wasn't for my bandcamp subscription to Kid Sister's page which I'll now say I'm very glad I'd signed up for because these two tracks are absolutely class! Packed with catchy melodies with powerful shrieks it's the MANS we all know & love with a little twist.

The first track, Scratchy is exactly what it says on the tin. The start of this perfectly crafted song starts with an almost The Fall Of Troy esque with a weird tinge of Maroon 5 "scratchy" riff which is then marked by MANS with that full & thick bass tone & a wobbly guitar tone as we've seen used previously by guitarist Mark Perez. This riff suddenly changes into a fast screamo track with yelped vocals & quickly fingered guitar licks, then accompanied by harsh screams. Now if there's something i'm a sucker for it's a crazy vocal line over lo-fi screamo & MANS totally deliver with that over a super groovy beat from the drums to make a comfortable break from the beautiful assault of passionate screams. I feel like the rest of this song puts me into a weird half trance, but I've always thought that with MANS so that's the kind of thing that makes me feel like they're back.

The next song is called "This is My Prime Time" & I really hope that name is a hint that this band want to come back & stronger than before. US screamo has been lacking for me a little at the minute so if they are planning this then I shall be thoroughly please. Anyway! Onto the song, it's packed full of cool, catchy melodies & build ups, that wonderful signature guitar effect & a weird Wavves/Chalk Talk type falsetto part.

I can't wait to see what this band does next. Download the two tracks for $1 from Kid Everything. It's totally worth it.

Bandcamp//Kid Sister Everything

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Better Sleep by Topbunk Review.

  Ok, so I covered Topbunk's first record when it was first released November last year, how have the emo mouth of the south progressed with their new release "Better Sleep"? Let's find out.

The first song on this new 4 track ep is Branigan, which starts with the familiar vocals & a really cool sounding scratchy guitar riff, pretty cool however it's not halfway through this first song that I can see the progression in the sound. There's a wonderful drop out part with just guitar playing thinly & a very catchy vocal line over. These guys always seem to get the catchyness right. They never over use vocal lines which I so often find to be the most frustrating thing in emo music.

Our second track is titled "Our Can Saw". This is the shortest track on the record. This one is my favourite out of the four however. I feel that it's a step above the rest of the tracks, especially lyrically. "I can read you like a book in braille, conversations as colorful as grayscale but I get so lonely sometimes" is such a great lyric which really stood out to me. I think it's the drums in this song that do it for me most however, I love 4/4 full beats that go into half time during the same phase, sometimes they can sound pretty tacky but I think here it sound pretty fantastic.

Right, is the next track. "Rosie Had A Stroke", which is a pretty striking title if i'm being honest. One that doesn't make me feel very comfortable just with how up front it is, however it's about the song right? Not the title. It's starts with a cool, very thin/scatty riff & almost immediately kicks in with those familiar vocals yet again but this time I felt obligated to look at the lyric due to the title of the song & I found this phrase. "I'll hold you tight, while I push you away, I'll say goodbye, and yell "please stay". This track is obviously very heart felt & I love that, feel like too many emo bands might be talking about fake issues but this is one of the most genuine things I've read, I urge everybody to listen to at least this song.

Comfort Driving is the name of the last track & it start with a half time, almost breakdown type riff. This is a really smart move I feel like, seeing as Branigan was pretty fast paced all the way through, it's cool to end on a slower paced song. This is more my type of thing due to it's slow but still energetic nature. On this track you can also tell that the 2 piece have started splitting up their vocals. So Gregg will do all the harsher almost screamed vocals & Joey will do the cleans. I feel like this is a really smart move to be honest. I feel like it's better to stick at what you're good at & that's something that they've done on this record.

Now, have Topbunk progressed, I think lyrically, yes & musically in some aspects. For me, i'm still not over Springlake Pharmacy, but I know other people will be dying for more of these dudes! It's a very cool & solid release, with some fantastic parts although I feel that some of it could be a little more adventurous, but that's just me being picky. I think the vocals on this record are a lot more polished but some how that gives it a little less character. Plus, no brass!? Nevertheless anybody that likes good emo should be into this. 

Bandcamp & Facebook

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Whenever, If Ever by The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die Review.

