Wretch 32 - Growing Over Life | THE Best UK Hip-Hop Album Of 2016

Is anyone else just a little bit tired of Grime? Yes it may be a huge movement that's getting international recognition. Yes it may be dominating the UK rap scene right now. Yes it has transformed The North Face from mum-wear to street-wear. But all of this has taken the limelight away from, and consequently undermined a whole host of British MCs who aren't getting the attention they deserve. This includes Tottenham's own Jermaine Sinclair or as we know him, ya boy Wretch 32. Wretch has always tended to be on trend with the rest of UK rap, bringing out those radio-friendly, rigidly structured tracks with catchy, lyrically simple choruses. Tracks like I'm Not The Man, Unorthodox and Don't Go which brought him fame when his debut Black And White was released five years ago. The sort of tracks that get put on at pre drinks that one guy secretly knows all the lyrics to but don't ever achieve a permanent place in the playlist. While many of his contemporaries like Example and Devlin have faded out of popular existence, Wretch has evolved to match the constantly changing trends of UK hip-hop and stay current. So, naturally, the next step would be a full on grime record right? WRONG.


Growing Over Life is a lyrically sophisticated, expertly produced rap album which flirts with elements of Grime, Reggae and R&B throughout. There is so much variation within the record that it can't be labelled anything more specific than hip-hop. It begins with Antwi, a fiery opener, burning with passion, dedicated to the late music industry lawyer and mentor Richard Antwi who passed away earlier this year. It's followed by the R&B inspired Pressure, Take Me As I Am and It Was All A Dream which depart from the typical hip hop format with Mr 32 himself pitching in with some vocals. The latter two tunes, as well as the Chase And Status-esque, Wilkinson-produced 6 Words demonstrate the persistent crossovers between his strong dance and R&B influences and natural hip-hop flow.

What is so refreshing about all this material is that it does without all the posturing and boasting which has turned me off Grime. In Cooked Food, for example, he has the confidence to actually address feelings and write a romantic, yet well-crafted love song. He's not afraid of tarnishing his street image by making tracks which don't dehumanise women as 'yats' or 'bitches' or getting called a 'melt' for doing so. His lyrical style is as intricate as ever, basing entire songs on a theme and working it into every line like in Cooked Food: "I love it when you dress saucy/and the way you make it dip when you're naughty".

Another factor which elevates Growing Over Life above your everyday grime album is its production, with Wretch enlisting the help of two London-based producers Mikey Muzik and Mo Samuels. The standard simplistic backing synths make way for more complex arrangements heavily featuring piano and violin which perfectly compliment his often mellow bars.



What impresses me most, however, is the political significance of his work which shines through in the record's latter half with songs like Liberation and Antwi exploring racially charged stereotyping, police violence towards black people and the government's failing of the black community; a perpetual problem in Tottenham. He's strongly influenced by his uncle Stafford Scott, the fierce equal rights campaigner who has tirelessly fought against police brutality and institutional racism. Open Conversation & Mark Duggan is the standout reflection of this. It deals with the aforementioned issues and focuses on the impact that the killing of Mark Duggan, a childhood friend, had on the tight-knit community within which he grew up. He recently commented in an interview that "To me he’s not a news statistic or video clip. He’s someone I went to school with". Just look at these lyrics:

How many of my n****s I'll be seeing in the station?
I'm getting fed up
'Member they put the cuffs on me
Felt like I couldn't even stand up or breathe

Brother Mark never made it to custody
I see his kids now and again
I give them every cent that I've got up in my pocket
But it isn't enough


I mean I'm all for keeping this light-hearted but this is really important and it saddens me. Too many people (shamefully myself included until this song opened my eyes) have been persuaded by the tabloid vilification of Duggan and those protesting his seemingly unjustified killing. We tend to convince ourselves that racial violence does not exist in the UK, that it's only a problem in America. People are far to quick to point fingers at individuals whilst overlooking the inequality, both class and racial which plagues our cities. Wretch is yet more admirable in my eyes for using his voice as a cultural icon to address such important issues and bring them widespread attention. It's precisely what rap, a genre that from its birth has given black people a voice, is missing right now, especially in the UK. The nearest thing we have in the mainstream is Skepta's Crime Riddim, which hardly does the huge problems facing our society justice.

