Finch - What It Is To Burn 10th Anniversary Show @ O2 Academy Brixton (22/03/2013) Review

Few bands of the 'post-hardcore' genre can say that they have played a venue the size of Brixton, and hardly any of them can say that they can play a venue of this magnitude after only two full-lengths, a hiatus, a reformation and then a break-up and then another reformation! It's even more shocking that Finch's second album of the two hardly made a blip on the post-hardcore radar, and that still, after a whole decade since it's release, What It Is To Burn, is still causing as much of a stir now as it was the day it was released. Having sold out Shepherd's Bush Empire, the venue was quickly upgraded, and here we are, outside Brixton academy, waiting for quite possibly my one and only chance to see one of the biggest post-hardcore bands play one of the most critically acclaimed and loved, if not the most, albums of all time in it's entirety.

First band I caught of the night was Mallory Knox. They may have been musically relevant, being, as many other bands are out there, basically a product of the What It Is To Burn album, but it certainly didn't feel that way tonight. Mallory Knox are certainly making waves among the up and coming rock scene, having just released their debut album Signals earlier this year and making the festival run this summer with Hit The Deck, Slam Dunk and Reading and Leeds, but unfortunately they hardly got a response tonight. Having a band that is popular among mostly teenagers, with only one two month old album under their belts, supporting a veteran post-hardcore band that has been around for over a decade, whose fan base is between 20 and 30 years old, just didn't work. Despite this, I had to admire their enthusiasm on stage. Mikey Chapman's vocals were excellent and Lighthouse did manage to raise a few heads. Though their poppy infused post-hardcore just didn't ring with the crowd tonight.

And surprise, surprise the intro to New Beginnings echoes around the colossal Brixton Academy, and the hour long sing along ensues. Finch appeared to get off to a great start, with not a single person in the audience stood still, and not a single word was unsung. Of course with an album like What It Is To Burn, in which every single track is a stand alone anthem, the response is going to be epic. Nonetheless, about half way through, once the momentum of the anticipation of seeing Finch had died down, and of course once Letters To You had already been played, I started to notice that Finch didn't seem to share the same energy. I wasn't alone. The crowd started to lose energy and enthusiasm. Yes, they did say that apparently tonight was the best show they've ever played, but I highly doubt that! It was probably just a poor and desperate attempt at getting the crowd excited again. For the most part they seemed un-focused, impersonal and withdrawn. By the time that Ender came on, the crowd had fallen into a deep lull.

To make matters worse, when you didn't think the crowd could get any less bothered, they started playing songs that weren't on What It Is To Burn. I am aware that Finch simply cannot rely solely on What It Is To Burn to make up their set list, it simply would not be long enough, but honestly, they really could have done without playing old unheard tracks. It even would have been better if they had played Letters To You and second time acoustically, as opposed to playing anything else! Instead Nate played the little known Once Upon My Nightstand solo to a disappointed and confused crowd, made worse by the fact that his voice did seem a little out of tune. They didn't even play anything off Say Hello To Sunshine. And so it was left up to the crowd to get the momentum flowing again for the finale title track, What It Is To Burn. At least it ended on a high.

With a year like the last, with countless reunions and comebacks such as Refused, Alexisonfire and Hundred Reasons just to name a few, Finch just didn't live up. That being said, the sheer quality of What It Is To Burn and the fact that is easily one of my favourite albums of all time meant that this gig was saved for me, and probably for almost everyone else. Despite Finch's poor effort, it didn't mean that the crowd couldn't at least enjoy singing along and experiencing a moment of sheer nostalgia and getting a chance to pretend they were their 15 year old emo self again. It was great to start off with, but unfortunately Finch did suffer in the middle from lack of interest in older material, which resulted in a disappointingly mediocre gig.

Godard/Like Home Split Review (2013)

So today I'm trying out something new. Recently I've been sent a few emails from bands with links to their EPs and albums asking me to review them, so I thought why not? Might as well give a little something back to the punk and hardcore community and try and promote some of the smaller bands out there. So here we go!

The first EP I shall be reviewing by request is the new split EP by British melodic punk/hardcore bands Godard and Like Home. The first half was mastered by the legend Pete Maher who has also mastered material by Nine Inch Nails , U2 and Depeche Mode just to name a few. In contrast, Like Home's half was mastered and recorded in a bedroom!

Kicking off this EP is Godard with the first two tracks, Carolyn Burnham Club and Santa Maria. Carolyn Burnham Club creeps in gradually with soft plucking building up into a coarse vocal introduction, reminiscent of Daylight or Hindsights, alternating and pleading, leading into a classic fast-paced melodic hardcore track. It is a clear EP opener with its attention grabbing introduction and its upbeat mid-section. The plucked guitar theme heard in the introduction and the coarse lyrics 'Stay there one more night...' is repeated throughout the song reeling me in by the hook. All in all, a great start with an incredibly well structured song. Santa Maria is a much more catchy and bouncy indie influenced number that's sure to bring in the sing-alongs. Again, this song was well produced and overall well written, with crescendos, diminuendos, small vocal and and instrumental interludes, but I did feel that the main 'My knuckles are red' theme was a little repetitive.

The second half of the EP features Like Home, a slightly punkier band from Hampshire. Their first track, entitled Drown, is uncannily like Title Fight, everything from the drumming to the vocals. It did make the lyrics 'We all sound the same' slightly ironic. That being said, I adore Title Fight so Drown was definitely a winner with me. It had everything from the raspy gang-vocals, to the calm interlude in the middle with the distorted solo guitar. Ernest Grace displays more aggression, and is lyrically wrenched from the heart: 'I swallowed my pride but it crawled back out me'.  Though again, it's very similar to Title Fight!

