Review: Ironed Out - Us and Them EP [2015]

   For those who don't know me, my "hardcore" background comes from being introduced to the band Knuckledust through a Terrorizer compilation CD and then being taken by friends to my first London hardcore show. Since then, up until I moved to Israel, I have been going to London shows and supporting Rucktion Records' releases. Ironed Out is a new band on the scene; kind of a super group, including members of some of my London faves such as the previously mentioned Knuckledust and 50 Caliber.
    For those familiar with the whole Rucktion/LBU scene, this band has that same tough-guy London swagger with more of a "rap" emphasis, similar to that of other London band TRC's earlier work. On this EP, they also incorporate something which, to me, is pretty closely associated with London hardcore bands; using samples from British movies and TV. We can hear it in the EP's intro as well as in third track ACAB (which is a sample from British sitcom Only Fools and Horses about the police aka "the old bill").   
   Unlike more popular rap-hardcore bands like Biohazard and Madball, Ironed Out take more of a leaf out of E-Town Concrete's book, using melodic guitar parts as well as groovy riffs. Penultimate track on the EP, Built To Last (not a Sick Of It All cover), even has singing in the chorus. Personally I love that, but I remember a time when this side of the London scene made fun of Your Demise for introducing singing on their later material. On the other hand, Your Demise's sound pretty much completely changed so that was probably more the issue.
    Built To Last stands out as one of the EPs best tracks, along with final track Survivors. The whole EP is heavy and groovy; totally my sort of thing. However, there are a few issues. When the music kicks in on ACAB, especially when listening on headphones, the first guitar's chugging seems a little off which is a little distracting. Luckily the rest of the track compensates for that. There is also a section nearer the end of the Never Gonna Change, where the guitar part and the drumming seem out of sync but once again, everything sorts itself out and the groove is back on track. One other criticism is, as much as I've always loved the scene, the whole shouting "LBU" thing every so often and talking about the scene just doesn't really do anything for me anymore. It's like when a rapper says his name quite often. That aside, this is a perfect band for fans of E-Town Concrete, Fury of V, TRC and most things Danny Diablo has had a hand in. With bands like Hacktivist and TRC having gained popularity over the years, there's a possibility that Ironed Out will not just remain a hidden gem.
3.5/5

Live Review: Mahleket Hanikot Shotrim/Haifa Chemikalim/Tuberculizm @ Koro, Tel Aviv [28/03/2015]

    Tonight sees the second official Punkalovich show,  yet again at the Koro. Originally, Woolly Boy were also meant to play this show but in the end had to pull out. Luckily, Haifa band Tuberculizm were able to jump in at the very last minute. 

Tuberculizm

      This is my first time seeing Tuberculizm and I was pleasantly surprised. It all started to off a bit odd. First song was done with someone who wasn't their official singer and then the singer came along with an old skool grill mic. He was more like the co-singer. Couldn't really hear him most of the time and the bassist was doing most of the vocals. The singer was down in the pit really getting their Haifa fanbase and other onlookers energised and dancing. 

  Originally thinking it was going to be same old simple street punk, I found myself doing my usual happy-as-larry grin at some pretty groovy hardcore parts and heavy riffs. The band's playing is actually more technical than most street punk bands. The only problem for me is that most of the songs, if not all of them, were in Russian, and I don't know much Russian. They do, however, end the (quite long for an opening band) set with a sea-shanty style song, fit with a "ho ho and a bottle of rum" refrain. That was a really fun way to finish. 

  Tuberculizm are a good band but I do feel that there's too many private jokes and a bit of a "Haifa-club" feel about it. 
3.5/5

Haifa Chemikalim 

       Next up is another Haifa street punk band I hadn't seen yet. Haifa Chemikalim are fronted by Sasha, who was the lovely guy who gave Woolly Boy, the band I sing in, our first actual gig. Along with Busha, this band has some proper young band members. Generally being the main member of a band I focus on the most, Drummer, Eyal, plays with great precision and impressive fills. Baby faced Lenny takes bass duties and guitarist Idan helps back up Sasha on vocals. The band play slightly more straight up street punk compared to Tuberculizm and the room really digs it. Sasha moves from the stage to the floor, getting people moving and psyched up. Songs like Alcohol and their cover of Simu Et Yerushalayim especially went down well. They might not be the most technical or groundbreaking band there is, but damn it's fun!