This record really is special and represents nearly 5 years of hard work. I just hope we don't have to wait another half decade for the next one.

Kings Of Leon - WALLS

Let me set the scene. It's 2009 and Kings Of Leon are on stage at Reading festival and halfway through their set-list. They have been methodically strumming out a mix of songs from their last album Because Of The Times and year-old platinum baby: Only By The Night. Cruising through new material, the crowd noise still isn't really building up to anything spectacular. There's the core fans, crammed in at the front, in full voice... but they're always there and despite the enormous crowd behind them its hardly the festival reception the band had expected. They forget that this is Reading; 80% of the punters are too smashed and high to appreciate Caleb Followill's delicately rusty vocals or his cousin Mathew's intricate guitar pieces, they just want to shout the 6 to 10 words in a row that they can remember. Before he knows it, Caleb has gone through Be Somebody, Revelry and Crawl, all incredible new songs in their own right but the crowd are waiting for that song. And when he plays the opening riff and an almighty cheer goes up... well... Caleb loses his shit:

The highlight of that excruciating video is the crowd not even noticing the band deliberately butcher their favourite song and continuing to cheer, as I said: Reading. What it really shows, though, is a band frustrated by the success of one song (written half-jokingly) overshadowing their entire repertoire of material. They won't be having the same problems with this album: every song is fantastic.

WALLS opens in true Kings Of Leon Fashion, the rumbling bass and soft, catchy guitar melody ease us in to leading single Waste A Moment, a memorable track that I'm sure will be eagerly awaited on any setlist. The Tennessean four-piece have always been adventurous, refusing to be constrained by a particular genre, always seeking to vary things up with each new release. This record is a great extension of that attitude. Each intro seems vastly different from the last, the jingly, up beat guitar of Around The World sounding like Franz-Ferdinand while they blend punchy Weezer-esque power chords with an intricate melody vaguely reminiscent of R.E.M. in Find Me. 

At the same time, the quartet maintain that lyrical charm which characterises their material, demonstrating yet again that there's no harm in repeating a line if it sounds fucking great. I mean, I'm clueless as to what "Just like a reverend, like a reverend on the radio" means but they sing it so many times that you figure it must mean something deep. WALLS stands for We Are Like Love Songs so you'd guess that love is a major theme of the Followills' songwriting, but they address it in all manner of styles. Soft ballads are intermingled with stomping anthems, all of which are written from an almost retrospective outlook, older and wiser than on previous records.

You'd never guess they were an indie band.....

As a whole, the album (KOL's 7th) seems more clean-cut and expertly produced than anything they've released previously; every song seems to have been crafted to suit the group's stadium capacity crowds. Where their sound had, in the past, lacked a certain refined smoothness, WALLS is about as smooth as it gets. From the sleepy, melodic piano in Conversation Piece to the Spanishy guitar solo in Muchacho, everything is polished and intricately put together where previous records were a little bit rougher around the edges (intentionally more often than not). This in combination with some incredibly catchy chorus hooks makes the individual tracks far more memorable in their own right. They really do cover all the bases with this one and, if they can keep their cool when the tanked up crowds demand Sex On Fire, they really can put on an incredible show with the wealth of great songs they now have under their belts.

