With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“Aggravate Me” – Read The Room September 29, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:45 pm
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Read The Room is a classy rock band based in Norwich in the UK that formed in 2023. They are made up of Alana Beardsley-Best on rock goddess vocal duties, Adam Hearth and Alex London, both axemen extraordinaire, Dan Dawson bass boss and Elle Steele who bangs the drums as though her life depends on it. They have a new single out called “Aggravate Me”. The sublime sonic mix has raging riffs, hard-hitting hooks, and in Alana’s voice, a key to rock’s top table! Get this band in your life now so that you can say that you were there near the start when they become planet-straddling mega stars!

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“Not Now Kids” – Dolores Forever September 28, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 11:06 pm
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The new Dolores Forever single, taken from their recent album ‘It’s Nothing’ oozes teenage angst and anger and is a powerful youth anthem. The track takes aim at patronising politicians. The band had this to say about the song, “This was the last song we wrote for the album, it’s a bit of a scathing look at the world and the people who are running it with impunity, the feeling of being told to shut up while watching your house burn. What can we say, we love an apocalyptic bop.” I too love an apocalyptic bop and this is a song that I would happily play while the world ended. I hope that doesn’t happen, but if it does you really should give this tune a try out!

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“Tiny War” – amilost

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:44 pm
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“Tiny War” is a huge new song from amilost. You know when you have those ridiculously stupid arguments with the one you love, perhaps your soulmate? Well, I think that is what this undeniably awesome slice of synth-driven pop-rock, with some ethereal and heavenly string parts, is all about. Ross Leslie of the duo says “It was written on the day Sigrid broke up with her boyfriend,” vocalist Sigrid added “Tiny War is about the end of a relationship. It’s about trying everything to make it work, including changing yourself so much that you almost don’t recognise who you are anymore. In the end, you realise that you have to let it go.” So not quite what I heard on the first pass, but it is a truly wonderful modern ballad.

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“I’ll Be Free” – The Velvet Hands

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:10 pm
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The Velvet Hands have unleashed the first taster for their upcoming 3rd album. The song is called “I’ll Be Free” and it is a full-on 21st-century punk onslaught that would make the Strokes jealous. It is hook heaven and riff rapture combined in a powerful punky rock anthem that grabs you tight and does not let you go. The NME said that the Velvet Hands are “full of bolshy spirit” and this track proves it!

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“Time Is Out” – Saliva Birds

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:47 pm
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The Saliva Birds are a band that I have still not managed to see play live, but I hope to rectify that soon! In the meantime, they have just released a wonderful new single “Time Is Out”. There is a poignant tone and the tune is filled with heart-filled pathos. It has a great upbeat rocking feel and hooks aplenty, but the subject matter is not the happiest. But in spite of all that it steadfastly remains an uplifting tune. At times it made me think of early U2. Chris from the band described the song as “It’s a very personal track about coming to terms with a parent with dementia and mourning their loss even though they’re still with us.” This is something that, sadly, many of us might come to experience. Will this song fix all that, no it won’t, but it will be one small part of helping you stay positive. Music can be wonderfully helpful in helping people with dementia remember things and that can never be a bad thing! “Time Is Out” deserves to be listened to, do it now, that is an order!

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“ANIMAL” – bennytheghost and KiNG MALA

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 4:26 pm
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“ANIMAL” is the darkly gorgeous new single from a collaboration made in heaven, or maybe a warped heaven that borders very closely with hell. That team-up features the hugely talented and very “out there” bennytheghost working in perfect alignment with equally talented and gifted KiNG MALA. The song is dark, and funny and would work incredibly well on a horror film soundtrack. If there was any justice in this world this song would be a huge hit everywhere. bennytheghost has been bigged up by many tastemakers including Zane Lowe and Elton John. Lyrically the track tackles, to some degree, the state of the world and the plight of the young folks who will inherit it in all its broken shittyness. He says of the song “I take massive inspiration from JOJI who’s songs are also incredibly dramatic and heartbreaking, while his character is so goofy, aloof, mysterious and funny. A dichotomy that houses those two opposites is so compelling to me; that’s where I want to live.” Give this one a spin and it will become a major part of your listening in the next few months!

