On The Cusp...Lissy Taylor
Stoke’s Lissy Taylor is on the cusp of big things.
In today’s climate, bands and artists blowing up overnight and storming the charts are dead. It is a brutal process, from getting local gigs to performing on the main stages of festivals. As such, there is a swelling of talent on the underground, poised to break through.
So, this week, we are picking five of our favourite artists on the cusp of said breakthrough. Our third installment comes via Lissy Taylor.
Taylor hails from Stoke after two years living in USA and three in Manchester. Having supported The K’s, The Bluetones, and The Lottery Winners already, this year saw her perform for This Feeling at the Isle of Wight.
To celebrate all things Lissy, today we look at her most recent single ‘Feel For Me’. It was written by Taylor and produced by Gareth Nuttall (The K’s / The Lottery Winners).
Feel For Me
For the best of a decade, the mainstream has marginalised rock ‘n’ roll. Rock acts Royal Blood and Nothing But Thieves or gentle indie form Blossoms and The Lathums and the unexplainable fascination with the Arctic Monkeys have been the blueprint for bands on a-lists.
Image & artwork courtesy of Lissy and Oliva Roberts.
For those looking to raise hell, do something meaningful, or both, it’s BBC Introducing, Lammo, and John Kennedy keeping their dreams alive. It was, with as much pride as relief, to hear Taylor’s ‘Feel For Me’ given a spin on Radio 1.
Unadulterated ambition should be lauded in rock ‘n’ roll. It’s not a negative trait. Done with thought and care, it’s one of the most powerful agents of change in the arts, and Taylor is proof of that.
‘Feel For Me’ roars to life with stadium-sized belief guitars and finishes with a demand for even bigger audiences.
Despite the sonic burning a hole in the sun, Taylor’s vulnerability is the song's true star. Lyrically awash with fragility and empowerment, Taylor looks to move on from a key relationship:
“You make me cry…with laughter / You can see it in my eyes that I hate saying goodbye / But I have to…Get out of here somehow / I’ll see you around”
Then, in the chorus, she lets out a desperate howl vocally when tempted to move back into comfortable bad habits. Eyes closed, fists clenched, she drags herself through the pain! All the while, her guitars serve up scintillating psyche-rock worthy of Lindsey Buckingham and Noel Gallagher’s early live performances.
On The Cusp...The Velvet Hands
So, this week, we are picking five of our favourite artists on the cusp of said breakthrough. Today, we pick our top 5 tracks by The Velvet Hands.
In today’s climate, bands and artists blowing up overnight and storming the charts are dead. It is a brutal process, from getting local gigs to performing on the main stages of festivals. As such, there is a swelling of talent on the underground, poised to break through.
So, this week, we are picking five of our favourite artists on the cusp of said breakthrough.
Today, we pick our top 5 tracks by The Velvet Hands:
*banner image courtesy of Alan Wells.
Image courtesy of Harvey Williams-Fairley & Sonic PR
The Party’s Over
Comfortably in the last decade's top 5 rock ‘n’ roll songs. A stonewall classic built sonically on debauchery and lyrically on unrequited love and heroic failure.
Holiday In My Head
The fog of life without a future swell to unprecedented levels in the verses as they play The Ramones sound in ferocious Stooges style. The intensity is several levels above anything their debut offered, exemplified by the explosive Nick Valensi (The Strokes) meets Russell Lissack (Bloc Party) solo. It encapsulates the pressure and stress of bills mounting, work not paying, and life becoming too much with such vehement brilliance.
Telephone Love
‘Telephone Love’ takes the band to darker pastures of overindulgent all-nighters of booze and drugs. The party is over, but the protagonists remain, caning it. A snapshot of a generation sold down the river in every industry. Now they’re left praying the next line will make them feel alive enough to carry on:
“Bloodshot eyes and bleeding gums,
Welcome to the house of fun
And now you’re talking insane,
Telephone love runs through your veins
And I don’t know just how you found me, I don’t know Just how you found me
And now, and now it’s dawn
Riding from the dusk before
We could waste the night
You know you help me feel alive”
I Don’t Mind
‘I Don’t Mind’ has a chorus that forges a togetherness with the band and the listener through its shambolic arm-in-arm drunkenness. Images of spilt snakebite and sweat-ridden walls of indie discos flood the senses.
Sucker Punch
Artwork curtesy of Sonic PR.
The violence and desolation on the title track ‘Sucker Punch’ but a more thoughtful musicality exists. The title track initiates with jagged 00s guitars reminiscent of Bloc Party, Dogs, and early Razolright whilst the vocals roar like Johnny Rotten. Despite the uncompromising snarling of the verses, they lead into a melodic Vaccines-esque chorus for fans to buy into joyously. Not finished there, they serve up a breakdown akin to an out-of-body experience. The message of getting up off the canvas and keep fighting becomes less naive and one of “now or never” and “don’t give up”. They emerge on the other side with confidence and solidarity.
Click the image below for tickets to their November tour:
On The Cusp…San Quentin
Southend’s San Quentin are on the cusp of a big breakthrough.
In today’s climate, bands and artists blowing up overnight and storming the charts are dead. It’s a hard grind from. It is a brutal process, from getting local gigs to performing on the main stages of festivals. As such, there is a swelling of talent on the underground poised to breakthrough.
So, this week, we are picking five of our favourite artists on the cusp of said breakthrough.
*banner image courtesy of Magnolia Lux
First up are Southend’s San Quentin. They were formed in 2019 by songwriter Liam Cass, frontman Owen Eves, drummer Luke Johns, and bassist Nick Keep. Lead Guitarist Dan Ridgewell joined the band in 2020 .
They’ve since gone on to sell out The Water Rats for This Feeling and be named in BBC Introducing’s 2022 ‘Ones To Watch’. They’re
To celebrate San Quentin, we give our track-by-track EP review of ‘Feed The Ego’ to celebrate the band today. The EP was released on 25th August and recorded at SS2 Recording. Rees Broomfield carried out mixing and mastering duties.
