Single Review: Hard Out Here - Lily Allen

Lily Allen has made a highly anticipated come back with new single Hard Out Here. Just days beforehand saw her cover Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know. Allen unveiled the new song online recently without any previous build up or broadcast. Often portrayed as ‘gobby’ in the media, she has spoken out through music about the hottest issues on women in pop. With everything up in the air we all knew we weren’t going to end 2013 without allowing her to have her say. Hard Out Here is exciting, infectious and gives the audience exactly what they want to hear.

Allen’s return has arrived completely at the right time. Recently the media have focused on news covering objectification of women in the music industry and almost anything to do with Miley Cyrus’ latest antics. Allen uses irony not only in the use of lyrics but by adding a touch of auto-tune to compliment the word ‘Bitch’. Lyrics include lines such as, ‘’If I told you ‘bout my sex life you’d call me a slut but when boys be talkin’ ‘bout their bitches no one’s making a fuss.’’ Hard out Here has resulted in having one of the catchiest hooks of the year.

The song is saturated with feminist views about women having control and authority in the music industry, plus how women deal with pressure in a male dominated society. Allen covers topics about women’s roles, expectancies and how they have become viewed as the norm in culture. With this she adds lyrics, ‘’you’re not a size six and you’re not good looking. Well you better be rich, or be real good at cookin’.’’

Lately the video for the song has become a major discussion. Allen uses visuals and sarcasm to mock the recent issue. However she does it skilfully by replicating things you see in videos such as Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines. His video recently received criticism stating it is offensive and sexist to women. At one point in the video, balloons are formed to read ‘Thicke has a big dick.’ Allen takes this idea as her own but replaces it with the words ‘Lily Allen has a baggy pussy.’ The background shows scantily clad dancers ‘twerking’ in time to the beat. it supports the concepts that some women in the industry are encouraged to be seen as appealing sex symbols but then get nothing except degraded for it. Issues aside Hard Out Here is none other than a welcome return from an artist that, in 2009 confirmed she was quitting music. 

Live Review: Bring Me the Horizon

With support: Sights And Sounds, Pierce the Veil

Nov 5^th 2013

Manchester Academy

With the venue having released 100 extra tickets prior to tonight’s sold out gig, Bring Me the Horizon are here in Manchester for the second time this year. The band have a notorious reputation in the rock world for putting on outstanding live shows. Bonfire night is prepared for a miss this year by many as one of Britain’s biggest metal acts are set to perform a night fans have anticipated.

Due to the immense queue still running down the street outside, first support band Sights and Sounds regrettably don’t manage to gather much of an audience.With 8pm rapidly approaching, the stage makes way for California’s very own Pierce the Veil, who do their duty to get fans hyped up for the main act. The venue is almost over capacity and fans are still only just entering the building. The half an hour set showcases a tight, instrument heavy performance alongside singer Vic Fuentes’ feministic vocals. Although the songs aren't spectacularly varied when playing live, Fuentes’ knows how to work the audience. PTV are a crowd pleaser, however it seems their music is aimed at those of a younger age. 

The crowd are never a relaxed bunch when it comes to Bring Me the Horizon concerts. Straight after renditions of Can You Feel My Heart and Shadow Moses, the room splits into two. A wall of death commences as old-school favourite Diamonds Aren't Forever, sends shockwaves of excitement through the crowd.

It seems BMTH have gone all out for this set. Fans are hypnotised by heavy blasts of smoke, thick guitar riffs and what can only be described as Sempiternal style videos playing in the background. The way the concert charges the audience emotionally tonight just goes to show how much the bands production has improved. The hauntingly compelling And the Snakes Start to Sing is echoed through the room followed by Empire and heavier track It Never Ends.