3/5

Mahleket Hanikot Shotrim

     For some reason, Mahleket Hanikot Shotrim (Police Strangling Department) have not received the same turn out as they have done in the past. The band are considered legends; maybe not as legendary as Pussy Shel Lucy but definitely had a big underground following.

   Over the years, I must have seen Mahash (their abbreviated name) a good few times and the best thing about them is their energy. Frontman Barak is so entertaining that, I must admit, he's sometimes the only one I'm watching. His antics tonight include stage diving, sitting down with someone at the back of the room while singing and then taking his hat, walking over to me and singing right into my face and, the highlight, climbing to the top of a ladder (which was Sasha's idea) and singing from there before jumping off. Barak might not be as mental GG Allin but he definitely gives off that same sort of energy. The funniest,interesting and most heart warming thing about watching Barak is his dedication to removing smokers due to his asthma. I don't think I could ever get away with stealing a cigarette from someone's hand and putting it out on the floor but Barak does.

   The band had the crowd singing along to the likes of Al Tagid li Mahash and the legendary Yehovah Ya Ben Zonah. A good time was definitely had by all.

4.5/5

QUIRKY SINGLE WITH PORN PARODY VIDEO BY BRITISH WEIRDOS LA SHARK

   Sometimes I'm a little late in finding a new single/video, sometimes I'm a little late on properly discovering a band and sometimes it's both. This post is the latter. 

   I have known OF London based indie-pop/whatever-one-wishes-to-call-it band La Shark since about their beginnings in around 2009 but I never really paid attention to them. This is made worse by the fact that their bassist, Louis, and I are old college classmates. Over the years, he has evolved from a spiky haired wannabe DJ to a full on hipster Jesus. 
  Anyway...the band itself has gained acclaim with their quirky and catchy 80s-like songs, which has lead to going on tour with the likes of Paloma Faith (lucky bastards!) Latest single World Wide Babes has definitely made me sit up and pay closer attention for two reason. 1) The song is pure cheesy pop sounding, with clever lines such as "Worldwide fame on the worldwide web gets you worldwide babes with held wide legs" getting stuck in your head and 2) the video is a funny send up of popular porn sites and series. For those who know me and know me well, it wouldn't surprise you that I recognise almost everything they are parodying here, such as Fake Agent, Money Talks (I'm guessing, unless there's another one I don't know about) and even Chaturbate. It's good to see that the band and the girls involved all have a sense of humour.

   For those of you in London interested in checking these guys out live, you can see them on 1st May at The Bussey Building, Peckham. 

 

SOME MORE NEW VIDEOS

   Sometimes I post new videos separately but other times, like this, I like to just take a bunch of them and put them in one post. Now...I've noticed that sometimes I post stuff I like but this is a bit of a mish-mash.

Comeback Kid ft Poli Correia - Losing Sleep 

   Comeback Kid are one of those hardcore bands I always wonder whether I should have been more into. I remember seeing them at a really small show in London (at The Verge, I think) and I bought their Turn It Around album. At the time, I think I barely listened to it, so from thereon in, I never really paid much attention. A couple of years ago, due to a badly organised "hardcore"/metalcore show, Comeback Kid ended up stuck in Israel without a show until local heroes Kids Insane got in contact and hooked them up with a show at Koro, Tel Aviv. Instead of headlining, they were the first band and the place was absolutely packed and sweaty as hell. Great show, though, and since I've given the band more attention. This track from Die Knowing is heavy and groovy. Is it groundbreaking? Probably not, but I like it. The video is simply a mix of live and studio footage but shot incredibly well. 

36 Crazyfists - Swing The Noose

    Another band that I haven't really cared about over the years since about the release of their second album Bitterness The Star on Roadrunner. I was doing some street teaming for RR at the time and I think I had to hand out stickers for that release. I have to say, if it wasn't for a facebook friend still being really into the band (you know who you are) I probably would not have even known about this video and the new album Time and Trauma. Thing is, judging by Swing The Noose, their sound and even music video cinematography hasn't really developed since the early 2000s. Frontman Brock's vocals are a little off putting. It's similar to vocalists I do like, such as Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria and Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw etc., but he sounds almost constipated. It's certainly not the worst thing I've ever heard; chorus is pretty decent and the last minute has some good moments. Then again, it's not brilliant, either. The video is a tad confusing although at the same time captivating. What do you lot think?

