It’s hard to believe that it’s been 14 years since Cold Chisel dropped the brilliant Last Wave Of Summer. Now with the most recent Cold Chisel reunion comes No Plans an album that is sure to be lapped up by starved Cold Chisel fans but upon the first listen seems like a bit of a let down.

The thing that hits you first about No Plans is there seems to be no real highlights, having said that there are also no really dreadful tracks either.

The album does see Cold Chisel break up their sound as well. The title track sees them experiment with a jazz/blues hybrid with some Jimmy Barnes grunt to boot it home. That same sound resurfaces throughout the album with tracks like ‘Dead And Laid To Rest’ and ‘HQ454 Monroe’.

‘All For You’ and ‘This Day’ sees Cold Chisel reproduce their sweet older sound but for the most part No Plans is an album that lets them experiment. The stripped back mournful acoustic feel of ‘Missing A Girl’ works a treat and even the country sound of ‘Our Old Flame’ doesn’t sound out of place.

For the most part though it feels like Cold Chisel jumps into gear and just delivers track after track of smooth rock, ‘I Gotta Get Back On The Road’, ‘Summer Moon’ and ‘The Horizon’ being perfect examples.

The only songs that are close to stand-outs are ‘Everybody’, which Don Walker reclaims from Abi Tucker and ‘I Got Things To Do’ which features the vocals of Steve Prestwich who sadly lost his battle with cancer last year.

No Plans is a good album, just don’t expect any tracks that will jump out at you and be classic hits.

Dave Griffiths

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Sigur Rós are proud to invite their fans to participate in Valtari Hour – a rolling, New Year’s Eve-style listening event celebrating the band’s new album, Valtari, which will happen worldwide on 17th May, 2012 at 7pm in every time zone around the globe.  Valtari Hour is the special time when you can hear the band’s new record, which will be released in Australia on 25th May on Parlophone/EMI Music.  But where and how you do that is up to you!

The album will be playing via a special listening platform on the band’s website – www.sigur-ros.co.uk – as well as via selected media partners, in record stores and on radio stations (keep checking the www.sigur-ros.co.uk for more details).

Valtari Hour will allow the band’s fans worldwide to collectively experience their new album throughout the course of a twenty-four hour day.

Those listening to the album are encouraged to use the hashtag #valtarihour when discussing the album via Twitter, Instagram and other social networks. Tweets and images will be filtered into a special page on the band’s website – http://sigur-ros.co.uk/valtari/hour/ – where fans can live comment and participate in the conversation about the album’s incredible eight tracks.

Dave Griffiths

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Tommy Bolin was one of those blink-and-you-miss-him musicians. Unfortunatley he was taken from this world at aged just 25 years, yet in that time got to show what a talented guitarist he was with bands like Zephyr, The James Gang and the legendary Deep Purple.

Not many people realise that Tommy Bolin was also a talented solo artist who put together two brilliant albums, Teaser and Private Eyes before his death. Now as a tribute to Bolin’s short but talent-filled career a new album has surfaced. Titled Great Gypsy Soul the album features newly recorded music from outtakes and alternative versions of some of his better songs.

But this isn’t just some tacky tribute album, oh no, each track features Bolin whether on vocals or guitar but the producers have brought in some of the finest musical talent of today just to finish it off.

For example Peter Frampton steps up to finish off ‘The Grind’ while Slash’s best friend Myles Kennedy does a wonderful job on ‘Dreamer’.

There are no weak tracks on Great Gypsy Soul whether Bolin was going for some good old fashioned rock on ‘Wild Dogs’, or some funk with ‘Savannah Woman’ (a track that has soul that most artists would only dream about these days) or even dishing out some blues like on ‘People, People’ he was always the top of his game… and ahead of his time.

Listening to an instrumental track like ‘Homeward Strut’ or ‘Crazed Fandnago’ takes the listener on a journey and when you give CD2 a go and listen to the epic 4 movements of ‘Marching Bag’ or the mind-blowing ‘Flying Fingers’ you begin to realise what a sensational talent Bolin really was.

Great Gypsy Soul is an album that every guitarist has to have a listen to. You will be left shell-shocked.

Dave Griffiths

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Blind singer Rachael Leahcar is the new betting favourite to win The Voice, with online bookmaker tomwaterhouse.com tipping that at least three of next four eliminated contestants will be men.

Leahcar ($5 from $6), the only South Australian singer to make the live rounds, has edged ahead of Karise Eden ($5.50 from $6) and Lakyn Heperi (unchanged at $6) in updated winner betting.

In elimination betting, Matt Hetherington ($1.35) is odds on to be booted off Team Delta, while Michael Duchesne ($1.30) and Sam Ludeman ($1.75) are odds on to be kicked off Team Seal.