 ‘‘I want to see a circle pit. If you break an arm or a leg you won’t have to go to school tomorrow,’’ vocalist Oli Sykes yells. Full of charisma and jokes, he captivates the audience with his boundless energy. Sykes is on form tonight and is totally in his element. Much to everyone’s delight a mixture of old and new songs are performed. He encourages the crowd to get on each other’s shoulders for fan favourite Blessed With a Curse which contains an abundance of call and response and an intense guitar solo. The venue is complete with circle pits and crowd surfers. This is and never has been the type of gig for the faint hearted.

Screens disappear, unveiling huge glowing initials ‘BMTH’ as the band launch into the finale of the show. It is the riveting, second single from recent album Sempiternal that closes the performance. Sleepwalking sends the crowd wild one last time. Not one person in the room is standing still. Confetti floods the venue to put an end to an outstanding performance full of empathy, ambience and an insane amount of chaos you would expect to see at a BMTH concert.

Set List 

1: Can You Feel My Heart

2. Shadow Moses

3. Diamonds Aren’t Forever

4. The House of Wolves

5. Go to Hell for Heaven’s Sake

6. And the Snakes Start to Sing

7. Empire (Let Them Sing)

8. It Never Ends

9. Deathbeds

10. Chelsea Smile 

11. Antivist

Encore

12. Blessed With a Curse

13. Sleepwalking

Interview: Tonight Alive.

Tonight Alive Q&A Session 

‘‘We became different people and the people that we want to be’’ - Wakkhio Taahi, Tonight Alive

After recent release of their second studio album ‘The Other Side’, Aussie, Pop Punk band Tonight Alive are due to play their 4th performance of 9 date UK tour. Since forming in 2008 whilst still at high school, the band have gone from strength to strength maturing together with a passion for what they do.

Fronted by 21 year old Jenna McDougall, Tonight Alive have not only been busy writing and recording new album but have toured relentlessly promoting their first studio album ‘What Are You So Scared Of.’ Unfortunately, in 2012 exhaustion hit, band members became ill and they cancelled the rest of their upcoming commitments. Perhaps this time around things will be easier.

I chatted with the two guitarists Jake Hardy and Wakkhio Taahi before the bands gig at Manchester Academy 3 on the 3rd October. It is only 3pm and a group of young fans are already outside the venue anticipating the night ahead.

Who do you feel your music speaks to the most? Who do you think your target audience is?

WT: I guess we never really think about who our target is, but I think on this album there are a lot of personal things that Jenna has written about and I feel that a lot of young girls are really grasping onto it because it’s something that they can relate to. Growing up and going through things, this was our way of giving back to our fans that had the stories.

Who/what are your influences when it comes to writing and recording?Do you look up to anyone?

WT: Yeah, definitely, it’s changed a little bit. This album was influenced not so much by other music but by personal experiences, especially touring with bands we really look up to. We wanted to resemble what they were doing in a sense and what worked for them. We had a lot of growing up to do in that time because we were still young. We’ve grown up literally with the band so we became different people and the people that want to be.

You’ve done a couple of international tours now. Who has actually been your favourite band to tour with?

WT: We have a couple. Young Guns, they’re a really good live band and the most decent bunch of lads. Pierce The Veil are a really professional band too. That’s what we want to do, their kind of stage show.

JH: Oh and Bring Me The Horizon,they were on Warped Tour with us and they just like sounded phenomenal, it was incredible. So I’d say those three bands at the moment.

You recently released new album ‘The Other Side’ did you come across many challenges when it came to writing/recording it. How is it different to other records you have released?What did you learn about yourselves in the process?

WT: Definitely, as much as you can come across I guess. We went through a manager change which was really hard for us. We were all really burnt out ‘coz we’d been touring so much. Jenna was sick with her eczema, it was just a rough time for us as well, we were still opening for people and yeah I guess it was just a really kind of challenging time in our lives and the bands career but we ‘made it out the other side.’I think the main difference though is that we matured a lot more. We had more to write about because Jenna was still in high school and we hadn’t really encountered much. When we did ‘The Other Side’ we had been around the world a couple of times so we had a lot more to write about.

Is there a big difference between the music scenes in Australia as opposed to shows you play in America and the UK?

