TRACK OF THE DAY: Wolf Alice "Giant Peach"

After endless stunning singles and EPs, Wolf Alice are releasing their debut album ‘My Love Is Cool’ at last on June 22^nd.

With a tracklist graced by the band’s classics such as the garage cascade of ‘Fluffy’, the winsome ‘Bros’ and their new feral single, ‘Giant Peach’. They even released a 500-copy limited edition 7’’ for ‘Giant Peach’ to celebrate the new chapter of ‘My Love Is Cool’, including a B-side of the stunning ‘I Saw You (In A Corridor)’. It was snapped up very quickly, selling out in a couple of days – we’ll hear about that later on!

The new track ‘Giant Peach’ flares with abrasive energy from the first second of the long, fuzzy intro; of course in true Wolf Alice fashion, the energy stays at peak level and never dips once. Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell screams rebellion and defiance in her lyrics “I don’t tell lies no more, you know, I just don’t tell the truth” with layers of echoes and sultry whispers. It then quickly drops to a lingering bassline as Roswell delivers a crescendo of desperation, “what the hell keeps me here?”. The tension cracks suddenly into grungy, psychedelic twangs from guitarist Joff Oddie as Rowsell repetitively moans “I’m dark and pretty down” until she bursts into a snarling scream and the track continues into a feral whirlpool of distortion and raunchy riffs.

The video for the track is a sight to behold itself; being a tongue-in-cheek approach with Tony Gardner as the bands absolutely crap tour manager at the centrefold. It features sleaze, gyrating, smashed bottles and a murder as Ellie Rowsell explains:

“Here we are trying out our questionable acting skills once again. It’s almost a sequel to our video ‘Fluffy’ and a look into the future of Wolf Alice – featuring lots of leather, hip thrusting, murder and a very naughty manager. Special thank you to Tony Gardner for being a hero.”

‘I Saw You (In A Corridor)’ follows on the ‘Giant Peach’ vinyl as a B-side; however it reduces to a bare yet beautiful minimum of Rowsell’s dulcetly touching vocals, a metronome and an acoustic guitar. It’s a complete juxtaposition to the previous hurricane with a simple, stunningly mellifluous waterfall of hope in lyrics such as “I should tell you I adore you” and “I want nothing more, nothing different”.

‘Giant Peach’ seems to be highly reminiscent of The Joy Formidable’s ‘A Heavy Abacus’ and has tones of Brighton rock duo Blood Red Shoes. The London four-piece start their 14-date UK headline tour on Monday, starting in Glasgow and finishing in Cambridge; clearly 2015 is brimming with hope for Wolf Alice so watch this space.

TRACK OF THE DAY: Wolf Alice "Giant Peach"

LIVE REVIEW: Muse - Manchester Academy - 22/03/2015

I last saw Muse in 2010 at Wembley Stadium from about 500 feet away alongside 90,000 other people, with Lilly Allen as a support act.

That’s when I realised: stadium gigs just aren’t for me. I’m just not okay with waiting around outside a venue an entire day in advance just to guarantee any kind of decent view. If I’m honest, I struggle to patiently wait for a microwave meal. That’s not to mention the worst punishment of arriving fashionably late – watching the entire performance via a big screen TV. Should I just have waited until the live DVD came out? The entire occasion only leaves you questioning your own integrity when you later tell people that you’ve ‘seen’ Muse.

But having learned my lesson after seeing Muse at Wembley Stadium (well, it could have been anyone considering how far away I was) I jumped at the chance to see them minus the binoculars at the otherwise cosy Manchester Academy. This was easily up there as one of the best decisions of my life, only second to the time that two chocolate bars came out of the vending machine at once. Yes readers, my life is rather blessed.

As Muse entered the stage and exploded into the monstrous riffs of ‘Psycho’, it became immediately clear that my ass was now property of Matt Bellamy (something which I don’t have any particular objections to). With Chris Wolstenholme‘s bass lit up like a Christmas tree and Dominic Howard slamming the skins as though he was still in Wembley Stadium, Muse’s setlist hosted a selection of tracks that gave even the most die-hard of Muse fans a run for their money.

