KULA SHAKER RETURN!! NEW SONG!!

Who are Kula Shaker, you ask? Well, I'm guessing you weren't an indie/rock kid during the 90s, then.

Kula Shaker are a band from London, UK, fronted by Crispian Mills, son of award winning actress Hayley Mills and director Roy Boulting, who had great success in the late 90s with their throwback Indian inspired psychedelic rock. I was quite into them as a pre-teen, having liked their classics such as the more Indian influenced Tattva and Govinda and the more classic rock songs Grateful When You're Dead, Hey Dude and their cover of Deep Purple's Hush (although admittedly unaware for a while that it was a cover).

The band split in 1999 but came back in the mid '00s. I'm actually pretty sure I won tickets to and went to see them at the ICA in London but it's all a bit hazy. 2016 sees the release of their long awaited 5th album, entitled K 2.0, in honour of their massive debut, K.


The band have treated fans to a new track, Infinite Sun. Whereas the Indian influence was a little lost in later records, it seems to be back, as Infinite Sun uses sitars and chanting as well as pure rock to create a catchy song which harks back to the band's old sound. From this song alone, the new album sounds promising. Kula Shaker might still be playing a style which can be considered dated by some, but good music is good music!

New video from all girl punk band, MAID of ACE

MAID of ACE hail from the East Sussex (UK) town of Hastings. Made up of sisters Alison, Anna, Abby and Amy, all with the cool initials of ACE (hence the name, I'm guessing), they've technically been rocking out together since their first gig at school in 2005 but only released their debut self titled album in 2014 and have slowly but surely been making a name for themselves in the punk circuit.

I believe I discovered the girls through their video for Bone Deth, which sees the girls cycling around town while shouting along to the song. The video is incredibly well shot and, although I may just be stupid, it took me a while to notice the trickery involved. Comparisons to bands like Civet and Distillers are obvious but still valid. As well as that raw, female punk rock style, the song itself was ever so slightly reminiscent of the punkier side of Japanese band Mad Capsule Markets. MAID of ACE don't really do the electronic/digital hardcore thing but there was something in it that made them stick out from straight up punk rock.



Stay Away comes off the new album due for release in the new year. It mostly has that straight up punk rock feel but also has a crushing groove in the chorus. The video is a little simpler than that of Bone Deth, with the band playing their track in what seems to be an abandoned house/squat.

For those who like dirty punk rock, MAID of ACE will not disappoint. They've got some European dates in the new year and will also be playing the magnificent Rebellion Fest in Blackpool in August (4th-7th).

CHECK THEM OUT!

Review: Deceit - Disconnected EP (2015)

  From the land of fried mars bars, haggis and bagpipes, new Edinburgh hardcore outfit, Deceit, have dropped their first EP, Disconnected. 
   
  With a majority of "hardcore" nowadays being more of the slow, sludgy beatdown kind a la Desolated and Nasty, Deceit draw influence from more of the 90s/early 2000s tough guy hardcore that I grew up listening to in my teens. Made up of former members of War Charge and Frontline, they're actually very reminiscent of other UK bands, such as Knuckledust and early Stamping Ground. 
  From the very first track, Worn, Deceit deliver a mixture of grooves, tough vocals and cool riffs. The vocals throughout are very similar to those of Pierre of Knuckledust, only a tad more coherent but with also a little less aggression. On final track, Control, there is even a hardcore 'OOF', which, although used by a fair few tough guy bands, was almost identical to those of Pierre. 
  Personally, this EP takes me back to the hardcore that got me into hardcore and therefore pleases me a lot. The songs are mostly along the same context of the struggle within today's society which can be very relatable. It might musically have its similarities to other bands but it doesn't hide the band's talent. It's also nice not to hear shout outs about a crew or "being hardcore". 
  
  Fans of 90s/00s UKHC will definitely love Deceit, whereas those into newer bands might find it dated and unoriginal. There's no surprises or experimentation on here but the songs still manage to not sound the same. Control is certainly the EP's highlight for me, with its crushing groove and gang vocals, but every song is enjoyable and the production quality all round is impressive for an unsigned band.