JH: Yeah, when we were first starting we played at a lot of youth centres but many of those have closed down. You get a couple of international bands every year but then other than that, there’s not much else for them to play at if they’re a young band. It’s more just clubs and stuff. Whereas over here there’s so much music press like Kerrang magazine, Kerrang Radio and BBC Radio1 that are more than happy to play rock music whereas back home our radio doesn’t really play Australian rock music.

WT: We have one rock show called Short, Fast, Loud. We never get played on it.

I was actually going to ask how you felt about being the main feature of Kerrang magazine.It must gain you a lot more fans?

WT: Well yeah, I couldn’t believe that they did it really to be honest it’s amazing really. We were so honoured to kind of be a part of it like that; it’s a huge step to take.

As young musicians there was a time you couldn’t get served in bars despite playing gigs in some, what did you do for entertainment whilst on the road? Have you got any eventful stories to tell me?

JH: The drinking age in Australia is 18 so we were all alright but Jenna had to wait outside and be escorted on stage in some venues.

WT: She had to wait in the stairwell until she could play and then she had to go out straight away. And then when the majority us weren’t 21 in the states so we would just hang out in the van.

JH: The drinking laws are pretty relaxed over there so you could always get someone else to buy it for you.

You had to cancel some of your tour a while back because Jenna was ill. This time you’re on tour till mid-December are you doing much after that?

JH: I think we might be getting a month and a half break at home till after Christmas then starting back up.

WT: We recorded the album at the start of the year and then we have just been touring so we haven’t really been home this year at all.

Talking about tours, is there anything different you’re expecting on this tour than the previous UK one you did?

JH: We’re not expecting anything, but the kids have been incredible, I think we’ve doubled in crowd sizes than the last headline tour we did here and it’s incredible because every night we’d go out there’s so many more than we’d expect.

What impact do you think social networking is having on the music industry? Do you think it’s a good medium to talk to fans/promote singles/albums, or just a just a place for internet trolls?

WT: I think it’s a double edged sword really. It is really good way to keep in touch and everyone worldwide knows what’s going on. Even if you haven’t been to their country for a while you can still talk to them and for that side of it it’s good. There’s also the sense of entitlement I think. The internet is so reachable that fans tend to feel like they owe so much more. Then you get the people that can just say whatever they want with no repercussions because they’re on the internet.

JH: I think you just have to find a good balance, between the two.

We’re at that age where social media is a massive part of music and the media, I know you must have had this question so many times but the double edged sword must come into illegal downloading too?

JH: So many people will find out about new music obviously through downloading it and they’ll learn the words but usually will be asked to buy the CD however it does cripple the music industry as well.

WT: We still have our really dedicated fans that buy our stuff and support us, there’s not much we can do, we’ve just got to record our album.

JH: Kids always want to have something that they can bring in to sign. It’s nice to have memorabilia. So I think there will always be a market, it’s getting better. I love CD’s I love reading the booklets and stuff but I guess kids that are born in the 2000’s have never really had that as much. They’ve not grown up with that and those are the kind of fans that are coming through now and they want everything online. These days everything is so accessible.

Thank you for the time.

WT: Thanks for having us.

'The Other Side’ is now available to order on Tonight Alive’s official website:

http://www.tonightaliveofficial.com/uk/music/other-side

Live Review: Paramore

20^th September 2013

Manchester Phones 4U Arena

Paramore are here in the UK to promote their new, self-titled album. It’s their first tour in the UK since the Farro brothers left the band in 2010 other than the occasional Festival date. With past band bust-ups frequently in the public eye, the key trio have returned stronger and better than ever. Manchester sees the first night of the six date headline tour, with support from Indie band Eliza and the Bear and Synthpop act Charli XCX.

