RockOSaurus
Harking from the Jurassic period, this dinosaur of the Rock of Ages enjoys nothing better than cracking the stereo to 11 and showing a Whole Lotta Love to Rock and Roll Legends of old. He is the most hard hitting of the Does it Rock motley crew...
Homepage: http://www.doesitrock.net
Posts by RockOSaurus
Album Review Shorts: Bomb The Music Industry! – Vacation
Oct 10th
Short & sweet album reviews that never miss the point…
Bomb The Music Industry! – Vacation
RockOSaurus Says…
What a difference an album makes. Always known for their quirks and DIY ethics, this blows all their previous records out of the water with the change of direction into a indie rock land overdriven with pop melodies and clean vocals. Taking their foot of the pedal slightly and laying back somewhat, their tunes really find their feet and lodge themselves in your head. Ability to comprehend the vocals is a big win win, and with more emphasis on melody over speed makes this an incredibly enjoyable album. They still sail way out into the eclectic ocean mixing up tempo’s, synthy breaks, jagged punk guitar led numbers (Vocal Coach), lyrically potent acoustic strummers (Can’t Complain), Noise Rock (Savers) and more BTMI! trad tunes Everybody That You Love given a loving polish and pop makeover, Never to be second guessed this is an ever twisting album of wildly varied brilliance.
8
Album Review Shorts: Maybeshewill – I Was Here For A Moment, Then I Was Gone
Oct 6th
Short & sweet album reviews that never miss the point…
Maybeshewill – I Was Here For A Moment, Then I Was Gone
RockOSaurus Says…
Instrumental post-rock bands fall into one of two categories, mostly bland or rarely brilliant. Thankfully this Leeds group left me stunned with their classically backed rock power. The lack of vocals is rewarding as their violin melodies epitomise the word epic. When this is twinned with idyllic/all out assault dynamics, the storming guitars, clattering drums and sweeping keyboards make for truly stunning results. The softer butterfly flutter moments are starkly beautiful and sparse, plus they inevitably become heaving behemoths as they wind up into cataclysmic sound eruptions. An awe inspiring collection of towering feel good harmonies and superb songwriting. A triumph of post rock glory!! It’s rock Jim, but not as we know it!
8.5
Album Review Shorts: Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
Oct 3rd
Short & sweet album reviews that never miss the point…
Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
RockOSaurus Says…
A supposed concept album which triumphs musically more than lyrically. The concept seems only to be apparent to reviewers studying the lyrics and making sense of this 2 hour long exhilarating ride of punk energy. With the jagged edges of their hardcore guitars smoothed over this is a greatly accessible record which despite it’s length, transfixes your brain through bounding riffing, strangely addictive growled vocals and an endless supply of melody. Plenty of cracking tunes scattered throughout the track list such as the frenetic assault of Queen of Hearts, the infectious melody of Turn The Season and the vocally intense Ship of Fools. Put simply, David Comes To Life is a consistent barrage of guitar riffs which rarely deviates. But when this staple diet is so addictive, nothing else seems to matter.
9
Album Review Shorts
Oct 1st
As I end up checkiing out a great deal more new music than all the other writers at DiR.net put together, it has been suggested that I put this to good use and write up some short style reviews of what I have been listening to. So finally, I have decided to go ahead with this mini project of writing Album Review Shorts..
Now with time being the premium that it is, this style of short and enthusiaic opinionated outpourings suits perfectly, i mean most people only ever read a reviews score anyways. This way there is less distance to scroll to find those hallowed ratings!
With anticipation brewing I hereby commence project Album Review Shorts.
Expect lots of reviews to follow shortly…of course!
Trail Of Dead @ Electric Ballroom
May 15th
16th April 2011
The double gig header for this week was concluded with another trip to Camden, only this time it’s straight to the Electric Ballroom early doors in order to catch the bands (damn Friday night scheduling). Upon arrival we were bombarded with epic noise rock coming from Asobi Seksu, who seemed to be doing quite well in drawing in the already ample crowd.
