Another stacked week of New Music Monday this week, with everything from country to grindcore coming out! Let’s take a look, shall we?
Neil Young: Fu##in’ Up
Thank god, Neil’s music is back up on Spotify! That immediately makes this review a lot easier than his previous release last year. I would also argue it’s a marked improvement to the album from a few months ago. It’s a little more rocky and grungy than his last release, giving off early Bowie and even a touch of Soundgarden mixed with his usual country twang. Even the production is grungy as hell. I legit thought this was a live album at first, it was mixed so strangely. The more I listened though, the more I liked it.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not amazing, and his vocals clearly sound like they are struggling throughout. There are times where he legitimately sounds like an ill Kermit. I couldn’t even particularly pick out a highlight track or two, aside at a push the epic ‘Broken Circle’. However, it isn’t a bad album to stick on and listen to in the background, and is, above all else, fun. It won’t be for everyone, and probably won’t even be for anyone big into country, but it’s worth a listen if you’re curious! 5.5/10
Accept: Humanoid
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! See what we thought here!
Pet Shop Boys: Nonetheless
While not typically the sort of genre we highlight here, everyone loves a bit of Pet Shop Boys, including me, so I think there’s enough crossover to cover it! It’s electro-pop at its very best, and PSB haven’t missed a beat over 40 years later. It’s certainly not going to be for all of our readers, but songs like ‘Why am I Dancing?’ and ‘Bullet for Narcissus’ are great and just put a smile on my face. If you are a fan of the band’s past work, you are bound to enjoy this. And, much like Willy earlier, it’s a fantastic album to just stick on and jam out to in the background. It’s not the best album they’ve put out, or even the best album of the week, but it’s another fun listen from front to back! Check this out, you won’t be disappointed! 6.5/10
Charley Crockett: $10 Cowboy
One of the hardest working men in country music is back with his 13th studio album since his debut in 2015. His blues/soul infused sound is awesome and really roots him in a more neo-traditional sound. We even get some jazz with the horns on tracks like ‘America’. It’s a stripped-back, chilled-out style that really isn’t done much in the mainstream any more, so it’s certainly a refreshing sound. It reminds me of Don McLean or even Hank I to a certain extent. Heck, it also gave off Pokey Lafarge vibes, yet obviously slightly less creepy. His vocals fit so perfectly over the simple instrumentation, and make it all so captivating to listen to. Songs like ‘Good at Losing’, ‘Solitary Road’ and the aforementioned ‘America’ are all big highlights, but it’s a solid album from start to finish. If you’re a fan of an old-school sound, or just want something chill to listen to, check this out, you’ll love it like I do! 8/10
Alien Ant Farm: ~mAntras~
The early 2000s alt-rock legends are back with their first new album in nearly a decade. And, especially with their 2015 release mysteriously disappearing off streaming without a trace, now more than ever we need new AAF!
Now, for those who are only really familiar with the band from Anthology, this isn’t that, or quite as good as that. Having said that, it’s still fucking great. It’s got more of a post-grunge/post-Tool sound to it than their early stuff. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t a few big radio hooks scattered throughout on tracks like ‘Last dAntz’ and ‘No. 1’. And ‘Storms Over’ is very ‘Movies’. The more I listen to the album the more I’m starting to love it, too. They have the quirkiness of Faith no More while maintaining their original sound, mixed with just a touch of Chevelle. And some of the lyrics are depressingly relatable and hit hard, as well as being incredibly well written. The whole album is awesome, and all the other tracks that I haven’t mentioned yet are just as much highlights as the others I’ve already spoken about. I think the only one that didn’t quite land for me was the opener, sadly.