In a move almost as unexpected as Kanye West headlining Glastonbury, Muse threw the ‘The Groove’ into the ring, a rare b-side that hasn’t had been played live since 2008. With circle pits now in full swing, the phenomenal classic ‘Bliss’ followed alongside massive confetti-filled-balloons which rebounded off the ceiling of Manchester Academy. Matt Bellamy of course couldn’t resist demolishing a few balloons himself with the headstock of his guitar, right before bursting into ‘Dead Star’, a track plucked straight from 2002. Nostalgia quickly leapt into the year 2003 (a year when wearing a tracksuit out in public was not only acceptable, but fashionable) as ‘Time Is Running Out’, ‘Interlude’, ‘Hysteria’ and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ were consecutively ripped straight out of ‘Absolution’.

Fan favourite ‘Hyper Music’ was followed by the futuristic refrains of ‘Starlight’, ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ and ‘Uprising’, successfully cramming all the intensity of Wembley Stadium into a 2,600 person venue. After introducing Manchester to the exhilarating ‘Reapers’ from forthcoming album ‘Drones‘, Muse parted the stage before returning with the underdog anthem that is ‘Fury’.

After a journey back in time courtesy of the legendary ‘Plug In Baby’, complete with frantic improvised guitar solos, Chris Wolstenholme’s spooky harmonica intro of Ennio Morricone’s ‘Man With A Harmonica’ marked the beginning of the end. Muse finally pulled the trigger with the explosive refrains of ‘Knights Of Cydonia‘ that went out with several bangs.

It was a rare pleasure to see Muse up close and personal, without the gratuitous lighting, effects and bizarre floating UFOs to distract from their offensively epic musicianship. Heavily armed with an arsenal of songs from past and present, Muse demonstrated that even without their usual bag of tricks, they undoubtedly pack a punch that you won’t soon forget.

Muse’s setlist at Manchester Academy:

1. 
   
   Psycho
   
   


2. 
   
   The Groove (First full performance since 2004)
   
   


3. 
   
   Bliss (w/ Hullaballoons; Extended)
   
   


4. 
   
   Dead Star (Killing In The Name outro + Riff outro)
   
   


5. 
   
   Time Is Running Out (Jeff Buckley’s Grace intro;… more )
   
   


6. 
   
   Interlude
   
   


7. 
   
   Hysteria
   
   


8. 
   
   Stockholm Syndrome (Micro Cuts Outro)
   
   


9. 
   
   Hyper Music (Come on you Reds/Voodoo Child riff outro)
   
   


10. 
    
    Starlight
    
    


11. 
    
    Supermassive Black Hole (Burning Bridges intro)
    
    


12. 
    
    Uprising (Extended outro)
    
    


13. 
    
    Reapers
    
    


14. 
    
    Fury
    
    


15. 
    
    Plug In Baby
    
    


16. 
    
    Knights of Cydonia (Ennio Morricone’s Man With a Harmonica Intro)
    
    

LIVE REVIEW: Muse - Manchester Academy - 22/03/2015

TRACK OF THE DAY: Muse "Dead Inside"

Having only just recovered from seeing Muse live at Manchester Academy, Muse unveiled ‘Dead Inside‘, a track that has more twists and turns than your average helter-skelter.

Matt Bellamy describes this track as “where the story of the album begins, where the protagonist loses hope and becomes ‘Dead Inside’, therefore vulnerable to the dark forces introduced in ‘Psycho‘”. Whilst I may need to assume the crash position upon hearing the phrase ‘concept album’, I’ve undoubtedly succumb to the dark forces of ‘Dead Inside’ already.

Sporting a beat that initially sounds like a HAIM record, robotic bass and Matt Bellamy’s vocal acrobatics are all that’s needed to drive this hard hitting, musical wake-up call. With a wailing guitar interlude right after the first chorus, ‘Dead Inside’ takes no prisoners in its clinical execution.

With an outro more uplifting than a Wonderbra, Matt Bellamy’s voice soars over a flurry of frantic guitar chords, clean basslines and relentless percussion. With Matt Bellamy promising that our protagonist will be “defecting, revolting and overcoming these dark forces later in the story”, it’s difficult to not to wonder what lies ahead on ‘Drones‘. If ‘Dead Inside’ is anything to go by, I think they might just pull it off.

TRACK OF THE DAY: Muse "Dead Inside"

LISTEN: Sleeping With Sirens "Better Off Dead"

Ahead of the release of their fourth forthcoming studio album, Sleeping with Sirens have unveiled the storming track ‘Better Off Dead‘.

