The All-Seeing - 'The All-Seeing (demo)' (self released) 4/5

(sorry but I have no idea why the cover art loads rotated)

Time for another lucky random surf discovery. The All-Seeing are a stoner rock outfit from Sweden and this, as far as I can work out is their debut demo single. Apart from that I know naff all about them.

Gotta say this is a sweet little two tracker. Kicking off with a 7 minute minute epic entitled No Place, with its grinding post grunge distorted bass, doomy plod and slog riffing and anthalmic vocals, you can't help but draw favourable comparisons with the mighty Mos Generator and Somerset weed-heads P.O.T. The other cut on show is a sweet little three minute pot and roll work out called Sky, with a head bangable riff, a distant and down beat vocal and a rather short but sweet noise rock guitar solo.

All in all this little demo is highly enjoyable and goes to show that rare gems await the discerning music fan whose prepared to do a bit of net trawling looking for the best of what the underground has to offer.

Sweet.

For fans of... Mos Generator, P.O.T., Stone Axe, Dark Earth....

(download this single for free from -  http://theall-seeing.bandcamp.com/ )

Lehmon - 'Sampler EP' (self released) 4.5/5

Oooo this is a good 'un. Lehmon are a two piece project from Paris over there in France that consists of Walter Monnen and Michele Leonor and they claim to be inspired by everything from modern pop and rock through to various European and Middle Eastern folk traditions. Their debut album 'Golden Mountains and Dark Valley's' is due out early next year but they have just put out this four track sampler ep to give the world an idea of what to expect.

Now I do like acts that know how to mix their sounds and influences up a bit, and thus I am finding this four tracker a very compelling listen. We have alsorts on offer here; A Hundred Centuries is a bit of psychedelic weirdness that comes over like maybe a tuneful Tom Waites or possibly Alien Sex Fiend stripped of the gothic trappings, Crepuscular Dream is a glorious slice of light weight post gothic darkness that sounds like a bit of sound trackage from a Tim Burton animation, I Need to Love You is a Krankshaft like helping of acid pop ballad weirdness and That's All is a plaintiff duet that could be part of the sound track to an ultra left field stage musical - all pit orchestra and soft shoe shuffle slow dance beats. Add in some very engaging tongue firmly in cheek lyrics, some superb vocal and instrumental performances and some attentive production and you have here a cracking ep that leaves the listener hungry from the full album. All very very good stuff indeed.

Until this arrived Lehmon were completely new to me, but I'm now a bit of a fan and I'll be following their progress very closely from now on.

Recommended

For Fans of - Krankshaft, Tom Waites, Rocky Horror Show, The Enid, Bauhaus......

Carbon - 'Stand Up' (self released) 4/5

OK people it 'Annoyingly talented young Welsh band time again'. Nearly every week I get sent an album or demo from over bridge that I can't help but finding myself developing a big liking for. I'm sure there's something in the water over there. (Actually I think its because there is a strong local scene going on in Wales where bands hang out together, go to each others gigs and drag their friends along and the local communities generally cherish and promote their local talent far more than other parts of the UK). Whatever the reason the latest bunch to trouble my inbox are Ammanford outfit Carbon, with this their debut four track ep.

Now this lot are young, very young, all of them are only in their mid to late teens, but they have already built up enough of a reputation to get themselves management, equipment sponsorship and a following that assures them a healthy gigging schedule all around South Wales. So what are they doing right (besides being part of a very rich and thriving music scene)? Well a quick play this ep will answer a lot of questions.

Now the production here is best described as competent rather than great, the vocals especially could do with a bit of treatment to give them a bit more life; but that doesn't distract at all from the quality of whats on offer. We kick off with the title track which starts off with a nifty like riff that is almost Tom Petty style rock and roll with groovy lead line from guitarist Dan Phillips, then we get some almost Suede style vocals from singer Joe Llewellyn, all moody post Brit-pop attitude and an inverted James style chorus 'Stand up, stand up, stand up so I can tell you that you make me smile'. The result is a very groovy, very catchy earworm of a track that once it gets in your head is very hard to get out.