You’re Lost
Artwork courtesy of Songbird PR.
Live, San Quentin have always caught the eye with their effervescent energy. On record, this hasn’t always translated. Here, they capture their live essence but crucially add scathing lyrical content and go to another level.
Aiming at all the worst aspects of today's apathetic society, they take Soft Play’s fire into their rapturous indie world. More melodic than the Kent icons, San Quentin have found a recipe for success.
You Got Some Nerve
Gunslinging indie! The sound of the band in the trenches fighting their way out against inconceivable odds. The bitter discourse “so whose wrong, is it me or is it you / yeah you got some nerve” comes snarling with hints of grunge and their indomitable spirit.
Serotonin
Fall to floor indie rock. Desperate and unhinged, the guitars fizz with the volatility of The Reytons and the melodic hiss of Reverend & The Makers.
You Can’t Stop Me This Time (Underdog)
The moment the cusp became a distant memory. This is the sound of a band realising their dreams. Visceral and cinematic, San Quentin delivers their biggest sound to date.
Eves vocal comes with an emotional heft not seen before. Something death-defying has flooded his soul! Ridgewell’s guitars loiter with menacing intent until his solo emerges victoriously. All the years spent in jobs they’ve hated pour out into this emotional juggernaut of a song.
As Eves decrees, “you can’t stop me this time” you are left in no uncertain doubt that he is right!
Feed The Ego
Swaggering with danger, the title track signs off with great style!
Tour Dates
September 9th - THA KNOWS - Sheffield
September 23rd - Real Time Music - Chesterfield
September 30th - Gathering Sounds - Stockton
Tickets available here https://www.sanquentin.co.uk/gigsv
Blinding Talent - The Alternative Escape
Next up in our preview is yet another impeccable all-dayer. The Alt-Escape hosted by Blinding Talent is a must-visit this year.
The Great Escape may have its official line up but, in the heart of Brighton lies a fringe so prominent it causes Sian Clifford to revaluate her “pencil” look.
Next up in our preview is yet another impeccable all-dayer. The Alt-Escape hosted by Blinding Talent is a must-visit this year.
We pick (in no order) our faves from their stacked line-up:
Tom Lumley & The Brave Liaison
No one can explain why the Cambridge band are not huge but, this is rock ‘n’ roll, you’re only ever one great show from changing the world for the better. This might just be the one!
Key Tracks: Crawling / Haunted
JW Francis
Woozy slacker-rock to melt away to. Charming lyrics and lo-fi jangle guitars destined to win hearts and minds in Brighton this year.
Key Tracks: John Take Me With You Now / New York
Pool Kids
The Florida outfit has stripped back the glamour of EMO built by Paramore to its raw beginnings. Drenched in intense friendships and raw relationships, Pool Kids have opened up a new DIY realm to take emo in.
Key Tracks: $5 Subtweet / I Hope You’re Right
Riskee & The Ridicule
The grime-punksters are already legends on the live circuit. From the early devastation of Enter Shikari to pop intincts of Imperial Leisure, they can do it all!
Key Tracks: Young and Beautiful / Molotov Cocktails
Shrimp Eyes
London’s Shrimp Eyes effortlessly push the indie-electronica scene forwards that Genghar and Bombay Bicycle built. Delicate licks and explorative production unite to form their soon to be iconic sound.
Key Tracks: Straight Up / Beat Of Time
Kick Out The Jams - The Brighton Mix Up Vol 3
The Great Escape may have its official line up but, in the heart of Brighton lies a fringe so prominent it causes Sian Clifford to revaluate her “pencil” look.
Key to its success is Roger Kent’s Kick Out The Jams free, REPEAT, free weekender. You’ll find no better line-up any weekend in the UK than at the KOTJ shindig.
The Great Escape may have its official line up but, in the heart of Brighton lies a fringe so prominent it causes Sian Clifford to revaluate her “pencil” look.
Key to its success is Roger Kent’s Kick Out The Jams free, REPEAT, free weekender. You’ll find no better line-up any weekend in the UK than at the KOTJ shindig.
Here are our favourite acts from this year (in no order):
The Red Stains
Cataclysmic drumming collides head-on with their Slits-esque destruction. Violent, broken, brilliant!
Key Tracks: TV Static
The Velvet Hands
Despite the odds against them and cultural pressures pushing them toward a boring mainstream landscape, the band have funnelled their joyous punk of debut into something more studied and grander this time out. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world realises their quality.
Key Tracks: Telephone Love / 40 Up 40 Down
This Is War
When BRMC made ‘Howl’, something in the rock ‘n’ roll cosmos aligned, the acoustic guitars which seemed so ill-befitting on paper became their natural domain without them losing any outsider credentials. On ‘Promised Land’, This Is War treads a similar path. The acoustic guitars have found a place between Penny Lane and The La’s and shimmer like a memory of The Roses at their peak.
Key Tracks: Promised Land / Mona Lisa
Breakup Haircut
Wry, humble, and heartfelt lyrics come at you like a brilliant diary entry to melt the coldest of hearts.
Key Tracks: I’d Say Yes / Why Can’t I Be Cool Enough to Move to Berlin
Cross Wires
The East London four-piece have the urgency of Traams and the indie panache of Telegram. As certain to be a 6Music favourite as Cerys Matthews.
Key Tracks: A Room Full of Memories / Distraction Technique
The Great Escape Festival 2023 - Preview Part 2
Brighton’s Great Escape festival began in 2006 and has been a beacon of light for new music ever since.
As we approach this year’s festival, we pick out (in alphabetical order) our favourite acts to look out for. Here is part two of run down.
Brighton’s Great Escape festival began in 2006 and has been a beacon of light for new music ever since.
As we approach this year’s festival, we pick out (in alphabetical order) our favourite acts to look out for. Here is part two of run down. (Read part one here)
Sammy Copley
The Irish artist casts minds back to the days of 2007 when Laura Marling emerged to stardom. Classic songwriting married with a supreme vocal.