Sleeping With Siren’s latest track ‘Better Off Dead’ features on their forthcoming album ‘Madness’, released in the UK on March the 16th. The UK leg of their world tour with Pierce The Veil commences on the 29th of March, 2015 at Norwich UEA LCR.

• March 29th – Norwich LCR UEA


• March 30th – Portsmouth Guildhall


• March 31st – Bristol O2 Academy


• April 2nd – Manchester Academy


• April 3rd – Leeds O2 Academy


• April 4th – Glasgow O2 Academy


• April 6th – Newcastle O2 Academy


• April 7th – Nottingham Rock City


• April 8th – Birmingham O2 Academy


• April 10th – London Kentish Town Forum


• April 11th – London Kentish Town Forum

LISTEN: Sleeping With Sirens "Better Off Dead"

TRACK OF THE DAY: Muse "Psycho"

Muse are returning to their heavier roots with ‘Psycho‘, with fans instantly divided on how they feel about the matter. Featuring a riff that’s so heavy, it has its own BMI rating, ‘Psycho’ marks Muse’s return to the music world.

Whilst we all enjoyed tracks where a stuttering robotic voice repeated the word ‘madness‘ until our ears bled, I for one instantly feel like tearing my vest off and taking a day off work tomorrow. Yes ladies, I can be pretty reckless.

Based on a riff they regularly played live, ‘Psycho’ harks back to their ‘Origin of Symmetry‘ and ‘Absolution‘ days; it immediately brings back all the nostalgia of being an awkward teen with godlike music taste. These days, I’m an awkward adult with a music blog. Is that an improvement? Probably not. ‘Psycho’ feels less like a song and more like a five minute assault that constantly slaps you for listening to anything other than Muse whilst they’ve been gone.

It’s almost as if Royal Blood shone the Bat-signal after being the only rock band at the Brit Awards and Matt Bellamy arrived in tight leather pants (to be fair, he usually is wearing tight leather pants anyway). Whilst their forthcoming seventh studio album ‘Drones‘ is more than likely to have its fair share of indulgently long piano interludes too, anyone who can fit “your ass belongs to me now” into a credible song needs to be aggressively celebrated. Bring on ‘Drones’.

TRACK OF THE DAY: Muse "Psycho"

TRACK OF THE DAY: Mini Mansions "Vertigo" ft. Alex Turner

Mini Mansions latest track ‘Vertigo‘ is a mini masterpiece, aided by the tongue-twisting vocals of Alex Turner. Having recently performed at Tom Rowley’s wedding, I’m beginning to wonder if he might also be available for birthdays and bar mitzvahs too.

Los Angeles trio, Mini Mansions, are no stranger to the Arctic Monkeys frontman, having performed ‘Vertigo’ live multiple times across their American tour in 2014. However, we needn’t squint at grainy, motion-sickness-inducing YouTube videos any longer: ‘Vertigo‘ has been immortalised in all its psych-pop glory.

Opening with eerie synth and spooky piano, electronic percussion sets the pace for this undeniably danceable affair. The chorus chugs along with playful falsetto vocals and a bassline that’s somewhat hypnotic in its execution.

Alex Turner’s effortlessly sleek vocal performance is the icing on the cake of an already ambitious record: as he whispers “run for cover”, it’s hard not to get an immediate chill down your spine. It’s a collaboration that just works.

TRACK OF THE DAY: Mini Mansions "Vertigo" ft. Alex Turner

LISTEN: Mini Mansions "Vertigo" ft. Alex Turner

Los Angeles based band Mini Mansions have been doing the rounds with ‘Vertigo‘ alongside Arctic Monkeys frontman for several months now.

With a staple line-up of Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman along with Zach Dawes and Tyler Parkford, Mini Mansions feature the one and only Alex Turner for the track ‘Vertigo’. Their debut album is due for release on the 23rd of March and they’re currently touring the UK as support for Royal Blood, who have also supported Arctic Monkeys in the past. It’s just one big happy family. Their remaining tour dates are as follows:

• 10 March Olympia Dublin Ireland


• 11 March Civic Hall Wolverhampton


• 13 March O2 Brixton Academy London


• 14 March Rock City Nottingham

LISTEN: Mini Mansions "Vertigo" ft. Alex Turner