Then comes the big surprise, as you play the rest of the ep you realise that Stand Up is perhaps the weakest track on offer. Things I Do starts off sounding a little like very early Rush and develops into a song that is dripping classic indie rock sensibilities and is even catchier than the previous one, features a superb break down passage then an inspired key change that sends shivers down the spine. Then we get Don't Turn Away with a sort of stripped down Tiger Please vibe to it with some cool bass playing and some great drumming that steps away from your standard four four patterns and throws in some tasty John Bonham style fills and syncopation. Then we get the closer Here With You a beautiful simple teen love song, that has a distinctive James Taylor feel to it, or maybe something Leonard Cohen would write if he O.D'ed on uppers. All really really good stuff.

Not only do these guys know how to pen a good tune, but they know how arrange one as well. These songs are wonderfully sparse, every instrument on show is given space to breathe, there is none of that modern indie / commercial rock wall of guitar fuzz here at all and the band sound all the better for it. Even at their tender ages these guys have learned one of musics most vital lessons, that the space between the notes are as vital as the notes themselves, and its a lesson that will stand them in very good stead in the future.

Now not only are Carbon a promising studio outfit, but I've seen these guys perform and they can deliver on stage as well and I've got a feeling that given a few breaks they have a bright future ahead of them.

Well worth checking out

For fans of... Tiger Please, Hefner, British Sea Power, Suede.....

Nag The Horse - 'Nag The Horse (demo)' (self released) 4/5

Nag The Horse are a young power trio from Llandeilo from deep in the valleys of South Wales, who site their influences as ranging from Jimi Hendrix and Tina turner through to Muse and The Darkness, and this is their latest demo release.

Now this is interesting, there are four tacks on offer here and I will be honest and say from the off the production is a little rough and ragged, but hey I'm not gonna let stand in the way. After all this is grass roots music, home recorded and besides there are times, such as this when a little rough edge to the sound only adds to the effect.

As I said there are four songs on this one, and the over all result is a bit of a merry mix of 'class of '77' old school punk, late 60's stoner rock and 1981 style indie label NWOBHM, all are styles of musical edification that put a smile of my face and so I'm not that surprised I'm liking this.

Of the tracks themselves we have Cinderella Who? which comes over like Sham 69 jamming with Jimi Hendrix, Hey You which starts out all nice and clean and ends up sounding like James Blunt being gang raped by Motorheads road crew. (which is a good thing!!). Rodeo Prom Queen that has a Tom Waits meets Ten Years After feel, and my fave cut on offer Justin which sounds like a punked version of cult NWOBHM legends Split Beaver.

Top marks for the musicianship on show here, the rhythm section of bassist John Sadler and drummer Scott James are as tight a sparrows back passage and serve up some very juicy lumpy chunky rocky goodness indeed. And all hail guitarist / vocalist Dewi Jones, who not only has a delicious sneering quality to his voice but also has one of the dirtiest sleaziest shag your mother guitar sounds I've ever heard, and he can bring the best out of it as well, all good stuff all round.

In short this is a very enjoyable offering from a band that has a lot of promise.

For fans of... Bambi Killers, The Kix, Dumpys Rusty Nuts, Engine....

Streetfight Silence - 'Secrets' (self released) 2.5/5

Streetfight Silence are a young band from Berkshire and this is their debut ep, althought they have banged out a couple of singles over the past year or so.

This band play sort of wanna be commercial indie rock in the sort of Coldplay, Nickleback type of style, and sadly I'm finding this release sadly lacking. Don't get me wrong, these lads have some good ideas I particularly like The Police style intro to Promise I Will Stay, but they let themselves down in so many ways. First of all the production here does them no favours at all. This type of commercial rock thrives on the big chorus, the immense guitar sound and this is what this ep doesn't have. Those nice choppy indie guitar lines that should sound so big and epic are tinny over powered by the lead vocal. Vocalist Russ hasn't got that bad a voice, but he sounds very one dimensional and almost annoyingly lifeless. Backing vocals seam to to be gaffer tapped over the top of the mix rather than bedded in properly and add nothing to the sound other than extra noise. The guitars are well played but again lacking in depth, everything is at the same level, so when you want a big impact moment nothing happens. The drums, especially the snare are far too high in the mix, whilst the cymbals are all to often lost. I really hope Streetfight Silence produced this themselves and these errors can be put down to inexperience and youth, cos if they paid someone to produce and mix this they really should be asking for their money back.

It's a shame for there is the germ of a good band in here somewhere. The Rhythm section is tight and some of the tracks on here, like Shining Armour and Seeing Ghosts (the best track on offer here) show the glimmer of a bent towards good catchy songsmithing. Ok in other places such as the ballad Conquer The World they aint so hot, but these lads are still young and have a lot to learn. I really would like to hear this outfit after a visit to to a studio with a producer who knows what he is doing, cos then we could really tell exactly how good Streetfight Silence are.