9/10

Pop Punk Invasion: Greenday, Blink 182 and Sum 41 All Return With New Material

Pop punk. The genre of the 90s teenager, the genre of garage rehearsals, of baggy tshirts and hair so spiked with gel it could take your eye out. The genre of teenage angst and male mascara. The genre that brought you: 'Everything sucks', 'school is dumb', 'being in a band is a real job mom' and other assorted issues troubling the lives of middle-class suburban, Californian teens.
      For what it lacks creatively, you could argue, it makes up for in its easy-listening quality and 'relatable' charm. Its wave of popularity in the late nineties saw the emergence of three giants of pop-punk: Green Day, Blink 182 and Sum 41 who themselves inspired a generation of bands from  Neck Deep to A Day To Remember, shaping the style of pop music for several years to come. The power chords, simplistic structure and basic harmonies (albeit synthesised within an inch of their lives) of Busted and Avril Lavigne can be directly traced back to the pop-punk movement.

A common or garden pop-punk fanboy

      Green Day's Basket Case, Blink 182's All The Small Things and Sum 41's In Too Deep/Fat Lip respectively were catapulted to anthemic status thanks to plenty of radio airtime and huge commercial success. For many people however, the past is where these bands remain, a Polaroid of the nineties nostalgically belted out in the singalong room of a nightclub at 3am or during a 10 o'clock re-run of American Pie on ITV 2... but ultimately forgotten. This is reflected in the slump of their commercial success. Be this due to alcohol/drug addiction, band falling-outs or a simple inablity to recreate the youthful catchiness of their past records, it can't be known but all three have dropped off the mainstream radar in recent years.
   


Well the giants are back... all three releasing new albums in the past 3 months for a veritable feast of pop-punk. I urge you to have a listen and work out for yourselves if I'm talking bollocks or not.

Sum 41 - 13 Voices

In mainstream circles, Sum 41 would be considered a '2-hit wonder' of sorts. Their SkatePunk masterpiece All Killer, No Filler was never followed by anything nearly as successful, with a combination of personnel changes and Deryck Whibley's alcoholism forcing the band into a hiatus by 2011. However, they return now (with Dave 'Brownsound' Baksh) with the metal-inspired 13 Voices. Despite a generally far heavier sound than fans would be accustomed to, the familiar spoken/shouted SkatePunk verses remain integral.
      This transition towards a more metallic style, with its accompanying fast-paced guitar/drums and more complex composition is pretty well-suited to the Canadians' punk-orientated style. In some songs this comes off brilliantly including Fake My Own Death (one of the record's best tracks) with its Muse-like intro and bridge combining nicely with the more recognisably catchy harmonies in the chorus. The title track 13 Voices too benefits from such a powerful intro. However, this sonic transition seems slightly forced in several of the songs, notably Goddamn I'm Dead Again and The Fall And The Rise, which both lack a memorable hook.

Abandoning the traditional high school-themed lyrical tropes of 'classic' (it feels stupid using that word) pop-punk, the content focuses on Wihbley's battle with and recovery from alcoholism. This imagery can be seen most evidently in War, my favourite track. The music video mirrors this with Whibley literally burning his old stuff: skateboard, guitar (incredibly confusing) and most importantly a bottle of Jack. Very metaphorical.

For fans of the group, it is a known fact that the band (Whibley in particular) have flirted more and more with metal throughout their career with songs like Pain For Pleasure and Bloody Murder but for me, their combined metal-pop-punk sound needs more refinement. 6.5/10

I can say from firsthand experience that they remain good live though. 

Green Day - Revolution Radio

Green Day have undergone a similar reinvention since Dookie and Nimrod, transitioning towards a far more classic rock sound. Revolution Radio is simply a continuation of that, its opener Somewhere Now's intro testament to their inspiration: namely The Who and Cream. Overall though, it's a pretty archetypal Green Day record featuring the familiar muted guitar verses, relatively simple chord progressions, soaring harmonies and generally lots of 'OOOOOHH's in the background. Like it or hate it they are nothing if not consistent. That being said, they are certainly growing (slightly) more adventurous with some pretty complex guitar solos in Revolution Radio and Say Goodbye. 
       The album certainly offers some standout tracks in Revolution Radio, Somewhere Now and Still Breathing. Its also refreshing to hear them explore that rock and roll side further than before.

