‘Shapeshifter: So Below’ marks the the end of Artio’s Shapeshifter saga; a saga which has seen the band grow and develop their sound.

The EP opens with ‘I Can’t Sleep’. This has a darkness in the sound which is chilling. It reflects what the song is about; it deals with the all too familiar human state of feeling overwhelmed in situations and the effects that those uncontrollable feelings can have on relationships and your own mental well being. It does this in a way that is so direct and clearly reflects personal experiences. Hearing these words is an intense experience.

Wonderful vocals from Rae. A sound that is dense (when it’s dense) with layer on layer of sound that rewards closer listening with those subtle and clever touches. When this is heavy it hits you with a power that is going to physically knock you over, and then it’s oh-so sweet as it becomes poppy. It’s seamless and sounds so right.

‘Queen Cobra’ is one fierce track; it does that loud/quiet alt-rock thing to the max. In the loud bits synth pummel you into submission over a riotous rhythm track – there is this recurring frankly scary synth noise that seems to encompass all known frequencies all at once. In the quiet bits – well it gets less frantic, more sweet, more tuneful. And Hol’s voice goes from full blown scream it out to mesmerisingly pure.

But wait, for there is more. What Artio haven’t lost is that ability to surprise with the way they put a song together. There are still those layers of sounds melded together, there are still those unexpected sounds that make you smile with their brilliant invention and creativity. There is a subtlety to the loud bits that adds that something very special, there is a kind of dense sparseness in the quiet bits that thrills.

The band explain that ”Queen Cobra’ is about becoming what those b*tches say you are, but in the way, they’d spit their dummy out about. Everyone likes to call you a snake when you move on and cut toxic friends off and thrive, but snakes are actually really cool. Everyone paints snakes as these evil animals, but they’re a top predator, no one gets in the way of the snake. so i’ll just become the Queen Cobra.’’

Next up is ‘The Good The Bad And The Rip Off’; a shift in feel. It’s poppier. It comes with a tune that rips your heart out. Rae’s vocals soar with power and energy. But there is the unexpected, out of this poppy sound comes a rip roaring rock break that takes you emotionally over the edge.

‘Spill Em Regina’ comes with a fantastic dual vocal – yet another development – and it adds a special feel to the track. Musically it’s a kind of heavy dance track; I dare you not to dance to this.

Closing track ‘As Above So Below’ is a slight return to their big synth pop sound. It’s beautiful. I have to admit I’m finding it hard to say exactly why I find it beautiful; part of it is definitely the vocals but beyond that I’m coming up empty for the reason why. You’ll just have to take my word for it. The other thing is that while I was listening to it I suddenly felt incredibly emotional. Again I have no particular reason for this, I just did.

This is an incredibly powerful EP. The tracks on it show that the band are still evolving and developing. Does this being the end of the Shapeshifter saga mean that the band have reached the end of their development? I think not; this is a band who just can’t help getting better and better. What’s to come next? Who knows but I for one can’t wait for their next steps onwards and upwards. In the meantime this EP is an absolute must listen.

I’m easing myself back into doing live reviews after lockdown. It seemed really appropriate that my second live review is DENSE, one of my favourite bands. Be warned there will be gushing, there will be frankly over the top words. I apologise in advance.

But before I get to that; this was a great line-up. Very seldom do I go to a gig and see three bands who I really liked; there’s usually one that I’m not keen on. One of the three I didn’t get until part way into their set, but I’m going to explain that, and why, in a bit, bear with me.

First on to warm us up was Belk. Now Belk is the band I didn’t really get at first. They are a singer/guitarist and drummer; I know the classic rock duo set-up, but what they play just isn’t your standard stuff at all. In a vain attempt to find a way to describe their sound I checked out their Facebook Page; this wasn’t that help, their description is ‘2-piece noise-jive’. Noise, yes but jive no.