Key Tracks: To The Bone / Irish Goodbye
Spangled
Their expansive sound has headline act oozing from its blood. It’s the sound of a band with one hand on their destiny and the pushing at end of the galaxy to make things bigger.
Key Tracks: That Farm In Dunham / Charlie Hills
Moreish Idols
The Cantebury outfit are utterly vital indie-rock! From Sea Power to Fontaines DC to Pavement, their warped magic is to die for.
Key Tracks: Chum / Hangar
The Murder Capital
The second album has been a joyous breakout moment in 2023. Guttural feeling and punk integrity to their core.
Key Tracks: Don’t Cling To Life / Ethel
The Kairos
The Liverpool outfit are toying with the 00s hook-heavy scene and more expansive rock music with the skill of seasoned masters.
Key Tracks: The Thick Of It / P.O.P
The Heavy Heavy
The Brighton band taking the early Bee Gees and Hollies for a trip with to the Laurel Canyon.
Key Tracks: Go Down River / Miles and Miles
The Facades
Wigan four-piece The Facades are a mesh of beguiling psyche and wry post-punk.
Key Tracks: That Letter / Beautiful
The Goa Express
The finest indie band in a generation.
Key Tracks: Second Time / Everybody In The UK
The Chase
Nottinghamshire’s The Chase are a ball of ska, punk, indie-rock magic. Ferocious and raw angst meets the hallmarks of great youth culture in their anthems.
Key Tracks: I’m The Man / Trumpet
The Dream Machine
The only natural heir to The Coral’s throne!
Key Tracks: Always On My Mind / Sweet Mary
Click the image below for tickets:
The Great Escape Festival 2023 - Preview Part 1
Brighton’s Great Escape festival began in 2006 and has been a beacon of light for new music ever since.
As we approach this year’s festival, we pick out (in alphabetical order) our favourite acts to look out for.
Brighton’s Great Escape festival began in 2006 and has been a beacon of light for new music ever since.
As we approach this year’s festival, we pick out (in alphabetical order) our favourite acts to look out for.
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard
In 2022 the Cardiff glam-rockers released their criminally underrated debut album ‘Backhand Deals’. Not resting on their laurels, they returned with the harder and darker single ‘Chew’ this last March.
Key Tracks: You / Chew
Deadletter
The Yorkshire outfit relocated to South London to forge a claim as the finest exponents of political polemic of the modern era. With better hooks than Gang of Four and the stylised delivery of Talking Heads, Deadletter will blow Brighton away this year.
Key Tracks: Binge / Madge’s Declaration
DeafDeafDeaf
The Manchester four-piece are destructive gothihc-punks with desolate Joy Division soundscapes to isolate within.
Key Tracks: Nothingness / Bodies
Dirtsharks
Dirtsharks will be on home soil in Brighton. Their throwback outsider rock pulls from the Murder Captial and Fontaines DC fire but always with the hooks of The Amazons loitering.
Key Tracks: Split Tongue / Tides
Dylan John Thomas
The Scottish troubadour is a one-man La’s. Jangling across horizons with Gerry Cinnamon looking on in awe.
Key Tracks: Fever / Nobody Else
Melin Melyn
The effortless jangle of a Real Estate and the mesmerising oddity of a Gorkys Zygotic Mynci. Hailing from London and Cardiff, their 60s baroque pop comes bi-lingually reminiscent of the Gruff Rhys’ fine solo albums.
Key Tracks: Nefoedd yr Adar / Short Haired Lady
Midnight Rodeo
The Nottingham six-piece are a Tarantino soundtrack in the making. Sexy, dangerous, and cool as fuck!
Key Tracks: The Big Melt / Now You’re Gone
Nice Biscuit
Making the long journey from Brisbane are the five-piece Nice Biscuit. They take the psychedelic lunacy of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard for a joyride with Sugar Candy Mountain and Wolf Alice.
Key Tracks: Fem Chem / Round and Round
Pale Blue Eyes
Hailing from Totnes and Sheffield, the modernist psyche-pop outfit are destined for big things. The folksy mod instincts of Erland and The Carnival unite with nodes of The Cure, Cocteau Twins, and Tame Impala.
Key Tracks: Little Gem / Globe
Rosellas
To date, Rosellas have been a band with great promise. Single after single they showcased something fresh and, on ‘Hideaway’ they have pulled it all together. It’s a thunderous piece of rock-psyche that brings the five-piece out of indie’s shadows into the main stage spotlight.
Key Tracks: Hideaway / Slowdance
Click the image below for tickets:
Top 10 EPs of 2022
What another great year for new music 2022 has been. Here are our favourite 10 EP’s of the year:
10. The Lunar Towers - Hurry Up and Wait (Full review here)
There’s a ramshackle beauty to Sewell’s vocals which evokes Pastels’ Creation Records era. The abrasive yet beautiful delivery gives them a joyous us versus the world sonic!
9. The Skinner Brothers - Lonedom (Full review here)
Frontman Zac Skinner’s vocals should be iconic by now. On this latest offing, he has the gruffness of beans on Toast, the insolence of Jamie T but, crucially it’s his soul-boy persona that shines brightest.
8. Andrew Cushin - You Don’t Belong (Full review here)
Although it leaves you hollow and despairing, the heart will remain full for this is a young man reminding us all that a working-class hero is still something to be!
7. The Chase - Not The F**king Game Show (Full review here)
Raucous garage punk sitting between The Stranglers and The Velvet Hands. James’ great keys light up this explosive affair alongside the scintillating guitars.
6. JW Paris - Stuck In A Video
Powerful and unhinged punk rock!
5. The Reds, Pinks, & Purples - Everything Holy (BBC Radio Session)
Their windswept beauty and melancholy is perfectly encapsulated in this incredible BBC session.
4. The Clockworks - The Clockworks (Full review here)
It’s felt like an age since social commentary and great characterisation were a part of our lives. There has been great polemic in recent times but, ‘Money’ goes further. It unites the town crier with the poet and is destined to reel in fans from all strands of the alternative world!