However, any record they produce will always be inescapably compared  to American Idiot, particularly when there isn't exactly much deviation from their blueprint. And unfortunately its never going to be a favourable comparison for them. Revolution Radio lacks both the political edge and the delicacy (apart from the raw fragility of Ordinary World) of its predecessors. It shines brilliantly through several singles but the record as a whole has not reached past standards. 6/10

Blink 182 - California

Age has been incredibly kind to Blink 182. Over the years they've transitioned from childish teenagers singing anthems about high school, house parties and girls to...... childish 40 year-olds singing anthems about high school, house parties and girls. They've become the obnoxious uncles of the genre. Despite numerous break-ups in the past, this is the first album released under the name 'Blink 182' without founding member Tom Delonge. His replacement, Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba slots into the group seamlessly, bringing significant creative powers of his own.
     
For me, California strikes the perfect balance between experimental and nostalgic. The new synthesizers (in Left Alone for example), guitar arrangements and (slightly) more nuanced lyrics blend with the effortless harmonies and simplistic song structure we can all recognise as 'classic Blink'. In Matt Skiba, they have found a voice pretty much identical to Delonge with one key difference: Skiba can still actually sing and harmonises perfectly with Hoppus. It is these harmonies which are certainly my favourite feature of the album. They shine through in nearly every song and the slight auto-tuning actually makes the voices blend together that extra bit better.
       As well as this, the album really demonstrates the Californian trio's growing lyrical maturity, the highlight being Home Is Such A Lonely Place Without You: the album's version of Down or Stay Together For The Kids. Okay, when I say maturity, this is by Blink 182's standards, you've still got songs like Sober ("I know I messed up and it might be over/ But let me call you when I'm sober") and Kings Of The Weekend ("It's Friday night let's lose our minds") which remain very much in the 'High School' songwriting domain. Of course there's the old "nah nah nah nah nah"s chucked about left right and centre but that's customary really. How they can sing about being Teenage Satellites when they experienced their teenage years over 20 years ago seems baffling but, somehow, not once does it seem out of place. 8/10

All of these factors combine to produce that sound that is unmistakably Blink 182 and that really is their charm. Sure it may not be groundbreaking, but they never try to reinvent themselves, nor do they attempt to emulate other styles. "High School, beer and girls" is what they began with and its what they're bloody well sticking with to this day. And that, ladies and gents, is why California is the only 'Pop-punk' album on this list.

Review: Catfish And The Bottlemen - The Ride | A Reinvention Of 'The Balcony', But Does Anybody Mind?

When it was announced earlier this year that the leather-wearing northerners would be returning with new material, it prompted the usual eager clamouring amongst their ever-expanding fan base. Would they be changing their style? Would their rise to fame see them lose that down-to-earth commentary which characterised their debut? Would they retain their non-mainstream charm? These questions were answered with the release of The Ride late last month.
     The answer: nearly everything has remained the same, the one word song titles, the intense high energy, the floppy, non-mainstream haircuts. The album is so similar to its predecessor that many have labelled it a consolidation of The Balcony's material. Sonically, however, they remain certainly far from tired, with the ability to produce quality, seemingly original tunes from essentially the same ingredients, albeit more nuanced this time around.

While the tone remains fairly similar between the two records and thus makes them seem rather alike at the surface, the progress is far more apparent within the intricacies of each song. For example, its clear to note the advances in the complexity and experimentation of the lead guitar in songs like Anything, Postpone and Soundcheck  with a few cheeky distorted solos featuring in the latter two. This is also the case with the rhythm guitar with McCann straying from the more basic chord patterns in the background to a set of far more intricate backing riffs.
      It also seems to me that they have let some of their early musical influences really shine through with the jangly high pitched guitar and what I'll call the vocal distortion (that thing where it sounds like he's singing through a radio) of The Strokes coming through in Emily. as well as the lullabic vocals/guitar-picking of The Kooks (who they supported on tour last year) on Glasgow. However it would be ridiculous to ignore the most obvious influence of all, Mr Noel Gallagher and Oasis, whom the quartet have always idolised. In the verses of Postpone, the piercing solo of Red and basically the entirety of Oxygen (hugely similar in structure to Oasis' The Importance Of Being Idle), we can see Gallagher's influence, not just thanks to their shared producer, Dave Sardy, but to a sound which became entrenched among a generation of young songwriters hoping to emulate their style.

