(((O))) Tag: Darren Saunders

The National – Trouble Will Find Me

A pleasant enough release which will no doubt be well-received by their fans, but it doesn’t go anywhere exciting. By Darren Saunders

Public Service Broadcasting – Inform – Educate – Entertain

Public Service Broadcasting are everything I love about music, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. They love their art form, and are willing to sweat over it to make it perfect, and that’s alright by me. By Darren Saunders

Echo Chamber 06: Culture as a Commodity?

Yesterday the culture secretary Maria Miller claimed that British art should be marketed as a commodity. Like highland beef, or Welsh coal, our culture should be packaged in neat, homogenous boxes, labelled up and shipped out to the highest bidder. Our response to that comes from Darren Saunders.

The Good The Bad and The Zugly – Anti World Music

Norwegian punkrock by The Good The Bad and The Zugly, which brings back everything of the 90s Epitaph records and makes you want to go straight into the circle pit.

Bad Religion – True North

As I said, if you like them, then this will fit just nicely. As it happens, I like them, so this sits well with me. In a way, they stand for so much that I could never judge them harshly, but even I sometimes yearn for variety.

Hands Out – Hands Out

Hands Out are a punk band based in London, consisting of three full time members, and a fourth part-timer who provides loops and noises, and things that are usually extraneous to punk. Well, traditionally anyway.

The Joy Formidable – Wolf’s Law

I was working for Domino’s last year, delivering overpriced, bland pizzas to people who, on the whole, *really* didn’t need them. It was a pretty crap job, with terrible pay, but it had the one saving grace of allowing me to listen to 6 Music while I p …

The Menzingers – On The Impossible Past

Scranton, Pennsylvania; home to Dunder-Miflin’s Pennsylvania branch, serving the American Midwest’s paper needs with far better customer service than Staples could ever manage. Scranton is also home to The Menzingers, the latest band from Epitaph to ma …

Holy – Holy EP

Short, brash and noisy. That’s how you describe this EP, and given how Holy have managed to shoehorn 8 tracks into 12 minutes, it seems fitting to not spend too much time dissecting it. Classic, shouty hardcore punk, giving a nod to Crass, Black Flag a …

Ronin – Fenice

So, Ronin eh? Not the cracking movie with the awesome chase sequence, starring Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, and some other types, but a post rock band from Italy. It’s obvious that they’re post rock, on account of the lack of vocals, excess of noodling, a …

Fashoda Crisis – Him They Make Learn Read

Every now and then, a band come along who remind you that new music isn’t all a procession of identikit nonsense. It’s not all about bands who want to be Kasabian, Razorlight, or the most watered down version of Mogwai you’re ever likely to hear. Somet …

Last Days Of Lorca – Last Days Of Lorca EP

A lazy reviewer will listen to the album to which they have been assigned, and try to think of what clichés will fit it. This usually comes in the form of “a stunning return to form”, a phrase used every time Madonna releases an album (which begs the q …

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