Frontwoman Hayley Williams, as always is the star of the show. Bringing with her yet another creative hairstyle she gives it her all, strutting about on stage in tight, glossy leggings. For such a petite lady Williams carries such a solid, striking voice, one which has matured over time. Tonight she is here to prove critics that this is not the end for Paramore, simply just a new start. With sleek dance moves, angst and crowd interactions the whole stage is ablaze with their infectious persona and the main trio, as a whole are on fire.

The few years out of the limelight focusing on writing and recording has made this band sturdier than ever. With the help from seasoned touring musicians the performance is tight, varied and conveys lyrics about heartbreak and love that the audience can, in some way or another relate to.

 ‘’This year has been such a roller coaster for us, so far in our lives it’s been ok to let go,’’ Williams states as she rehearses a speech about how tough the last two years have been for the band.

Paramore surprise the audience by performing acoustic song ‘In the Mourning’, written a few months after the Farro brothers quit the band. Williams pours her feelings out in front of a 10,000+ audience. This one can only be followed by another devotee favourite, ‘The Only Exception’.

The set-list primarily consists of a mixture of songs from the new album ‘Paramore’. A few classic tracks are incorporated here and there, mainly hit singles. The arena interrupts into song throughout the show as fan favourites ‘Ignorance’, ‘Decode’ and ‘Crushcrushcrush’ blare out from the speakers.. The three acoustic interludes provide a break from the captivating set in which guitarist Taylor York and Hayley Williams set themselves up on alternate sides of the stage with one spotlight.

During most celebrated single ‘Misery Business’ Williams brings the crowd to a halt , surveys the crowd and pulls up a fortunate teenage girl introduced as Amy from the audience. Together they sing until the end of the song, take a bow and leave the stage on time for the encore.

Paramore conclude with a combination of acoustic and electric tracks from new album, ‘Part II’, and emotive song ‘Interlude: Moving On’. Fresh single ‘Still Into You’ is the big finisher for the night. The fact remains that this band can handle whatever is thrown their way, care about their fans and can still pull off a memorable show in the process. They aren't going anywhere in a hurry.

Set List.

1. Grow Up

2. Fast in My Car

3. That's What You Get

4. Ignorance

5. Decode 

6. Interlude: I’m Not Angry Anymore 

7. Daydreaming 

8. When It Rains 

9. Last Hope 

10. Brick by Boring Brick 

11. Interlude: Holiday 

12. Crushcrushcrush 

13. Now 

14. Ain't It Fun 

15. In the Mourning 

16. The Only Exception 

17. Pressure 

18. Misery Business 

19. Encore:

19. Part II 

20. Interlude: Moving On 

21. Still Into You 

Single Review: All Time Low - A Love Like War Ft Vic Fuentes

All Time Low are back with new single ‘A Love Like War’ featuring Vic Fuentes from Pierce The Veil. The two bands are set to do a tour of the USA alongside fellow American rockers A Day To Remember this September.

The band have had many successes over the years with numerous sold out UK tours and five albums in their back pockets. This time around they are re- releasing 2012’s album ‘Don’t Panic’, this time around with four new songs and four bonus acoustic tracks.

The video shows the well groomed quartet playing in a movie theatre, the camera pans from room to room showing different stages of them either playing as a band or watching the film. The movie in the background shows a black and white silent film focusing on the issues of war.

All Time Low include all their usual elements to their new single, although this time the drums and the guitar riffs are a tad heavier than normal. Vic Fuentes’ vocals enter during the chorus. However he doesn’t use his own renowned screaming to capture listener’s attention. It would have been good to see if ATL could have pushed the boundaries as to what their fans would listen to. For now though, they have decided to play it safe with new single.

All in all ‘A Love Like War’ proves to be a worthy upbeat song, catchy as expected from a band like ATL. However nothing really stands out as far as new music is concerned. The element of Vic Fuentes’ vocals of course helps with the possibility of gaining the band some new fans.
With lyrics such as ‘Hearts on fire tonight, feel my bones ignite,’ Furentes’ belting out melodies with ATL vocalist Alex Gaskarth sets the chorus alight. Other than tiny shifts in the music showing the band are evolving there doesn’t seem to be any major change or want for new direction with their musical talent.