New Found Glory - One More Round

   NFG's Resurrection album has been out since October, but has it been getting as much attention as earlier works? If not, I don't really know why it shouldn't. I haven't heard the album in its entirety yet, but the singles have so far been impressive. One More Round is standard NFG; it has those cool riffs and pop punk vocals mixed in with some gang chants and some heavy grooves. Video is pretty fun, with the band getting smashed to pieces. Seems to be in keeping with the song's notion of perseverance. I totally have to get this album at some point. Hell...I think I should just get the whole discography. I seem to be doing that a lot lately with a lot of bands i should have been into a long time ago. 

The Offspring - Coming For You

   Another comically violent video comes form yet another legendary (pop) punk band, The Offspring. Coming For You is the band's first release for 2015, with an album expected for later in the year. The song starts off with drums that sound not too dissimilar (to me, anyway) to those of Howlin' For You by Black Keys but we're then greeted by Dexter Holland's unmistakable voice. The song as a whole sounds like a number of their more commercial sounding songs from the last few albums. It's sort of hard for me to decide whether i like it or not. I was one of those people who actually didn't mind Days Go By on the whole as an album, so hopefully the next album might have some more hardcore punk stuff to go with this sort of thing. I don't want to give too much of the video concept away, but if you don't like clowns or mimes, watch with care!

Teenage Bottlerocket - Haunted House/They Call Me Steve

   Punk rockers Teenage Bottlerocket are releasing new album Tales From Wyoming on 31st March and it's already kind of sounding like it's going to be a good one. They already released a video for Misfits style song Haunted House back in February and this week premiered the Minecraft inspired song and video They Call Me Steve. The latter has that ever-so-slightly-slower-paced Bouncing Souls type vibe which I kind of dig. Even the vocals make me think of Bouncing Souls...but I guess the two bands are not that different. 

Blur - Go Out/There Are Too Many Of Us

   Yeh that's right! I'm moving away from punk and hardcore and going back to my Britpop roots. The legendary Blur's new album, The Magic Whip, will be out 27th April. We have so far been treated to two songs and videos; Go Out and There Are Too Many Of Us. The former has an almost new wave punk feel just with Damon Albarn's distinctive vocals over it. It's a little bit like On Your Own, a personal favourite of mine, but stranger. And then there's the video which is basically just an instruction video on how to make homemade ice cream. Incidentally, I used to have that same tupperware container...
   There Are Too Many Of Us is also a bit creepy in its sound but has more of a serious tone. The video is purely a performance video that looks very DIY. The band themselves look like they haven't changed a bit. It's quite solemn and I can imagine this song being used for serious scenes in film and TV. 

Sleater-Kinney - A New Wave

   Admittedly, this post is about a month late but I just had to post it. Sleater-Kinney are one of those bands I've always known OF, possibly since about the age of 13, but I never properly got into them. They have released their eighth studio album, No Cities To Love, on 20th January after a ten year hiatus. First single, A New Wave, has, funnily enough, a hint of new wave about it but is also essentially a catchy alt rock hit. I first heard the song as a live performance and was into it, but along with the video, I was converted. And I never really liked Bob's Burgers...

New Artist Promo: Azor

 
    I have really only done one band promo on this blog so far and that was because I was sent a special email requesting it. Luckily, they also happened to be a really cool band (Yawning Dog promo). This artist promo is brought to you purely out of being impressed by the band and thinking they bloody deserve a write-up. Due to illness, I unfortunately missed their debut show at BanditoFest in Tel Aviv. However, their performance was filmed and I really liked what I saw and heard. I also got to see them this passed weekend to a bit of a disappointing turn out. They nevertheless rocked out.
  