4/5

Live Review: Punk Afternoon - Tune In TLV Showcase Party @ Ozenbar, Tel Aviv [14th November 2015]

Not On Tour

Let Us Be Spoken

SatuRated

The Driers

Zoo Harmonics

Document

Saturday, the Sabbath. Meant to be a day of rest, where you pray in the morning, eat, sleep in the afternoon and then go out and party at night. However, this afternoon sees the last show of the four day Tune In TLV Festival; the punk rock battle of the bands. 

   The afternoon actually starts out with a showing of the music documentary No Room For Rockstars (which I didn't see), followed by the fight to get a song onto the next Vans Warped Tour compilation. Kevin Kyman, founder of 4Fini Inc, who produce the Warped Tour, is here both for a Q&A after the documentary (I missed that too) and to be the one to choose the winner. Despite being a "punk afternoon", today's line-up is pretty mixed. 

Document

  I've reviewed post punk/new wave band Document before and I have to be honest, it probably wasn't the most positive of reviews. Despite that, the band respected my views. I was expecting the band to have maybe taken some of my pointers into consideration but today's performance doesn't really seem to differ too much from the previous one, besides being one member down and a whole lot shorter set.
  Being titled a "punk showcase", the band have comprised their setlist of their more upbeat numbers, including Where U Are and Weeks from the Reset Your Mind Ep. Newer songs, such as the appropriately named New Song and Made A Mess, are darker and slightly more electro in style. All in all, they seem to have picked the right setlist today.

  Their performance on stage is still a bit static, bar drummer Amir, who is still the most enthusiastic. With frontman Nir now on second guitar duties, this may also be hindering their opportunities for some movement and better crowd interaction. Speaking of which, it is still early and not many people have turned up. Those who have bothered to come in and watch them seem to be satisfied. I think that kind of sums Document up; their songs are pleasant enough but there is still nothing in their live performance to really grab you. They are much better on record and I am still looking forward to hearing a new album.
3/5 
    

Zoo Harmonics

  Zoo Harmonics have been around for quite some time already and, in my eyes, should have already broken the UK and American pop punk market with the debut album Business In The Front...Party In The Back. With a new bassist, Gal, in tow, the band have been working on new songs and set to release a new album.
   With Dror (lead singer/guitarist) having now cut his hair, a slightly new sound seems to have come along with it, as the band play a short set of mostly brand new songs. The band already previewed Signs From Above through a live video they did for another showcase and a lot of the crowd, including myself, already like it and are digging it tonight. As the band themselves state, it has a more "stoner" flavour compared to their previous material. Personally, I've always considered them a mixed bag and not just pop punk, so I would have been more concerned if they weren't experimenting more. 
  The other new tracks are also really promising, including the comeback of Obsessions, which will hopefully be on the new album. Throughout the set, the band rock out as usual, although it is weird seeing Dror unable to wave his hair around. There is still the masterful Ron (guitar/backing vocals), who manages to always make his present known with some high octane antics to energise the crowd.

  As interesting as hearing brand new material is, it is the closer of oldie Henry And Claire which really gets me and other Zoo Harmonics fans going. It would have been nice to have heard more from the first album, but having been given a short time slot, the band understandably wanted to showcase their new material. I think they've done a good job and I am so looking forward to the new album.
4/5

The Driers

   I'm going to keep this short because what can I say about The Driers that I haven't said before? They are a fun trio who play a mixture of alternative 90s rock and a little bit of electro brit pop to boot. Basically, they play the kind of music that brings out the inner child in me and use male/female vocal harmonies that simply make me happy. 
  Despite having released their first proper EP recently (see review), their short set mostly consists of non-EP tracks besides the brilliant Who Doesn't and Lipstick Buds. Some are already classic tracks from their repertoire, including the punky Fifty and the bounce inducing Delayed. Others I didn't really recognise but were interesting to hear and I'm hoping they'll turn up on a new record in the near future.
  As much as I love them, I still stand by my opinion that Ronnie (guitar/vocals) and Tomer (bass/vocals) could act a little more excited on stage and interact more. The speaking duties in between songs are mostly taken on by drummer Ben. It could be good to hear what they have to say for once....plus, Ben talks faaaar too much for a drummer. (סתם)
4.5/5

