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Written by John Helps
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
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 With his second album in the shops, and at least seven thousand shows planned throughout the summer, we dropped Frank an Email to see how he's been getting on, what he's got planned and his thoughts on his music in general.
How has the tour been going?
Really well, thanks. Disarmingly well. The turnouts and the atmosphere has been amazing, most of the tour has been sold out. It feels like everyone is really as excited as I am about where things are going right now, which is gratifying. The band I'm playing with at the moment are amazing, and the supports are top too. Good stuff. Did your approach to writing Love Ire and Song much from the approach you took to Sleep Is For The Week?
It was written in a shorter period of time, and as such is more concise musically. I also think I've just got better at songwriting over time, which is to be expected obviously, but still, it's nice to see. Subject-wise, I didn't make any conscious decisions, I always just write about the things that are bothering me at the moment. There's some overlap, but again I think I'm a little better honed these days.
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Written by Kristy Diaz
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Saturday, 05 April 2008 |
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 In the less than glamorous setting of the backstage area of the Rescue Rooms, Jordan and I struggle to find seats amongst the somewhat meticulously laid-out clothes (ready for what will be a frankly astounding show a few hours later) and numerous tins of tuna… No, I’m not sure either.
I’d be lying if I claimed not to be nervous about doing this interview. It’s my first time, and everyone knows the first time is a let down. Thankfully, Jordan is an affable character, although seeming a little rushed, he completely lives up to the Every Time I Die reputation: riotously funny. And if it surfaces anytime soon that Every Time I Die and Bomb The Music Industry! have come to blows… don’t blame us…
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Written by Andrew Waterfield
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Thursday, 10 April 2008 |
 To mark the 10th anniversary of their debut album, Alkaline Trio and their old friends Asian Man Records decided it was high time the original recordings, recorded for $1,000 over three days, were remastered by original producer Matt Allison. The re-master definitely sounds a bit cleaner, and some parts are a little more pronounced but for a long-term fan, listening to the new version is a pleasant but oddly disconcerting experience. Newcomers though, will not care a jot about the tiny tweaks that irked me, and there is much to please ardent fans of the original mix, not least the expanded liner notes
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Written by Ali Safavi
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Wednesday, 16 April 2008 |
 The problem I always find with bands that have vocalists is that people will make their mind up about whether or not they like the band purely on the merits of the vocalist and their style of singing. Muse, for example seem to be eternally damned to be the band with the annoying vocalist when their music is probably worth a second listen (but no more than that, dullards that they are). As a massive fan of The Blood Brothers, a band that even the most hardcore screamo fan finds irritating, I try to not let vocals get in the way of evaluation of a band but Forward
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Written by Ali Safavi
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Wednesday, 16 April 2008 |
 When The Guillemots released their first album, the Mercury nominated ‘Through The Windowpane’ I was disappointed, this wasn’t the same band I had fallen in love with through their majestic first EP, Jo Whiley’s tendency to self-pleasure whenever she got a chance to play ‘Made Up Love Song’ seemed to have gone to their heads and they went from beautiful and epic to a sort of faux pop version of themselves, only ever as epic as standing on a stool in your kitchen whispering into a wooden spoon, a more middle of the road image I couldn’t paint for you. Red however is a much bigger statement of intent, grandiose opener ‘Kriss Kross’ is The Guillemots back on
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Written by John Helps
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Wednesday, 23 April 2008 |
 Post-Rock is a touchy subject around here (i think we've all, at some point or other, been accused of playing in post-rock bands, and yet we have no idea what it means), and for that reason alone i promise not to mention the tired old cliche again for the duration of this review. Quite frankly the only thing that ties ASIWYFA to Explosions et. Al. in any case is their lack of vocals - 'cos this is about as violent a record as it's possible to acheive with guitars, bass and drums. There are so many ideas crammed onto the surface of this disc,
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Written by John Helps
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Wednesday, 23 April 2008 |
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 Everything about this four track from Leeds quarter 'This Et Al' is refreshing. Absolutely everything. From their concise redefinition of the term 'Off Kilter' on title track 'Figure Eight', to the spikey indie of 'Medicine Hammer'. This is pure pop, but pop that heaves and throbs with the weight of tremendously heavy riffs and bass lines that transform the record into something far more dynamic and far more interesting than it's melodies might suggest. There's more to this than meets the ears, and it's so involving as to be almost intimidating.
5/5
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Written by John Helps
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Wednesday, 19 March 2008 |
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 We’ve (all) been waiting for this, the much anticipated third album from Bristol’s suburbly monikered trip-hop pioneers, and we’re not afraid to admit that the copy currently in our posession did not come through our usual demo and pre-release channels - but we’ve been so anxious to get our hands on a copy, that we had to ‘borrow’ it.
We’re oddly thankful that the record is a slight departure from the under-produced subtelty of ‘Dummy’ and ‘Portishead’, instead taking a more modern production route strangely reminiscent, or at least on a par with Goldfrapp et al. This is definitely a Portishead record - but it’s firmly routed in 2008, not Trip-Hops mid-90’s hay day.
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