Blitz Kids - 'Decisions' EP

Blitz Kids (previously Rig Up Explosive) are one of the pop/post-hardcore bands who have a lot to look forward to in 2011. Their debut EP under their new name ‘Decisions’, released in 2009, showcased the fact that they’re not afraid to attempt the whole pop/punk/metal thing in their own way. One of the most exciting bands to emerge in the past few months, they haven’t received the attention they really deserve. 

‘Decisions’, the first release from the band, quickly caught the attention of many on the music scene, and in turn it received many great reviews; but it’s no surprise really. ‘Decisions’ punches out choppy guitar riffs and ridiculous drumming by the truckload, and it’s difficult to resist the urge to jump around your bedroom head banging. The very least you can do is sing along, because they lyrics are so damn catchy! “Temptress, temptress, why do leave me distressed, distressed, all in a backless dress” from ‘An Eye For A Diamond’ being just one of the lyrics guaranteed to hang around in your mind for while after you switch your iPod off. (However, do not confuse ‘take your turn in love’ with ‘take your turban off’ as I did - two totally different commands there!) And with titles like ‘An Ink Blot In A Blood Clot’, you won’t forget about them easily.

Blitz Kids debut album is due to be released at some point in March, and with mate Aled Phillips of KIGH fame appearing on the currently untitled album, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a winner. Recorded live in 48 hours, it’s a wonder these guys managed to fit in any time to breathe and think about the year ahead. Because if there’s one thing that can be guaranteed, 2011 is going to be Blitz Kids’ year. Once the album has been released, the boys plan on some serious touring throughout the UK, and have just supported Escape The Fate in their recent shows in London. ‘Decisions’ has done Blitz Kids nothing but justice, and their follow up EP ‘Scavengers’ does not disappoint either. Keep an eye out for these guys in 2011; they’re not going to go unnoticed.

For fans of: We Are The Ocean, Not Advised, Tiger Please
Rating: 9/10 

'Light Me Up' - The Pretty Reckless

The Pretty Reckless were always going to attract attention with their debut album ‘Light Me Up’ - Taylor Momsen, the ‘main attraction’ in the band, best known for her role in TV series ‘Gossip Girl’ playing Jenny Humphrey; however Jenny and Taylor are two very different characters. This may be why ‘Light Me Up’ comes as such a surprise to many. Momsen’s vocal ability for a start, is totally unexpected. Only 16 years old when ‘Light Me Up’ was recorded, Momsen delivers low, grungy vocals, the kind you might expect from someone with years more experience; not just in the music industry, but life experience too - ‘Nothing Left To Lose’ starts off with the lyric ‘I was 19, you were 29, it’s just ten years but it’s such a long time’ and goes on to ‘late night sex, smokin’ cigarettes’, which coming from a 16 year old (Momsen and Ben Phillips write all their songs) makes you feel it’s just a little bit ‘wrong’. However, it’s refreshing in that a lot of teen singers around at the moment who put on an act of innocence then go on to have that facade destroyed (looking at you Miley Cyrus), and Momsen says herself “I’m not just writing something because I feel people might like it, I’m writing it because I have something to say”. And she definitely has a lot to say.

Each song on ‘Light Me Up’ tells a story. Momsen says “It covers everything: love, death and music itself. It’s rock and roll. It’s sex. It’s drugs. It’s religion. It’s politics.” From the emo-cliches in ‘Make Me Wanna Die’ to the despair in ‘You’, Momsen seems to have experienced and observed a lot for her years, however, you can’t help thinking that her lyrics aren’t derived from personal experiences - at 16 years old, surely someone can’t have been through that much? Nevertheless, she produces brilliant lyrics, allbeit not entirely personal ones. The Pretty Reckless take influence from Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes and The Who amongst many others, and their influence could be why ‘Light Me Up’ is so much heavier than people might expect from pretty little Jenny Humphrey. Massive guitar riffs and strong, heavy drums - all these factors make it a brilliant album, and one for every fan of a bit of rock. 

‘Light Me Up’ is a perfect grunge-pop album made for rocking out to, and once Momsen has grown up and had some real life experience, then we can expect even better things to come from The Pretty Reckless. But if they are to become bigger, then expect something massive. Because ‘Light Me Up’ is already pretty huge.

