Album Reviews: Wrap Up of 2020, June – December

I’ve been trying to think of something profound to say about 2020 as an introduction to this post, a wrap up of the rest of my month-by-month album reviews of the year, something I started during the first lockdown, and in synergy to how this pandemic has gone; those posts started with much fluster, meandered, and has now come back with renewed enthusiasm, and a new string (strain) to its bow. The new strings in this post are simply a more rushed approach to getting these album reviews done, or simply sharing what albums I enjoyed listening to each month, much like the UK governments approach to getting the Pfizer vaccine approved, or quickly hashing out a last minute trade deal with the EU.

Album Reviews: My Top 5 Albums Released in February

Continuing to look back at some of my favourite albums released earlier this year, this time I’ll take a look at the month of February. A month where everything seemed normal, it was the calm before the storm, as the full impact of COVID-19 lurked around the corner. Donald Trump was being impeached, Parasite won Best Picture at the Oscars, Storm Denis hit the UK, and the world was still in self-destruct mode. But alas, there was new music. This month saw the return of The Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, Tame Impala coming back after five years, and a blisttering second album from Liverpudlian band Loathe, not to mention new albums from The Amity Affliction, Grimes, Green Day, and King Krule, just to name a few.

Photos/Video: Monarchy @ FIB Benicàssim Festival 2018

As the rain began to fall, Monarchy took to the South Beach stage, and in-front of a sizeable crowd put on an incredible performance. They weaved in and out of new and old tracks, whilst covering the likes of Nirvana and Outkast, even producing a mosh pit in the crowd at one point. Despite slightly clashing with similar sounding band Pet Shop Boys and the rain persistently falling, the crowd grew and grew, getting more into the set as it went on. Here’s a few shots and a short video of the show:

Feature: 5 Bands That I’ve Recently Discovered, And Love

Parcels –

I saw these guys whilst at All Points East festival in London last weekend and fell in love with them straight away. Their infectous grooves are undeniably influenced by the great Bee Gees and electronic duo Daft Punk, who they have recently worked with on their single ‘Overnight’. Originaly from Byron Bay in Australia, they’re now based in Berlin.

Festival Feature: Why Dias De Campo is the ideal festival to attend for every music lover

Set in the beautiful surroundings of Montanejos, a small town just outside of Valencia, Spain, Dias De Campo is an electronic music festival organised by prominent Spanish music promoter’s theBasement, in partnership with live music and entertainment company Milkman. Featuring internationally renowned Dutch duo Dekmantel Soundsystem, and DJ’s such as Tiago, Chrissy, MLiR and Abu Sou, the 3-day festival is a must for all lovers of electronic music and nature. You might think that’s a weird combination, but the festival’s ethos is to embrace both, listen to live DJ’s whilst chilling out in the hot springs, and rave until the early hours of the morning in the wooded area situated by the camping. It’s a celebration of the two, and with world class DJ’s and an outstanding location it’s going to be a good one.

Album Review: Faze Miyake – Faze Miyake

Faze Miyake steps into the spotlight on his self-titled debut album, bringing everything we love about his weekly Rinse FM shows and previous productions into one beautifully crafted body of work. Its woozy bass driven style of beats, twisting and turning from dubstep to grime, make for a chilling and sharp listen. Winter is coming and Faze Miyake will be your soundtrack.

Little Simz is one of the few rappers in the UK who currently could handle the beat on opener ‘The Nest’, its switch up in styles and wonky beat patterns displays Faze Miyake at his very best. Little Simz moves and adapts to the beat, as she impeccably varies her boisterous flow, boasting and flaunting her highly impressive rapping abilities. When second track ‘Burciaga’ kicks in with an equal amount of swirling body shuddering bass lines it’s clear a journey will commence. ‘Ice Cold’ and ‘Below Me’ show the versatility that Miyake offers; on the one hand you’ve got the frosty vocals of Inga Copeland layered over a truly chilling instrumental on ‘Ice Cold’, and then you’ve got the frenetic trap inspired ‘Below Me’, with Chicago rapper Sasha Go Hard featuring on the track. Instrumental song ‘Ocean Drive’ is placed in between the two contrasting styles and provides the perfect transition between the two.

Single Review: Disclosure (feat. Lorde) – Magnets

Disclosure have gradually curated an iconic sound, a sound that when you hear it you immediately know that it’s them. On their new single ‘Magnets’ it’s no different with R&B infused house, the little subtle synths etching in and out and to top it off a perfectly chosen featuring artist, in this case the New Zealander Lorde.

Her voice accompanies the production beautifully and it is one of the stand out tracks on their new album Caracal. Do not listen if you’re prone to having songs stuck in your head as it’s extremely catchy.

7/10

First published: September 28, 2015

Where?: https://audioaddictmag.co.uk/2015/09/28/now-playing-2892015/

Live Review: Shadow Child, Kry Wolf, Eli and Fur @ Switch, Southampton – 21.02.15

Last Saturday night saw Switch open its doors to house and bass record label Food Music, and with the two label bosses Shadow Child and Kry Wolf on the line up, with the added flavour of Eli and Fur, it was a mouth watering prospect. Needless to say, it lived up to its expectations, a packed out Southampton crowd laying witness to a swashbuckling showcase of the brands potential.

Live Review: Bondax & Friends @ Switch, Southampton – 29.11.14

It has been another fantastic year for Bondax. From being bedroom producers, to getting airtime on BBC radio one, to now selling out shows up and down the country, the Lancashire born duo are quite simply killing it. With a new album out featuring the likes of Karma Kid, Darius and Olsen they have managed to shake off the stigma of just being the ‘Northern Disclosure’ (albeit not a bad comparison to have put on you). Having seen all the praise and adulation from publications such as Mixmag, to The Guardian, we at Noise Cannon decided to see what all the fuss was about for ourselves, catching them on there album tour ‘Bondax & Friends’ down in Southampton at Switch.

Live Review: Hot Since 82 & Bontan @ Warehouse, Southampton – 24.10.14

Fresh from slaying everywhere from Chicago, to Napoli, to Ibiza this summer, Hot Since 82 is one of the fastest rising stars in electronic music. A massive essential mix, the launching of his Taken project, which sold out in 30 minutes, and his new imprint Knee Deep In Sound getting off to a successful start back in March, has seen the Barnsley born DJ’s already growing stock meteorically rise. Now we are heading into the winter months his progression doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. His new single ’Somebody Everybody’, featuring Black Box, is already sending shockwaves on dancefloors up and down the country, with the first compilation album off his label Knee Deep In Sound due to hit stores the 17th November. Shortly after releasing details of the album, a pre-album promotional tour was in the mist, and it was time to get Knee Deep in Southampton.