In conclusion I don't think this ep is going to do this band any good outside being a rough demo to get gigs with, and I wouldn't advise any of them to quit the day jobs at the moment either. BUT I would also advise them not to quit music either, rather keep working at it, learning from their mistakes and to take reviews such as this as constructive criticism; cos even the very best had to start somewhere.

for fans of... Coldplay, Nickleback, 21 Against etc...

The Kix - 'The Kix (demo ep)' (Self Released) 5/5

Women in rock bands are nothing unusual these days, but all girl rock bands are still a fairly rare beast. This is a shame cos in the past we've seen outfits like Fanny, The Runaways, Girlschool, Rock Goddess, Vixen, Jezzabelle, L7 etc who have all proved that the so called 'fairer sex' can lay down just as much thunder as the fellas. Well now we have The Kix come along to add their names to the honour role of women who can rock with the very best of the blokes.

The Kix are based in Aberdare, South Wales, and play rock of the old school in the vein of Girlschool, Rock goddess etc. Now I can't help but notice some interesting parallels between these talented young ladies and the classic NWOBHM outfit Rock Goddess. They consist of two sisters on guitar and drums and a best friend who plays the bass, they are still in their late teens and early 20's and play an infectious brand of groove driven rock and metal (hell drummer Charlotte even looks a little like RG drummer Julie Turner did in the early 80's). All of this is fine with me, I loved Rock Goddess and always thought they should have been huge.

But don't think for one minute that these girls are a Rock Goddess clone outfit. There is a lot of good stuff going on this five track offering. the opener Look Alive cuts in with a riff that sounds a little like Orgasmatron era Motorhead, then has a couple of riffs that sounds a bit Groundhogsy. Louder Than Words is a glorious glam punk work out in the Runaways style, Out of The Blue has a hint of the Iron Maidens about it. Same Old Story is a stomping semi blues fueled rock-out track with a delicious break down section in the middle and Off My Back has the feel of a classic Suzi Quatro number. Not a duff track on offer here and the louder you play it the better it sounds.


Much praise is due here for the musicianship on show as well, vocalist / guitarist Sam Bolderson has the looks and voice of Joan Jett and the guitar playing ability of the late great Kelly Johnson, her sister Charlotte on the kit is duck arse tight and smacks the pig skin with a power that is inversionally proportionate to her size and underneath it all is the rock solid bass playing of Kate Marshall who must surely rank along side the aforementioned Ms Quatro and Enid Williams as proof that women can play as good as any man. Whats more, I've seen these girls live and and they can do it in concert as well as in the studio and to say I'm blown away by The Kix is an understatement.

In short - A fantastic demo from a band that should be bound for big things.

For fans of... Girlschool, AC/DC, Motorhead, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue etc...

21 Against - '21 Against' (self released) 3.5/5

21 Against are yet another of those annoyingly talented Welsh outfits, and like a lot of those annoyingly talented Welsh bands, this lot come from Llanelli. This 6 track mini album is apparently their second release and they are getting a fair following in the US and Canada already having toured over the pond a few times.

First up I gotta say there is nothing wrong with this album, it's expertly played, well produced and shows a great flair for song writing. In fact a couple of tracks on here are real classics. The opener Say What You Need kicks of with some tasty power chordage then soon cuts into a great little bop along number that wouldn't sound out of place on an album by their compatriots and near neighbours V0iD, Breakdown has a certain Lostprophets air to it and the closer Shouldered is a great anthem that should get the most hardest to please crowd going when performed live.

However in other places they are sadly heading into Nickleback / 30 Seconds To Mars territory and while that may be fine for fans of modern US rock radio and Kerrang fm, for anyone looking for more than the same old commercial rock fodder it comes over as a bit of a disappointment. Maybe its all those trips stateside are having an effect, but I can see a danger here of a great band alienating its home fans in order to obtain the mighty dollar.

Still 21 Against as a band have a lot to recommend them and this album is still good enough to be worth checking out, please don't let my own tastes distract you from something you may like, and I'm sure whether in the UK or the US they are a band with a worthy future ahead of them.

In short - worth checking out

for fans of... V0iD, Lostprophets, 30 Seconds To Mars, Stereophonics... etc