This EP was released earlier this year by Vienna-based Irish rock act The Deepest Blues.

The first track, Deaf is a fairly straight up pop-rock anthem, nothing overly offputting about it. Something very interesting happens around 2:00 where it slides surprisingly naturally into a glitchy electronic section, then into a delay-heavy post punk sounding bridge, which connects back up with the main song. Stitching together different styles in this manner is treading on fragile ground; it can result in something that just “clicks”, or it can result in crabcore. Here, I would say it clicks, though more attention should probably be paid to the regular rock parts.

Second track The Mask opens up on a synth riff and is driven by a Muse-esque distorted bass line. This one’s probably a little stronger, however the mixing sounds a little dry to me. I think, however, to give a track an electronic edge you need to do a little more than put a quirky synth riff into it, really quality electronic rock has an atmosphere all of it’s own. There’s a really lovely guitar/vox breakdown in this though, with screeching whammy and ethereal vocals.

The opening of Bright Lights brings back some memories of the likes of Placebo; the guitar definitely goes in that direction, though again with some more of that pop punk sort of guitar more reminiscent of acts like Blink 182. More excellent whammy work here as it goes into another Muse-sounding breakdown. These parts really make the tracks. To me this is starting to sound like a mash up between British indie/alternative rock bands and American pop punk.

The Long Road Back has a more striking intro to others, with an almost droning synth bass and modulation-drenched vocals and guitars. Great textures here, it feels like the other tracks could learn from the production of this one. It’s second part Is a Dead End is more in the style of the earlier tracks; but twists its way into being something of a ballad. Once more, the track is spiced up with an interesting bridge or breakdown, this time through dissonant sounding chords, which fit well with the changing mood of the track.

The EP ends on a Jangly ballad titled Days Gone By. Again, another breakdown which makes the track with some a drum fill and delay heavy guitar.

As for how I feel about the EP as a whole; there’s clearly an influence from acts currently popular with younger rockers such as Paramore. Obviously being the massive hipster I am that’s not generally the kind of music I’d go in for, but people can take influences and do surprising things with them.

I do feel like this needs work. In parts, it is trying to be interesting, but not too hard, which is a good thing. But there is still a lot of standard fare; the band probably need a better catch than some clever whammy pedal usage. Though technically polished, it does sound like a “young” band to me; one which will hopefully expand their net of influences to become something more striking.

One thing I feel let down the album was it’s overall texture. The guitars had that sort of low gain modern rock tone; I have a couple of problems with this. Their sound was actually somewhat mellow but they were trying to drive the song hard. Maybe they were trying to distinct themselves from their influences which would tend to step on the distortion pedal a bit heavier, but something feels a little disjointed about it.

You CAN have great, heavy sounding lower gain guitars and there’s plenty of vintage rock, goth rock, post punk etc. to show it, but it needs to hit a sweet spot. There are too many indie and pop rock bands using this sort of sound and for this style of music, I feel you could do better. Blaring out at a club like Freakscene, it’d probably be fine though.

This could be something that’s down to production. For me, it is a little too modern and subdued. A lot of the times the snares seem to be somewhat softened; and the vocals don’t quite gel with the rest of the mix, something I’ve noticed with a lot of modern alternative rock acts. The Smashing Pumpkins‘ recent stuff comes to mind; Billy Corgan is NOT a pop star and his vocals are too prominent and dry in the mix.

Here, you have a more than capable singer but the vocals need to mesh better with the rest of the mix. I feel like the vocals do become a little samey too, a little monotimbre. It seems like the same emphasised high notes are present in every track. I think this could unfortunately be that there’s an unfortunately small number of accessible rock acts with female vocalists, and most of them follow this style – to do better, you need a frame of reference. For that reason, while it feels like a cliché in of itself, lady driven rock’n'roll is always that bit more ambitious.

There’s definitely something going on here though. On the upside, as I mentioned, on the Long Road back had a really great feel to it. I think those elements can and should be woven more deeply throughout the composition. As it is, with the more memorable parts relegated to the ever present bridges and breakdowns; it feels a bit like it’s saying “This is it now. This is the interesting bit right here.” Threading such things throughout a whole composition however, is far easier said than done.

