Rock

EP Review: Solemn Sun – §

Solemn Sun EP Cover
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Don’t ask me how to pronounce this EP title (§). I don’t know if the symbol even makes a sound. It is clever though, two S’s arranged like the new band logo.

A new logo for a new sound. Solemn Sun have previously been known as Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun. Jim hasn’t gone anywhere, it’s just that the band have chosen to undergo a full transformation.

Their two previous albums, Atlases (2010) and Death (2012) channeled a folk-punk vibe that would feature intricate acoustic guitar picking one minute and galloping punk beats the next. § is a departure, stylistically. Gone are the fiddly little break-downs, this is more of a distorted grungy affair.

Opening track “Josef” sends that message straight from the get-go. The drums sound thunderous with washy cymbals and the guitars undulate with intensity. The verses simmer violently to make the choruses sound comparatively more explosive. “Josef” delivers a punch with a message that something new is afoot.

“30:10” is quieter, but it still sounds full and moody. The time signature seems to segue between 4/4 and 6/8 to add an interesting poly rhythmic feel. “Children” and “Ruin” take the EP to its climax with more hard-hitting rock anthems.

Triumphant final track “I Saw” seems like a throwback to the band’s former sound. The drumming alternates between syncopated tribal sounding tom beats and 16th note hi-hat playing.This pulls the momentum back and allows the individual instruments to shine through in different sections. There is a lot of treble in this song, but it ends in plenty of unnecessary squealing feedback.

There are still recognisable nods to the past, and rightly so. The band has a back-catalogue to be proud of, and they can’t dismiss it completely. Although his name is no longer visible, Jim Lockey’s voice is still there to stir up memories. Just as Black Pacific always sounded like Pennywise 2.0 and OFF! sounds just like a fresher Black Flag, singers will always remind you of their most prominent band.

§ is a direct alt-rock assault. The band has adopted the grungy loud/quiet approach and coupled it with ambient post-rock. The songs sound driven because of the no-nonsense drums and bass churning out a steady throbbing beat. And although they are distorted, the layered guitars soar and complement each other well, whilst still retaining a chugging drive. The instruments are all unified to push the song forward.

Ringing in at just under 22 minutes, § provides a short but promising taste of things to come. The old adage goes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but I disagree. This is a case of when a band has reinvented themselves and it has paid off.

The EP is available for pay-what-you-want download and streaming on the Solemn Sun Bandcamp page.

Live Review: Jimmy Eat World play the Futures album at the Auckland Powerstation

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Jimmy Eat World playing at the Auckland Powerstation

Jimmy Eat World (Mesa, Arizona, USA)

w/ The Sinking Teeth

The Powerstation, Auckland

Saturday 8 November 2014

Jimmy Eat World released their fifth album, Futures, ten years ago. This was as good a reason as any for the band to do an anniversary tour with the premise of playing the album start to finish at each show.

It is always interesting when a band plays a notable album in its entirety. You know most of the songs that will feature during the set, but can never tell if the band is going to do something more. Weezer did it well when they played their eponymous Blue Album at Vector Arena last year. They started off with a greatest hits set, followed by an intermission that featured a presentation from a long serving roadie about Weezer’s formative years, before wrapping it up with the Blue Album. When Shihad played Killjoy and The General Electric they had a rule that the encores could only feature songs that had been released prior to the album they’d just played live. I was happy to see Jimmy Eat World play Futures, but was hoping that they would play a selection of other songs as well.

I needn’t have worried. As promised, the band played all eleven songs from Futures, commencing with the title track and finishing with album closer “23″. But then they played a selection of songs that spanned a good portion of their catalogue, enough to please everyone present.

The musicians were stationed onstage with drums and keys at the rear, and the bass and two guitars at the front. This added an interesting visual dynamic. The symmetry was nice, but the band was mainly lit from behind, leaving the forward standing members silhouetted for most of the night. This seemed deliberate, because it was clear that the lighting technician knew what he was doing. The lighting wasn’t spectacular, but it added a lot to the show in a subtle way.