For fans of: Band of Skulls, Blondie, Pink
Rating: 8/10 

Dinosaur Pile-Up - 'Growing Pains'

     Dinosaur Pile-Up, originating from Leeds, are an alternative rock band made up of front-man Matt Bigland, Harry Johns on bass and drummer Mike Sheils. ‘Growing Pains’, the band’s debut album was released October 2010, and have released two singles from it - ‘Birds and Planes’ and ‘Mona Lisa’
     DPU has a very distinct sound - although their music varies between sounding a lot like bands such as The Foo Fighters, Pulled Apart By Horses and Biffy, Matt Bigland’s vocals are very difficult to mistake for another’s. Maybe because they are influenced by a lot of 90’s alternative rock bands like Weezer, their music is very distinguishable amongst other current bands.
     ‘Growing Pains’ has one flaw to it - a lot of the songs sound the same, and are therefore fairly easy to forget. Listening to it without a track listing in front of you, it can be quite difficult to remember which song you’re listening to. Maybe it’s just my bad memory, but I rate an album by how memorable it’s tracks are - if you can listen to an album and forget about it the next day, it’s not a very good album.
     Of course, there are some easily recognisable tracks on ‘Growing Pains’ - ‘Hey You’ in particular is a gorgeous song, completely different from anything else on the record, but still with the distinct DPU sound. ‘Love To Hate Me’ is another highlight, with powerful guitar riffs and a chorus written for crowds to sing along to. It’s actually quite difficult to pick out a bad track from ‘Growing Pains’, because all the songs are actually great - it’s just a shame all the songs are on the one album, because the band would’ve probably benefited from more slow, acoustic songs to really bring out the heavier, more raucous tracks.
     If you’re looking for a different kind of band to the one’s we have to endure day-in-day-out (JLS and J-Beebz, I’m talking to you), definitely give DPU a listen. As far as debut albums go, ‘Growing Pains’ is a very strong one, and promises bigger and better things to come from Dinosaur Pile-Up. If they can record a second album just as big as ‘Growing Pains’, this band are in for a hell of a career.


For fans of: Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Pulled Apart By Horses


Rating: 7/10

Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys

   

     If you're going to base your opinions of 'Danger Days...' on My Chemical Romance's previous stuff, let me stop you right there: this is a totally different record. Previously, Gerard Way and Co were labelled a 'suicide cult' band, and if you admitted you were a fan of their music you were immediately labelled 'emo'. Yes, 'The Black Parade' was a brilliant album, but the hype around it created by the media (Andrew Levy's article for the Daily Mail in particular, blaming the band for a young girl's suicide) meant that the music was overlooked, and the band were blamed for the emo trend favoured by many teenagers at the time. 'Danger Days' however, is a totally different story.

    Gerard Way has always been a story teller; 'The Black Parade' told the story of a patient dying of cancer. 'Danger Days' is set in 2019, the story told by 'Dr Death', who features at the start of the record (the voice actually creeped me out a little bit...) and other characters such as S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, Party Poison, Jet-Star and The Cobra Kid appear on the album.

     If there was one statement I could make to sum up the album, it would be that these songs were recorded to be heard live. Drum machines you need to jump along to, lyrics that were just meant to be sung along to, this is an album to be played live. 'Planetary (GO!)' is just one of these anthems, although it's totally different to any other MCR song you've heard before (synths, wtf?!), it's MASSIVE. Way punches out lyrics like "Kill the party with me - and never go home!", and listening to it makes you want to be at one of their gigs along with the rest of the MCRmy. 'Party Poison' is another one for the festivals and live audiences - "Ain't a DJ gonna save my soul, I sold it long ago for rock 'n' roll" pretty much sums up the song.

     Luckily, they've announced a February arena tour, which means you've got plenty of time to learn all the lyrics.

     If you're looking for a song like 'I Don't Love You', or 'Disenchanted', you've bought the wrong album. The closest thing you'll get is probably 'The Kids From Yesterday', but even then it's still very far away from the stuff on 'The Black Parade'. Probably due to the fact they've used synths again. Don't get me wrong, the synths work well, but they're one of the most obvious differences between 'Danger Days' and MCR's previous stuff. Not a bad difference at all though.

     'Danger Days' is easily one of the biggest albums of 2010, so expect a lot from the band in 2011 - they're not going anywhere soon. It's clear the band had a lot of fun making the record, as it comes across on the record, but there's still that distinct MCR feel to it. It's still the same band, just having more fun. Which is really what the album is about.

For fans of: The Used, Green Day

Rating: 9/10

Guess what album I'll be reviewing first...

Sing, the second single from My Chemical Romance's latest record 'Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys'

I love this album, and haven't been able to stop listening to it since I got it, which is why I've chosen to make it my first review. Here's a little preview...