“The girls were the stars of the first live round, with especially Rachael and Karise producing stellar performances under pressure,” said Tom Waterhouse, Managing Director of tomwaterhouse.com.

The Voice individual winner
$5 Rachael Leahcar
$5.50 Karise Eden
$6 Lakyn Heperi
$9 Darren Percival
$10 Brittany Cairns
$17 Ben Bennett
$17 Emma Louise Birdsall
$17 Prinnie Stevens
$17 Fatai Veamatahau
$26 Sarah De Bono
$26 Diana Rouvas
$26 Carmen Smith
$34 Laura Bunting
$34 Ben Hazlewood
$34 Adam Martin
$34 Chris Sebastian
$41 Viktoria Bolonia
$41 Glenn Cunningham
$41 Danni Da Ros
$41 Sam Ludeman
$41 Taga Paa
$51 Jimmy Cupples
$81 Michael Duchesne
$81 Matt Hetherington

Team Delta next two eliminated contestants
$1.35 Matt Hetherington
$2.25 Viktoria Bolonia
$2.25 Glenn Cunningham
$2.25 Danni Da Ros
$3.75 Ben Bennett
$15 Rachael Leahcar

Team Seal next two eliminated contestants
$1.30 Michael Duchesne
$1.75 Sam Ludeman
$2.25 Chris Sebastian
$3.75 Fatai Veamatahau
$3.75 Emma Louise Birdsall
$11 Karise Eden

Dave Griffiths

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Guy Sebastian’s kid brother is odds on to be among the casualties when The Voice live rounds begin on Monday and two singers from both Team Delta and Team Seal are voted off the competition.

Chris Sebastian is $1.85 with tomwaterhouse.com to be one of the contestants eliminated from Team Seal, with the voting public and the coaches able to save two singers per team apiece.

“According to the betting, Seal has the strongest team and that’s not good news for the chance of Sebastian Junior progressing,” said Tom Waterhouse, Managing Director of tomwaterhouse.com.

“On the other hand, punters have backed Rachael Leahcar from $8 fourth favourite into $6 joint favourite because she looks head and shoulders above every other member of Team Delta.

“Each of the teams will provide one of the finalists and Rachael’s path to the decider looks much more straightforward than those of the singers being coached by Seal, Joel and Keith.”

Dancing with the Stars continues on Sunday, with Johnny Ruffo the $3 favourite to win the show’s 12th season and Brian Mannix odds on at $1.90 to be the next eliminated celebrity.

The Voice individual winner
$6 Karise Eden
$6 Lakyn Heperi
$6 Rachael Leahcar
$9 Darren Percival
$10 Brittany Cairns
$13 Emma Louise Birdsall
$15 Ben Bennett
$17 Prinnie Stevens
$21 Fatai Veamatahau
$26 Sarah De Bono
$26 Sam Ludeman
$26 Diana Rouvas
$26 Carmen Smith
$34 Laura Bunting
$34 Glenn Cunningham
$34 Danni Da Ros
$34 Ben Hazlewood
$34 Adam Martin
$34 Chris Sebastian
$41 Michael Duchesne
$41 Taga Paa
$51 Jimmy Cupples
$51 Matt Hetherington
$67 Viktoria Bolonia

Team Delta next two eliminated contestants
$1.30 Viktoria Bolonia
$1.70 Matt Hetherington
$2.50 Glenn Cunningham
$2.50 Danni Da Ros
$5.50 Ben Bennett
$15 Rachael Leahcar

Team Seal next two eliminated contestants
$1.40 Michael Duchesne
$1.85 Chris Sebastian
$2.10 Sam Ludeman
$2.60 Fatai Veamatahau
$5 Emma Louise Birdsall
$11 Karise Eden

Team Keith next two eliminated contestants
$1.40 Jimmy Cupples
$1.70 Taga Paa
$2 Adam Martin
$2.75 Diana Rouvas
$8 Brittany Cairns
$9 Darren Percival

Team Joel next two eliminated contestants
$1.75 Laura Bunting
$1.75 Ben Hazlewood
$2.20 Sarah De Bono
$2.20 Carmen Smith
$3.60 Prinnie Stevens
$13 Lakyn Heperi

Team Delta winner
$1.60 Rachael Leahcar
$3.75 Ben Bennett
$10 Glenn Cunningham
$10 Danni Da Ros
$15 Matt Hetherington
$21 Viktoria Bolonia

Team Seal winner
$1.85 Karise Eden
$4 Emma Louise Birdsall
$7 Fatai Veamatahau
$9 Sam Ludeman
$11 Chris Sebastian
$15 Michael Duchesne