   Azor are a "power-trio", comprising of Yuval (ex-Inside Job/Erev Rav/Leah Katamin) on guitar and main vocals, Alon (Almonim Metim) on drums and vocals and Ori (ex-Beats 69/MASTERD) on bass and vocals. Yuval and Alon met for the first time in a crazy jam night; they were having an awesome session and decided that they should actually join up and make some music together. In October 2014, after finishing other music projects and having free time ,the two started to work on songs that Yuval wrote. The idea was to create something new while still hanging on to that old vibe of free and energetic rock music. After working as a duo for a while, old childhood friend of Yuval's, Ori, was brought in as bass player to really bring the whole thing together. The name Azor purely comes, as far as I'm aware, from the name of the area Yuval lives and that the band practises in, which is just south east of Tel Aviv near Holon.

The band takes their influences from a range of places. They take the heavy riffiness of Black Sabbath, the fun rock and roll vibe of bands like MC5 and the "grunge" edge of the likes of Nirvana as well as incorporating Mediterranean and Eastern elements. Having more of a punk background, it is refreshing to see these guys just playing some invigorating rock and roll. It is also nice to see the "punks" at shows getting their groove on to this sort of thing.
All three members are very good musicians. Yuval has written some great riffs and plays some blinding (that's British slang for "really, really good") solos, Ori plays cool bass lines and gives off a very joyous demeanour and Alon is an absolute nutter on the drums. Possibly one of the most creative new drummers I've seen at shows in the scene in a while. I actually first witnessed the band before their first proper show at an acoustic event. Yuval played acoustic guitar while Alon borrowed my cajon and was blasting out some pretty trippy beats.

After only having played their first few shows very recently, Azor are already working on the first album ''High Tempo Flight'', which is due for release in April, and plan to go on a European tour thereafter.  I urge you all to check them out if you ever get the opportunity to see them in person. In the meantime, you can see Beeran Production's filming of the band's debut show. 


   

MORE NEW SONGS FROM THE PRODIGY

   Yay, it's brand new song time again! 
  I have already posted the new video from The Prodigy for the track Nasty, now there's another for Wild Frontier, a lyric video (not that there's that many words anyway) for album closer (according to wikipedia) Wall Of Death and an official audio video the titular track The Day Is My Enemy. Like Nasty, these tracks don't disappoint anyone who grew up with the Fat Of The Land era Prodigy. Wild Frontier has more of a modern electro feel about it and it's accompanying video is a well made dark stop animation focusing around animal cruelty. Both Wall Of Death and The Day Is My Enemy are brash and heavy. All have those class signature Prodigy beats and noises but Wall Of Death, to me, even has a bit of an Alec Empire quality about it. Saying that, who came first? Check it out for yourselves.

  The album, The Day Is My Enemy, is set for release on 30th March. Can't wait to hear it in full.

Live Review: The Stubs/DUST/Left @ Koro, Tel Aviv [13th March 2015]

  Tonight, I come to Koro (yes...that place again. Tel Aviv's kind of small, you know..) for a bit of a mixed line-up show. This is the Tel Aviv leg of the Israel tour for Polish rocker The Stubs. From a few of the tracks I had previously checked out, these guys sounded fun and I wanted to check it out in person.

Left

   The show starts off with local duo Left. I am still unsure if I've actually seen these guys before or not but I had checked their bandcamp and liked what I heard. The duo consists of Asaf Leizerovitz on guitar and main vocals and Roy Chen on drums and extra vocals. Throughout the set, I realise I've seen the drummer before. His ambidexterity and flawless techniques made me think of the drummer of another duo, Verminn. Turns out...yeh, that's him. He also drums for quite a few other bands so this must be his life. All power to him!

   What you discover from both listening to and watching Left is that they mostly float somewhere in between stoner rock and full on garage rock anthems. Songs like tonight's set opener I Wanna Get To Know You, Ghost and Betterman lean more towards the stoner side of things. The former and the latter are more sultry and intense, with the former reminding me of QOTSA, with its "I wanna get to know you" refrain getting stuck in my head by the end of the song. Ghost is like a more haunting Led Zepplin with a "groovy" riff and pounding drums. Asaf's vocals are powerful and on point on all songs; at the same time, even quite endearing. The track called 7 (not a Prince cover) is not so much "stoner rock" but has more of a slight space-rock/horror punk feel about it, filled with high octane drumming and an intense riff. If you were running away from sort of hungry monster trying to take over your planet, this song would be a suitable soundtrack. 