SatuRateD

   I'll hold my hands up! I had no idea who SatuRateD were until tonight. I was actually outside before they started and walked in a little of the way through their set. I was happily surprised to see Dror of Zoo Harmonics back on stage, this time on drums. He was joined on stage by Shirel (guitar/vocals) and they make a pretty damn good team. I believe the band was originally a trio but it seems to work perfectly well as a duo.
   In complete opposition to what I had originally thought they might be (metalcore), this duo play a mixture of garage rock and grunge. Some of it is pretty standard (but still enjoyable) Nirvana/Mudhoney-esque material, but a song like Someday Blues really stands out due to it's more unconventional beats and generally just sounds more original. The band also do a cover of These Boots Are Made For Walkin', which is normally a staple of ska or Oi! shows. It was nothing spectacular as far as covers go. Their originals, despite at times sounding a little too formulaic, still hit the spot if you're no stranger to pure "grunge".
4/5

Let Us Be Spoken

  

  Another band I didn't know much about, Let Us Be Spoken take the stage next and totally change the tone of the evening. This punk show is getting its first dose of metalcore. Whaa??

  I technically have no problem with metal or metalcore. I proudly wear my nu-metal beginnings on my sleeve and still like some metalcore and groove metal. What bugs me though is how metalcore bands act. Although I say that I like a lot of interaction and movement on stage, sometimes acting like you're some massive touring band who's been around for decades just seems really unnatural and over-the-top when you're a fairly unknown band. Metalcore bands tend to do this and Israeli bands, in particular, know how to put on that sort of spectacle really well.
   Let Us Be Spoken give us all the usual metalcore catchphrases (mostly in Hebrew): "I want you all to sing along on this one", "I want to see you all go crazy" etc.. The look, the jargen and the melodic metalcore is all there. The clean vocals sound like Killswitch Engage and are not all that terrible. However, I'm still not entirely sure how many times I can hear this type of thing. 
  As unoriginal as this may sound, they are certainly an entertaining band and they do get me punching the air a bit. Maybe I'm just in an openminded mood tonight, but the breakdowns, the thrash parts and even some of the choruses have me a little bit sucked in. There are also a few metalcore fans in tonight who are getting swept up in all the excitement. Let Us Be Spoken may have been a bit out of place tonight, but I like variety.
3/5

Not On Tour

  Last band of the night is the amazing Not On Tour, whom I have spoken of many a time on this blog, I'm sure. Like all the other bands tonight, they have a much shorter set than usual but still manage to get the crowd going with their mixture of high speed hardcore punk and catchy melodies. 

  They do not have their usual crowd here tonight. This could be a mixture of the show not being hyped up all that much and the fact that many Not On Tour fans may not have bothered going due to the rest of the line-up. That aside, there is still a few of us who have come to give our support in this battle of the bands. 
  The band are on point. Sima's amazing voice, Val's melodic riffs, Nir's heavy bass and Gutzy's crazy fast drumming are ever present, as always. I can't really say much else, to be honest. I got a little bit too wrapped up in the show, including blindly head butting someone by accident (turned out to be a friend and they were fine about it), so I didn't really pay attention to the setlist. Knowing Not On Tour, they more than likely played songs off the new album, along with a few from All This Time and the N.O.T On Tour EP and maybe only one from the self titled debut, like one of my favourites, Silly Thoughts. Personally, I love hearing their older material, but they do know how to chose the catchiest and more crowd pleasing ones at every show.  
4.5/5

   Straight after Not On Tour's set, I went for hummus nearby and, upon leaving, ran into Val of Not On Tour. I asked him if a winner was announced and he said that they had won. It was rightfully awarded and hopefully being on this compilation will give them much further international success than they have already been getting. 

