With a new EP produced by double Grammy Award winner Steve Lyon, and a full album due early next year, it looks as though London quintet Suzerain are certainly on the right track.
Current single, ‘Good Day’, exudes dark, eerie rock tones with nods towards industrial rock gods, NIN. An initial explosion of thrashing riffs and pummelling beats, the track soon evolves into something quite beautiful with haunting harmonies and grand chord progressions on keys. An exceptionally crafted juxtaposition of opposites, with more than a hint of cinematic majesty.
Suzerain’s Good Day EP is out at the end of November and – to get you in the mood – they are playing a couple of gigs in the lead up to its release:
13th November – The Antwerp, Manchester
14th November, Surya, London
Everyone’s favourite Watford siblings, The Staves, have just made their welcome return to the airwaves, with a new EP out tomorrow. Having been working hard over the last year recording a new (currently unannounced) album, the Stavely-Taylor sisters have treated us to a few tasters of what we can expect.
The EP’s title track, ‘Blood I Bled’ retains all the gentle, folky charm of past material, but with an added, fuller, Americana feel – which isn’t surprising as the album has been recorded in America… With fervently heartfelt melodies, effervescent harmonies and compelling crystal-clear vocals, The Staves have once again proved that they’re incapable of creating material that’s anything less than stunning.
A perfect amalgamation of the sisters’ traditional British folk heritage and immaculate vocals with an added grandeur of sweeping strings and climatic, orchestral moments, the warm tones of ‘Blood I Bled’ is just what you need as the nights draw in.
My only disappointment is that I missed out on tickets to any of the siblings’ UK dates; they’re playing Crypt On The Green as we speak… In the mean time, I’ll console myself with this stunning video:
The EP, Blood I Bled, is out tomorrow.
Manchester newbies, Kazo, would already seem to be creating quite a buzz. With the help of the Happy Mondays’ musical director – Dan Broad – to produce their new EP, praise from the likes of Noel Gallagher and famed with their energy-fuelled live shows, the future is looking bright for these young punk rockers.
A thunderous wall of sound, Kazo’s ‘platinum’ track is ‘Easy Living’: filled with escalating riffs, the husky howl of Jack Henigan’s vocals and intense, throbbing beats, it really is a truly exciting blast of angst-driven punk rock. If it’s classic guitar-driven rock with a vigorous youthful edge that you’re after, then Kazo are definitely your guys.
Some people just aren’t content with being in one – very awesome – band, they’re greedy and are in two very awesome bands: this is the case for the members of Sauna Youth. The London-based rockers just decided one day that they would have a go at swapping instruments, which worked so well that a whole new band was formed; same people, different instruments.
And what a great idea this turned out to be. Monotony, Sauna Youth’s younger sibling, proves just how versatile these multi-talented musicians are, and what an exciting side project this is. First hearing them live in session on Marc Riley’s 6Music show a few weeks ago, I was blown away by the band’s revived persona. Despite only being 1 minute 22 seconds long, new track – ‘Wrong’ – is just right: oozing a raw sound and unrelenting energy, it’s a sudden explosion of fresh, fast-paced, seething punk spirit.
There is clearly nothing wrong with Monotony, and I look forward to hearing much more from the band in their various guises.
Mari Lane
@marimindles
Mari Lane
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