3. Andy Bell - Untitled Film Stills
The Ride guitarist has had a phenomenal run in 2022 with Ride, his solo album but, this EP is the pièce de résistance. An atmospheric masterclass.
2. Pastel - Isaiah (Full review here)
Their time with John Squire at Knebworth was clearly well spent. On ‘S.O.H.O.’ the ‘Second Coming’ and ‘Do It Yourself’ strut comes out to play. Great and immediate hooks combine with Yate’s Chris Helme vocals to bug everything out.
1. Priestgate - Eyes Closed For The Winter (Full review here)
If The DMA’s made a Cure record, this would be it. Dream pop-psyche flirting with the lighter gothic moments of Robert Smith’s eyeliner magic. Frontman Rob Schofield switches from a popper Farris Badwan in the verses to the broken gruff soul of James Geard (Sissy & The Blisters) or Alexander "Chilli" Jesson (Palma Violets) in the pain-ridden end.
Top 30 Albums of 2022
2022 was awash with Melody, anarchy, comebacks, throwbacks but ost important of all, pushed the envelope forwards yet again. Here’s to all the talent, labels, and tipsters who made it possible.
Here are our top 30 albums of the year:
30. The Heavy North - Electric Soul Machine (Full review here)
The Heavy North have achieved a great deal on this debut. The guitar solos are the big take home but, the creative flourishes with the drums and vocals begin to shine upon repeat listens. It leaves you with a sense of hope that, next time out, they could do something really powerful.
29. Kae Tempest – The Line Is A Curve
Tempest is a national treasure. Astute poetic observations from start to finish.
28. Lightning Seeds – See You In The Stars
Older and wiser but, still as vibrant as the ‘Jollification’ and ‘Sense’ days.
27. Jamie Webster - Moments
Mixing pop and politics with joyously righteous effects.
26. Enjoyable Listens - The Enjoyable Listens
The heir to Richard Hawley and Nick Drake.
25. Narcissus - A Sense of Place
Reimagining early 90s rave and hip hop for the modern day.
24. Embrace - How To Be A Person Like Other People
The euphoric anthems keep on coming!
23. Warmduscher - At The Hotspot
Bella Union’s best signing in a generation. Shaun Ryder-esque lyrics meet a drugged-up Talking Heads.
22. Andy Bell - Flicker
Bell’s creative streak is relentless at present. Flicker adds to his ever-expanding fine body of work.
21. The Mysterines - Reeling
Heavier and more badass than the debut. Their march to the top continues!
20. Skylights - What You Are (Full review here)
What was a fortuitous reformation has undoubtedly led to one of the albums of the year! This isn’t a breakout debut, it’s the sound of a band 3 albums deep commanding the respect of academy-sized audiences.
19. Suede - Autofiction
The outsiders return to their rightful place in the shadows howling at the world.
18. Maze – Chaos Interrupted
Wayward rock ‘n’ roll searching for its freedom.
17. David Long & Shane O’Neill - Age of Finding Stars (Full review here)
What started as an unplanned album has turned into a masterpiece of grief-stricken songwriting. Devastating lyrics and lost soundscapes unite on one of 2022’s albums of the year.
16. The Boo Radleys - Keep On With Falling (Full review here)
Without Martin Carr in the fold, the new lineup could have easily folded under the pressure of delivering a new Radleys album. Carr has been an exceptional solo artist after all. Nevertheless, Sice and co have paid tribute to all that they once were and pushed the band forwards with remarkable results.
15. The Shed Project - The Curious Mind of the Common Man (Full review here)
The guitars will inevitably lure people in. The licks of ‘Livin’ are so infectious it’s medically advisable to wear gloves when listening.
14. Chorusgirl - Collapso Calypso (Full review here)
In what must have been a testing time personally and creatively, Chorusgirl have come out the other side with a piece of art to be cherished!
13. The Skinner Brothers - Soul Boy II
Laconic but confrontational soon to be iconic.
12. Thousand Yard Stare - Earthanasia (Full review here)
Their previous album in many ways was a second debut album. It said everything they ever wanted to say to the world. They thought it would cap off a great few years playing live and release the odd EP. What it did is best expressed in their single ‘Measures’:
“It doesn’t matter how you arrive here / Just be sure that you are here at the end / It doesn’t matter how you arrive here / Take pleasure in the message it sends”.
This sentiment flows from every corner of the album and has allowed them to be more expressive than ever. Long may it continue.
11. The Shop Window - A 4 Letter Word (Full review here)
The Kent outfit have lit up a bleak year with this gentle yet defiant indie-pop record. Everywhere you turn there are nods to the 80s and 90s but, with astute sonic updates. Lyrically, they accept nostalgia less as a noose and more as a bridge to their untamed teenage selves and thus, provide endless tales for their souls to relive in the modern age.
10. My Raining Stars – 89 Memories (Full review here)
These more instantaneous moments breathe vitality into Haliniak’s body of work that will surely win the hearts and minds of many new fans sooner rather than later.
9. Armstrong - Grafitti (Full review here)
Classic songwriting rarely collides with guts, heart, and pop music but, Armstrong has it all.
8. Weyes Blood - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow
Joni Mitchell meets Karen Carpenter in this beautiful debut.
7. Columbia - Embrace The Chaos (Full review here)
Somehow, they have reimagined the Stones, Stereophonics, Oasis, and Kasabian into something new on this debut. A life-affirming set of songs that will smash whatever stands in its way. For once, we alternative types beg the gatekeepers to put up barriers. It’ll only be that much sweeter when Columbia destroys them!
6. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
The most accessible record to date is met with the sound of fraying souls and demons.
5. Moses – I Still Believe, Do you? (Full review here)
‘I Still Believe! Do You?’ is blessed with The Kinks’ storytelling, Blur’s chaos, and Blossoms’ pop sensibilities.
4. The Orchids – Dreaming Kind
A stunning return from the former Sarah Records heroes. Angelic masterpiece!
3. Confidence Man - TILT
All the girls say “Ooh”. All the boys say “ahh”.