The new album ‘Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now’ is out 30th September via Hopeless Records.

Fall Out Boy live review

Fall out BoyWith support: Twenty One Pilots

O2 Academy, Glasgow, Scotland

Saturday 24^th August 2013

After high anticipation Fall Out Boy are back in the UK for the first time since February 2013. The band played an intimate gig at Camden Underworld before embarking on a tour of U.S.A. This time however they are returning for Reading and Leeds festival with just one sold out gig in Glasgow playing at the O2 Academy to a capacity of just 2,500 people. The Chicago based quartet went on hiatus in November 2009 to pursue other projects. With new album ‘Save Rock And Roll’ it seems as if they never spent time apart.

First up is Twenty One Pilots, an American based duo from Columbia, Ohio. The band are playing their first ever gig in Scotland. On stage is just a Piano, a synthesiser and a drum set. Throughout the 40 minutes on stage there are numerous amounts of backflips from the piano, thrashing beats and catchy choruses. They finish off a spectacular energising set with a drum off/ensemble, give their thanks then leave the crowd waiting for FOB. Watch out for them in the near future, they’re on the way to great things.

Entering with hit 'Thriller' Fall Out Boy stroll onto the stage to nothing but screams from the crowd. The audience gathers a mixture of youngsters, there to see the band for the first time and elders wanting to relieve teenage memories. The pop punk legends have returned. The days of big hair and eye-liner have been replaced by four grown up men with an almighty stage presence.

Patrick Stump proves himself as more of a front-man than he ever was. Self-expression throughout performance and proficiency shines through. It just goes to show that four years away from FOB has done a lot of good. His vocal performance is electric like ever before, having toured his solo album during hiatus he has learnt to work the crowd with new found confidence. This time around he shares song breaks with bassist Pete Wentz, who was previously renowned for interacting with the crowd whilst Stump shied away. It’s hard to tell this is just their 3^rd UK show since 2009.

Given that it’s the only night away from Reading and Leeds festival FOB can have as much fun as they want. Wentz brings out a T-Shirt gun for some freebies but with two failed attempts he merely shrugs and the band head straight into ‘Death Valley’. 'We just wrote a record called Save Rock and Roll' declares Wentz, 'But from the looks of it rock and roll is just fine in Glasgow'

The room is as vibrant as ever whilst classic tracks ‘Grand Theft Autumn’, ‘Dance, Dance’ and ‘Sugar We’re Going Down’ erupt from the stage. The set is so far everything that FOB are expected to be, catchy, tight, bold and in every way, sensational.

The band return to the stage for the encore to chants of ‘here we go, here we fucking go’, a norm for gigs in Glasgow. Settling himself down to the piano, Stump cuts into self-titled song ‘Save Rock Rock And Roll.’ The encore is followed by hit 'Thnks Fr The Mmrs' and finishes with none other than definitive pop punk anthem, ‘Saturday.’

Understandably seven tracks from the most recent album ‘Save Rock And Roll’ are played.  However with a mixture of hits and particular favourites the set list cannot be faulted. After five hours of being squashed like sardines in a can, fans leave the venue with grins spread across their face and sodden T Shirts. Fall Out Boy’s return seems to be back for good, this time with a more mature approach to their live performances. 

1. Thriller
2. I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me.
3. A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ''Touch Me''
4. Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes
5. The Phoenix
6. Just One Yesterday
7. This Aint A Scene It's An Arms Race
8.Alone Together
9.What A Catch Donnie
10. Death Valley
11. Hum Hallelujah
12. Grand Theft Autumn/ Where Is Your Boy
13. Sugar We're Going Down
14.Young Volcanoes
15. Dance, Dance
16. I Don't Care
17. My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)
encore
1. Save Rock And Roll
2. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
3. Saturday

Bring Me the Horizon. Live review.