This influence goes beyond sound and style alone, but is strongly rooted within the lyrics as well, One of McCann's greatest strengths is his lyric-writing style which is the most transparent link to their Mancunian heroes. NME perfectly summed this up as 'Everyman lyricism'; the content is not far-fetched or metaphorical so as to be truly reflective of audiences. Who gives a toss about metaphors and pathetic fallacy anyway? Not McCann: he talks of catching a girl "on her fag break" who later wakes up "just to join me to smoke". There are so many references to smoking, The Ride is basically an audio advert for the tobacco industry. Yet in this lies a unique charm. They depict the de-romanticised stories of ordinary people, thus abandoning any lofty status and coming down towards the level of the audiences.

Catfish's sound is really geared towards the live performance, allowing them to generate an incredible atmosphere at any venue they play. We had already seen this to some extent in The Balcony but its clear that they have added the experience of a year of touring. Perhaps this is most obvious in the extended bridges and solos of Anything, Soundcheck and 7 which will be clearly adapted during the live performance.

So while it may not be the most adventurous of records, it would be a mistake to claim that it is the 'same' as the last, Instead, I reckon they might be 'doing a Mumford & Sons', with this album really consolidating their now dominating presence in alternative music and enabling them to be more bold in the future. There are some truly great songs in this album, Oxygen and Outside standing out for me as favourites. However, they are yet to find their Wonderwall or I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor, an anthem which really categorises their overall quality. That being said, they really are on the way to doing so.

LIVE REVIEW - Sum 41 @ The Institute; Birmingham

The Canadian Skate-Punksters Explode Their Way Through First English Show In Nearly 5 Years

They're back, sporting a revitalised line-up which features new drummer Frank Zummo and the return of original guitarist (and only Indian guy I've ever seen in a rock band): Dave 'Brownsound' Baksh. I'm not a massive fan of that nickname either... it sounds 'sewage-y' and vaguely disgusting. The Canadian four-piece only returned to the live circuit last year, after singer: Deryck Whibley's lengthy recovery from liver failure, but showed no signs of rustiness, powering through a 22-song set to take Birmingham by storm.

The night began, as all good ones should, in the Institute's neighbouring Irish pub: The Kerryman. Here I saw a strange phenomenon in six drunken pub lads in complete 'cheeky nando's' attire loudly singing along to pop punk songs. It is indeed rare to see tattooed, shaven-headed, skin tight t-shirt-wearing blokes belting out Blink 182's All The Small Things. Or perhaps I've just lead a sheltered life.       Walking behind them into the gig itself, I was finding a good spot when a stocky, tasty-looking ginger guy shoves past me from behind, carving an aggressive path through the crowd. Usually, it would be accepted that he was a knob-head and I'd move on so it came as a bit of a shock to me when the guy clambered on to the stage, clutching a microphone. It transpired that the stocky red-head was in fact the main support act: Frank Carter whose set ended up featuring more climbing and crowd acrobatics than actual singing. Nevertheless it was incredibly exciting and had everyone in the mood for Kerrang! Tour headliners, Sum 41.

While support acts are often exciting to watch, you can immediately recognise a true headliner when you see one; they have the depth of material combined with the genuine stage presence. Sum 41's set set  reflected the former, spanning their entire discography yet with an emphasis on crowd favourites, with Over My Head, Summer, Underclass Hero, The Hell Song and Walking Disaster all appearing within the first half of their performance.



