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: 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

Live Review: Foo Fighters at Western Springs, Auckland

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Foo Fighters

w/ Cairo Knife Fight, Fucked Up, Tenacious D

Western Springs, Auckland

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Fucked Up

Canadian hardcore act Fucked Up brought the party. As far as openers go, these guys definitely knew what to do to hype an audience up. The band played well; energetic and fast paced. The five musicians stuck largely to their own spots on stage, while vocalist Damien “Pink Eyes” , spent a majority of the set walking throughout the crowd interacting with the punters. A beast of a man, topless with his hairy belly hanging out and a cup sitting atop his head, he threaded though the sea of people at random, sharing the microphone, giving hugs and high fives, even picking up one guy and carrying him around on his shoulder for a period. Most songs sounded the same due to the terrible live mix, but braving the moody weather and arriving early enough to catch the set definitely paid off.

Tenacious D

Tenacious D arrived onstage to a more rapturous reception. Their set was entirely what you’d expect if you’re at all familiar with the band: that is, two fat men with acoustic guitars singing songs about rock, weed, and all things crass. They gave a faux-storyline to the set, so that they could incorporate some of the narrative styled songs from their second album into the mix, along with some light drama to match.

With the help of their band, Kyle and Jack played a good mix of songs from both albums, as well as a yet unreleased song dedicated to their roadie, and a medley of Who songs. The backing band was great, each having a solo when being introduced to the crowd. I particularly enjoyed watching drummer Brooks Wackerman (of punk band Bad Religion) playing drum parts that were originally played by none other than Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl. The set was juvenile, but entertaining nonetheless.

Foo Fighters

From the moment they charged onstage to the palm-muted strums of All My Life, to the final lingering notes of set-closer Everlong, Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. It’s almost as if even the rain subsided for him, because as he came into view scores of people removed their flimsy plastic rain ponchos and threw them into the air or started spinning them above their heads.

A Foo Fighters show is one hell of a ride. Hit after hit, both old and new, complete with lengthy solos, guitar duels and extended jams galore. They have some cool screens and lights, but the strength of their performance comes from the great music and crowd interaction. A lot of the charisma came from Grohl, who, after 17 years of fronting the Foos, knew how to work the crowd like a seasoned pro.

The band seems to have a genuine love of New Zealand; quoting a show they did at the Auckland Supertop years ago as one of the favourite they’ve ever played, and having done a charity show at the Auckland Town Hall earlier this year to raise funds for the Christchurch earthquake. Grohl loves playing Auckland so much that he chose to film the crowd for a live music video for the song These Days. He also showed a real appreciation for his fans, specially playing a few acoustic songs for the people way down the back, and sincerely thanking everybody involved, before the band finished.

After doing a bit of bartering with the crowd via a video camera backstage, Grohl came out to encore with some acoustic numbers like Wheels and Times like these, before rocking out a few final tunes with the band (including a cover of Queen’s Tie your Mother Down featuring guest appearances by Tenacious D wearing nothing but underwear and suspenders) and inevitably ending with the classic hit, Everlong.

All up the Foos played for just under three hours. With live shows such as this it’s little wonder that they’ve lasted so long, and built up such a large fan base. I just wonder how they’re going to fit everybody in next time when they play Auckland Town Hall.

 

Joseph James

Live Review: Shihad at Riwaka Hotel, Nelson (Ignite tour)

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This review was originally posted on the Rip It Up website. It has since been taken down because Rip It Up merged with Groove Guide and redid their site.

Shihad

w/ Cairo Knife Fight and The Naked and Famous

Riwaka Hotel, Nelson

Wednesday 29 December 2010

Opening act tonight was Cairo Knife Fight who, despite only having only two members, created a huge wall of sound by employing the usage of looping pedals. Particularly impressive was Nick Gaffaney’s phenomenal drumming. How he manages to sing, drum and play bass on the synth with his left hand whilst operating the looping pedal simultaneously I’ll never know. Who said men can’t multi-task? Their moody, ambient sound would have better suited a later slot once the sun had set, but their playing can’t really be faulted.

The Naked and Famous attracted more attention, the tent becoming noticeably more crowded once they’d started playing. Their style is one that has become trendy of late, dual softly sung vocals over electric sounds and synthesisers. Not what you’d typically expect from an act opening for veteran rockers, but they elicited a favourable reaction from the crowd regardless

As good as the first two bands were, they were nothing compared to the headliners. Chants for the band had been erupting intermittently all night, and when Shihad finally came onstage, they did not disappoint.

It was everything you’d expect from a Shihad show. Sing along songs, aggressive songs, jump up and down songs, old songs, recent songs. With 22 years of experience under their belts, there was really no possibility that they couldn’t deliver the goods. This gig was mainly a showcase of their latest album, Ignite, which made up nearly half the setlist. The rest constituted mainly of songs from General Electric and Pacifier, the band’s two most commercially successful albums.

One highlight was the song ‘Sleepeater’ that they closed with. Although they have played it live before, at the time it was an unreleased track they were previewing to the crowd. This was probably the first time it had been played in New Zealand that people actually knew it, and it worked well, as did all the new songs. Once they’d left the stage the crowd started chanting again. “SHIHAD, SHIHAD!”

The encore was ‘Envy’, from Killjoy, and their parting song was the wave-your-lighters-in-the-air ballad ‘Pacifier’.

The crowd kept the chant going for a good five minutes or more after Shihad had finished their encore. I was surprised that the band didn’t come back on; the crowd reaction was so strong.

I walked away with ringing ears (despite the fact I wore earplugs), and with ridiculously muddy shoes. Tonight was my sixth time seeing Shihad live. I can’t wait to see them for a seventh time at Big Day Out.

 

Joseph James