Review: Hear It Calls

Hi altrocklifers! Today I’ll be reviewing the latest EP by up-and-coming Texas band, The Naked Tungs.  The four piece band put out the five track EP, Hear It Calls, yesterday, following the release of their single Valium And Vodka earlier this month.  The band have a fun, garage rock sound, and I’m excited to introduce this band to my readers.

The EP begins with opening track Someone Else, setting things off with a catchy and upbeat guitar solo, which repeats throughout the song.  Female vocalist Sarah R. provides the vocals for this track, and whilst her voice might not be technically perfect, her attitude comes across really well.  The last 30 seconds or so of the track is made up of an awesome instrumental, notable for its interesting drum fills.  Lyrically the track talks about how people can change under the influence of drugs, and this theme of partying, drugs and alcohol carries on throughout the rest of the EP.

Next up is the EP’s title track, Hear It Calls, this time sung by male vocalist Hersh C.  The higher pitched guitars and more focus on cymbals, as well as the slight echoing effect on Hersh’s voice, gives the song a more indie feel compared to others on the EP.  This is a really fun track which adds to the party vibe mentioned in the lyrics running throughout.

My favourite track on Hear It Calls is definitely Valium And Vodka, and I can understand exactly why the band decided to release it as a single.  The track is a great summation of The Naked Tungs’ sound as a whole: Sarah’s vocals are at their strongest here, and the instrumentals feature a strong bass line, interesting plucked guitar features, and inventive drumming.

The EP’s penumtilate track is All Of This, possibly the most grungy track on the EP, which suits its low-fi production perfectly.  Hear It Calls is then rounded off by Its Alright, the longest track on the EP at over six minutes long, which really lets the band stretch their creative muscles and just jam.

You can listen to Hear It Calls on the band’s Bandcamp page, or alternatively stream it on Spotify – just pop The Naked Tungs into your search bar.  If you’re a fan of Band Of Skulls of Wolf Alice, I reckon The Naked Tungs are a band you definitely need to get into.

Advertisement

News: Tigress announce new EP and UK tour dates

Essex-based pop rock band Tigress have announced the release of their second EP, Like It Is.  The five track EP is set to be released through LAB Records on 12th May, and it includes the band’s latest single, Power Lines.  You can watch the music video for the track here:

Tigress have previously seen coverage from Kerrang! Magazine, Rock Sound, BBC Radio 1, BBC Introducing, Scuzz TV, Kerrang! TV, Kerrang! Radio as well as hundreds of regional stations and webzines.

With the EP made up of awesome pop rock infused with strings and high energy choruses, Tigress will be revealing more new music over the next few weeks.  Their next single, Give Me A Chance, is due to be released along with a music video tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Tigress will be touring the UK with Counterfeit in April, before joining Counterfeit on their mainland Europe tour. The band will headline the VocalZone stage at Teddy Rocks Festival on the 28th April, and have also been added to the Camden Rocks and Work Hard Play Hard Festival line-ups.  Here is the list of dates and festivals where you can catch Tigress live this year:

(* = supporting Counterfeit)

• 18/4 – Key Club, Leeds *
• 19/4 – Academy 3, Manchester *
• 20/4 – O2 Academy 2, Newcastle *
• 21/4 – Stereo, Glasgow *
• 22/4 – Rock City Basement, Nottingham *
• 23/4 – O2 Academy 3, Birmingham *
• 25/4 – Fleece, Bristol *
• 26/4 – The Underworld, London *
• 28/4 – Teddy Rocks Festival, Blandford Forum
• 29/4 – The Haunt, Brighton *
• 4/6 – Camden Rocks Festival, London
• 23/7 – Work Hard Play Hard Festival, Kent

Tickets are on sale for all shows and details can be found at the band’s website.

---

What do you think of Tigress’s latest single?  Are you seeing the band on tour next month?  Let me know on my Facebook or Twitter page, or in the comment section below this post.

News: Chasing Cadence announce new EP and July tour dates

Chasing Cadence, a Herefordshire alternative rock five-piece, have announced that their next EP will be released this September.  The EP, Destroy Something Beautiful, includes their latest track Dear Life, and the official video is below.

If you’ve been to any gigs recently you might have seen these guys perform, as they’ve supported quite a few bands including Taking Back Sunday, Don Broco and Glamour Of The Kill.  Chasing Cadence have also appeared at Download Festival, Camden Rocks and Takedown Festival.

Plus, if you’re a fan of wrestling you’ll recognise the track from the opening credits of TNA Xplosion Wrestling.  They played the opening slot on the recent TNA arena tour, performing at Wembley Arena, Manchester Arena and Birmingham Barclaycard Arena.

The EP consists of five tracks, which combines raw alternative rock with electronic elements. I’ve listened to a few of their tracks and I really like the sound of this band so far.  I’m not alone in thinking that either: Chasing Cadence have received coverage and airplay from Kerrang!, Rock Sound and Scuzz TV, among others.

Ahead of the release of Destroy Something Beautiful, the band are heading on tour across England.  The dates are below:

• 13/7 – The Old Blue Last, London
• 22/7 – The Square, Harlow
• 23/7 – The Blueberry, Norwich
• 24/7 – The Tubman, Hastings
• 6/8 – SummerFest 2016 at The Frog and Fiddle, Cheltenham

Chasing Cadence are also playing an EP release show at The Black Heart, Camden, on September 29th. Tickets are available from the band’s merch store.  I’m not close enough to any of these venues to drop in, unfortunately, but if you’re close by to any of these venues I’d recommend checking them out.

What do you think of Chasing Cadence? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter, or in the comments below.

Review: The Bear And The Tiger

Take a look at my latest Scene Better Days post, a review of Bootscraper and Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man’s aggressively awesome split.

Scene Better Days

When I get sent split EPs, I assume that the bands will be pretty similar sounding. This expectation was ignored by The Bear And The Tiger, which features Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man and Bootscraper. The tracks are all reworked covers of the other band, which makes for an interesting audio experience.

It’s a shame that since recording The Bear And The Tiger, Bootscraper have called it quits. This band are like nothing I’ve ever listened to before. In all honesty I’m not sure how to review such a unique band, but I’ll try to do them justice!

Bootscraper‘s aggro-folk ROTPM covers all sound like sea shanties to me. They’ve created the kind of music you’d expect to hear on the Pirates Of The Caribbean soundtrack. The tracks are a little rough around the edges, but that just adds to their charm.

I love the combination of male…

View original post 261 more words

Review: It’s Not What You Need, It’s What You’ve Got (so shut it.)

Here’s my latest Scene Better Days review! Make sure you take a look.

Scene Better Days

When a link to this latest EP arrived in my inbox I was really excited to see it was from Oui Legionnaires, a punky, emo-y “yelp-core” three-piece from the South West of England, a.k.a. my neck of the woods.

It’s Not What You Need, It’s What You’ve Got (so shut it.) is an upbeat and infectious third EP from the Cheltenham trio, jam-packed with five tracks which are easy to nod your head and tap your foot to. One small criticism though: was “Dear Charlie, please write a hilarious title for this song, lots of love Chris” really necessary? The 47-second-long introduction to the EP seemed a little underdeveloped to me, and if I had listened to the EP without the first track, I probably wouldn’t have felt like it was missing anything.

The vocals are strong throughout, if a little rough around the edges, and they remind me…

View original post 168 more words