Asobi Sesku
Catching the end of the set, they played with plenty of shoegazy fuzz factory loaded guitars and scratchtastic fretting. But it all fell apart when the female vocalist opened her mouth to deliver weak and whiney vocals. Good thing there weren’t that many vocals then hey!
Rival Schools
After a long time away Rival Schools had returned to the UK with their first new material in 7 years since their lauded debut United By Fate. They have clearly spent time honing their songwriting as these new tunes were mature, melodic and catchy. The performance was one of professionalism. All in all a fairly standard run through of their material. Good, but left a little hole where the excitement should be. Front man Walter Schreifels warm vocals and his intimacy with the crowd, initiating plenty of banter showed a confidence which even went so far as breaking out a cover by request. To the cries of “FREEEEEBIRD!” came a rendition of the first verse/chorus of Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead Or Alive…they definitely have a sense of humour. Set highlights included the delayed drenched riffs of 69 Guns, the heaving opener Wring It Out and sing-a-long indie classic Used For Glue. On the whole, a rather enjoyable set.
…And Now You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, to quote their full moniker do not do half measures. Neither do they like the phrase ordinary. Whether is the band name’s, their energy or the ethereal sonic experimentations they manufacture they are far from your average Joe’s. Kicking off their set they launched into a seemingly endless stream of melody and progressive rock greatness backed with more rise and falls than the south downs. After later checking up (setlist.fm) it seems this was the 16min album closer Strange News From Another Planet from latest LP Tao of the Dead, just how any middle of the road band would start their set, right?
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Follow this with a seamless melody of cracking indie rock tunes from the same album including The Fairlight Pendant, Ebb Away and Summer Of All Dead Souls, you have the first half over within the blink of an eye! ToD have a great tendency to produce beautiful slow drifting instrumentations which lull your senses, taking you into a dreamlike state of mind. Yet they manage to never over do it (70′s prog a no-no), bringing back the main riff at just the right point to kick you up the ass with full blown amped up clout.
ToD were hitting the right notes with the crowd by playing moving on to some older material which sparked both moshs and sways in equal proportions. In rather ToD like fashion, their lead singer and drummer swapped for some of tracks which tended to be heavier and punkier.
Switching it up
These Texans take no prisoners no matter who is on vocal duty and it’s their genre bending, outright refusal to conform, while creating unique and exciting prog which sets them apart and above all who try to rival them. A great performance from true rock heavyweights.
The Jim Jones Revue @ KoKo
May 4th
15th April 2011
From the get go this evening, it was clear we had taken more than a couple of steps back in time. Slicked back haircuts, leather jackets and vintage dresses galore…we had landed in the 50′s! With rockabilly’s as far as the eye could see we headed down to catch the sole support act tonight, Lewis Floyd Henry.
Lewis Floyd Henry
Floyd was a tad more modern in his musical style. His one man band hopped forwards just 10 years in fact, as he blasted out 60′s roots blues, with mesmeric results. He was a totally charasmatic, instantly likable figure with quirky tendencies and a real sense of humour. As he stomped on his tiny little bass drum and cymbal combo he crashed out some fittingly retro fuzzed up bluesy riffs with personality! Think Seasick Steve in session with The Black Keys.
Burn Pram Burn…
His stage present was magnificent and the crowd were waiting with baited breath on each of his lyrics, whether they were faux conversations with himself or modern tales of life and love. I especially enjoyed his song about driving down the M4, dialogue with other motorists, genius stuff. This man truly loved the blues, pouring raging highs and sombre lows through his every chord, harking back to blues legends of the past. Plus just in case you were thinking about forgetting about this set…Floyd proceeded to set alight to his amp onstage in spectacular fashion (which coincidentally was wheeled in and out in a ramshackle old pushchair).
The Jim Jones Revue
The feel good nature of the evening continued as The Jim Jones Revue took to the stage and immediately proceeded to blast out 50′s bar room blues in the most fuzzed up, damn right rock n’ roll manner ever! The retro effect soaked vocals were rasping as they cut through the honky tonk adrenaline piano shots, tight rifffing and wailing guitar solo’s. This was an all out assault on the blues and they absolutely nailed it! From the first chord to the last, their scuzzy blues had everyone twistin’ and shoutin’, as they danced the night away. No Pogoing, No Moshing,…only jiving!