It may be helpful, or not if I’m completely honest, if I list the increasingly desperate ideas I had about their sound as their set progressed. I started off with doom metal mixed with punk; this is because their singer uses that deep doom metal vocal style at times. Moving on from that I landed on the term heavy punk pathetique; bit ‘clutching at straws’ that one. And finally Garage Punk Zappa. None of these are really that accurate or they may be accurate at times during their set.

The problem is that I was over analysing what I was hearing (something I did the first time I saw FUS who I have come to love, once I stopped worrying about what they play and how to describe it).

What I was hearing seemed to be fairly random at first – seemingly random vocals, seemingly random heavily fx’ed guitar and seemingly random drums. Yet as time went on, and I relaxed into it, what seemed too chaotic and random started to make sense. I came to understand that the casual way the singer/guitarist sang and played wasn’t casual at all. My route to this came as I concentrated on the drums, and boy the drums are good. There is a structure to their songs; a structure that is provided by the drums. Over this the vocals and guitar do their thang. And yes that thang is noisy, that thang is loose but it’s compelling and has soul. It isn’t just two people messing around.

The songs come with spoken parts that I was trying hard to hear as the bits I managed to pick up sounded good. They come with drums that can go from delicate to pounding in an instant. But most of all they come with a sense of, and I hesitate to use this word, entertainment.

Belk are either making highly profound music or are messing around in an incredibly impressive skilful way. Which of these two they are I have yet to decide but they are brilliant. I want to see them again, and you should go see them too.

Next up, Dim Imagery. Now they are new to me, so I didn’t have any idea what I was going to hear. Checking now on their Facebook Page they describe themselves as post-punk which isn’t really that helpful – post-punk comes in many shades.

In fact what I heard over the course of their fantastic set was music that was a mixing and melding of post-punk in all its (Leeds’s) forms. Their opening song came with that funky feel of The Gang of Four but dark and moody, and my ears pricked up and told me ‘yes, this band is gooood’. And this is a band who work the stage; their singer is a joy vocally but also compelling visually.

The next song that particularly stuck in my head was their new single which sounded like a post-punk Doors, complete with spoken sections. But dark, people, dark and moody as hell. They duck into heavy rock, really heavy; these guys can play anything. And then suddenly we are into a song with a full on Cult sound, and the Goth in me leaps, silently and hidden, for joy.

For all of this old meets new, and my nostalgic warm feelings; the thing that their songs have is tunes, great tunes and playing that was fantastic. And for those of you who don’t have that connection to way back when it’s this that is going to grab you.

See Dim Imagery, see them as soon as you can.

And now to DENSE. When you go and see them for the first time all you can do is stand in amazement at the sound that comes from the three of them – singer/guitarist, bass and drums. Get over that as soon as you can, and just let yourself drown in their beautiful noise.

And that noise is garage punky and garage psychedelic. It’s layers of sound that build up and up and smash over you like a wave, then die back only to build up again. And when it isn’t smashing over you like a wave it’s pulling you in, deeper and deeper. But their songs are not just noise, there are tunes in there; albeit ones you have to really have to immerse yourself in the sound to hear. In the guitar there are both almost overwhelming sounds and clever subtle moments that astound. The bass adds both rhythm and what seems like many extra sound layers. There is drumming – both heavy and delicate – that holds it all together. And then there are the vocals – yes there are words but beyond that they are another layer of sound.

What makes their music is the coming together of the sounds they make individually, and the way they mix and twist around each other making something that is so so much more than the sum of the parts.

Listening to their recorded music is wonderful but live is where you get the full effect. Charlie stands to the side of the stage making beautiful guitar sounds and noise, Sam at the back pounds at the drums, and Dylan goes batshit throwing himself and his bass around the stage. It’s the visual contrast between the three of them that gets me.

And live that music invades your body, it’s physical, you feel it deep inside; it resonates. Thinking about anything other than their music is impossible; it takes over your head completely. DENSE live is a full-on ears, mind, body and soul experience.