  The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die to people that don't know (where have you been), are an 8-piece "emo" band from Willimantic, CT, & I have to use the term emo band really loosely because I never think you can just put them in one box like some other bands. I think that this gives them a totally unique sound from most other emo bands that are all the rage at the moment. This has helped them become perhaps one of the biggest in the whole DIY emo scene at this point in time.

When I heard that TWIABP were bringing out a full length I was naturally super excited to hear what they would come up with, how they'd use their new members to their advantage but most importantly, how they'd keep my attention for a whole 35 minute record when I've been used to their shorter EPs before this release. So while I love TWIABP, I don't want to come across as some "fanboy" that's just going to hype them up for five or six paragraphs. Obviously if that happened they'd be no point in this review. Let's start Whenever, If Ever then shall we?

So the first Blank #9 starts the record of the a slow & steady pace, with pretty great volume swells, I always feel there's something that TWIABP do very well it's using volume swells to a get a great atmosphere going. Afterwards there's a pretty empty lonely guitar which is then filled out beautifully with one of the new additions to the band which is the cello which sounds beautiful & thick. Blank #9 then fades out & the start guitar riff of Heartbeat In The Brain is played, a nice, muted, riff which next to the thick bass sounds fantastic. The vocals an this track will make all fan of this band feel at home, I know seeing as they switched vocalists I was really worried about the vocals being too different but to be honest, you wouldn't notice anything different in this record. Now if the vocals make you feel at home, TWIABP will make you put the fire on & stick your feet up with their next move, a build up & gang shout, which while feeling familiar still somehow manages to feel fresh & very new. During the middle of this song there is a soft part with a wonderful vocal line with the lyrics "Never felt like this, tell me we belong here" which is easily my favourite part of the song, again with that cello just making everything so much thicker.

Now perhaps my favourite & most distinctive part of the record is the start of the next song "Flightboat", it starts with brass & guitar working together to make something quite special to be honest. The noodly guitar riff mixed with very prominent trumpet works a treat. This song does feel a little different to the usual TWIABP formula, I think that's why it jumps out to me so much, it's pretty fantastic, especially when the synth gets it's first play, which brings me onto another thing I love about this band. The fact that they're not afraid to experiment with any instrument that they want is a really cool feat for me anyway. This song closes with the line "I hope that this works out, this has got to work out", now I might be reading to far into this however I think that's maybe a poke at the fact they're putting a lot of their hopes into this record. I think that's a pretty open thing to put into this release, honesty is the best policy especially here.

The next song is the first one they released as a single & when I first heard it, I knew this was going to be a great release. It just had that feeling. It's called A Picture Of A Tree That Doesn't Look Okay, a slow, droney song then being met with a fast synthy part which is fantastic. One thing I will pull up on, a lot of the time I really want the synthy parts to go on for long & maybe the spacey parts a little less long, however that might be the thing that makes those parts so good, the fact there's such a build up to them.

I want to try & make this review not song by song so i'm going to skip to Gig Life, a song that The World Is... brought out on Lathe cut 7", it was just acoustic guitar & a little bit a electric guitar to fill it out with atmospheric swells etc. Now, they've put it on this record but it's full band & what a difference it has made. It's basically the same song but with a fantastic synth part & a louder sing-a-long part of the chorus. Very great & very catchy. Next up is Low Light Assembly, a song driven by the vocalists of the band, all four of them. They do a wonderful job the mix of female & male vocals works brilliantly as well, musically this is probably the most skilled vocally, putting the whole "bad singing= emo" notion to shame.

Last but certainly not least is Getting Sodas, kicked off by a thick bass line & pretty shaky vocals. I don't know why but when this song kicks in it just reminds me of Balance & Composure, once I heard them in this song I just couldn't get it out of my head. I'm sorry if that ruins with song for you but personally I like B&C a lot so it's not really an issue for me. This is the longest song on the record hitting the seven minute point exactly, although the fact that it is the longest doesn't do it any harm to be honest I didn't want it to end when I came to it. With the closing lyrics of "The world is a beautiful place but we have to make it that way. Whenever you find home we’ll make it more than just a shelter. And if everyone belongs there it will hold us all together. If you’re afraid to die, then so am I." I felt like it was the closing of something I'd been waiting to hear forever.