They rampantly plundered their way though a set with the enthusiasm of a band 20 years their junior which took the best from their back catalogue including the energetic High Horse, sing-a-long Shoot First, ferocious Dishonest John and the chaotic Elemental.
I must say I haven’t had so much fun at a gig for a long time. All it took was some middle aged men with a love of Jerry Lee Lewis and flat out rock transporting us back to a true 50′s rock and roll dancehall. Their performance was a joyous celebration of the blues as everyone, young & old had an absolute blast. There was barely a soul present without a huge grin on their face!
Jim Jones
It’s no wonder then this band thrives on their live reputation….. They are simply fantastic!
Powerage Records Tour 2011 @ Camden Underworld
Apr 2nd
24th February 2012
Tonight was a night to savour. A Free show @ Camden Underworld hosted by the cracking Classic Rock magazine associated record label Powerage. Not only is it free entry, but the lineup is packed with 4 top quality bands who Powerage have signed the finest rock and roll the UK has to offer, bringing it all together on one stage tonight.
The first band up was the Northern Irish Hard Rock Quintet Million Dollar Reload.
Million Dollar Reload
Their pumped up rock anthems were just the ticket to get the night kicked off as they ran though a swift but impact making set. They had a slightly punkier edge to them which invigorated the already quite sozzled crowd. Vocals were tough to make out at first but slowly the balance settled and we were treated to huge chorus’s and sleazy rhymes from Phil Conalane’s extremeley talented and versatile vocal chords. The man’s pipes are wondrous and he flipped back and forth from incredibly fluent high speed lyrics to semi-falsetto’d throaty roars. Highlights of their set included the chorus busting Give It Up, all out rocker Superslave and the punky American sing-along riot of Goodnight New York.
The Treatment
It’s a rare band who can capture my rock and roll heart with such ease and style, it’s safe to say The Treatment managed it in just half an hour of youthful exuberance. Their bluesy hard rock was more glam pop in orientated, with a much more radio friendly lead singer armed with an outstanding high note and enough growl in him to still cut it with the rock crowds. In fact this was the biggest and most energetic crowd of the night as they played the highlights from their self titled debut album.
Baby brother Rox
Songs such as the tight Ac/Dc riffing on The Doctor, huge chant-a-long I Want Love, the super infectious melodies of Shake The Mountain and the turbo-charged adrenaline shot guitar assault of Departed. These guys didn’t let up for one minute as their unrelenting onslaught of stunningly catchy Hard Rock tunes had me totally addicted. So confident in their melodies, they are able to slow down the tempo and try some emotive high-note bending balladry on Nothing To Lose. With such strong vocals and non-soppy lyrics…it works! Above all else this performance has showcased their extreme talent at producing brilliantly catchy rock and roll, a band not to be missed.
Matt ‘Tyler’ Jones
It’s true they are not so original, put if the idea of putting Steve Tyler in a room with Malcom Young takes your fancy? Its clear all you need is The Treatment. The fact their drummer’s father is the former manager of ‘gone but not forgotten’ UK rockers Roadstar only makes me love them even more. (Btw. I have overlooked the fact that their bassist is an incredibly annoying short-short-short-arse! You can’t have it all I guess!)
Sadly as The Treatment exited, so did 50% of the crowd. It seemed as if all this free music wasn’t as attractive a prospect as having a good nights kip! The DoesItRock crew didn’t need persuading to stick about, although we didn’t really get on with the next band Lethargy.
Lethargy
They were more focused in the heavy spectrum and the low notes of the guitar, thundering out some cracking bass and fuzz soaked booming riffs. Yet the dreadlocked vocalist/bassist wasn’t quite up to scratch given what had just blitzed the stage. Plus they were a slight anomaly amongst the line-up, the flagging enthusiasm from the crowd reflecting this! No surprises then that this set fell by the wayside for us.
