Linn B

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A night of hope for Rock Against Racism

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Rinky dinky guitars that snake around Kinks melodies played with a slight ska beat. So far so fucking Libertines. But Sail Away is by The Thirst, yet another bunch of Park Life chancers fuelled by racing pigeons, jellied eels and supping ale from a beat bobby's hat. It's not The Thirst's fault but I can't buy into this winking, cheeky indie splodge. Almost average. The bside is an awful remix that squeezes out any life the track had to start with. Out now, listen via MySpace. http://www.myspace.com/thethirstrockband

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The debut single from Royal Treatment Plant ahead of the release of mini-album Hope Is Not Enough, Get Played starts out as a good rocking tune with added 80's style synth. And it manages to jog along all good and well enough with preacher's daughter PP providing fine femme-rock vocals but the whole thing is just slightly too art-rock for those of us not "privileged" enough to live in London, attend an Art School or frequent Glasgow's Merchant City cool bars. Plenty of style but just not enough substance in the foundations yet, think Russell Brand's "China... China...? Are you in Tibet? GET OUT!!!" radio references - the intention and idea is good, it just somehow loses significance somewhere amongst the posturing. YouTube - ROYAL TREATMENT PLANT Get Played is released on the 14th April 2008 with Hope Is Not Enough following on June 16th. www.royaltreatmentplant.com www.myspace.com/royaltreatmentplant

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Look See Proof are a slow burning band from Hertfordshire, steadily increasing their fan base and word of mouth about their music over the past year. Each of their first three singles gaining the band more and more exposure via MTV2, Steve Lamacq on Radio One and even Jonathan Ross on Radio Two. Do You Think It's Right? is surely destined for repeat outings on many indie & alternative club night dance floors - it's upbeat choppy guitars and layered vocals providing a pleasantly danceable tune for the mainstream trend follower indie kids as well as those more discerning about the quality of their indie credentials. Backed with the chunkier electro-tinged Don't Say A Word and the Os Darkroom Remix of Casualty it's a fine fourth single to tide interest over until the release of their debut album later this year in June. Do You Think It's Right? is out this week, released 24th March on Weekender Records. www.myspace.com/lookseeproof

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Mark Ronson can seemingly do no wrong at the moment. He is in demand and raking in the awards (although quite how a producer managed to get a Brit for Best Male was a little beyond me). Ronson takes songs that have already had success and revamps them into what is arguably, for some listeners, tracks that are more interesting and better than the original. Is Ronson the genius that some areas of the press make him out to be or just someone who takes other people’s genius and twist is slightly to make a pretence that he some kind of amazing music master? Just is a Radiohead classic and is loved by many. Thom York’s vocals and the music of this band who have such a huge following of devoted fans needed no reworking did it? Whilst this single is in no way offensive, I really don’t see the point of these Ronson re-workings. He adds classic tunes and horns to Just that simply seem unnecessary. Just as the wafer thin mint was too much for Mr Creosote in Monty Python’s Meaning Of...

One day I'll review something that isn't rap-metal related in some way. Just not today.

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The fact that I was even able to travel all the way to London for a STUCK FUCKING MOJO concert in the year 2008 is nothing short of incredible. Their unique 90s-borne blend of hardcore/metal groove-riffage and aggressively upbeat rap vocals found the band tarred with the same brush as many inferior bands at the turn of the millennium, and the band collapsed under the pressure of the nu-metal backlash shortly after. Fans feared the band were lost forever. Fans feared that they had lost this great band forever. They say that time heals all wounds, though, and with the stench of nu-metal finally lifting from the air the band did last year what many critics and long-time fans alike thought was the impossible by releasing a comeback album that simply did not suck balls. With a newfound politically-charged intensity to their lyrics forcibly ramming their way into our eardrums on the back of possibly the heaviest and most crushing riffs that founder and guitarist Rich Ward has...

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A review of US prog-metal outfit Dream Theater's new best-of collection.

With Bleed From Within, Rise With The Falls, Blessed Apostle and The Condemmed

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In all fairness, I went to this gig only ever hearing a couple of the bands names. However I was pleasantly surprised with the gig given that I hadn't heard the names of them all. First on: The Condemned. Group of 5 lads reigning from East Kilbride. In all honestly when I saw these guys I thought, look good, probably sound shite. Man was I wrong! As soon as they started they had me glued. The lead singer had strong vocals and unlike most hardcore bands he could sing and scream. His screaming seemed effortless, like a walk in the park. Considering these guys had they’re first gig in Oct 2007, they seemed confident and strong through they’re whole set. Next: Blessed Apostle. Another group of 5 lads from East Kilbride/Dumbarton.. Before these guys even went on stage, you could sense the lead singers arrogance. In general the instrumentals are the strongest thing for this band. The lead singer looked like he struggled to keep up with the rest of the band. He doesn’t seem to...

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Burn The Witch is like the bastard child of Iron Maiden and AC/DC which means if you're still reading this you've more than likely worn your hair long & greasy, cut the sleeves off a band t-shirt, combined leather & denim in obscene ways and chosen partners based only on how slutty they'll look standing next to you impressing your mates - so let's talk ROCK. The lead tracks stands out as well suited for grabbing your attention by the balls to ensure you listen to the rest of the EP. You Brought A Knife To A Gunfight then throws Motley Crue into a pit with Skid Row and a thousand weekend rockers with too tight trousers and hairbrush mics, it even has a "Fuck You" chorus making it almost impossible for the true Rocker to dislike it. Thin Lizzy get their chance next as the over-whelming influence on Breakdown and then we wind down to a too soon end with the obligatory lighter-in-the-air ballad of Heartburn. Stone Gods galloping through every genre of hard & heavy...

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Late Of The Pier are a band that I had always overlooked and never bothered to listen to, I'd heard them name-checked too often by music journalists and scene bloggers - always a good sign that the band won't be to my taste! Based on this single I'd say that my cynical disdain may well have been misplaced. The Bears Are Coming is rather a seesaw ride - initially struck by a cool percussion intro, interested piqued by that weird honking sound rhythm and then disappointed by plain old normal vocals only to be excited again by the scratchy instrumental melody. We're only 45 seconds into the track so far but the ride continues right the way through and I'm constantly switching between loving it, hating it and going "ooh, I like this bit". Three and a half mintues and I feel like I've been on an album's worth of journey, I'm looking for a media player that allows me to skip parts of a song in the way I ignore poorer tracks on albums! So maybe those music journos & bloggers...