   Tell Me, Matter of Control and Rogues in the House are where I hear the bands more garage rock influences. Tell Me is ridiculously catchy and, personally, is quite reminiscent of the BBC song from Austin Powers. Maybe that's just me! Matter of Control takes things to a more MC5/New York Dolls level, with wailing vocals and an intoxicating rhythm that had a few people dancing tonight. Rogues in the House is also very danceable with a hint of White Stripes about it...just with more interesting drumming.
  As well as proper songs, Left also have a few instrumentals, such as Power To The People and Headbanging which they play tonight. The former is quite techno/disco and had me nodding my head along up until it goes batshit crazy like a heavy dance track; the latter is a slow paced trippy number with an infectious riff and can definitely get you banging your head.  

  Asaf and Roy are great musicians. Roy's drumming is mesmerising and Asaf has some great riffs and a well tuned voice. I will add, however, that they do look quite mismatched as a band; Roy looks and plays like more of a metaller whereas Asaf has a "geek-chic" look about him. Fortunately, they work well together and I was very impressed. 
  See Left play with Shifka Chiefs at Levontin 7 on 21st March.
4/5

DUST

   How many times have I written about DUST already? This hard hitting and groove-led hardcore band just keep playing wherever and whenever they can. Playing songs off their self titled EP (such as the popular and catchy Midas Touch, Numb, with its epic sounding intro that always gets me pumped, the invigorating PMA, the amazing Slipping Away, the groovy Title and even the short blast of fury that is Brain Fuck Your Skull) as well as newer songs which are still familiar from previous shows (Bloody Knuckles and constant set closer Sick and Tired) all manage to get quite a few people in the crowd dancing and moving, despite it not being the biggest turn out I've seen for Dust before. 

Frontman Evya is not afraid to get amongst the viewers as the rest of the band full rock out on stage. As much as I love them, they need to start playing some "new-new" songs; songs we haven't heard several times before. That, and they should also release a proper album, like....NOW!

  You can see Dust play a lot of shows in the near future, I'm sure, including a Fanzine show at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv on election day.
4/5

The Stubs

  Now we come to the main event. It's always fun when an overseas band comes here. At the same time, it's a bit disappointing when they don't really get the right reception. I guess there is a good number of people here tonight for Polish band The Stubs, but it just doesn't feel like the normal crowd for a punk rock show. And these guys are pure punk rock and roll. 

  As the band starts, they don't have a full room straight away but slowly people started coming back in and all eyes were on them and lots of feet were moving. From the get go, with the Hellacopters-esque Nation Of Losers, we get the idea that this show is going to be full of hard rocking songs. The band are being quite energetic but I can imagine that touring takes the wind out of you as they could have smiled a bit more. 

  Their set basically continues along the garage rock/rock and roll kind of lines. Highlights of the set include the fast paced Straight and White which also has a nice change of pace in the middle, Salvation Twist with its "WOOHOO" chorus, Timmy with its cool wailing guitar intro that leads into groovy rock and roll, the riff laden and Rival Sons-esque There's No Mother and oldest song in the set, Highway Demon, which pretty much sounds like an angrier and heavier country song. During the set, guitarist and singer Tomek thanks us for coming and a little bit about themselves. Bless him, though...he seemed out of breath from all the rocking.

    Show closer Rudy's Blue Boogie, as the name suggests, has a bluesy riff quite reminiscent of Canned Heat's On The road Again...but punkier. But it might not have been enough as they left the some of crowd wanting more. I think we must have all been having fun as the set actually felt quite short. 

   If you like bands like MC5, Stooges, Hellacopters, Bombshell Rocks etc.. then The Stubs' back catalogue is definitely worth a listen.
4/5

Now I know my shapes....

   Despite the existence of Yo Gabba Gabba, have you ever wished that kids' songs generally were more rocking so we could get the kids liking good music early? Well, that's what the Punk Rock Preschool project seems to be about. Lead by a Mr G, the Pre K class not only plans to make cool songs for learning purposes but also wants to do things for it's local community and develop entrepreneurship within the pupils. This first music video from them teaches us all about all the different shapes in a Parry Gripp style tune. Oh Boy Oh Man!!

