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Zombina And The Skeletones is just the sort of band name to conjure up a cheesy faux-fifties horror movie psychobilly gig and the last time I saw them play at the Glasgow Barfly they shared the stage with the fake blood & gut's of Karloff and the aptly named Groovie Ghoulies. Could Zombina hold their own as headliners on a non-themed bill? Openers for the night, Crossfire sounded good right up until they started shouting. Punk vocals have never had a reputation for subtle beauty but some semblance of singing is still required rather than getting the words out as loud as you can. It's a pretty tight performance though but I'm left a little disappointed, it's what I would hope from my punk bands when they're in the studio, on stage I want more attitude, more fuck you, more drunken inability to play instruments and to feel that the bassist is gonna kick my head in if I write a bad review or at least spit on me if I look at him funny. It's punk, in fact it's good punk - with a...

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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My first meeting with Levellers frontman Mark Chadwick took place backstage after a gig by friend and fellow musician Nick Harper a few years ago. Lads being lads (and a little the worse for wear), both had been fooling around with a bunch of bananas in a somewhat provocative manner, when he was enlightened to the fact that a journalist was in their midst. A momentary look of horror flashed across his face as he registered that his antics could have just landed him a centre spread in the News of the World. Although the 41-year-old Brighton-based vocalist/guitarist of the folk/punk group that has to date, totalled record sales in excess of 6 million worldwide, and this year celebrate a union that has lasted some 20 years, professes to never reading his press. "No, I don’t!" he laughs, settling down with an already lit Marlboro (he lights another four during the 40-minute interview), at the band's Metway Studios where they are working on their 12th album, Letters From...

A best of from the very best

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I didn't ask to review this CD. I didn't even know it was up for review or even released. I just got it plopped through my maw's front door. Now since I was forced to move back in with my maw, I haven't had anything through to review and she didn't know I did reviews. She found the news very exciting. Her excitement, however, just waned a moment ago when I actually started playing the CD. So it's passed the first test. My maw doesn't like it. My dog Charlie seems to have taken an interest however. As the title would lead you to believe this is a bit of a "best of..." but that's not quite true. There are a total of six new tracks on it and a few rare b-sides and unreleased numbers, a live CD and some extra computer type stuff. A fairly bold move from Berlin's finest but for a band that's spent 20 years traversing the seedy underworld of psychobilly we'd all have been disappointed if we were given a collection of songs we'd all heard before. It's less of a "best...

Exactly what it says on the tin.

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Members of Converge and Piebald's old band.

Sharp Kinks fuelled punky pop

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This review was origonally supposed to be centred on Madding Crowd's free download of Celebration, a track from this album but due to my offline status for a couple of weeks I thought, fuck it, just do the record. The Madding Crowd could be popped in with brash wiry indie bands like Milbun but The Madding Crowd have more on offer than the usual jack the lad bilge. They do have a pretty distinctive singer who vocalises in the current trend of brash Englishmen larking about but the music touches enough bases to make the material a cut above. A lot of the songs bounce with pep, like mid period Blur stripped of the cockiness, tunes such as Modern Man and the rapid Take A Walk all share the same kind of vigour as Chemical World for instance. The said download Celebration is a great little number, fusing angry electric Kinks with the mad sax of RFTC in a rocking yet refined manner. Refined is also the lovely Simple which closes the record, a rather plain and sedate acoustic...

Punk meets Bhangra

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Ex-Adam & The Ants members new project releases third single and a collaboration with multi-million selling Indian artist Daler Mehndi.

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With a title like Screwing You On The Beach At Night, there are no suprises in the Bloodhound Gang’s latest single. With puerile lyrics (“I would show up for our pottery class, Dressed like a pirate with John Water's mustache, On a unicorn that shits your name in stars”), the band stick to what made them popular in the first place—catchy songs and crazy lyrics. This single is one of those tunes that will stick in your head after a few listens, although it is somewhat generic and if you do find yourself humming the tune, I doubt you will be able to identify where the song is from. The video for this single is where things get fun. A remake of Chris Isaac's famous video for 'Wicked Game', named VH1's 'sexiest video of all time', the Bloodhound Gang version is a typicaly satirical take on the video, made in the same style as the original but with Jimmy Pop acting his usual self, leading to a great video. You can compare them yourself below thanks to youtube. There is also a...

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This is dirty Indie-pop with an Alarm sound updated into the noughties. It is marching music overlaid with guitar riffs and an under-produced quality that ensures the band retain an underground feel to the music that will appeal to some listeners. The band moved to East Berlin in December 2006 following an offer of studio time in return for playing in a club. They packed their belongings and went to Germany wanting an adventure. On arriving they moved into a squat without electricity or running water and knuckled down into writing and recording new material. It is often the case in art that the best comes from times of hardship and difficulty. Certainly Myriad Creatures have given us a track that is memorable and stomping. Myriad Creatures have become well known in Germany due to energetic live performances and guerrilla gigs. They have attained much airplay in Germany and are now resident at Café Zapata in the heart of the Tacheles Arts Centre. The period of hardship has...

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This is a wicked tune. I love the energy of it. I love the slightly sneering, Billy-Idol-meets-Johnny-Rotten, vocalist. I love the way the music rages like it’s a Pop-Punk ball and everyone’s invited. I love that it made me bounce about my living-room like a rabbit on speed, yelling along with what words I could. I even love that I can’t quite figure out most of the lyrics. I know, it’s a shocker – I’ve finally found a song I’m singing praises of. It shocked the hell outta me too but every time I put His Lyrics Are Disastrous on I couldn’t fight the urge to tap my feet. Then sort of chair-dance. Then get up and jump about. Then shout-a-long in a vaguely in-tune way. Jakobinarina, as I’m sure you’ll know from reading Foxgloves review of their debut album The First Crusade, (which, incidentally, I also think is excellent) are an Icelandic pop-punk band populated by slightly deranged teenagers and fronted by a singer with a vaguely Germanic accent who smacks of the...