2. Charlie Clark – Late Night Drinking (Full review here)
A tumultuous cleanse of the soul that rewards creator and listener alike. Clark has built upon The National’s ability to embed melody into troublesome discourse by adding psychedelic pop to certain tracks. It’s a stunning debut from the Astrid bandmate, a piece of art in its purest form.
1. Deja Vega – Personal Hell (Full review here)
There’s no filler on ‘Personal Hell’, every track leaves an indelible mark on the soul. ‘Precious One’ throbs with 70s debauchery and Wooden Shjips riffs to create yet more new pastures of the kaleidoscopic expedition! On and on the superlatives could go. ‘Personal Hell’ is a huge leap forwards from the debut, and whilst the live shows remain in small(ish) venues, for now, their rightful place is the upper echelons of mainstages. Over to you festival bookers of 2023.
2002: The Great Reset
In 2000, the music landscape was bleak. Nu-metal dominated the airwaves. Skate-punk fashion was rife. The UK had lost its edge and was in the shadow of a wave of toxic masculinity and god-awful sound and fashion of nu-metal and skate punk.
‘Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants' endured rather than thrived. ‘Gas Panic’ and ‘Fucking In The Bushes’ were fleeting moments of brilliance amid a sea of dross. If they had embraced Noel’s cold turkey writing via ‘Cigarettes in Hell’ and ‘One Way Road’ would have at least given the UK’s cocaine hangover an interesting perspective.
It wasn’t just Noel all at sea. In 2001, the revolutionary class of 1994 and bombast of 95 & 96 was all fading in some form or another. The Manics, Supergrass, and Ocean Colour Scene all produced underwhelming albums. Shed Seven, who did find their punk spirit on their ‘Truth Be Told’ were being marginalised and forced out of a scene they once lit up from the periphery.
Something needed to change to make Neil Young right.
In 2001 The Strokes blew up with their garage rock classic ‘Is This It?’ and rightly took all the plaudits. Meanwhile, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Soundtracks Of Our Lives kept the flame alive for rocks heritage with great albums. Alas, it never felt enough for British hearts and minds. The reference points and fashion were ever so slightly out of reach. For most, they were too cool for our feral shores. It meant rocks pendulum remained in the US.
However, in March via West Birmingham, one man was going well beyond the concept of resetting rock ‘n’ roll. Mike Skinner was rewiring hip-hop and dance music. Inspired by MJ Cole’s fine ‘Sincere’ album in 2000, Skinner took the worthiness of Ken Loach to the benign garage scene to conjure art for the ages.
‘Turn The Page’ and ‘Original Pirate material’ stripped everything back to MJ Cole’s meaningful vision of the scene. Skinner’s unique vocal delivery consigned a plague of West Coast wannabees to the bin. It went beyond garage music though, he conceptualised weed smoker philosophy with Ray Davies’ sense of characterisation and storytelling (‘Too Much Brandy’ / ‘Same Old Thing’). ‘Stay Positive’ was a desolate uncertain tale of a friend trying to keep fellow souls from drug and violent descent. It was the trailer to the great British grime phenomena coming via Dizzee in 2003 and Kano in 2005. It culminated in ‘Weak Become Heroes’, his ode to raves and ecstasy. Reigniting the second summer of love and rave culture in a Blake-esque poem in 2002, when Blairism was motoring toward PFI contracts and corporatism was a great cultural moment. It signified a generation uneasy with the power being wielded and, if pushed too far, would force escape through drugs and music once more.
Never to be left out of any scene, Liverpool was preparing to release psychedelic folk punk onto the airwaves. On April 17th, The Coral signed to Deltasonic and played Dingwalls and thus, turned their lives upside down. Noel Gallagher talked of that day to Jools Holland in lockdown:
“this band were playing at dingwalls…these lads walked on stage and they were kids. They were so young that they’d signed their record deal that day but their parents had to sign it for them and they played this song, it sounded like Frank Sinatra meets The Who meets Burt Bacharach…”
James Skelly’s unfettered vocals alongside Bill Ryder Jones and Lee Southall’s guitars were beautifully jarring. They had the ability to take Beefheart to the studio with Bacharach and Costello. Like Skinner, their talent was obvious, ‘Dreaming of You’ was an instant pop classic, but it was their beatnik fuck everyone attitude that shone brightest. British bands were supposed to make verse, chorus verse solo outro songs. ‘Waiting For Heartaches’ toyed with tempo and big key changes like an Arthur Lee wet dream. ‘I Remember When’ sees Skelly’s raw Roger Daltrey vocals front up a psychedelic sea shanty, whilst ‘Simon Diamond’ took Syd Barret’s psyche-folk out for a walk with Karen Carpenter. Perhaps more than most that year, they embodied what youth can do for the soul. Unaffected by failure, they reinvented what Mod could be their untamed debut.
Across the Pennines in Leeds, The Music, the most overlooked during 2002’s great reset, were led by break dancing front man Rob Harvey who later joined The Streets and Kasabian. Their self-titled debut, like The Coral, looked not to merge their disparate influences but, to smash them into oblivion a la Jackson Pollock and see what stuck. The space rock of The Verve, Robert Plant’s bewitching vocals, and Nile Rodgers licks flirted with electronica and the early hiss of Oasis on this wild adventure. They fixed the failures of the Roses ‘Second Coming’ and they injected The Verve’s ‘Storm In Heaven’ weightlessness with a punky outlier spirit courtesy of Adam Nutter’s guitars.
While the nods to the past were apparent, Robert Harvey’s vocals served up a purity so distilled it engaged a new generation of rock classicists. Coupled with his on-stage dancing, it gave fans a freeing impetus to clutch the band to their hearts and decree “this is ours”.
It was though, in the moments they made you dance they truly lifted the UK scene out of the doldrums. ‘Disco’ builds like early Ride before erupting into a psychotic bout of funk and soul. Moreover, ‘Float’ did what the Mondays and the Roses did so well in the 80s and tapped into the dance trend of the time; nu school breaks. Nailing the relentlessness and twitchiness of an Adam Freeland or Krafty Kuts set into 5mins of rock music was remarkable.