ANOTHER NEW SONG FROM THE AMAZING DEAD SARA

  I bloody love Dead Sara. I was blown away by the self titled album, full of great riffs, infectious grooves (not the Suicidal Tendencies funk metal band) and amazing vocal melodies by singer Emily Armstrong. In the lead up to the release of new album Pleasure To Meet You, a music video for new song Mona Lisa was posted to Youtube. Now, via soundcloud, we can hear another new song called Something Good. Something Good both rocks and is quite beautiful and joyous. Some might consider it poppy in the same way Paramore's Still Into You was...but they are both still incredibly well written and performed songs. I've probably said it before and I'll say it again...I just can't wait for this goddamn album!!

YET ANOTHER NEW INCUBUS TUNE

  A while ago, I posted a lyric video for the new single from alt. rock giants Incubus called Absolution Calling. Not only have they now released a proper music video for the song, fitted with west side story style choreography, but we have also been treated to another lyric video (possibly the official video, too) for new song Trust Fall. Whereas Absolution Calling has been more of a grower, Trust Fall packs slightly more of an immediate punch.
  Instead of an album, the band are set to release 2 EPs, one of which entitled Trust Fall (Side A) which is due for release March 24th. 

Incubus - Absolution Calling

Incubus - Trust Fall

  In other Incubus news, they are of course touring; more importantly, Incubus are scheduled to come to Israel. They will play Ranaana Amphitheatre on June 9th.

Review: Sweatshop Boys - Always Polite, Never Happy (2015)

   Sweatshop Boys are beginning to become more and more important in the Israeli punk scene and hopefully in the punk world in general. Consisting mostly of Haifa boys including Ofri (ex-Friday Night Sissy Fight/Barren Hope), Dean (ex-Friday Night Sissy Fight) and Itai (The Orions, The Backliners, Achim Zabari, Kuskus Records), the band also includes singing drummer and powerhouse that is Nadav (Mondo Gecko, Spit, Shifka Chiefs, Brutal Assault, Uzbecks...help if I've left something out!)
   Although not what everyone may consider "punk rock", the band do know how to write catchy as hell songs about things that matter to them. Their first album, The Great Depression, really helped demonstrate the Sweatshop Boys sound and this latest EP very much continues to do the same.  All four songs are songs I recognise from shows because they are just so damn memorable.
  The EP starts off with No Pity In The City, a pogotastic anthem about moving to a big city but with no real changes. Second track, Special Mood, takes the pace down a bit with an almost 60s beat-music era jangly pop sound, equipped with organ solo and a rhythm that will have you toe-tapping away. Try Hard, again on a bit of a 60s tip but punkier, is a simple and to the point song about "wannabe scene queens" with its intoxicating "You're not special at all Ahhhh" refrain. The funny thing about writing songs of this topic is that it could be describing people who actually come to your shows. Therefore, it is remarkably ironic when you see someone at their show who has forced themselves to learn the lyrics and stand right at the front, making sure to be heard. I think that's what I love about it, whether intentional or not. Last track, Slow Dive, leans off the social commentary a bit and instead focuses on a positive message about taking life easy. The band informs us that "Sometimes you got to let it go" and instruct us to "go with the flow." Good advice, there, my friends! All songs have this fun vibe about them, almost definitely due to how everyone in the band gets a chance to sing and sing together, making everything sound more anthemic. 

   I kind of remember somewhere near the start of the band's career that I didn't really pay all that much attention to them. I wasn't really keen on the Pet Shop Boys influenced name (I used to like the Pet Shop Boys) and I found it all a bit too "jingle jangly", for want of a term. Whether the band itself has improved or my musical tastes have broadened, this new EP is a beautiful record and I hope to hear another full length later on in the year full of more catchy twist-inducing tunes.    
4/5

  Sweatshop Boys play a free show tomorrow night, Sunday 8th March, at BuXa in Tel Aviv.
  For any readers over in mainland Europe or who will be there in the next month or so, you can catch Sweatshop Boys on tour across France and Germany:

New single and video from Therapy? .......

  That's not a question.

  Legendary Brit rockers Therapy? release new album Disquiet on 23rd March and we have been treated to the new single Still Hurts along with a video. This is most possibly the most metal I've heard Therapy? sound in quite some time. Admittedly, I have been out of the Therapy? loop since I am, for some reason, no longer friends with the few people I know who are die-hard Therapy? fans. I'm now hoping to get back on board as this single proves promising. 

What do you guys think?