Last but not least came a band who have impressed us here in the Underworld before, New Device. It was slightly disappointing to see that the thriving crowd had not returned post-lethargy, but not to be outdone New Device took up the hard rock baton, pasted it with melody and vigor before streaking towards a triumphant finish.
New Device
While they lacked the attitude of Million $ Reload and the chaotic energy of The Treatment, their hard rock was Bon Jovi-esque melody focused that was truly stadium worthy. Highly strung verses were backed with stratospheric choruses sung with utter conviction and a fiery intent! With only one guitarist, New Device make up for their lack of kerranging walls of power chords with cutting licks and catchy ass solo’s. Confined in this small underground space songs like the big thumping rhythms of Make My Day and mega ballad In The Fading Light feel caged as they bustle and wriggle to be released from these walls.
Daniel Leigh
Despite their pop orientation, they show they can still kick it in the hard rock arena with stonking metal opening of On Fire, down tuned riffing Never Say Never and album title track Takin’ Over! Returning for a swift acoustic encore underlined their accessibility as the most mainstream of the tonight’s line-up. With performances like this it may not be too long before it’s their turn to break through!
Acoustic Time
An astonishingly superb lineup drove this free night of live rock destined for big things.
Power to Powerage Records!!!!
Les Savy Fav & Pulled Apart By Horses @ Heaven
Mar 13th
22nd February 2012
Young Legionnaire kicked off tonight’s NME Awards show in spectacular fashion. Their pummeling guitars and gigantic bass melodies were immediately pile driven through your stupefied ears. Such was the intense volume, that as I write this, a hint of deafness still remains. Despite the lack concern for health and safety noise regulations, these guys were pretty damn good. Their guitars played a buzz saw of aggressive overdriven fuzz, packed with bold innovative clattering riffs played within the soaring soundscapes of noise rock. However after half the set, it felt like they really started to recycle ideas and the vocals which were sailing to close to Placebo for comfort, sadly faded behind the gnarly guitar grunts. A promising young bunch of alt-rockers despite. Watch this space.
Young Legionnaire
Next up were Leeds alt-metal noiseniks Pulled Apart By Horses, who continued the relentless onslaught of rousing rock. Kicking off with the superb “E=MC Hammer” immediately puts a smile across the crowd’s faces and brings with it some gargantuan guitars and super catchy vocals with the comedic lyrics “We ride, We ride, We ride the Mammoth” screamed at top volume. For many the urge to dance/throw yourself around in a carefree manner/headbang/toe tap (delete as appropriate) was far too great. Indeed their songs bring a joyously loud fusion of Sabbath gone metal riffs, great clean gang vocals, urgently screamed passages and enough brooding male aggression to plunder an enemy stronghold.
Pulled Apart By Horses
Highlights from the set list were potent man screams of “Yeah, huuuuh” on Back to the Fuck Yeah, the riot inducing Meat Balloons and the varied tempos with bursting energy packed within The Crapsons. Top tune though however had to go to the blues on speed, massively guitar driven epic “High Five, Swan Dive Nose Dive” with its 23 word lyric sheet and awe inspiring crescendos.
Their youthful energy and enthusiasm was remarkable, as they flung themselves around the stage with careless regard for their own safety. This is one band whose combination of skull crushing power, raw intensity, tight musicianship, comedy touches and spirit rousing anthems can only be truly conveyed by actually being there. So what you waiting for?
PABH had thrown down the gauntlet for our headliners Les Savy Fav, who in turn picked it up and slapped the idea they were going to be outshone by a support band straight out the window. It is clearly not in their nature to be upstaged, as within 30 seconds of the opening guitar chime ringing out, their slightly rotund lead singer Tim Harrington was already off foraying into the crowd taking his 4 layers of clothing with him…boy did that man sweat.
Les Savy Fav
It’s no wonder why these guys have such a cracking live reputation. The whole set was peppered with acts of total randomocity and extravagant showmanship. From jumping on a strategically places box in wheels and skidding round the crowd, to sharing vocal duties with strangers, throwing wrapping paper & climbing up on the balcony before hanging off it batman style, this was truly some ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s’ nest influenced behavior.