While Cone and Baksh both tend to remain in fixed positions, Whibley dominates the stage, covering every inch of it as if he was playing the O2 Arena rather than the O2 Institute. In reality, the Canadians are far bigger than the venue, yet this generated a sense of intimacy enjoyed by the band and fans alike. Whibley was visibly relaxed. Considering his near-death experience, I was astounded at the energy he put in to that performance, prowling the stage's perimeter as if to make eye contact with every person in the building. As a fan I got the sense that he was really beginning to retest himself as a live performer, producing some very powerful vocal efforts and stepping up the crowd interaction as the night drew on. This culminated in him standing on an amp playing the opening riffs to Smoke On The Water and Seven Nation Army announcing: "This was the first thing I ever learned to play" about the former. They had clearly enjoyed playing the older songs from their roster, particularly Summer and Handle This which were never singles in their own right but were nonetheless belted out word-for-word by the nostalgic audience.

However, where their set really distinguished itself from other bands I've seen is something which, to me, seems glaringly obvious: saving the most well-known songs until last. If we're being honest, Fat Lip and In Too Deep played themselves that night. They could have been performed by a hoarse, drunken karaoke singer on a one stringed banjo and the atmosphere would still have been fantastic but to hear those anthemic riffs live is certainly a tick off the bucket list. It was at that point when I realised how relatively subdued the crowd had been beforehand. I'd been a little bit disappointed that not everyone shared my level of enthusiasm or excitement but that's probably more telling of me than anyone else. Nevertheless, they finally found their voices, making that encore a memorable one.




This guy is incredibly cringey so... sorry about that. The best ones were:

• Underclass Hero - 24.55
• In Too Deep - 46.54
• Fat Lip - 54.35

In summary, Dave slotted back in seamlessly (tight white t shirt and all), the new drummer Zummo looked like a fantastic addition to the group and it was abundantly clear that Sum 41 have returned... and (barring any more organ failures) they will be here to stay.

Best Tracks Of 2015

While I realise it's already February, and there's various excuses I could reel off as to why this is late, you're not here to read them so here's my list. It's virtually impossible to rank such a diverse mix of genres but I've stretched myself to a highly contentious top five. The more inquisitive among you can even benefit from a handy key which shows the following:

Red = album worth listening to        Black = The song is either a single or one of the few good tracks

Mumford And Sons - Believe
This is perhaps the most interesting one for me. When the London folk rock outfit's third album: Wilder Mind was released, I -along with the critics- met it with some contempt. It wasn't that the ditching of the banjo (or 'Banjo Gate') and opting for a more mainstream sound and traditional line up that was the problem in my eyes. Instead it was that the songs didn't pack enough of a proverbial punch and didn't believe that they could reach that anthemic, crowd-chorusing standard that I've come to expect. Reading festival soon came along and it was time to put this depressing analysis to the test. The soaring vocals and echoing guitar solo of Believe changed my mind there and then; I am now a convert to the lyrically simplified, snare-smashing, bass-rumbling charm of this new sound. Teddy's uncontrollable swaying and gnashing can still be seen from 300 metres away, double bass or electric.

Other notable songs in the album: The Wolf, Tomkins Square Park, Wilder Mind

The Academic - Sometimes
A song from the easier-listening side of the indie world with the latest E.P from the emerging Irish quartet who are just a year into a record deal and set to release their first full album in 2016. The guitar is simply strummed and low-key, accompanied by softly sung vocals which contribute towards a generally mellow sound. This allows them to strike a nice balance between relaxing and captivating and avoids that characterless quality which affects many indie bands today.

