CD/DVD/vinyl reviews39

	'Matanza' is a 5 track DIY E.P. by The Fractions, who for the uninitiated are a Ska band from Rochdale. As quoted by them "We are a punk band with horns" which is a good description. Considering this is DIY the production is actually better than a lot of the stuff I get from record labels. I get to hear a lot of ska bands but these guys are one of the best on the circuit at the moment. A great live band they have transferred that great live sound to CD here. The brass is excellent and this is real foot tapping ska at it's best. The 5 tracks are 'Missing Piece', 'What Happened?' (which I thought was best of the bunch), 'Sirens', 'Choices' and 'Cause For Concern'. It's good to see a bunch of young guys keeping the ska boat rocking. To buy the CD Click Here
	'Animal Love' is the first i've heard from Naked Flames, a band who are being touted as comedy-rock. For me comedy should be left to the comedians whose chosen profession earns them a living. Musicians aren't comics and if Naked Flames had to earn their living purely on their comic output they would be skint. As musicians they are ok but the lyrical content and production on this CD is poor. The songs range from melodic ballad style songs right through to rock but of the 15 songs on this CD I can't honestly say I was impressed by any of it. This isn't a new genre as we are led to believe, it has been done for years by The Macc Lads. With songs like 'Clone My Bone', 'I've Got A Big Love Machine', 'Frankensex' and 'He Takes It Up The Gary' this band will be consigned to history sooner than later. To buy the CD Click Here
	'Mothership' by Enter Shikari has got to be one of the weirdest songs i've heard for quite a while. Primarily hardcore it has a dance music track in the background. Hardcore and dance music I think not. I don't know if they are trying to span the barriers between hardcore and dance music but they might shoot themselves in the foot by doing so. Hardcore fans won't buy dance music and dance music fans won't buy hardcore. I myself would rather be deaf than have to listen to the boring dross we are informed is dance music. I can't slate the band for just one track but they would be best sticking just to hardcore. This single is Enter Shikari's first release and is available as a download only single. To buy the Download single Click Here
	'Punishment' is SICK56's second album release and where their first album was good, this one is even better. The angry aggressive vocals of Nige are still as upfront and in your face as on the first album. The raw guitar, grumbling bass and pummelling drums are still there too. Why change a formula that obviously works? There are 12 tracks on the album and with good lyrics, aggressive vocals, great tunes and good production they won't go far wrong with this release. I myself thought the best songs off the album were 'Violence', 'Never Needed Nothin', '4th Generation', 'Losing The War', 'Crash & Burn', and 'Nothing To Say'. Some bands stagnate but this album shows that SICK56 are moving in the right direction. To buy the CD Click Here