A slightly blurry Tim Harrington
Although at times it felt as if Tim didn’t really care too much about the lyrics as he’d much rather lark about in his pretty clothes which included a several changes from comedy bishop to yeti and the cop from the Village People. In contrast the rest of the band were quite happy to run through a very tight set of punchy riff rock, which is absolutely what’s necessary when your front man is a absolute nut job.
Going up
Title for the most entertaining moment of the night came not when Tim hugged a bouncer, but when he and the band emptied out 4 huge boxes full of Glo Sticks and proceeded to start a war with the crowd. This was cracking fun and caused a multicoloured explosion of visually stunning carnage. This was one war the band were not going to win. Tim seems to be adept and dodging them as he was batting them off with precision with his microphone, but other bands members (and the bouncers) were less fortunate.
A storming show which emphasised theatrics over musical performance. But credit to Les Savy Fav, this is one show I not be forgetting for a long long time!
Last.fm Festival @ The Forum
Feb 14th
For the second night in a row, I’m back in Kentish town, but this time it’s for the Last.fm festival. This was one of the oddest “festivals” I’ve ever seen, for starters only 4 bands were playing, it was all on one stage and it lasts as long normal evening gig. With the packed in line-up proceedings were kicked off early, by Bones.
Bones
These spritely indie rockers put in a solid if slightly generic performance. I especially liked the tradeoff between the female vocals and the sharp guitar riffs which clattered along to their pop centric melodies. Enjoyable, but not likely to set the world on fire.
Chapel Club
The next band up Chapel Club had been hyped up in the indie press so much that in my mind, they were this gargantuan indie rock titan, set to steal the show. Somehow I fell foul of wise words I’ve written here many a time before…don’t believe the hype! If you like your music with a streak of angst (the depressed kind, not the angry kind), monotone vocals ala Morrissey and an obsession for Joy Division, this is right up your street. This set left be thinking what other things I could be doing instead…like sleeping.
Young Knives returned to the place where me and Mr. Flowers saw the nearly 5 years ago without their preceeding “The” (They must have mislaid it down the back of the sofa or something). Far from becoming industry standard, Young Knives have always remained true to their full on pop experience. The dual front men are perfectly in sync, bopping out vocal harmonies to rival any glee club while picking out some of the finest, nifty little guitar licks this side of franz ferdinand. The only disappointment was the fact they only had 30 minutes to play, causing a very new album heavy setlist. But when the classics arrived in the shape of jerky strutter The Decision and the epic indie anthem Turn Tail it had the whole crowd up on their feet singing along. A massively impressive set from this unlikly combo whom encompass everything that’s great about true britishness (that’s being a little bit eccentric but just about getting away with it).
Young Knives
Here is where I have a right old moan at the organisers! As much as its great to see 4 bands in one night, everyone knows that any festival, no matter how small, must have a headliner. With only a 10 minute difference between set lengths of band 1 (25mins) and band 4 (35mins) this was beyond acceptable. It was tough to see Young Knives leave so soon after they arrived and with the next bands calibre this set length was unacceptably short. Their best bet would have been to drop Chapel Club altogether!
The Futureheads
Despite the restrictions The Futureheads set about whipping up a frenzied edged punk outpouring of thumped guitars and equally harmonious vocal hooks. In the Live setting these guys really live to crank up the volume, upping the punk ante, putting the amps through their paces with 3 guitars bursting out massive riffs left right and centre. I was surprised by this as their studio material is always very measures and slickly produced, live they are an altogether harder beast to tame.
It was good see that they still loved to perform their old material, pulling plenty of old classics such as Alms, the riffing terrific Decent Days And Nights and set closer, the Kate Bush cover Hounds of Love. Thankfully for us all, The Futureheads didn’t was to leave either as they ploughed on 10 minutes beyond curfew because, as lead singer David “Jaff” Craig put it “35 minutes is not enough” Their final flurry was met with rapturous appreciation, estatic moshing and crowd led harmonies. This was a cracking high energy set from a band I seem to have missed live thus far. Something I am sure to rectify, again and again and again etc….