Silhouetted

The bass and guitar players at the front were frequently silhouetted

There’s something special about seeing a band play their entire album live. They sounded just like the CD, from the rousing “Futures”, to the solemn “Drugs or Me”, to the tender “Night Drive” and the album highlight “Pain”.

My one critique was that the band had a backing track of string section during the song “Drugs or Me”. This is me being purist and nit-picky, but when I go to a live performance I expect it to be exactly that: performed live. It didn’t take away from the experience, and actually enhanced the mood of the song, but I prefer not to listen to pre-recorded music in a live context.

Futures is a great album, it sets a mood and simmers away. But the following set added urgency and unpredictability to the show because we no longer knew what was coming next.

The second half of the night showcased another side to the band. They seemed to become more energetic and less restrained. Lead guitarist Jim Adkins became increasingly wild with each guitar solo. Rhythm guitarist Tom Linton sang lead vocals for “Blister”. It was a good mix of songs from various albums and the audience became more enthralled as the band kept delivering by playing songs that we had hoped for.

For their final encore the band inevitably concluded with the two yet unplayed singles from their 2001 album Bleed American: “Sweetness” and “The Middle”. I’m sure that everybody had been eagerly anticipating these two hits, and judging from the crowd reaction the band chose well to end on such a high.

Because this was my first time seeing Jimmy Eat World, I think I would have preferred to see a standard show. That said, it was pretty unique show. They played a range of songs, old and new, but I got a glimpse of the band that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It was a great night and I’d certainly like to see them play again.

Joseph James

Lead guitarist Jim Adkins became increasingly wild with each guitar solo

Lead guitarist Jim Adkins became increasingly wild with each guitar solo

Live Review: Biffy Clyro at the Auckland Powerstation

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Biffy Clyro

Powerstation, Auckland

Tuesday 2 September 2014

Last night at my dreams came true.

In the form of three topless bearded Scotsmen, no less!

Biffy Clyro have been my favourite band since I was 15. I finally got to see them live last night. This was the first time the band has played in New Zealand, their performance at Rhythm and Vines in 2009 having been cancelled due to illness.

Biffy Clyro have packed out Wembly Stadium, headlined some of the UK’s biggest music festivals, and toured with rock heavyweights such as Foo Fighters and Muse. Despite this, they are largely unheard of in New Zealand. Not that this was evident last night, with the Powerstation at full capacity, brimming with diehard fans yelling their trademark chant: “Mon the Biff!” (Mon being an abbreviation of “come on”).

The band made a grand entrance. They stormed the stage to a frenzied pre-recorded Scottish shouted chant, one sounding rather like a Maori haka in my mind. If the chant wasn’t enough to rev up to crowd, opening song ‘Different People’ from Biffy’s latest record Opposites made sure to finish the job. The song has a slow build up, but every person in the crowd knew that after a few minutes the band would reach a verse and let loose. And let loose they did.

The show was saturated in energy. The musicians threw themselves around the stage with abandon. The anthems were huge. The ballads soared and the heavier songs were explosive.

“We’re monning as much as we can!” front man Simon Neil shouted to the crowd, “This is our first time in New Zealand, so we’re going to play some older songs. If that’s OK?”  The band then played ‘Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave’ from their 2004 release Infinity Land. This was the first time they’d played it in seven years.

Biffy Clyro front man Simon Neil playing 'God and Satan' solo on acoustic guitar

Biffy Clyro front man Simon Neil plays ‘God and Satan’ solo on acoustic guitar

 

And that wasn’t the only treat for the crowd. The set list was well balanced, drawing from material old and new, acoustic and electric. There was even a B-side thrown into the mix. My personal highlight was ‘57’ from the band’s debut release Blackened Sky.