Team Keith winner
$2.25 Darren Percival
$2.50 Brittany Cairns
$8 Diana Rouvas
$11 Adam Martin
$13 Taga Paa
$15 Jimmy Cupples

Team Joel winner
$1.75 Lakyn Heperi
$5 Prinnie Stevens
$8 Sarah De Bono
$8 Carmen Smith
$11 Laura Bunting
$11 Ben Hazlewood

The Voice individual winner gender
$1.60 Female
$2.20 Male

The Voice team winner
$3.20 Team Seal
$3.40 Team Joel
$3.60 Team Keith
$3.75 Team Delta

Dave Griffiths

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Since their appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 Norwegian hard rock outfit Wig Wam have been gathering fans at an alarming rate. Personally, I can’t see what the love is all about and I certainly wouldn’t call their new album Wall Street a good listen.

So cheesy are Wig Wam (and I don’t just mean the name) that tracks like the title track, ‘Wall Street’ almost sound like a parody. And even greater crime by Wig Wam is the fact that Wall Street also contains stuff like ‘OMG! (Wish I Had A Gun)’ which sounds good from an instrumental point-of-view but has lyrics so awful that you just want to groan.

Wig Wam try something a little different with a heavy electronic sound to ‘Victory Is Sweet’ but the cheesiness returns for ‘The Bigger The Better’, and to their credit ‘Bleeding Daylight’ actually sounds okay, as long as you like that 80s sound that is glam rock.

Wall Street quickly takes a turn for the worse again though with ‘Tides Will Turn’ which is nothing more than a poor attempt at a ballad and alarmingly enough even contains bung notes by lead singer, Age Sten Nilsen.

‘Wrong Can Feel So Right’ and ‘One Million Enemies’ are both made up of awful lyrics while ‘Try My Body On’ sounds like Wig Wam wish they were Bon Jovi, but just don’t have the songwriting skills to live up to their idols.

The bad lyrics return on ‘Natural High’ while ‘Things Money Can’t Buy’ is actually an okay listen… but then again it’s an instrumental so didn’t have to have any lyrics penned for it.

Wall Street is a joke to rock music and Wig Wam have certainly overstayed their welcome.

Dave Griffiths

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Extensive touring of the country and slots on some of Australia and New Zealand’s leading festivals has seen Brisbane six-piece KINGFISHA earn their badge as one of the finest acts in the reggae/dub scene.

KINGFISHA have taken Jamaican rhythms and infused them with honest songwriting and strong melodies to create their own sound… genuine, Australian Reggae.

In early 2010 KINGFISHA won Triple J’s Unearthed Fuse Festival Roots competition. Now their long awaited self titled debut long player is due for release on May 14. An album that is highly anticipated by their many fans.

The self titled debut was recorded and produced by Pauli B (Beautiful Girls, George) at the Tanuki Lounge in Brisbane’s West End. It features some of Australian Reggae’s smoothest sounds. Outstanding musicianship and strong songwriting has put Kingfisha on the map and now, they deliver with this debut.

The new album KINGFISHA will be released through Uppercut Records/Vitamin on May 14, 2012.

KINGFISHA will be hitting the road on an album tour from June 8 – See tour dates below. Taking the new tunes to the masses, it is sure to be one hell of a ride…

KINGFISHA ALBUM TOUR

June:                        

Fri 8th              The Heritage Hotel, Bulli

w/ The Strides

Tickets $10 available @ the door

 

Sat 9th             Blue Beat, Double Bay

w/ The Strides and Foreigndub

Tickets $15+bf available @ bluebeat.com

 

Fri 15th             The Soundlounge, Currumbin

w/ Kooii

Tickets $15+bf availble @ thesoundlounge.com

 

Sat 16th             The Buddha Bar, Byron Bay

w/ Kooii and King Krazey

Tickets $15 available at the venue

 

Fri 22nd             The Hi-fi bar, Brisbane

w/ Kooii, The Strides, Bullhorn & Integer

Tickets $15+bf available at moshtix.com

 

Sat 23rd             The Coolum Civic Centre

w/ Kooii.

Tickets $16+bf available at lighthouseparty.com

 

Sat 30th             Kuranda Roots Festival

Tickets $60 available at kurandaroots.com

 

July:

Fri 13th             The Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne

w/ King Charlie’s School of Dub, Simmer & Lotek (Dj mode)

Tickets $12+bf available at thornburytheatre.com

Dave Griffiths

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Mention the word Blodhemn in metal circles and usual people instantly think of the classic Enslaved album, but now that maybe about to change, because out of Norway comes Blodhemn, a one band that is certainly showing the black metal world a thing or two.