If you have ever been a fan of the band, even if all you’ve heard is their ‘Smooth Criminal’ cover, check this out. It’s incredible, and I can guarantee you’ll love this. I’ve always been a big advocate for the bands other music outside of Anthology, and this is another stellar release. I’m going to be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and I can see it being pretty high up on the albums of the year list come December. 9/10
Darkthrone: It Beckons us All
One of the godfathers of black metal, Darkthrone are back with their 21st studio album. While being quite a bit different from modern releases of the genre, not the least due to the relatively clean vocals and pretty average production, it still has plenty of the hallmarks of the genre they helped pioneer. It’s heavy and feels downright evil from the start to the very end. Some of the riffing is amazing, giving off heavy Slayer vibes. However, sadly, that’s about all that stood out to me about the release as a whole. It was bound to at this point in their careers, but it does feel pretty dated. The genre has moved so very far past this at this point, that it’s kinda insane that this a new release in 2024.
Having said that, I certainly didn’t hate it, and have always found the band one of the more enjoyable black metal collectives. I found myself having a good time listening to it, especially when it leaned a little more into the doom side of things. I wouldn’t turn this off if it came on again, and props to the band for keeping to their original style and sound across all these years. ‘Eon 3’ was probably my favourite track off it. It probably wouldn’t appeal to much of the modern black metal audience, but if you’re a fan of the early stuff in the genre or want more of a gateway, test-the-waters-with-your-big-toe kinda sound, you can’t go wrong with this release. It’s simply a bit bare bones as far as black metal goes these days, is all. 8/10
Iron & Wine: Light Verse
The folk singer-songwriter is back with his first post-pandemic album. It also marks the longest gap between albums in his career. While 43-minutes of low-energy, steady music isn’t 100% my sort of things, I’d be a fool if I denied that this is a good album. Mr Wine (first name Iron) is an amazing songwriter when it comes to epic, pop-infused folk music, and his vocal and playing ability is no sham either. Tracks like ‘Anyone’s Game’ and ‘Sweet Talk’ are big highlights for me. I did certainly feel the length though, it got to be a bit of a slog for this hard rock/metalhead by the last couple of tracks. Still, it’s the perfect album to chill out to. I had it on while I was cooking, for the most part, and I had a great time! He’s a massive name and I’m sure his fans will love it. And if you like the more folky side of indie-pop, check this out, it will certainly hook you in! I probably won’t listen to it in full again but the two or three songs I loved I’ll have on a lot! 7/10
Decide: Banished by Sin
OG death metal legends Decide are back and just as brutal as ever. This is nearly 40-minutes of crushing heaviness, from the riffs to the drums to the growls. If straight-forward death is your sort of thing then you’ve probably already been waiting for this, and I imagine it doesn’t disappoint! I was hooked in immediately from the fantastic riffing and arrangement of ‘From Unknown Heights You Shall Fall’ and it continued to be awesome from then on out. My only slight complaint, like with much death metal, is that it’s all pretty similar. There isn’t much along the way of dynamics to the album, it’s all one fast, heavy level. It’s a great level, don’t get me wrong, but does get a tad repetitive across a 40-minute album. It’s not a genre known for its diversity though, so fans of it and the band will probably expect that and love this. It’s still a damn good death metal record, and gets an easy 7.5/10 from us!
Full of Hell: Coagulated Bliss
It was only last year that we checked out the band’s collaboration album with Nothing, and already they’re back with more new music. Looking back on that release, I enjoyed it (or at least appreciated it) enough to give it 7/10. I sadly don’t have the same appreciation of this album. Sadly, this release didn’t quite capture my attention and love anywhere near as much. While the other release had atmosphere and depth and layers, this is very much just a grindcore album through and through. And grindcore is certainly not my sort of thing. The only track that had anything that made me pause and listen to it again was ‘Fractured Bonds to Mecca’. At least it’s short, clocking in at only 25 minutes. If you’re into the genre I’m sure there’s a lot to love, but on its own without something more interesting tacked on, it’s not for me. 3/10
MacKenzie Porter: Nobody’s Born with a Broken Heart
The country-pop artist is back with her highly anticipated new album, and her first big release in a decade. We’ve had plenty of singles to fill that time, and even an EP in 2020, but it’s pretty rare for a country artist to leave it this long between releases! We’ve had a whopping nine released before the full album dropped and, sadly, it jumped up to a whopping 19 tracks when it did. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are anything but bad, giving off early Taylor Swift vibes in the best ways. However, The First Few + 2 is pretty undisputedly a stronger release overall. But hey, gotta boost them streaming numbers for a profit instead, right?