It was impressive how talented the band was. Each of the three members (front man Simon Neil on guitar, and twin brothers Ben and James Johnston, on drums and bass, respectively) shared vocal duties.  Also onstage were two touring musicians helping to fill out the sound (Mike Vennart on guitar and Richard Ingram on keys). When five musicians can play weird time signatures like that without missing a beat you can tell they’ve had a lot of practise. Just listen to the ‘Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies’ and you’ll understand exactly what I mean. They had clearly spent a lot of time tightening up their playing to get that unified.

It was obvious that most of the audience were long time fans. You don’t usually see that many people singing along with the band at a show, especially when the lyrics are as off kilter as Biffy’s. But the fans were all singing along, many waving Scottish flags about. Vennart, the rhythm guitarist, even changed from his suit into a red kilt that a punter had thrown onstage.

It was a special night for Biffy Clyro fans. It had been a long time coming, but the band more than made up for the wait.

Joseph James

Set list for the Biffy Clyro Powerstation show in Auckland. Note that the actual set deviated from the plan. 'The Rain', a B-side from Similarities was played after 'Victory Over The Sun'. For the encore 'Folding Stars' was played in place of 'Machines'

Set list for the Biffy Clyro Powerstation show in Auckland.
Note that the actual set deviated from the plan.
‘The Rain’, a B-side from Similarities was played after ‘Victory Over The Sun’.
For the encore ‘Folding Stars’ was played in place of ‘Machines’

Album Review: Shihad – FVEY

Shihad FVEY vinyl record cover
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Last time I saw Shihad play was on Boxing Day a few years back in Lower Hutt – the eternal dwelling place of the bogan. The band played a few songs from each of their releases in chronological sequence, starting with their début EP Devolve, and concluding with their most recent album, Ignite. It was a good cross-section of their history, showcasing their sound as it evolved from the speed metal of their formative days through to the more radio-friendly songs of recent years. The downside to this was that as the show progressed it became clear that Shihad’s later releases pale in comparison to their more aggressive early works. In my opinion Shihad had peaked with The General Electric.

This is why FVEY (pronounced Five Eyes) makes me so happy. It’s a nod to Churn and Killjoy, but with the use of production and mastering technologies 20 years more advanced. Listening to the album teaser was enough to make my hairs stand on end. Being able to the blast the finished product on 180 gram vinyl is a glorious experience.

No doubt Jaz Coleman played a part in this. His influence was unmistakable in the brutal industrial metal that was Churn, and lingering traces could still be felt in the raw anger of Killjoy. And once again the Killing Joke singer has returned to the producer’s chair to impart his wisdom. This record was one of the last to be recorded at Coleman’s York Street studios, allowing the band good use of one of New Zealand’s premium recording studios.

Coleman can still be heard in this record, both musically and thematically.  Title tack ‘FVEY’ sounds like it could comfortably be part of Killing Joke’s 2010 release Absolute Dissent, and some of Jon Toogood’s lyrics resemble those of the songs on Killing Joke’s MMXII.  Anger, distrust of the authorities and conspiracy theories seem to be common themes throughout.

It’s raw but at the same time clean. They’ve captured the heaviness without muddy distortion. Not an easy feat, seeing as how the guitars are drop-tuned so ridiculously low. Frontman Jon Toogood has described the record as “intense” and “blistering”. He’s not wrong.

Where did the band re-discover this energy and determination? The album title FVEY points towards paranoia over our international spy network. Maybe something to do with a fat German millionaire buying off our politicians? No doubt Shihad are riled up about various social injustices, and FVEY is the creative by-product of these feelings.

I’ve always loved Shihad. I own every album and watch them live every time they come to town. It was always a given that I’d be buying FVEY. But this time round I feel safe recommending this album to my friends, not something I could have said about the band’s recent outputs like Ignite or Beautiful Machine.

Killjoy-era Shihad is back in form. And with an accompanying tour promised; I find this very exciting.

 

Joseph James