Support from Empress and Crossfaith

Manchester Academy 2

29^th April 2013

With their 4^th studio album ‘Sempiternal’ being leaked two months prior to actual release our initial thoughts were that the Bring Me the Horizon were in for the rough earlier this year. It turns out things couldn’t have gone any better. ‘Sempiternal’ got pushed forward a month and made its debut at #3 in the UK album charts. To say that they achieved that when their album had been streamed illegally shows that fans really do remain faithful.

Hailing from Yorkshire, the band set out on a number of small dates to promote new album prior to this current tour. Bmth could easily sell out a big venue anywhere in Britain. It seems however, smaller ones bring out the more intimate atmosphere. Manchester Academy 2 has the pleasure of starting off the tour.

It’s 8:00pm and Yorkshire based band Empress are here to get the night going. The room is still filling out and luckily people stay to listen. There isn’t much interaction built amongst the crowd. However, It isn’t the worst set a band can play live, just a little wobbly here and there.

Techno-Metalcore band Crossfaith are a great choice to have as support. Having arrived all the way from Osaka, Japan the band are keen to get the crowd stomping. Pits appear as soon as it kicks into their first song and they don’t slow down for the next half an hour. They play a cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’ and the room is filled with boundless energy.

Bring Me the Horizon enter with ‘Shadow Moses’, pits start to build up and cries of ‘This is Sandpit Turtle’ echo around the building. It seems like the band won’t be able to get rid of the lyrical joke any time soon.

Unfortunately three songs in during ‘Alligator Blood’ there are technical difficulties. The band play without realising most of the crowd can’t hear them. The momentum is rebooted once the difficulties are rectified and ‘Go to Hell for Heaven’s Sake’ gets the mosh pit erupting once more.

Towards the end of the set, singer Oli Sykes gets the crowd up on each other’s shoulders for angry ballad, ‘Blessed with a Curse’. The set list tonight shows that Oli Sykes can still provide both the screaming vocals and a melodic voice without the help of ex-guitarist Jona’s backing vocals.

The encore brought a wall of death whilst finishing with single from new album ‘Antivist’ Not the usual song to finish with but played live it creates aggression in the room. No feet are on the ground and middle fingers are up in dedication to the lyrics.

Despite the slight technical difficulties, Bmth put on a faultless performance. To say they are no longer playing with ex-guitarist Jona Weinhofen they still play a tight and detailed set with replacement Jordan Fish. At previous gigs and festivals, Aussie born Weinhofen was known to climb scaffolding and speakers. This time there is less craziness but the adrenaline still pumps around the room. Proof from their live set still remains that they are, at this moment in time one of the most influential modern metal bands in the UK.

The future of Fall Out Boy starts now.

Well It‘s official, Fall Out Boy are back. In late 2009 the band shocked fans with the announcement that they were on a hiatus in order to pursue side projects. Rumours of a reunion have been passed around over the web since October last year when they all got together for singer, Patrick Stumps wedding. However on the 4th February the band released a statement on their official website and Twitter with a photo of themselves stating,

''The future of Fall Out Boy starts now. Save Rock And Roll.’’

Fall Out Boy announced a series of intimate tour dates on the same day. The tour kicked off in their home town of Chicago. The only UK dates to take place are held at Camden Underworld on the 25th February and Leeds & Reading in August. Tickets for The Underworld sold out when tickets apparently went on sale three minutes before they were supposed to. This left fans outraged, even more so when websites such as Viagogo placed tickets on-line later in the day for £300.

The Underworld holds a capacity of 500 people and a few lucky fans will get to experience the intimate concert a few months before the new album Save Rock And Roll is even released. The band also announced last week that they were pushing the album forward a month. The release date is now being released on April 15th. The statement from their official website reads,

'So when we got this all rolling we didn't expect it to be so crazy. But we weren't kidding when we said we had the album done – so why wait? It means the world to us the way you have welcomed us back.’’

So with five albums under their belt and new hit single ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,’ lets expect big things on the horizon.