Then, on 14th October 2002, the axis of rock ‘n’ roll truly splintered into something new. The Strokes’ influence on The Libertines had been colossal. The band re-routed its power supply from John Hassall’s 60s flowery numbers to Pete and Carl’s Kinks via The Clash brutality tales of England. On hearing ‘This Is It’, Pete and Carl in collusion with Banny Poostchi, launched ‘Plan A’; an all-or-nothing mission to get them signed to Rough Trade in six months. After a showcase for James Endeacott, they were tipped to Geoff Travis and the rest was history.
The internet hadn’t really been a force for good in the music industry to this point. The Libertines, like many of the architects of Silicon Valley were dreamers though. Guerrilla gigs, invading Zoe Ball’s XFM show, house parties, and free tattoos in Soho were orchestrated from their blog and fan forums. Whilst other bands were all about the music, The Libertines went further. They created the community we yearned for. Much like the early 70s before punk, rock music had become bloated and out of reach for the common man. They took it back to the streets, literally on some occasions. They inspired people to pick up guitars and poetry books. They changed fashion, alas, they changed drugs.
Not that the music didn’t matter. The skill levels were down but the hope stakes were through the roof! The guttural sound from the guitars was so desperate, they were the catalyst for change culturally that millions were waiting for.
2002 saw the initiation of the war on terror. It was the inauguration of Blair’s descent. It left so many feeling dirty, sorrowful, and uneasy with their country’s place in the world. What The Libertines did was, remind the world what England could be. Dangerous but poetic. Unhinged but beautiful. Keats and Yates were on their side!
The landscapes and characters were familiar but the dreams were new. ‘Time For Heores’ spawned the greatest couplet since ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’:
“There's fewer more distressing sights than that
Of an Englishman in a baseball cap”
‘The Boy Looked At Johnny’ is arguably the best proponent of their back-and-forth vocals which were to become famous, infamous, and their harmonious over the course of 20 years. They sounded like a drunken night, staggering through the streets antagonising anyone who wasn’t with them (and Johnny Borrell). Pete’s ability to elevate a song with a fragile melody in the chorus was finding its feet here, something that he would go on to perfect but, all too infrequently.
“we set out to be as exciting as the Pythons”. (Rik Mayall talking to Wogan in 1984)
This eclectic bunch was the same. Like a great John Hughes movie, the youth just wanted to be heard! For music lovers, it was the raw reset filled with adrenaline and ecstasy the alternative scene needed. It spawned another 8 years of bands. Wave upon wave they came. The kids who flooded playgrounds with kickers and Mr. Spliffy jackets and had grown up and wanted their time and boy, they took it! It was, sadly, to be the last hurrah of the music industry paying bands properly. The well-worn social contract of., take your shot at glory and escape the doldrums was dissipating as the world raced to the bottom.
However, for one year, hope was everywhere. Psychedelic punks, social commentators, romantic poets, and riff makers alike came together to tear down the tired fabric of the rock industry as we knew it.
Under The Bridge: The Orchids
Last week, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.
Images courtesy of Skep Wax Records.
This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. Today we focus on hazy pop pioneers The Orchids and their new track Don’t ‘Mean to Stare’.
Under The Bridge may be reuniting former label mates from the 80s and 90s but, it is very much about the future. None more so than for Scotland’s The Orchids as their ‘Don’t Mean to Stare’ is due to feature on their as yet untitled album released later this year.
Whilst the guitars begin with their iconic laissez-faire vibe from ‘A Kind of Eden’, the past remains firmly where it is. They venture towards the vibrant percussion on Ra Ra Riot and the vocal playfulness of Britt Daniel (Spoon) as the guitars spiral in and out of view.
The XX and hints of Afrobeat unite as the song lazily but joyously climaxes. It may have taken the band a while to make the upcoming album but, on this showing, it looks worth the wait.
The album is available to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page
You can catch most of the bands at their two all-day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:
Under The Bridge: Jetstream Pony
Last week, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.
The single & compilation are available to buy on their Bandcamp page.
This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. Today we focus on indie supergroup Jetstream Pony. Made up of Beth Arzy (Aberdeen/Luxembourg Signal), Shaun Charman (The Wedding Present/The Popguns), Kerry Boettcher (Turbocat), and Hannes Müller (The BV’s).
Their featured track ‘Strood McD F.C’ was recorded at Sunny Studio in East Sussex and is taken from their mini-album ‘Misplaced Words’. The recording studio and title track couldn’t be more apt as Arzy’s utilises cut and paste lyrics on this sunlit track indebted to Medway.
The Byrds-esque jangle quickly crashes into the bass power of Sonic Youth to create a unique sense of lysergic punk. Maybe all bands should be based in Brighton and Croydon as this clash of styles are superb! At times, it’s as though Gedge, Andy Bell, and The Shirelles are playing Sonic Youth covers in the garage for no one but themselves, it’s that carefree.
Arzy’s vocals just keep going from strength to strength in what is, an already staggering career. Her angelic tones are omnipresent but here, a laid-back smoky soul music affair meanders in to open audiences up to yet more divinity.
The album is available to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page
You can catch most of the bands at their two all-day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:
Under The Bridge: Even As We Speak
Last week, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.
Images courtesy of Skep Wax Records.
This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. Today we focus on Aussie indie pioneers Even As We Speak. Their offering, ‘Begins Goodbye’ jumps right back into the much-loved sounds of ‘Feral Pop Frenzy’ with infectious vocals and unexpected twists.
Musically, they tap into the sauntering sonic of ‘Going Down To Liverpool’. They bring The Bangles’ enriching girl group harmonies towards their penchant for wistful guitars resulting in a genius breakdown and blissful conclusion.
However, this is not a simple rehash of classic indie-pop. Where The Bangles youthful exuberance raced through city nightlife, Mary Wyer’s vocals feel more in tune with hazier suburban landscapes on this sage yet still an adventurous piece of advice.
