Back in 2011 when it was announced that Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen would reunite to form a band, expectations were high from the get-go. Ultimately, Unisonic‘s self-titled debut album fell a little short of greatness, but showed a lot of promise all the same. 2014’s Light of Dawn finally makes good on that promise.
Amen Dunes – Love
What would you do if you were a singer-songwriter and your first album under your own name was marked by the media as one of the worst album’s of the year? Well, I know what I would do: I would flee my home town and get a job as a carpenter somewhere far away and maybe, just maybe I’d go back after while, hoping everyone forgot about my failure. I sure as hell wouldn’t dare the pick up my guitar in the years following. But hey, that’s me and my story is fictional. Continue reading
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Oddments
Yikes! Here in the Northern Hemisphere the golden days of this years summer are long gone and are slowly replaced by harsh and cold weather conditions. Sudden outbreaks of heavy showers, strong winds and dying trees await us. Therefore, autumn isn’t exactly the best time for most people to be happy about. However, maybe some music from the now warming South could distract our minds from the darkening skies. Hmm, Australia’s ‘60s psych pop rock outfit King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard might just be your imaginative way out of the dull autumn days to come.
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Blues Pills – s/t
To quote Will Farrell’s Ron Burgundy character in the film Anchorman: well, that escalated quickly. It’s an apt quote to describe Blues Pills’ meteoric rise to fame, who, after three EP’s of tantalizing teasing have now finally released their first self-titled album. Sounds from the Dark Side takes a look at the goods on offer.
[Live Review] Angel Olsen, EKKO Utrecht
What do Stockholm, Paris, Los Angeles, Glasgow and Utrecht have in common? Well, all cities were recently visited by the graceful singer-songwriter Angel Olsen. Olsen released her sophomore LP, Burn Your Fire For No Witness, this February and has been on tour ever since, playing night, after night, after night. The EKKO stage in Utrecht (The Netherlands) was the next in line for Olsen. And since the album made it to our ‘not to be missed in 2014’ section, a visit to this gig just couldn’t be resisted.
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Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Enter the Slasher House
If you’re into close encounters of the blurred kind musically you’ll find a safe haven within genre of experimental psychedelics. In the past twenty years or so this scene is mostly dominated by bands such as The Flaming Lips, Of Montreal, Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective and their innumerable side projects. Indeed, being a busy bee is pretty much the standard in this scene. Same goes for Animal Collective frontman David Portner (also known as Avey Tare) who announced a new outfit last year surrounding his own persona called Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks. This year the band debuted with Enter the Slasher House. Continue reading
Accept – Blind Rage
Thank the Metal Gods that Accept decided to return in 2009 with Blood of the Nations, an album that still ranks easily amongst the best these Teutonic metallers ever released. The same could be said about the equally stunning Stalingrad. In 2014, Accept returns again with their third post-reunion album, and it might just be the best yet.
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Peter Matthew Bauer – Liberation!
Maybe it would be best to call it quits. However, why should we? Especially after being together for such a long time. Indie rock band The Walkmen experienced a conflict like this first hand a year ago and decided a split would cause a lot of unnecessary hubbub, so an ‘extreme hiatus’ seemed a better plan. A creative gap seemed unavoidable, leaving fans empty handed. Continue reading
Judas Priest – Redeemer of Souls
Six years after their last album, and three years after the start of their supposedly last and appropriately titled Epitaph tour, British metal masters Judas Priest return with a new recording line-up and a new album. But can Redeemer of Souls measure up to past material? The answer is two-fold. Continue reading
[Live Review] North Sea Jazz 2014, Ahoy Rotterdam
Summer is here! And that means a new edition of North Sea Jazz is also here once more to pump up the quality of the Dutch festival landscape. Like always the festival lineup is packed with some great names. What to think of Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams, Sun Ra Arkestra, Dave Holland, Outkast and Pharoah Sanders, just to name a few. No wonder the festival was sold-out well in advance. Yesterday, around five o’clock, spectators began to pour into thirteen areas of the Ahoy venue, eagerly awaiting an evening filled with jazz, blues, R&B, soul and funk. So, enough chit chat now, let’s kick-off this live review of North Sea Jazz’s friday the 11th of July.
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