Ok, so some final words on this record. I feel like TWIABP have made huge steps up & that's something I didn't even think was possible. It's a beautiful record mostly high points, however sometimes the build ups/spacey parts are perhaps a little dragged out, however the longer this record is, the better because it's pretty much perfect from start to finish. Everything compliments each other & it really feels like a piece of art. It's something I think everybody should experience ever if you're not that into it. It's a fresh & new sounding record & it's looking to be my album of the year & if not Summer 2013 record. The mix of post-rock/emo/indie-rock all boiled down into one big melting pot is a wonderful idea & executed the way these guys & girls do it, it's pretty amazing. I hope I didn't come across as a "fanboy".

Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram & Tumblr

Check out my pre Whenever, If Ever interview with TWIABP here.

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Tuesday is RecommenDAYtion.

Hearts & Minds.

When I think of Norwich bands, I usually think of heavier bands like Jackals, No Fun, Maths etc. However lurking down the suburbs of Norwich are three guys & a girl making moody emo/punk. This band go by the name Hearts & Minds and I know it's cheesy but i genuinely do feel a lot of heart has been put into the lyrics & writing of their debut three track demo.

The demo feels like a gem in the middle of a twiddly field of emo to be honest (not that I can talk, I love a good noodle). With it's echoy distorted guitars with countless bends, groovy basslines, solid drums & pretty special vocals, which are very droney at times but still manage to keep me engaged with interesting lyrics & vocal lines, it's a demo that I feel has been made by some very talented individuals.

These guys are a band that I think everybody should check out, super catchy & a moody but fun edge to them. Get to a show soon.

FFO: 90's, Lemuria mixed with Jawbreaker

  Hearts & Minds: Facebook & Bandcamp

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300 followers.

Thank you to all of you & all the bands I've interviewed/reviewed, anybody that reads anything that I post is great. Makes this pretty much worth it. x

[doublespeedemosongs]

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Weed Science by Grown Ups at double speed.

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Healing Powers/Wade split release review.

  This release is one that I've been looking forward to hearing for a while now, released by Get Into It Recs in the UK & Haunt Yourself Tapes in the US, I am defiantly not disappointed. I'll start with Wade's half:

Having played with Wade in a Leeds basement back in November, i've been excited to hear recorded material from them. Their brand of catchy emo/punk is really refreshing & new, I feel like they're totally doing their own thing and honestly couldn't care less about other bands sounds to affect their own, this might not be the case but I certainly haven't heard anything quite like it. Their half of the split starts with the song Hail, Chillingham which starts with a pretty muddy but slightly noodley riff which sets their half of the split off to a lovely start. This section ends with a fill into a faster riff with some weirdly mixed vocals which totally work in the grand scheme of things, these vocals are pretty up & down but easily get stuck in my head even if i listen to this song once & then leave it. At the end of the song there is a half-time section that works perfectly to end the song.

The next song is Jonathan Caruthers which start with a raw shout into a fast punky section with very Geordie sounding vocals. One of the things that I like Wade for, is the use of their native accent, I feel like it's a really nice touch. I feel like as i'm reviewing this, I should be comparing it to other bands but I really can't think of any that it is like. This is probably a good thing, however i'm sure somebody could pull out an obscure band that Wade are like. However! This is a brilliant side that Wade have put forward & I am super excited to hear more from the boys.

Ok so now Healing Powers, before this came out i'd been listening to their first two demos a bunch. In the first one their vocals were really reminiscent of Charlie Simpson in his Fightstar days which I really loved & they kind of dropped with the next release however bands change right? To be honest they changed to be better in my opinion. Their side of the split is incredibly strong bring forward to fantastic songs. The first, "Death Valley Driver" (An amazing song title & WWF reference) starts with a slow & thin guitar riff which is totally filled out by the bass once it & the drums kick in. That & the screamed vocals over that top make for an amazing start to their side. Carry on with the same riff for 2:22 is pretty much fine with me, very droney but seeing as it didn't out-stay it's welcome & the vocals are interesting enough to make the whole song a perfect fit together in terms of instrumentation & length.

The next song is a more upbeat & screamo/punk track which is really up my street. Clocking in at just over a minute & a half it kind of comes & goes but to be honest, I don't know what more could want in a 1:30 track. Harsh however surprisingly catchy vocals meet a bunch of octave chords & fast drums, sounds great to me.

This split is one of the best Emo/Punk/Screamo releases in a good while. 4 tracks of short, catchy & well written material, that will have you listening over & over again. Perfect. 