Whilst the evanescent energy of their classic ‘Falling Down The Stairs’ is musically reawakened, lyrically, its essence presents itself as a wiser arm around the shoulder for anyone lost midlife. Wyer’s sun-kissed beauty recognises the problems (“our lives get small and our dreams get compromised”) but, shakes it off with such positivity “nobody knows what tomorrow may bring”. Not all clarion calls sound like The Clash!
The guitars have such purpose throughout, from angelic to rip-roaring road movie climactic scenes, it’s impossible not to be moved by this single!
The album is avail;able to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page
You can catch most of the bands at their two all day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:
Under The Bridge: The Wake
On Friday, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.
Images courtesy of Skep Wax Records.
This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. We begin with Glasgow outfit The Wake and their featured track ‘Stockport’.
Originally signed to Factory Records, they made the switch to Sarah Records for album number three ‘Make It Loud’ in 1990. The track ‘Stockport’ was the opening track for their critically acclaimed comeback album ‘A Light Far Out’ released in 2012.
Although originally released in 2012, their disdain for cultural homogenisation “towns all look the same” feels as apt now as ever. There’s not a curmudgeonly sense of ‘things used to be better’ at play though, there’s very much a forlorn sense of hope. Things could, should but don’t look like they will get better. With this government pretending they’ve been in power for 7minutes rather than 12 years, it’s a discourse that resonates powerfully. As it surely must have done during Cameron’s austerity savaged the UK.
The guitars are a glorious contradiction. So infectious, and tinged with the sun but, a sun that’s setting and will soon be gone. The remnants of a town they know to be lurking, that could be reawakened for good forever out of their grasp. Not since Blue Nile’s ‘Tinseltown in the Rain’ has fading glamour sounded so great!
The album is avail;able to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page
You can catch most of the bands at their two all day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:
Sea Power Top 10
The Brighton via Cumbria outfit have been astonishing us with their erudite songwriting since the release of 2003’s raucous ‘The Decline of British Sea Power’ hit the shelves.
To honour the release, we’ve attempted the quite frankly, ridiculous task of picking our favourite 10 songs from the studio albums excluding ‘Everything Was Forever’ as we’re yet to fully digest it all. We’ve also excluded ‘Sea of Brass’ and ‘From the Sea to the Land Beyond’ as their majesty deserves their own features at a later date.
Three months ago, this seemed like a good idea. Today, having fallen out with my own conscience, can I ever really forgive myself for leaving out ‘K Hole’ or ‘Oh Larsson B’, remains to be seen. So, emotionally drained, bewildered as to why I ever thought this was a good idea, here they are. Enjoy:
10. Who’s In Control
In many ways, this former single defines them as a band. Anthemic and defiant, but never regressive! 10 years into their career, and following the huge success of 2008’s ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’, they exploded back into our consciousness with this guttural polemic.
Released before the May 2010 general election, it was a single that just kept picking up steam as Brown’s government began to decline and the community hates, born to rule old Etonians began their race to the bottom.
As we sit in the cesspool of Johnson’s reign, Yan’s vocal rage seems more apt now than ever before.
9. Open The Door
It’s almost inconceivable this song is fourteen years old as lyrically, it feels so in tune with escaping social media in today’s society and the struggles of masculinity that Grayson Perry has explored so eloquently
No matter the epoch, the struggles of modern life prevail and, for the band, it seems they were in search of an escape or creative reset ahead of their biggest selling album:
“Five young men went for a walk / Sat on a tree stump and had a talk / It takes something to be a man these days / Nobody's scared, but we hide anyway”
Many dubbed as landfill indie would meander their way to a guitar solo and yes, that is what Sea Power achieves here. However, few can impart such tender folk alongside the behemoth stadium-sized solo and remain cult heroes. They did!
8. The Voice of Ivy Lee
Only Sea Power could deliver a song about the father of crisis communications linked with the rise of Nazism sound so effortless. Majestic ethereal pop music to soundtrack their dismay that played a huge part in Brexit and Trump’s victories (Oh, kings of propaganda / Won't you take another / Look at all the things you've done).
7. The Lonely
Guitars gently lapping into shore ignite this mid-paced triumph. The vocal hook of “I drink all day and play by night / upon my casio electric piano” is astonishing to this day. Scott becomes an indie Richard Burton whilst around him, the guitars howl into the night, isolated, wrought with anguish but forever sublime.
6. Please Stand Up
What a glorious moment. All the rawness of the debut album melted away into this polished piece of alt-pop. It deserved much greater than 34 in the charts but, in the long run, it’s served them well to be on the fringe of pop.
5. Don’t Let the Sun Get In The Way
Heavenly backing vocals glisten like a reassuring angel whilst the protagonist drifts into despair. A year on from the tragic loss of David Bowie and Yan delivered this angelic homage to his great vocals.
It is though, the guitars where it’s true greatness lay. From the shimmering rays of hope to the archetypal self-destructive blasts, they encapsulate a sense of drama quite like no other.
4. Remember Me
This track, then, now and forever will always set fire to the world. It’s blistering guitars fire like Placebo were rewriting David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ on an inordinate amount of speed. In 2002, The Coral’s ‘Goodbye’ and The Libertines’ ‘Up The Bracket’ and its b-side ‘The Delaney’ found a new path for the UK rock scene. In 2003, ‘Remember Me’ smashed it to pieces!
3. The Great Skua
All bands have instrumentals. Few have the cinematic glory of the Great Skua. The video really does speak for itself!
2. Carrion
This was their ‘Chemical World’ and ‘For Tomorrow’ moment. Raw and wayward but, riddled with great melody and drama, they shone a torch on the more polished pop prowess of what was to come in ‘It Landed On Oily Stage’ and ‘Please Stand Up’. For those of us who were there, for the obsessives, for people just like them, it’ll always be the track to cherish the most. The firstborn, the goodbye of a great friend who was going to change the world, for you as well as them.
1. Atom
For so much of the album, there is a feeling, we almost nicked the fa cup as the underdog. It’s always been their charm, but, on Atom, they strode out to Abide with Me at Wembley, wrapped the game up 3nil at halftime, and decided to play one-touch footy as their fans chanted “ole”.