And while this is certainly a good album Invisus’ (the man behind Blodhemn) claims that his debut album Homengraa is a return to true Norwegian black metal isn’t entirely true as some tracks certainly feature elements from other metal (and even non-metal) genres.

Blodhemn eases into things with the melodic instrumental ‘Galgebakken’ but then the real stuff happens with ‘Rettersted’ which explodes from your stereo with fast riffs and growls that would put a lot of black metal artists to shame.

‘Djevelen I Menneskeform’ seems to have borrowed some punk riffs in parts but once again Invisus’ vocals lift the song and keep it grounded in the black metal vein. The fact that one man is behind the epic ‘Thingvellir just shows how talented Invisus, because the track is perfect when it comes to both instrumentals and vocals.

‘Nekromnai’ revelas a faster paced and more brutal sound to Blodhemn while the brutality then continues in Invisus’ vocals on ‘Maanelyst’. Homengraa closes with another two epic tracks. Firstly, the slower ‘Telehiv’ and then ‘Black Horizons’. Both are close to true black Norwegian metal but you would have to say that they also feature (some might say are tainted by) elements of Gothic metal as well. Having said that though, these two are clearly the best tracks on the album and that is something that Blodhemn should really take on board.

A stunning debut from a one-man band, let’s just see where Blodhemn goes from here.

 

Dave Griffiths

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It’s certainly been a long time between drinks for German thrash metal group Exumer. It is exactly 25 years since their last album Rising From The Sea surfaced. Now the band picks up where they left of with their new release Fire & Damnation.

I’ll be the first to admit that it does take a couple of listens for you to truly appreciate this album… and if you’re not a fan of old school thrash metal then don’t bother even giving it a listen because this is seriously old school, with just the right mix of new technology to make it a winner.

Fire & Damnation kicks off with scream from Mem V. Stein on the title track and it doesn’t look back, however it’s on ‘Vermin Of The Sky’ where the album really hits its straps. It’s aggressive in your face nature puts a lot of modern thrash bands to shame.

‘The Weakest Limb’ and ‘A New Morality’ marry the old and new sounds together well and but both are songs you feel will sound better live rather than being put together in a studio. There’s certainly an energy there but you feel it has been lost on CD.

‘Walking The Fire’ sees Exumer skate the fine line between thrash and punk, but once again it is Stein’s vocals that are the standout. Exumer gets more aggressive on ‘Fallen Saint’ and ‘Crushing Point’, and to be honest this is the sound that seems to sit best with the band… it is certainly when they are at their best.

Matthias Kassner’s skin work steps up on ‘Devil Chaser’, as do the guitar riffs and despite being the shortest track on Fire & Damnation it packs on of the biggest punches. In fact it is only overshadowed by ‘I Dare You’ a definite battle song that just makes you want to smash things.

‘Tribal Furies’ is a bit of a let down as a final track, but even sadder is the fact that the whole album is over within 33 minutes, just as you getting into it the album is over.

Exumer are back and make a real impact with Fire & Damnation. Let’s hope it’s not another 25 years before they release something else.

Dave Griffiths

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In every band’s career comes that album that changes everything. It is the album that stops them from being described as ‘a band with potential’ and has them being referred to as ‘a band that has finally made it’. For Californian four-piece Jack’s Mannequin that album is their latest release People And Things. This is one brilliant album.

The brilliance starts early with ‘My Racing Thoughts’ an album that sees Jack’s Mannequin mix a little hint of electronica into their rock sound. That along with some thought provoking lyrics shows straight away that you are onto something good with People And Things.

‘Release Me’ is a smooth radio-friendly track as is ‘Television’, both tracks also show just how much Jack’s Mannequin has matured with their sound since their last release with The Glass Passenger way back in 2008.

‘Amy, I’ showcases just how good Jack’s Mannequin have become and threatens to become a classic while ‘Hey Hey Hey (We’re All Gonna Die)’ is just simply a beautiful piano driven song.

‘People, Running’ is another thought provoking track while you’ll fall in love with ‘Amelia Jean’ after just one listen. ‘Platform Fire’ sees Jack’s Mannequin sound a hell of a lot like Five For Fighting while ‘Hostage’ is the standout of People And Things. This sensational track is one of the best songs to be released this year.

Such is the band’s confidence on this album they even pull off the incredibly slow ‘Restless Dream’ while ‘Casting Lines’ maybe duller than the rest of the album, but on an album this good who is going to complain.

People And Things is a brilliant album that has elevated Jack’s Mannequin in my eyes. This album has everything it needs to become a classic; it is certainly one of the best releases of this year.

Dave Griffiths

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