The Offspring- Coming For You

2015 saw, after over 25 years since the release of their self-titled début, the return of these pop-punk giants with another single which, I think cements itself alongside some of their biggest tunes including You're Gonna Go Far Kid, Self Esteem and Want You Bad. The song deviates from the classically mundane lyric content that pop-punk boasts with Dexter Holland remarking that it is about 'the government keeping you down' prior to the single's release. Perhaps this signifies more of a potentially political edge to The Offspring's new material. The song certainly sports a heavier side to their sound with a more prominent bass line and a more traditional rock and roll guitar solo while retaining those 'hey's and 'hell yeah's beloved by their fans.

Dinosaur Pile-up - Eleven Eleven
The best intro of the year goes to this Leeds-originating heavy rock outfit. A blend of more classic rock riffs, the grumbling guitars of grunge and aggressively tuneful vocals of punk, Dinosaur Pile-up offer an impossibly rowdy song which can barely be confined to the constraints of it's 'alt-rock' labelling. The result of such a wide combination of styles produce a song which will have you on your feet and ready to smash something in no time. It's stop-start, reverberating guitar riff, thrashing drums and simplistic lyrics bring the spirit of the mosh pit to your (now throbbing) ears.

Slaves - Sugar Coated Bitter Truth

I've raved enough about this band during the year so if you'd like to read a more general review, you can do so here. This track is one of my favourites, simply because it shows off some of Slaves' versatility. Its paranoid, conspiracy theory-themed lyrics and slightly more intricate guitar melody seem like the perfect way to end what is a n enormous début. However, just as they've lulled you into a false sense of security with the song's relatively peaceful opening, in true Slaves fashion it builds to a roaring crescendo.

Stereophonics - Sunny
From alt rock newcomers to figureheads of the more mainstream genre, the Welsh four-piece released their ninth studio album Keep The Village Alive earlier this year. Packed with soothing ballads and careful guitar arrangements, Stereophonics haven't deviated too greatly from what is a proven winning formula. Kelly Jones' incredible voice, as usual, carries the album with this song an outstanding example of his true vocal range from low pitched gruffness to soaring falsettos. Sunny even features an extended guitar solo, something virtually unheard of in a Stereophonics record.

Other Notable Songs: C'est La Vie, Mr And Mrs Smith, I Want To Get Lost With You

Vant - Do You Know Me / Parasite
This band somehow manages to sound familiar and incomparable at the same time. The frantic tempo of the guitars and machine gun drums compliments the brash, care-free vocals of front man Mattie Vant giving their sound a lazy, casual quality despite the franticness of the backing instruments. Since all of their songs are under three minutes in duration (Parasite lasting just 1.26) you're treated to a short sharp burst of energy which draws to an abrupt standstill before you even know what's going on. The pace is so furious that the songs almost seem to be in fast forward which only acts to enhance the band's appeal in my eyes.


21 Pilots- Stressed Out
It would take a brave man to try and classify 21 Pilots with a genre. I'm not so I won't. The strange, quivering vocals of Tyler Joseph take on a variety of styles depending on the song: sometimes its emotional pop-punk, at others a more classic pop voice and occasionally you'll get a cheeky spoken word rap verse in there as well. The accompaniment is mostly synthetic with a rumbling bass line which, in this song, fits nicely with the deadpan vocals. Listening to the whole album, you're not likely to like every track but there really is something for virtually everyone and this song was a personal favourite for me.

Wonder Years - Cardinals
Proof that pop-punk can be intelligent. The Wonder Years have always boasted poetic lyrics, a tendency to avoid overproduction and generally a darker, more genuinely emotional focus. It was always going to be tricky to follow up 2013's sensational 'The Greatest Generation'  with No Closer To Heaven released late last year. While not necessarily 'better' than the last record, it certainly dealt with much more sensitive lyric content and Cardinals is a prominent example of this. The Bridge: "We're no saviours if we can't save our brothers" sums up the overriding theme of the track yet the production team have still been able combine this with a more outreaching, catchy chorus. As a result, Cardinals is as impressive for its craft as it is for its lyrical content.