The band’s identity, especially live, is put to record perfectly. Dramatic melancholic orchestration one minute, then drunken riot the next. Bliss!
Sean Grant and the Wolfgang
Sean Grant and the Wolfgang hail from Milton Keynes and have previously released on Fierce Panda Records. Having attracted high praise from Lammo and John Kennedy already, it’s surely only a matter of time before they catch their big break.
The DIY collective of Blaggers Records, blender, Transmission Indie & Vandalism Begins At Home has pulled together the Leave The Capital tour with Luna Rosa, JW Paris, Sean Grant & The Wolfgang, and The Seven Sentinels.
The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).
As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at Sean Grant and the Wolfgang’s tracks ‘To Drink is to Die’ and ‘Murder Scene’:
To Drink is to Die
Ride’s shoegaze eloquence has been given the Blake-esque self-reflection lyrics of Richard Hawley on this ethereal gem.
Grant’s vocals draw from the infectious Jonathan Pierce (The Drums) as well as the aforementioned Gardener and Bell. He hovers above the clouds, pirouetting away from anything that attempts to tie him down.
Further setting him free are guitar parts wrapped up in the mysticism of Fleeting Joys and Pia Fraus. Their power is given a real sense of momentum as they shimmer across sun-kissed horizons.
Murder Scene
The Mary Chain and Glasvegas girl group stomp are met with Grant’s sublime ability to operate in vast landscapes. Soaring and tumbling, the guitars build a world of stark fog releasing moments of psychedelic hope sporadically to keep the human spirit alive.
Leave The Capital: The Seven Sentinels
The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).
As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at The Seven Sentiels. Originally from Milton Keynes, frontwoman, lyricist, beatmaker, and showrunner IllathaDead (aka MC Bombshell) is the creative mind behind The Seven Sentinels. Self-described as a “soloorration”, she conjures almost all you see on stage in this guise, pulling in friends and peers to complete the lineup and deliver her vision.
We take a look at two past singles:
I Am the City
Former John Kennedy X-Posure Hot One sees IllathaDead draws from cut and paste wizardry of The Go! Team and puts it through the avant-garde prism and the odd but effortless rhythms of Digital Underground.
Sugarskull Bride
What feels like cut-and-paste lyrics are actually exquisite dystopian prose. Imagine The Pharcyde were fronted by Desperate Journalist’s Jo Bevan and your soundtrack through this articulate comic book style story is formed.
Click the image for tickets to the London date or here for Milton Keynes
Leave The Capital: JW Paris
The DIY collective of Blaggers Records, blender, Transmission Indie & Vandalism Begins At Home has pulled together the Leave The Capital tour with Luna Rosa, JW Paris, Sean Grant & The Wolfgang, and The Seven Sentinels.
The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).
As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at JW Paris, a three-piece consisting of brothers Aaron (Vocals/Bass) and Danny (Vocals/Guitar), and ex-Babyshambles drummer Gemma Clarke. We focus on former singles ‘Sober’ and ‘Royalty’:
Sober
The isolated guitar intro brings Nirvana’s ‘Rape Me’ and ‘About A Girl’ to the fore whilst the melodic but steely post-punk vocals nod towards Manchester’s Cabbage.
Dark but playful verses are met with dystopian blasts of guitars and infectiously dank synths. Its soul may lurk in the shadows but, a warmth permeates their waywardness at all turns. It’s the lunatic fringe of an indie club that helps you up off the floor and gives you great fashion and film tips at the bar afterward.
Royalty
Royalty was recorded at Buffalo Studios with mixing help from JB Pilon (Kula Shaka and mastered by John Davis (U2/Noel Gallagher/Royal Blood) at Metropolis Studios.
Debauched and swaggering arm in arm like Tribes, this is rock ‘n’ roll from the sewers that are longing to be happy, free but never rich. With this purity coursing through its veins, it’s inevitable that people will fall in love with it.
Click the image for tickets to the London date or here for Milton Keynes
Leave The Capital: Luna Rosa
The DIY collective of Blaggers Records, blender, Transmission Indie & Vandalism Begins At Home has pulled together the Leave The Capital tour with Luna Rosa, JW Paris, Sean Grant & The Wolfgang, and The Seven Sentinels.
The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).
As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at Northamptonshire’s Luna Rosa and their former single ‘MK Ultra’.
Desolate but enthralling, teenage angst is given the makeover it dearly needs. The rawness of Twisted Wheel is met by the bleak solitude of Joy Division on this anthem for the anxious.
One of rocks music’s greatest lyrics of modern times, ‘My paranoia’s paranoid about my paranoia’ is met with equally spellbinding guitar solos. The guttural vocals cling to life at its darkest point which, despite the toxicity at play, offers up a compellingly unique source of hope.
The guitar parts range from the hypnotic neo-psyche of Will Sergeant to the energetic vibrancy of Yannis Philippakis. The raucous energy of The Murder Capital and Shame is taken out to windswept moors with Joy Division and Martin Hannett to capture a defiant rage 2022 so desperately needs.
Click the image for tickets to the London date or here for Milton Keynes
Top 5 EP's of 2021
5. Sullen Eyes – Sullen Eyes
Beauty personified! Sublime jangly pop worthy of any Hannah Barberas or Concretes fan. Complete with the second-best cover of ‘There She Goes’, Boo Radleys still holds that crown.
4. Pastel – Deeper Than Holy
From the featherlight licks of ‘Blu’ to The Verve-esque power of ‘Deeper Than Holy’, the potential of this band is endless. (Full review)
3. Real Numbers – Brighter Then
Sarah’s Records spirit is reawakened to fine effect.
2. In Earnest – Reasons To Stay Alive
This band and EP deserve your respect if nothing else. They are a triumph of the human spirit. This is the most selfless piece of art you will engage in of 2021. (Full review)
1. The Utopiates – Anywhere But Here
The spiralling swagger of the Mondays is given a new lease of hedonistic life and John Squire blasts to produce the magical results. (Full review)