I see this sort of music as the modern equivalent to older bands that started out playing like their influences and contemporaries, but evolved their sound over time. Guys like the Rolling Stones who just started out playing blues but became iconic in their own right. This is an EP and a lot of bands just need to lay something down before they progress. For a first EP, it’s really hard to fault this heavily. It is professional sounding and it does something interesting in parts, which is probably what they want.

In summary, I would say it probably needs more fuzz.

Either way, you might want to head over to their Bandcamp and see what your ears think.

We here at the D aren’t ashamed to admit we’re fans of what goes down in the bubble that is WWE and pro wrestling in general. Call it escapism, call it male soap opera, call it the last vestige of vaudeville if you must; in any case, we’re not exactly ashamed of it.

What does make us uneasy, though, is when a wrestler attempts to transition into other media. When it works, it works well, and individuals like The Rock, Jesse Ventura and Antonio Inoki parlay their given charisma and people skills to make a life for themselves when their time in the ring is done. When it fails, though, you wind up with Hulk Hogans and Iron Sheiks cruising around the business long after their time, living off some horrid B-movie value their exploits in movies, music, TV and online “give” them.

So when former US champion MVP left WWE last year to go to Japan, we thought the man had landed on his feet, especially following some rather cerebral and honest podcast interviews. But few are the people unable to resist temptation, and the man has gone and released a pop/hip-hop single that, for all the wrestler cameos and little winks it makes to life on the road, unfortunately not so much veers into cliche as careens uncontrollably into it head-on.

It actually serves to remind of that Living the Life vid that was the meme du jour a few weeks back. Which is a surprise because he is, for all intents and purposes, a really rather intelligent fella. Is this in character? Is it a fantasy being realised? You decide.

MVP ft Dwane Sweazie Holla To The World Video – YouTube.

Ever get a feeling an album has come out a few months too late? Marrying dirty garage hooks with soaring west coast harmonies, the Dublin three piece create a sun soaked sound that seems a natural fit for the months. Instead Yeah Nothing, the first full length offering from the band, guided by the steady hand of the ever reputable Richter Collective, appears in late September. Perhaps it’s the unpredictability of the Irish weather.

Nevertheless, those of us suffering from the post-summer blues will find much to enjoy here. Squarehead’s modus operandi is an old trick but a good one,  and the likes of  Save Yourself and Midnight Enchilada offer  pleasing Shins meets Beach Boys singalongs. At times, on the quasi Joy Division intro of Axes Of Love and car boot sale fifties pop of Fear Your Face, they bring to mind recently much-hyped Brooklyn outfit The Drums, who plough a similar furrow, though where the latter occasionally come across as stylised, Squarehead seem more genuine. You get the feeling they have a genuine passion for the music provides the influence for this record,  rather than it merely being an exercise for genre box ticking.

If there’s a criticism, it’s that they don’t step out they’re comfort zone often enough, and it’s no coincidence that Yeah Nothing’s best moments come when they add a little something extra to the mix. The Abandoned Sea tempers it’s surf rock with darker undertones, Roy Duffy’s paranoiac lyrics bringing to mind Rivers Cuomo in early Weezer. Elsewhere previous single Fake Blood’s driving bass line and robotic rhythm is enough to set it apart, while Get Light almost drifts towards Green Day and is all the better for it.

An assured debut for sure, and one that hints at more to come. Squarehead may yet become men for all seasons.

Drop-d Rating: 7/10

Another in a recent run of music videos from Cork director Shaun O’ Connor, electro pop band Toy Soldier have just released the video for their new single Summertime. A slow paced ballad, the track showcases the subtlety of performance that’s creeping into the band’s music. Every note, every effected beat and every lyric is placed perfectly.

Having been brought into the band’s lineup just about a year ago, singer Ciara Budds takes the lead vocal here, with the group’s other vocalist Cian Walsh taking a very much supporting role. It’s indicative of the work that Ciara has been clearly putting into Toy Soldier that she’s taking the lead here and it shows just how well Cian and Ciara work together vocally.

The video echoes the slow movement of the song, and Ciara’s prominence on it, as the focus is pulled between her and the ever changing background. The track is all about subtlety and the video is the same. Another great piece from a great director and band. We here at the D look forward to seeing their next outing together!

Check out more from Toy Soldier at their Facebook page here, and more from Shaun O’ Connor at his site here.