This isn’t just a gig, it’s an experience. Come see DENSE, gather close to the stage and prepare to be taken to another place, a good place.

Oh yeeessss! A new release from DENSE!!!!!!

Sorry I got kinda carried away there. The new thrill is that DENSE have gone in a new direction for this release. It’s that DENSE sound with a dash of punk and a pinch of post-punk.

Let’s break that down for you. The sound is harder, more aggressive. A primal screen of frustration if you will. And then there are these harsh sounds that siren out which have the feel of The Normal’s ‘Warm Leatherette’. A glorious mix of fuzzy garage, the attack and aggression of punk, and the bleakness of post-punk.

The vocals are monotone drone and then roar out. The drumming is fast and furious, and heavy on the cymbals. And the bass is holding it together. The power of this track is enough to cause serious structural damage or indeed your ears if you did what I did and accidentally turned everything up before clicking play.

Here we have a track where form follows band emotions; the band say “This was the first track we wrote together in 12 months post-lockdown, and it feels like the track absorbed and channeled a lot of our pent-up energy and frustration that the three of us individually experienced during isolation”.

This is a beautiful roar and scream of a track that reflects the world’s frustration and pent up energy over lockdown, and the release back into the world. And wider the frustrations and anguish of living in the modern world. It encapsulates all of that in 3 minutes and 45 seconds of glorious wonderful noise.

The info

DENSE are a garage-punk rock outfit from Leeds, UK. The three-piece combine thick fuzz with intricate riffs and melodies, producing unique and high energy sounds accompanied by raucous live shows. DENSE consists of Charlie Fossick (guitars and vocals), Dylan Metcalf (bass) and Sam Heffer (drums). Having shared stages around the country with the likes of Flat Worms and Prettiest Eyes, DENSE are spreading their intense energy as far as they can reach.

The track boasts a mix from Ross Orton, who has worked with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Drenge, God Damn, Pulled Apart by Horses and Working Men’s Club.

Upcoming headline Shows:

DENSE at the Castle Hotel, Manchester – 12th November 2021
DENSE at Royal Park Cellars, Leeds – 13th November 2021

Lucky Iris make pop, perfect pop. Great tunes, fantastic words and perfect music. ‘Speak Soon’ is no exception to this.

‘Speak Soon’ is the story of an ended relationship from the point of view of the person ending it. I’d describe them as direct and no nonsense. What we may have wished we had said when we ended a relationship. The edge in the song is the ‘speak soon’. It’s that white lie that softens the blow.

Musically the track is bouncy and light – I don’t mean lightweight, this is carefully crafted music. This is all about layers of carefully chosen sounds and beats that compel but leave Maeve’s vocal way upfront. Given the message of the song there is what we might call a slight implication that the character in the song isn’t that sad to see the end of the relationship.

Great song – fantastic music, words that mean something, fab vocal. Need anything more. It’s a banger of a bop. Do we need anything more? Thought not. This is one to get on right now.

It’s been a while since I reviewed a release from Reardon Love. One of the things about their songs – there are more – is that their songs are about something. The something this song is about is about the dead and injured of war, and to a certain degree the role of the unknown masses in wars. I have to say I’m assuming this from the title, the fact this song comes out on Armistice Day, and the words. I don’t have any documentary proof of that; I may be entirely wrong.

There is a contrast and tension between the subject and the music; I’m going to have to be honest about that. It is, and I hesitate in using this word, a rather jaunty indie track. And this brings me to the next thing I love about the band, they have an incredible ear for a great tune. And this is a great tune, it’s as earwormy as hell.

The playing is insistent, spot on and all kinds of good, The song also comes with some rather wonderful backing vocals that positively sparkle.

To get back to that contrast between subject and music. In a strange way it works. I can see why they did it; the great tune focuses you on the words. But then I’m a fan of contrasts between music and subject. It feels kinda weird saying this but it’s a great dance track.

So the song is about something important, it’s a great tune played really well. Works for me. Don’t be put off by the song’s subject, give it go.