The Hunna - Bonfire
Despite a truly shocking name and frequent use of words like 'Squaaaaad' and 'turnt' on their social media posts, the London quartet are showing huge promise in the indie-pop scene. They were formed just this year with Bonfire the title of their début E.P. with label, High Time Records and an album set for release this year. I'm imagining that their use of those dreadful words is an attempt to tap into more of a 'pop' following yet the undeniable catchiness of those songs should be enough to see them through anyway. Unfortunately, the echoing, anthemic qualities seen in this song simply aren't there in any of their other tracks but it's still just early days for this group.


The Top 5

Highly Suspect - Lydia
Dubbed by many as America's answer to Royal Blood, Massachusetts' Highly Suspect are carving a name for themselves in their home country  but are yet to taste real success on our side of the Atlantic. Comparisons have already been made to some huge names in rock including Kings of Leon (thanks to Stevens' husky vocals) and even Queens Of The Stone Age for their outlandish, high pitched synthesised guitar solos. Their outstanding single Lydia has deservedly commanded a storm of critical recognition for its undeniable power but more importantly an intoxicating classic rock charm.

Other Notable Songs: Bath Salts, Bloodfeather, Mom

A$AP Rocky- Wavybone
It's incredibly rare for me to find a rap album in which I'd struggle to choose a favourite song; it was the case with Dr Dre's Chronic 2001 and Jay-Z/Kanye West's Watch The Throne to exemplify the calibre I'm looking for. Rocky's second album At Long Last A$AP easily sits alongside those massive names, a display of the brave experimentalism which is powering the current growth of hip-hop towards popular musical dominance. The record as a whole has a hypnotic feel to it (almost resembling an hour-long L$D trip) with the echoing vocals, artificially low-pitch grunts and strange instrumental melodies. It's also nice to see Rocky making use of more traditional instruments like acoustic and electric guitars in his backing samples which accompany his impeccable flow which hooks you in as a listener. Wavybone represents a short break from the acid trip giving us more of an insight to the inspiration behind his lyrics as well as some clever sampling for the chorus. The verses from Juicy J and UGK are also a nice inclusion.

Other notable songs: Jukebox Joints, Canal St, Electric Body, M'$

Nothing But Thieves - Ban All The Music

The second song in possibly the best indie rock album of the year from the incredibly talented and original Essex hailing quintet Nothing But Thieves. They have a versatility to their sound, with particular reference to singer Connor Mason who has, without doubt, one of the best rock voices in music today and will be a catalyst for their impending success. Mason's voice brings what can only be described as a fiery delicacy to their songs, blending soaring operatic falsettos with rawer, more familiar rock screams. The band have drawn comparisons to a range of massive names including The Arctic Monkeys, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Royal Blood if you like this song, be sure to check out their self-titled album  

Other Notable Songs: Honey Whiskey, Itch, Wake Up Call, Trip Switch

Neck Deep - Can't Kick Up The Roots

Overall, probably my favourite album of the year, Neck Deep's Life's Not Out To Get You is the emotionally perceptive, harmony-infested follow-up to début: Wishful Thinking. My full review of the whole album can be read here on Ultimateguitar.com  (the second one). This track, the opener to the record is a down to earth, fondly reminiscent ode to their home town of Wrexham and one of the most catchy songs the genre has to offer.

Other notable songs: Gold Steps, Threat Level Midnight, Kali Ma, December

Everything Everything - To The Blade
An entry from certainly one of the most original (a more polite way of saying strange) bands of the year, with a tendency to wear uniform and sing in incomprehensible English. Combining the electronic drum beats and electronic synthesisers more familiar in dance music with the intelligent lyrics and soft harmonies of an indie band, they create a distinctive sound which seems to fit perfectly with their peculiar dress sense. This song is "written as a letter to someone who is close a person who's done something terrible" and is testament to the politically-tuned, analytic lyrics which are my favourite feature about the album.

Other Notable Songs: Regret, Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread, Distant Past, No Reptiles