Agitate the Gravel released their Wilderness Years single last week (hear it here) and to celebrate, had a bash in the sweet surrounds of the Crane Lane. Narwhals (accompanied by Paddy Cullen of the Great Balloon Race) shone, with a deeply engrossing improv piece that quite literally hung in the balance as technology failed all around it. Plinth pulled another rabbit out of the hat with a severely excellent set that confounded the hell out of the eejits upfront trying to dance and shouting for covers. But it was always going to be ATG‘s night, and they knocked it out of the park with a performance that saw friends, family, musician peers and gig-goers alike singing along. Unreal.

We’ve said it up and down that ATG are awesome, and it’s your turn to check them out on tour now. Until then, get a faceful of Emmet Curtin‘s sweet pix.

As the tour for their critically acclaimed fourth album, ‘Leaving My Empire’,  begins to wind down, Cork favourites FRED brought their semi-acoustic show to the idyllic setting of Baltimore’s Glebe Gardens last Saturday night, August 13th. Support came from Dublin native Rhob Cunningham, and as the crowds made their way down the slopes to Glebe’s natural amphitheatre, Rhob soothed the masses with his Dylan/Bright Eyes tinged acoustic folk. Rhob’s personal demeanour and sweet songs helped settle in the audience nicely amidst the trees and threatening rain.

With dusk rapidly approaching, FRED themselves took to the stage. They slinked carefully into their set with Leaving My Empire centrepiece As You See. Bass in hand, singer Joe O’ Leary serenaded the crowd with his trademark mix of humour, grace and giddy dancing. Their set hung somewhere between a folk session and the band’s full-on pop sound making them sound a bit on edge but FRED’s ever present charm papered over the set’s uncertainty.

Similarly, the weather hung somewhere between a pleasant summer’s evening and a dreary autumn one, before eventually giving way to the latter. As this reviewer (having not brought a raincoat) made his way to the tree line to avoid the showers, more light-hearted revellers stuck it out to enjoy the show, despite Mother Nature’s wishes. Gig organisers were on hand to kit out the stage with umbrellas, and FRED soldiered valiantly on.

All of FRED’s recent hits were on show in the Glebe’s intimate setting. Songs that you could almost call classics like Skyscrapers and Good One stood up next to the new favourites of Somewhere Else and Trial By Fire. The intimacy of the gig, fear of rain and the bar the didn’t stop the crowd enjoying the set and while a die-hard group of ladies bopped along to Fears and Remedies one particular girl had a minor altercation with a lighting rig making the show that little bit darker. But FRED, always the showmen, merely shrugged it off, finishing their set with the combination of the hit Running and a kumbaya-esque version of Prince’s I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man.

It was definitely one of those special evenings and the band themselves knew it. As they approached the end of their set, front man Joe attempted to make the inevitable plug of the band’s most recent CD. But as he laughed, he admitted that it was “not that type of gig”. No, it definitely was not.

I’m sorry to say that this CD has been sitting in the ‘To Do’ pile for a long time, and it’s a shame that the D hasn’t mentioned something about locals The Eulogys sooner. However, this reviewer will now rectify their absence with a look at their recently released EP, Ambergris and Tigerblood.

Hailing from Cork and, like many other talented home-grown musicians, now based in Dublin, The Eulogys is the new project masterminded by Mr. Kenny Hyland. A talented singer and pianist, Hyland possess some very strong pop sensibilities and this is showcased here on his self-recorded and produced EP.

The CD opens with Bouquets which, like a lot of The Eulogys music, is very much piano driven. It’s almost like a ‘just about’ restrained orchestral piece. Hyland’s Matt Bellamy-esque vocal taking the place of the strings, brass and percussion, as he sings of the complications and uncertainties of a failing relationship is the real hook of this song. So let’s just put it out there, Hyland seems very much pre-occupied with love and ladies and the second track, Trees in the Painting does nothing to disprove this theory. The high register vocals are present here again, along with the piano but the real drive is the off kilter percussion.

Closer De Profundis takes the sound in a slightly different direction to the other two tracks by dropping the piano and picking up the guitar, and in this reviewers opinion, the track is the strongest on the EP. All the bravado that went along with the piano is shrugged off here and it makes the track more immediate, personal and much sweeter.

