Franz Nicolay - Luck And Courage

I first saw Franz live, supporting Frank Turner, and when he came on stage carrying an accordion, I'll admit I was already prepared to go and hide in the bar before he even played a note! I decided to give him a chance, though, and I'm glad I did. It's rare to see someone hold a crowd like he did, with just an accordion and a banjo! The man's a born entertainer.

Franz used to be the keyboard player in the Hold Steady, and it shows on quite a few of the songs on this album, but there's also a punky, folky Gogol Bordello-ish edge to it. 'Have Mercy' in particular mixes banjos and strings with massive feedback-laden guitars to excellent effect.

In summary, you should DEFINATELY listen to this album, and you should certainly be excited that he's got a new one due out later this year!

Korn - The Path Of Totality

Potentially interesting, this one. A band generally regarded as the founders of the Nu-Metal genre finally admit that they've squeezed it dry, and decide to move on to the next big thing. The next big thing in this case being Dubstep. They've brought in big name Dubstep producers such as Skrillex, Datsik, Noisia, Xumphlygrumph and Exploded Scrotum , and initial internet rumblings have largely been of the 'fresh, innovative, exciting' type, which tempted me to go back to a band I'd largely written off as...well, utter bollocks, if I'm honest.

Now, done well, this kind of stuff is right up my street (Charlie Clouser's White Zombie remixes, Killing Joke trance mixes, etc), so I've got fairly high hopes that this could be decent...

...well, y'know when some bands release a perfectly good album, and then churn out a remix album that's nothing more than the original album with some dance beats half-arsedly wedged in as a cynical ploy to grab the 'crossover' crowd? Korn seem to have released that remix album without actually bothering to release a decent album first!

Back To The Blog!

Right, time to fire this neglected bad boy back up again! Let's see how long I can be bothered to keep it going for this time! :)

Also, this time, I might actually tell people this blog exists, so I'm not basically just talking to myself!

I'll be mainly writing about what I'm listening to at the moment, whether new or old, bad or good, cool or cheesy - I'll listen to pretty much anything at least once!

Any recommends for good things to put into my ears always gratefully received.

Frank Turner - Poetry Of The Deed

The fact that I'm FINALLY off to see Frank Turner in March, coupled with my missus's strange OCD-like compulsion to learn every word of every song has led to a LOT of Frank Turner being played in my car!

Not a bad thing at all, though, as Frank Turner is fucking brilliant! There are moments where he's in danger of becoming the Levellers on this album, but he manages to dodge it, and turn in yet another near-perfect album. Go buy it now! (Don't download it off the internet or owt, though, as that makes Frank ANGRY!)

Tragedy - We Rock Sweet Balls And Can Do No Wrong

The Haiti Project led me to this. An all METAL tribute to the BeeGees! Does exactly what it says on the tin, basically, and is hilarious on first listen. After a couple more plays, though, unfortunately, it just becomes annoying. A lot like the real BeeGees, really.

Various Artists - The Haiti Project

You might have guessed from the title, but this album's proceeds all go towards relief efforts in Haiti. You can get it from here, for the tiny sum of £5.

And, for an album featuring a brand new track from Ginger Wildheart's new band The Sonic Graffiti, along with tunes from Eureka Machines, The Wildhearts, Electric Six, and Tony 'Terrorvision' Wright's Laika Dog amongst others, you'd have to be an idiot not to buy it (not buying it also makes you a racist by default.)

Full tracklisting:


The Sonic Graffiti – Mystery Number (Exclusive)

Eureka Machines – Being Good Is Ok, But Being Betters Better

Electric Six – Newark Airport Boogie

Jackdaw 4 – Jesus Wants My Soul Back

The Loyalties – Sofa Surfin’ UK (Acoustic)

Antiproduct – When We Find Love

The Organ Beats – Happy Birthday/Come On Home

The Wildhearts – Unbroken

Tragedy:All Metal Tribute To The Bee Gees – Nights On Broadway

Radio Dead Ones – Take It On Trust

Ricky Warwick – Love Owes

Brijitte West (Feat. Jesse Malin) – How To Be Good

Moi? – This Is All That I Wanted

Laika Dog – Piano Song

Sorry & The Sinatras – Riverside

Children of The Unicorn – Nightshark

Simon And Garfunkel - Best Of

What?!? Look, just fuck off, ok?