Overall, this album was obviously incredibly well mastered, very professional and sounds great, despite half of it being recorded in a bedroom. Though if any bad comment could be made is that it may have been a tad repetitive and wouldn't have worked over a whole album and it's been done before by bands like Basement and Title Fight. But if you are a fan of Basement and Title Fight, you will DEFINITELY like this EP, and with Basement (sadly) gone, Godard look set to step in behind them at take the role as the new British melodic hardcore/punk band. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of them on the bill at future hardcore and punk shows.

(7/10)

If anyone fancies a listen themselves here is the link: http://dstmpromotions.bandcamp.com/album/godard-like-home-split

They've also released their split on cassette. 

Yellowcard @ The Peel Kingston 03/03/13 Review

Attending gigs at the Peel is always a weird experience, let alone to see a band with the level of presence as Yellowcard. For anyone who has never been to or heard of the Peel, it is a little gem of a venue in the heart of Kingston suburbia. Located amongst stripper bars, kebab shops and council estate, it is the most unassuming of pubs; little would you know that tonight, history was going to be made: Yellowcard's first (two!) ever Kingston show(s). Banquet Records, an independent record store based in Kingston, has long been hosting big bands at tiny venues, such as All Time Low and You Me At Six just to name a couple, so it's about time that Yellowcard grace the stage.

Before the immense Yellowcard take us on a trip down memory lane, it's up to the Swedish quintent Like Torches (formerly know as You Ate My Dog) to warm us up (not that we need it in this sweat box!). I was honestly completely unaware that any kind of pop-punk/post hardcore scene existed in Sweden, possibly out of ignorance, but before this mammoth tour, Like Torches were not much more than a blip on the UK 'alternative' radar. Their show, however, would suggest otherwise. Starting this tour right on the back of the release of their new album, Keep Your Head High, which was produced by Yellowcard members Ryan Mendez and Ryan Key, this was the perfect opportunity for Like Torches to break across the channel and into UK scene. They weren't afraid of the challenge and they came out on stage as though they themselves were headlining. Their set had everything from sing-alongs, lead by the wonderfully harmonic voices of Jonathan and Daniel Kärn, to fast-paced percussion, breakdowns and pits. There wasn't a single song in the set that wasn't anything less than infectious! Though the songs Wounds Like These and Made Of Glass.

After their set I bought the album from them, and I have been listening to it all day, so for anyone that likes their post-hardcore bouncy and with lots of hooks, I recommend picking up Like Torches-Keep You Head High.

Signed Like Torches Album

In the sold out 250 capacity room that feels much more like someone's basement or garage rather than a venue that is just about to host one of the biggest pop-punk bands of all time, the atmosphere is electric. There is already sweat dripping from the ceiling and walls from the matinee show that ended hardly an hour before this one started. Then Yellowcard enter the room and deafening screams and yells erupt out of the mouths of this packed out room.

Undoubtedly they were a little put off by the matinee show, which from the sounds of it didn't resemble the kind of no barriers punk show they were expecting, and they were not going to have another one like it. The moment they got on stage, they demanded a real punk show. No photos. No idle standing around. Everyone had to get involved. Without further ado, Yellowcard blared in with Southern Air openers The Awakening and Always Summer.

One danger with this tour was the fear that either it was going to be nothing more than a nostalgia trip, replaying Ocean Avenue start to finish and not moving forward musically, or that their new material was not going to have the same impact as their established classics and simply wouldn't live up to the name. I don't know what other shows were like, but this show certainly did not suffer from either. Yellowcard were not shy from playing their less heard new material as demonstrated with their opening tracks. Perhaps it was because it was such a small intense and intimate gig, and filled with the more committed fans that no song was unknown or got anything less than a full sing along. Despite this, it is undoubtable that Yellowcard are definitely back on form. If the pop-punk era was just as influential and popular as it was when Ocean Avenue was written, Southern Air would have been an album of classic pop-punk anthems. The Awakening is already one of my favourite ever Yellowcard songs, and it seemed like the rest of the crowd felt the same.

It did take a while for Yellowcard to really get into the set, possibly because of the disappointment of the matinee show (sorry for anyone who was there!), but soon enough, it became apparent that this show was a different affair. There wasn't a single person who didn't have a massive grin on their face; very few people were shying away from getting messy in the pit and at the front. Yellowcard demanded a circle pit to involve at least 3 females, and believe me, it doesn't happen that often, but they managed to get almost a dozen girls involved. It was the most positive, uplifting, all inclusive and just generally best atmosphere I have experienced at a gig for a long time if not ever. As every band does, Yellowcard said that this was the best gig that they have played all tour, but for once I actually believed them.

Despite a couple of technical difficulties affecting Ryan Mendez, Yellowcard were spotless. Any band that can pull off playing an electric violin on stage at a tiny little raucous pop-punk show should get a lot of praise!  And Yellowcard didn't just pull it off, Sean Mackin was exceptional. You could see and feel from the floor how humid it was up on stage, and when Sean said his frets were melting, you couldn't be sure of whether he was joking.

Unfortunately, as the intro of Ocean Avenue, kicked in, we all knew that it was the end, the show was over. Truth be told, it has to be said that Yellowcard have aged since the days of Ocean Avenue, and they joked about how they can't handle these kinds of intense chaotic punk gigs, with no barrier, where people are free to jump on stage, any more. Though there was some truth behind this, it didn't stop Yellowcard from giving it their all and playing one hell of a brilliant gig.

YELLOWCARD FESTIVAL RUMOURS:
Yellowcard festival appearances were speculated about on the night. They admitted they really wanted to play Reading/Leeds but hadn't been asked yet.
Also, Yellowcard said that they have been confirmed to play another UK festival this summer but couldn't say which. Does anyone have any ideas? Slam Dunk, Download, Hevy....?