Listen: Bandcamp

Wade: Bandcamp, Facebook & Tumblr

Healing Powers: Bandcamp & Facebook

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Crows-An-Wra.

Call me a "noob", but I'm pretty sure I've never heard anything quite like this before. Crows-An-Wra are a 4-piece from Cornwall playing their own brand of punk & by their own brand, I mean it. To me anyway, their sound seems like a cooking pot of lots of different genres put into one, it's almost like screamo influenced punk with a surf twist or screamo influenced punk where the members have listened to too much Bowie although I think the beautiful thing about the band is the fact that you can't really compare it to anything else. Some people seem to love to say "with members from" which in this case I could say, seeing as the band has members that were in Kasa, Ravachol & Crocus, but I seriously don't think they need to rely on that one bit! The only time I would even pick up on the fact they might be connected is the guitar work due to the distinct & strange strumming patterns, never-the-less Crows-An-Wra are a brilliant band in their own right, & I hope to see them go far! Plus anybody that doesn't dig that artwork is crazy.

Listen: Facebook, Tumblr & Bandcamp

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Ok so this is my interview with Nottingham's Plaids. A class 80's hardcore influenced punk band with pretty fantastic things lined up.

    Hello Plaids. How’re you doing?

Joe C: All good, just got back from (our second home at the moment) Leeds playing with Hindsights.

Phil-mo: Pretty tired, was mixing until 4 this morning haha.

  Matt: Sober.

  First off let’s get the name out of the way. Who came up with the name and how do you say it? “Plaids” or “Plads”?

  Joe C: It's said Plads, I'm not really sure why we are called it! Sorry there is no clever anecdote here really

  Matt: Plural names are in right now.

  You guys are bringing out a new self-titled 7” soon. How’re you feeling about the new release? Excited, nervous or a huge mix of emotions?

  Joe C: We're really excited as we're a band who prides ourselves on being really productive while we can and this is the first of many vinyl releases we have lined up to keep dropping.

  Matt: I'm looking forward to it, it's always nice when you get to see, hear and feel something you've been working towards for months.

  It’s being released by WOLF TOWN DIY and Art For Blind. Why did you choose those labels to put out the record?

  Joe C: They chose us really, the WOLF TOWN guys put us on in Wolvo a couple of times and we just ended up being pals. Dany from Art for Blind is the nicest, and most hard working guy in UK DIY, and it's always a pleasure to do stuff with him.

  Phil-mo: The Fok Up guys are ace, so nice they got involved and yeah, AFB have been one of my fave labels for a fair while, so nice to be welcomed into the fold.

Matt: Yeah, Art For Blind have always been a totally sick label, they put out some of my old band Saturday's Kids records and Dany has always been super reliable and generally awesome in handling that end of things. The Fok Up is also a sick venue that you should check out if you live near Wolverhampton/Birmingham area, I think the more regional DIY venues we get running in the UK the better, so if you have one near you, do whatever you can to support it.

  How do you feel it compares to your previous releases? The City Dweller split and your Four Songs demo.

  Joe C: Well it's taken us a while to really find our sound I guess, I feel more and more as we write material it's less easy to categorise or reference, and that's what we're into really: the music having it's own personality instead of being easy to backwards engineer.

  Matt: Every band, to me, that has ever failed has begun with the words "let's start a band that sounds like this" which is counter-productive because it completely removes the personality of the music. It's like choosing to be a cover-band but instead of stealing songs, stealing musical devices and regurgitating them in a, more often than not, less effective way. What's worse is this also sets a band pre-determined rules that shouldn't exist when making music, and I think that's one of the biggest problems in Punk today, at least musically, is that too many bands buy into pre-existing aesthetics and musical conventions when the scene would be alot more interesting if when people sat down to write music they said "Let's just try to play how we feel" and express their own personalities and musical tastes without sounding overly cheesy. I'm all for playing the music that you like but why not try to add your own flavour to the sound instead of creating something completely devoid of original thought? I guess it's easier to play into the current wave of musical styles in the UK than to do your own thing, but to me Punk was always about playing whatever the fuck you want, instead of conforming to what the UK scene's flavour of the month is.

  I bet you get sick of hearing this, but your song names are just numbers. Why is this? Plus, how are they numbered, in order of them being written or released?

