Stanton Warriors have come quite a way from their West Country origins. Having had huge success with their Mix albums and live sets, they return with The Warriors, a collection of hard hitting Breakbeat tracks littered with urban stars like Hollywood Holt and Ruby Goe to name but a few.

Things rip open with Get Up, building up slowly before being unleashed into Breakbeat rhythms, with some truly great lines like ‘if you can’t dance, you better kill yourself / If you ain’t come to party get your ass on the floor’. Goe’s vocal style really adds to the track, but there’s a definite US feel to everything, and it’s only when he gives a shout out to the UK that you remember, these guys are British. Holt’s rapping is smooth and really effective, making a catchy start to things.

Bushido takings things Eastwards, with some plucked Oriental strings, before the usual Warriors effect is dropped, with shuffly oldschool beats and looped vocal stabs, before thing drop down half time and go a bit dubstep, with Sporty-O getting a chance to show off his talent. Another catchy number which works in and out the club. Shoot Me Down takes things a bit more along the house/electro route, with superb vocals from Goe once more, square-pushed synth melodies and wobbly bass lines.

New York is another stonker, full of big cheesy synth lines reminiscent of Digitalism and Justice. Bodywork pulls things back slightly, with some 80′s drenched vocals and very cool flying synth sounds. Leader is one of the weaker tracks, held up with the rapping style of Young Fathers, but it’s not enough for me. Turn Me Up Some has some real fidget elements, and is certainly one that needs to be played nice and loud. Precint is a great way to bring things to a close, with chilled out piano chords and rapping from E Boi.

This album definitely has taken the Warriors to a new level. They have gone down a hugely American route, which although moving from their humble beginnings, fits their style down to a tee. The collaborators work really well, and the variety and imaginative percussive and synth elements make each track catchy in its own right.

By Mark Allen

Kingston seems to have this incredible ability to churn out some of the best alternative talent. Fuelled by great labels such as Big Scary Monsters, and one of the best independent record shops in London, Banquet Records, they often have a a strong and loyal fan-base.

Tangled Hair consists of two of the members from Colour. Now I was always a huge fan of their work, bringing some truly imaginative math-rock to the table. Tracks like Unicorns absolutely blew me away when they was released.

Strangled titled EP Apples starts with gangs screams before kicking straight into jazz infused math-rock, shifting abruptly between sections rapidly between vastly different sections. All this chaos soon settles though, with sing-along esq choruses with a twist. Time signatures change and morph constantly, whilst Welsh’s dynamic vocals flow over top.

It’s clear that this is a continuation from Colour, but with a certain maturity about it. Forty Winks flows through with great guitar work, featuring creative chords and soft vocals before moving into a tight instrumental jam. There’s some very jazzy bits, but it moves seamlessly between grooves and dynamic crescendos.

Campfires was released as a single before the EP, and definitely has more of a ‘indie’ song vibe, with clear verses-chorus structure. The difference is it’s all backed up by fast and complex guitar and drum work, and they do throw in the odd surprise here and there, including an epic chorus with the lyrics ‘can you hear me/through the history’, and a beautifully soft outro.

Daylight #1 & 2 finish of the EP, and is just as brilliant as the previous tracks. Chords change out of nowhere before flying into 4/4 timing and then darting into god-knows-what. Of course, there is the obligatory ‘WOO’ from drummer Trood, who I would recommend seeing just for the banter he produces live. #2 complicates things even further (in a good way), with shifting time signatures and split chords moving harmonically but in no was conventionally.

Colour’s split left a big void in my musical life, and I’m glad it wasn’t the end of what was a group of talented musicians. This is a great debut, with imaginative songwriting and plenty of math-jazz-rock to keep you amused with every listen.

Buy Apples

These guys are killer live. Catch them here:

30.03 – Portsmouth, Edge of The Wedge
31.03 – Ipswich, The Swan
01.04 – Birmingham, The Flapper
02.04 – Kingston, The Peel
05.04 – London, Old Blue Last

By Mark Allen

Shore to Shore is Norman Palms’ debut release which follows on from his rather ambitious 200-page art book/12 song soundtrack combo that gained notable mentions from the Art Press and with only a 1000 copies printed and numbered the project proved a huge success. His debut is an album of heartfelt and meaningful songs, his unique singing voice against simple songs make for some interesting tracks.

Things open up with beautifully percussive guitar and piano, before the odd stab of a rhodes. Palm’s voice has some nasel qualities, with his dynamic range being used to its full potential. Hints of Zero 7 and Air show their head with jazzy, improvised melodic patterns.

‘Smile’ takes things down the Ballad path, with uplifting choruses and some unexpected lyrical content ‘I wanna see you naked/I wanna see you smile’. ‘Images’ also has some great percussive guitar playing, with spacey organ and vocals. The addition of Tropical-esq basslines wobbling below harmonic aahs and keys creates some great movement.

One of my favourite tracks is ‘$20′, a beautifully simple track, with strummed chords under long, held vocal lines, layered with small percussive elements either side, building into a great cyclical section. By the end Palm recites only the word – ‘right’, which goes round and round, keeping the listener in a trance. Things are shortlived however, with ‘WDYD?’ being awash with childish vocals and uninteresting melodies.

The title track, ‘Easy’, has hints of Röyksopp, But even with the floaty vocals, synth and disco-like beat, it feels like it’s lacking that magical element that many of the Royksopp tracks have. It builds and builds, but doesn’t crescendo when I felt it needed to, and it needed that to really set it off.

Although there are some great and catchy tracks on Shore To Shore, I felt that it starts off very promising, before some of the later tracks let things down slightly. This are rectified somewhat with a nice lead out track ‘Go To Sleep’, but it wasn’t enough to win me over.

3.5/5

By Mark Allen

Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows’ debut is a truly attention seeking album. Right from the spine tingling opening of ‘If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is’ to the chugging riffs of closing track ‘My Swagger Has A First Name’, the American super group will have you hooked.

Just when you think you’re settling into a regular post-hardcore record, Craig Owens formerly of Chiodos, Aaron Stern of Matchbook Romance, Nick Martin of Undermined, Matt Good of From First To Last and Adam Russell of Story of the Year, push you right off your chair.

Not only is D.R.U.G.S. scattered with rousing chants and scathing lyrics it also features the odd bizarre and down-right eerie moments. A snippet of classical music pops up from nowhere during ‘My Swagger Has A First Name’ and ‘The Hangman’ appears to begin with a bizarre remix of chanting monks.

The track titles, such as ‘Mr Owl Ate My Metal Worm’ and ‘Laminated E.T. Animal’, are also a little baffling. And just when you think things can’t get anymore weird, they throw a prank call message on the end.

But don’t think this album is all one big joke. The pounding ‘The Only Thing You Talk About’ and the soaring anthem that is ‘I’m Here To Take The Sky’ are classics in the making. Sharp production, five experienced men and just the right amount of crazy is a recipe for a sensational new super group.

By Jo Stass