Having said all of that, my favourite tracks on the album are probably ‘Rough Ride for a Cowboy’ and ‘Walk Away’,which weren’t even a pre-release tracks, so what do I know? Don’t get me wrong, songs like ‘Pickup’ and ABSOLUTE BANGER that is ‘Have Your Beer’ are also highlight tracks. I just feel like this album is a great collection of songs, but there is an amazing collection of songs hidden amongst it if the fat as trimmed. A few of the tracks all sound pretty similar, and a couple could certainly have been cut to make the album stronger. Having said that, no song is inherently bad, and plenty of them are amazing. Despite being the ‘in’ genre at the minute and being insanely competitive, this album deserves to be up there in the discussion of the best album of the year in the genre come December. It really is that good. I don’t think it will get nearly the props it deserves, but it gets an easy 9/10 from me. It would have gotten full marks if it wasn’t an hour long!
Stormborn: Zenith
Much like Accept earlier in this article, this album is some more awesome modern heavy metal. The Kentish band’s first album in a whopping 12 years goes hard right from the intro track to the very last note, and I love it! Whether going for NWOBHM, power metal or even sneaking some death metal screams and breakdowns into a few of the tracks, the band blend every style together masterfully. ‘Land of the Serpent King’ is pretty Painkiller-like while ‘Fear of a Monster’ and ‘Serpentine’ have more of a modern Iron Maiden vibe to them. It’s actually quite a South American sound that the band have harnessed, and I’m going to be very excited if it makes the trip back across the pond. Tracks like ‘Dawn Will Come Again’, ‘Death Incarnate’ and the ones mentioned above are all massive highlights. And the epic, near-nine-minute closing track… damn. However, there truly isn’t a bad song across the entire album. And clearly care was put in to make this an actual album, instead of a collection of songs. It’s seven full tracks and two interludes, all of it being arranged masterfully. This band deserve to be so much bigger than they are, and I’m so hoping this is the album to do so. I can’t get enough of it, and will be listening to it a lot in the coming weeks and months, I’m sure! 9/10
Attic Theory: What We Fear the Most
The debut album from the Liverpudlian alt rock/grungers proves just why Planet Rock awarded them Best New Band. It’s got a similar early 2000s arena-filling rock feel that the likes of Those Damn Crows and Any Given Sin are doing so well at the minute; the huge vocal hooks and chunky riffing. And yet it does have that post-grunge/late 90s quirkiness tinge too, which is why they fit in so well when playing with the likes of Terrorvision. There isn’t a bad song on the album, but tracks like the opener, ‘Narrow Lines’ and ‘Dare to Dream’ are personal favourites! Also, the acoustic ballad ‘Million Little Things’ was beautiful and honestly gave me goosebumps. The vocals are the perfect mix of Eddie Vedder and Scott Stapp, and they complement the playing incredibly. And, they fit well with friend of Overtone, Candlebox’s own Kevin Martin (interview here) on recent single ‘Papier-mâché’.
The band very much wear every inspiration on their sleeve, yet have somehow created something that sounds wholly unique and modern. It’s a really interesting listen that I think is going to grow on me more and more with each passing listen. I would recommend this album to anyone, not just those that are fans of the aforementioned bands and genres. There is truly something for everyone here, and it’s one hell of a listen as a whole album. I’ve been toying with what to give it for days now, and the more I listen to it, the more I fall in love. So, for that reason, it gets 9.5/10!