Big Scout - Single Review: Redwood St. Massive
It’s not often that a song can take me
straight back more than 40 years on the first time of hearing, only to
reinforce that with repeated plays, but that is exactly what happened with this
angry trio from Blenheim. This is stripped back music which has a great deal in
common with the post punk Oi! scene, where bands like Cockney Sparrer, Angelic
Upstarts and the more commercial Sham 69 made their name. It is based on a
repeated drum fill/rim shots track which must surely have caused RSI by the
time they got to the bridge at nearly 2 minutes, but it is soon back into the
pattern. The melody is carried by a very effective lead bassline (very Green
Day), while the vocals are spoken/shouted, and the guitar makes itself heard in
a discordant manner in the chorus.
The bass is warm and inviting, but the drums are harsh, the guitars strident, with the vocals full of angst and the production is fascinating as the different elements have been treated in multiple ways so they come together in a way which does not quite fit, yet do, so it is jarring and uncomfortable, just as the song was intended to be. This is independent music from a band who refuse to conform to society’s expectations but instead are on the boundaries and are happy with their lot. This is as far removed from gentle commercial rock as one can imagine, as this is designed to elicit a response, as these guys are upset and angry, and want the world to know it.
About Big Scout
Drawing upon influences from the three fellas distinct (and distant) musical upbringings, the sound sits somewhere amongst the stylings of Pissed Jeans, Bruce Springsteen and The 3Ds. Big Scout recorded last year with Brian Feary from Melted Icecream and has released the single Flung and the B-Side Everything Must Go along with a self directed video.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Big Scout
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I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
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I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
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So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
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Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
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This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
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Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
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Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
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