  It was great to see Zoo Harmonics with new material and SatuRateD were an interesting and pleasant discovery. The show as a whole could have done with a whole lot more attendees but those who were there still had fun and hopefully, like myself, discovered a few new bands.


For more photos, you can also check out Yahel Galili's photo album, Tune In TLV - PUNK Showcase. 

Killswitch Engage drop video for new song, Strength Of The Mind

  I personally have never been as big on Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage as most of my friends are, despite having given out stickers and lanyards around the time of Alive or Just Breathing as a young street teamer for Roadrunner Records. I never even listened to that album all the way through, despite liking My Last Serenade and a few other tracks.

  Since that era, original vocalist Jesse (Leach) was replaced with Howard (Jones) only to return again in 2012. I may have lost my way with this band, and it was certainly nothing personal against Howard, but I might start to go through their suff again if the new track is anything to go by.

 Strength Of The Mind is a taster of what is to come from the eagerly awaited next album, due March 2016. It's still a pretty trademark KSE sound, with Adam's (Dutkiewicz) mix of heavy and melodic riffs and the contrast of harsh and beautiful clean vocals. The song is also lyrically very positive and and empowering. Personally, I feel like the song's meaning gets lost amidst the music. It's lyrically quite hardcore and doesn't really fit their melodic metalcore. Nevertheless, I respect the concept and the band still do what they do best.

Ignite release new single "Nothing Can Stop Me"

The amazing Orange County hardcore punk band, IGNITE, just dropped a new single from their forthcoming album, The War Against You, set for release 8th January 2016 via Century Media.

Having fallen in love with them since hearing the song Veteran, I always eagerly awaited what they will bring out next. Our Darkest Days was a good record; not something I have been listening to over and over again despite having anthemic songs. It just all seemed a bit too "polished" compared to previous records.

This new single, Nothing Can Stop Me, has the same high quality production and almost commercial sound as the last album. It still has front man Zoli's amazingly distinctive vocals but over all has a very Rise Against feel, which isn't a bad thing. It's catchy and "easy listening" enough to bring in some new fans and still has heavier punk parts near the end, which will appease long time fans. It is also a positive message and quite empowering, something that has always been another attractive quality about the band.

Personally, I'm hoping to hear more of a mixture of grooves and fast paced hardcore on the new album like on the early material. Criticism aside, it is still great to finally hear something new from the boys which is still essentially IGNITE!

Skunk Anansie go clubbing on new track and video, Love Someone Else

In a similar vein to some other acts I have written about on here, such as Incubus, Alanis Morissette and Republica, my fondness for Skunk Anansie goes way back to first hearing the song Weak. It was really when I saw the video for All I Want that I knew this was a band for me.

Over the years, the band has experimented with styles and kept more of a leaning to their softer side than that of their heavier, groove-based material. The bass lines are still there and Skin's strong vocals might never ever fade, but I personally haven't been able to connect too much with more recent material, such as the Wonderlustre and Black Traffic albums, despite still having beautifully well written songs and the odd uptempo rock out number. 

Love Someone Else comes from the forthcoming album, Anarchytecture, and incorporates that rave feel, that has been present in the band's later years, which is supported by the video being set in some sort of squat party. Normally, the electro pop would be mixed in with some heavy parts, but this track is pretty much a straight forward dance track and very MTV friendly. Skin still belts out the chorus which is sure to be able to get a crowd going, but it makes you wonder if this would have been better as a Skin solo track, if she was ever to go back to that.

With enough publicity, this song has the potential to get the band's name out into the UK charts again, which they have failed to do in recent years compared to in the rest of Europe. I'm still intrigued to check out the rest of the album, hoping to hear a mixture of styles, funky bass lines and Skin's unmistakable high notes.