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‘So Close (yet so far)’ EP – White Roses

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 3:50 pm
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The White Roses, one of Yorkshire’s finest bands have just launched an EP, ‘So Close (yet so far)’, and on the first couple of spins, it feels like a proper grower! The EP opens with the title track, an instrumental, and it is either a brief part of an unfinished track or as I see it a kind of overture. It certainly segues nicely into the first vocal track “This Town”, a banging song that should fill the floor at every student disco in the coming months. Next up is “2:23” which has the makings of a power ballad and Ellie’s vocal here is emotional, yearning and, evokes the best of Stevie Nicks. There is some excellent guitar work from Jack on “If I Could” which is a classy slice of indie pop that drives along like a 21st-century Altered Images. I love the screaming and distorted guitar sound on the fade. Talking of fade the fifth track is called “Bound To Fade” and this one reminded me of some of late-80s pop rock sensation Shakespears Sister’s finest moments. This one was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. The band had this to say about that experience, “It was such a surreal experience creating our own music in the same
space as our literal heroes. Who would have thought that this little indie band from up north
would end up here? It was truly surreal.
” The EP closes with a poppy, acoustic ballad called “Skeletons”, the perfect chill-out after a gorgeously infectious journey through some of the White Roses’ finest moments to date! They are probably not the finished article yet, but this band improves with every release and every gig. The future is bright white for the White Roses!

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“Mad Woman” – Lloren September 25, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:32 pm
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Lloren’s gorgeous new single “Mad Woman” evokes the dark side of Lana del Ray and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”. The darkly, enticing ballad washes over and into you with a sublime majesty. Lloren’s voice is emotional, yearning, ethereal, darkly angelic, and with a clarity like none of her contemporaries. Lyrically she seems to deal with the weird line between men and women which appears to let men get away with almost anything. I was haunted by this incredible tune on first listen and it seems to refuse to leave my head!

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“There Ain’t No Future” – The Virginmarys September 22, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:35 pm
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I first encountered the Virginmarys through witnessing a blistering set from them on the Main Stage at Leeds Festival in 2016. Now this rather excellent British band, from Macclesfield, are about to release their fifth album ‘The House Beyond The Fires’ on the 1st of November. “There Ain’t No Future” is the second single from the album and it oozes class. These boys encompass classic rock, punk, blues, metal, and grunge to note just a few. This band has a true social conscience and wears it on its sleeves. The song is a dark and heavy rock banger that turns its anger up to Rage Against Machine levels and has riffs and backing vocals that Led Zeppelin would be proud of. Meanwhile, Ally Dickatay’s voice makes his rage, passion, and empathy super clear all this is supported by Danny Dolan playing his drums so hard that he might accidentally summon millions of long-dead spirits from their eternal sleep!

Photo by Debbie Ellis

Ally said of the new single “This is a track for the uninspired, for the unheard, those who crave truth and all that’s real. Those struggling day to day to make ends meet, yet still have love in their hearts to fight the good fight. Those who see the system is broken and choose not to punch down. We’re really proud of this track, musically, we haven’t released a song like this before, it’s a further glimpse into an album we consider our best work to date“. If the new album is just half as good as this single it will be stunning. The lyrics are passionate, and compassionate and throw rightful barbs at the powers that be and society in general. For example, the power in these four lines is spectacular. “No intervention, just dead air and tension, No redemption, no sick pay, no pension. Put up or shut up, subliminal lessons, The hills are alive with the sound of depression.” The Virginmarys are truly a band for our times and you need to listen to them!

They will be embarking on a European tour soon, which includes some UK dates, check the dates below and the band website for how to get hold of tickets:

28th Sept – NWOCR Live, KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
2nd Nov – Cinemac Cinema, Macclesfield **Headline Tour
3rd Nov – Bodega, Nottingham **Headline Tour
4th Nov – The Garage, Glasgow **Headline Tour
5th Nov – The Cluny, Newcastle upon Tyne **Headline Tour
6th Nov – The Waterfront Studio, Norwich **Headline Tour
8th Nov – Bear Cave, Bournemouth **Headline Tour
20th Nov – Café V lese, Praha **Headline Tour
21st Nov – Durer Kert, Budapest **Headline Tour
23rd Nov – Legend Club, Milano **Headline Tour
26th Nov – X-TRA Musikcafe, Zurich **Headline Tour
28th Nov – Blue Shell, Cologne **Headline Tour
29th Nov – Molotow, Hamburg **Headline Tour
1st Dec – Rahuset, Kobenhavn **Headline Tour
2nd Dec – Badehaus Berlin **Headline Tour
3rd Dec – Feierwerk Orange house, Munchen **Headline Tour
4th Dec – Kulturclub schon schon, Mainz **Headline Tour
5th Dec – Willem Twee poppodium, Den Bosch **Headline Tour
7th Dec – Exchange, Bristol **Headline Tour
8th Dec – Oslo, Hackney London **Headline Tour

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‘Evil, Hate Filled Female’ – Delilah Bon September 14, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:55 pm
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Delilah Bon’s sophomore album is about to hit the streets, will it be one of those difficult second albums? Read on to find out! Album opener “Hey World” kicks off with Delilah introducing herself to the world over a synth-like orchestration and repeating a piano pattern reminiscent of Eminem in his prime. If you are new to Delilah this might me more to you, but either way it is a perfect start. next up is the previous single “Maverick” from March this year on International Women’s Day. It is another incendiary blend of rap and metal on which Delilah is in explosive form. Once again misogynists will be pissed off, but who gives a fuck about them? Delilah has this to say about “Maverick” “It is a song about self-worth and reclaiming your confidence, reminding yourself that you belong in the rooms you don’t always feel welcomed in. It’s about looking yourself in the mirror and believing in your power without needing the approval of others.” As always Delilah is absolutely on point as the definition of maverick in my dictionary is “an unorthodox or independent-minded person“, Delilah Bon is clearly both of those!