Overall, the EP showcases a raw talent. There are moments of beauty on the CD, and moments where, when the production quality slightly falters, the veneer of beauty is slightly dullened. That said, and as I just mentioned, this EP shows off Kenny’s talent in both song writing and composition. One to check out and definitely one to watch.

Drop-D Rating: 7/10

You can download Ambergris and Tigerblood for free from The Eulogys Bandcamp page here.

The Gold Standard – You People by Drop-D.ie

The Gold Standard – Riding a Wave by Drop-D.ie

The UK pop-punk scene, is, in the large, a festering pile of copyists, wannabes and neverwillbes that seem perfectly content to rehash the same old shit their American cousins have over and over, seemingly in an unceasing attempt to make the safest, blandest, most family-friendly million-seller that never was. And though the ship has sailed creatively on the genre, to the point where even Fall Out Boy got sick of rolling in money and infinite female admirers, the dogged belief that three sugary chords and a structurally-sound, weather-proof fringe can make people superstars pervades. One more atop this pile is As We Climb, a band so horrendously devoid of charisma, ingenue and any sort of authenticity that listening to the last Green Day album immediately after feels like a cleansing of the mind-palate. And this writer would usually rather bathe an open wound in scalding-hot acid than that travesty.

Right from the cover, the first over-processed drumbeat and horribly happy guitar flourish, you can tell immediately what this hateful little disc has in store, their bored and utterly uninterested faces staring blankly at you as if to say “it was this or get a job”. And opening Get It Together sets the tone, a thoroughly unimaginative pop ditty that sounds exactly like every other pop-emo cash-in, sung with the exact same vacant faux-American-English accent and the exact same horrible gang vocal. It’s everything you’ve ever been tired of. Call That a Daydream is a synth-laden exercise in sonic saccharine, but is so caught up in its perceived lyrical quixoticness and tries so hard to come across as witty and acerbic, that it seriously just falls into second-division American radio-bollocks that their obvious influences made so ponderously boring to begin with.

Catch ‘Em While You Can. “I fell in love with the summer/now I’m thinking of breaking up”. Tells you what you need to know right there. Pop by formula, no meaning and no real bite. Razorblade Smile (jesus - Ed.) is exhibit A in bad teenage poetry wrapped in tedious moderate rock. “Call out the crew, I want the world to see, here lies our friend originality” opines Tell It to My Tombstone with face-melting audacity, before tumbling into a sub-Busted exercise in tedium so hypocritical your writer does a double-take. “Rock ‘n’ roll all day and stay out all night”, lauds closer Winners Can’t Be Choosers (erm, what? These monikers at least used to be funny, but this is just witless).

Right. Pro-Tools has thrown up all over this record, the insistent use of gang vocals and woah-oh melodic reinforcements grates, the lyrics are so vague your writer can see through walls after hearing them, and the hyper-sterile production is equally so flat in the mix, yet so processed, that it feels like flushing your ears with Dettol. Been there, done that, laughed at the utterly ridiculous fringe. Like, five years ago. In a post-pop-punk climate that has made millionaires out of convincing middle-class children that whining through your nose about fuck all is somehow counter-cultural, this is a particularly empty, venomless pile of non-action that will rightly be forgotten in short order. Avoid.

Drop-d Rating: 1/10

KEY TRACKS: Keying this disc repeatedly would be splendid, but necessitates buying the bloody thing.

FOR FANS OF: The Den, supermarket musak, beaten-to-death “emo” wordplay

I Am in Love (jesus!) formed five or six months ago in Leicestershire. Apparently the machine has grabbed them quickly and laid into them full whack, as BBC Radio One is preparing to play this to death, and a debut album is on the way later this month. Whether this is just great fortune or the machinations of manufacture is another debate.

Unfortunately, by the evidence presented in debut single I Want You, it would appear the hype just isn’t justified. Comparisons to Bowie, The Cure and even Bloc Party and OMD are completely off the mark, as I Want You pootles from one lightweight end to another, drifting along on a wave of falsetto and synths that says nothing, offers little point of reference, and goes nowhere. Lust is over and done with as a muse for sure, and here’s the proof. There’s pop ability lying under there somewhere, it just needs time to develop, hype-free and away from the pressure of recording and release. Time this band aren’t giving themselves.

Drop-d Rating: 4/10

I am in love – I want you by i am in love