  Joe C: It's simple, the songs don't have names, but we had to put something on bandcamp!

  Phil-mo: much better than putting the working titles, which they remain called until they're pegged for a release, getting a number is like being promoted.

  I heard you guys on Jen Long’s radio show the other month. How did that come about?

  Joe C: She is just a mate of ours really outside of music biz shenegigans, she's very supportive of UK DIY bands so it's a pleasure for us to have been picked out by her.

You guys have a split release and tour with Football Etc. right? Would you like to explain it in more depth? Are you super excited for it? I know I would be!

  Joe C: This will be coming out on Count Your Lucky Stars and strictly no capital letters. The band showed an interest in our stuff around the same time we were on a big "find bands to do splits with we like!" trip, the rest is history...

  So JT Soar is a venue/recording studio in Nottingham where you put on various different Punk, Emo, Hardcore, etc. shows. What’s the story behind the building?

Phil-mo: I ran the place as a studio for about a year or so before the rest of the guys got involved, when I got the new live room, which now doubles up as a venue it's potential was immediately realised. Me and Joe put a few shows on, but we went full pelt when I renegotiated my contract in July and we were actually allowed to put the shows on, with the Plaids and WAPS crew booking more and more shows and eventually letting outside promoters in when the word got out of our DIY haven.

  Who and what would you say are your biggest influences?

  Joe C: We all have vast and independent musical influences, but we have some stuff in common between all four of us, I think that's how most bands work, unless they are just blatant copiests, but I don't find that any fun to do. As the vocalist and lyricist I am really influenced by the 80s DC hardcore scene, very blunt lyrics without much romanticism, vocals ranging from yelling to spoken word. Guys like Ian and Alec Mackaye (Minor Threat and The Faith), Shawn Brown (Dag Nasty/Swiz), Guy Picciotto (Rites of Spring) etc..

  Matt: There's definitely an 80's hardcore influence as well as a heavy influence from 90's emo but I've taken a lot of inspiration from Indie Rock in the chords that I play too. There are definitely certain musical devices that we use more often than others but when I sit down to write one of the songs it's more to do with what seems enjoyable to play than sitting down and having a preset bunch of rules telling me what kind of song I'm supposed to write to make it "work".

  How’s the scene in Nottingham outside of JT Soar? Is it all students and night clubs or is there much more to it?

Phil-mo: Stuck on a name is another studio just round the corner thqt does the same kinda thing we do, boulty is a legend. The chameleon still has loads of great stuff kicking off, but nick and his scary vagina paintings put me off a little.

  Matt: Speaking as someone living outside of Nottingham I'd like to think the punk scene fairs pretty well in comparison to other places. We have a DIY venue here for a start, and there's plenty of other stuff going on like Phil mentioned as well as other kinds of music too which might not be related to punk, but there's definitely other stuff going on here regardless as to what you're into musically.

  Do you have any other plans for 2013? Tours/Releases ect. Where would you like to see Plaids at the end of this year?

Matt: I just wanna keep writing music and making the sound better as we go along, for me it's an outlet rather than an achievement. To do this full-time getting by on band money would obviously would be incredible, but highly unlikely.

  What’s your most memorable show to date?

  Phil-mo: Playing with Give at JT Soar was a biggie, playing in a totally transformed flowerhead JT Soar (fake flowers and balloons everywhere) alongside one of my favourite bands, such a lovely bunch.

  Matt: We played at About Time fest to a pretty hefty crowd, and it felt like everyone kind of made sense of us I think which was good. It was nice to be a massive building filled with people on the same page.

  Would you like to recommend any bands/labels/zines/artists to the people reading this?

Phil-mo: Crossings, but their singer is a bit questionable...

  Matt: Check out the Joanna Gruesome album when it comes out, the members are some of my best friends and if you're into noise-pop, twee vocals with a loads of mucky distortion then you might just love it. You should also check out my friends feminist blog called The Misery Chicks which has just started out, they cover a whole bunch of different stuff not just to do with music.

  Ok, last question. If you could tour with any 4 bands to any 4 places. Where, Who and Why?

  Joe C: Mars to Stay, on Mars.

Phil-mo: Julliard in ma Julie's yard.

  Matt: The Enemy, On The NME Stage.

  Thanks guys. I wish you all the best in your future endevours. xx

  Plaids: Bandcamp, Youtube & Facebook