The title track “Evil Hate Filled Female” came out in May this year. It is an anthemic metal masterpiece with buckets of punked-up funk underlying it. Some of the drum fills sound like a full-on machine gun attack. Meanwhile, Delilah’s words spit more venom than an Inland Taipan. If Delilah’s anger and passion could be bottled it would power the planet for ages. She unleashes her deepest rock growl on this track and it will scare the living fuck out of misogynists, homophobes, and all haters! The metal riffs are more metal than most metal bands could even hope to achieve. The “la la la” hooks were so obviously created in pop heaven. Some of the music in the verses has a warped far-eastern horror film soundtrack feel to it. If music could kill sex offenders, abusers, and misogynists then “The Internet”, would be a lethal weapon. Delilah has some sharp punk and rap influences but since her arrival, she has developed into one of the most original artists on the planet. This was the fourth single from this album. It is a brooding dark beat with the best Delilah ciphers so far. Speaking in the guise of female-hating keyboard warrior Harry Dick Delilah bares her fangs and aims her venom at the vile individuals that spout pathetic and worthless hate. For lines like “All these people offended by transgenders send your children to church to god-loving sex offenders” it is way above the competition and the glorious dig at professional sweaty nonce Prince Andrew is sublime. I love the way that Delilah continues to turn all the shit she takes and uses it to fight back.

From the fly buzzing sound that introduces this song to the weird horror vibe of the music to the deeply personal and inspirational lyrics, “Finally See Me” is Delilah Bon at her best. The song deals with Delilah/ Lauren being bullied at school and appears to be a paean of her triumphing over those who bullied her by becoming the incredibly talented artist that she now is. She passionately stands up for the bullied, the misfits, and the outcasts and she deserves huge respect for that. Musically this shows her starting to cipher as well, if not better than, Eminem. Meanwhile, this track has a feel of Jonathan Davis, Korn frontman about it. Delilah takes on old-school rap bragging style with “I Am The Best (Ask Your Momma)” and it works perfectly, this epitomises perfect rap with a sublime pop style. She has just released a video for this song and it is one of her best film moments! I was reminded of Eminem by the beats and instrumental hooks used on “Villain” but lyrically it is pure Delilah. This one has a dark musical tone and the music moves nicely into a creepy clown carnival vibe toward the end. “My Girlz” is a bouncy, brass-laden track with Delilah delivering one of her best rap performances to date.I also felt that this had some hidden Beyonce style lurking in the background.

I can imagine all the grown-ass misogynists getting their panties in a twist if they ever hear “Grown Ass Men”. When Delilah is angry everyone needs to fucking listen! “Freak Alert” has a great electro sound underpinning it and a repeated bass pattern that stays with you long after the track has ended. What is it with high-profile artists, well almost any artists, being so fearful of speaking out against the likes of Epstein and his ilk? Delilah has no such fear and she lets us know on the stunning “Epstein”. Meanwhile on “Volatile” she is brutally honest about how this world makes her feel but on top of that she ciphers about what is wrong with the state of the world. When her rhymes express anger the Bon bile is directed at misogynists and haters everywhere. (“Cos Mr Industry thinks that every woman’s the same”). This song is a slow and dark metal rap that only Delilah Bon can do as adeptly as this. It describes many of her negative experiences in the music industry. Sadly we don’t live in a perfect world, but if we did then “Drop Dead Delilah” would be a huge hit. I love the carnival sound from the keyboard. If you like a warped undercurrent of electro-ska punk and horror comics then the album closer “Committed A Crime” will be right up your street, it is weird, wonderful, and shows just how good Delilah is.

Delilah Bon’s sophomore album, “Evil, Hate Filled Female”, tops the heights of her first and is easily a contender for album of the year! Sexist pricks in the music industry and in society should fear the level of venom directed at them throughout the record, but sadly they will not, so it is up to all of us who believe in fairness and equality to join the Bon Bon Battalion and fight for it. Delilah is an inspiration to women and oppressed minorities everywhere, despite her own fears. Let us all stick up for those who are oppressed and can’t stick up for themselves. Let us be there for Delilah too. Minorities, those of you who have been abused and put down, we’ve got your back, and we stand up for Delilah’s punky, rebellious clarion call. Men, we know you mean well when you say, “It’s not all men”, but that doesn’t change anything does it? I am an old white male and I support equality for women, LGBTQ+, and all decent humans.

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