Under Sound - Music News and Views

Four Year Strong & Set Your Goals @ The Sugarmill, Stoke.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:05:00 +0000

Two of America’s latest power-popcore exports take to the Sugarmill’s stage as they take a night off from their tour with New Found Glory to please the few hundred pop rock fans this city has left.

First up are Set Your Goals who’s performance is nothing short of electric with their divine ability to ignite their music with pace and audience participation. Songs like Mutiny and Echoes engage vocalists, Matt and Jordan, in a Q&A battle hitting the ears with an active engagement of positivity and how we, as a collective, can make positive strides in this world.

Set Your Goals approach to punk rock is a slight disadvantage to them as their no holds barred approach on occasions made them lapse, missing lyrics and slight musical mistakes disjointed their performance, but took nothing away from the fun.

This is Four Year Strong’s first tour in the UK and they made sure they kicked the party into gear as they bust onto the stage with The Takeover –give the audience caution that “this is your last warning, we’re going straight on till morning”. Again this band is dual fronted, the coherence of gang vocals and pacey rhythms cranks up the velocity engaging all the audience.

They close the show with their single “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die” to which a storm brews not only in the crowd but also up on stage. They take their performance to town, the music literally sparks the hearts in these kids, “We could barely light a match, but together we can burn this place down. When we team up. We always seem to bring this place to the ground”. These bands are about unity and having fun, which can be seen on everyone’s face.

Secondsmile

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Art rockers; Secondsmile release their second album "Years" on the 7th July. The lads have just finishing with the almighty and under sound favourites Rival Schools! You can download the single "Years" track free of charge here.

The band go out on tour supporting their new album in July.

Dates are as follows;

July

2nd London The Metro

4th Bridport Electric Palace

5th Guilfest Guildford

10th Reading Face Bar

11th Leciester The Charlote

12th Wakefield Escobar

14th Glasgow Stereo

15th Newcastle The End

16th Birmingham Yardbird

17th Mansfield Town Mill

23rd Southampton Lennons

Tell Me a Story - Secondsmile
SecondsmileBig Scary Monsters Records

Reggie & the Full Effect

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:33:00 +0000

It's been announced that Reggie & the Full Effects new album will be available as of June 13th. The album's entitled Last Stop: Crappy Town, and will be released on Vagrant Records.

Reggie & the Full Effect - Congratulations Smack and Katie
Their has been speculation surrounding the future of Reggie & the Full Effect as James Dewees posted a blog on the bands myspace page stating; "Sorry kids the joke is over, paying other peoples bills for so long that now I have to pay my own". This latest news should rest the fans fears leaving them with the anticipation of the new album.

Reggie & the Full Effect's Vagrant Profile

Vagrant Records Website

Glassjaw

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:17:00 +0000

Glassjaw are set to headline Cardiff's Great Uni Hall on May 9th as a warm up to their Give It A Name festival appearance. Lead singer, Daryl Palumbo suffers from Crohn's Disease and has stopped him making the trip across the atlantic on several occasions. The band were able to perform twice last year as the band were recording their new album in the UK.

Glassjaw - Cosmopolitan Blood Loss

Tickets for the show are available now, here

Glassjaw Official Website

Glassjaw Official Myspace

Give it a Name Festival

New Chiodos Video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:48:00 +0000

Chiodos have released a new video for their latest single, Lexington.

Lexington comes from the bands latest album, Bone Palace Ballet. The band are playing this years Give It a Name festival;

May

10 London Earls Court
11 Sheffield The Arena

Chiodos Myspace

U-S Exclusive: Cut The Blue Wire

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:22:00 +0000

Under Sound favourites, Cut The Blue Wire, have signed to Alcopop Records. The sister label of Big Scary Monsters, will be releasing thier brand new EP Everest soon. The band are just about to head out on tour to promote their new release, dates are as follows;

March

23 Leeds Trash
24 Glasgow Rockers
25 Leicester The Shed
26 Portsmouth The Railway Rifle Club
28 Merstham Football Club
29 Brighton The Pressure Point

All dates with Blue Sky Summer

Under Sound will be interviewing the band as part of the first Under Sound Podcast

Cut The Blue Wire Myspace

The Steal

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:13:00 +0000

Kingston punk rockers, The Steal, are set to tour with Against Me! on their UK tour. This is the first time the band have been able to set a tour since last August, 8 months ago.

April

14 Bristol Academy 2

15 Liverpool Academy 2

16 Sheffield Corporation

17 London Garage

The Steal, Live @ The Peel, KingstonThe Steal Myspace

The Recieving End of Sirens

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:41:00 +0000

The Recieving End of Sirens have called it time. The band released a statement via a myspace bulletin. The band toured with the likes of Funeral for a Friend in the UK and had great success with their first album, Between the Heart and Synapse, and also managed to gain a main stage slot at last years Give it a Name festival.

Planning a Prison Break - The Receiving End of Sirens The Receiving End of Sirens Myspace

Death Cab For Cutie

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:46:00 +0000

The first single, I Will Possess Your Heart, from Death Cab for Cutie's new album, Narrow Stairs, is avaliable to listen to HERE.

Under Sound want to know what you think of the bands new efforts, so please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Death Cab For Cutie Myspace

Crystal Castles

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:48:00 +0000

The alternative electro duo hit the UK shores this spring for a nationwide tour. The announcement comes as the bands self titled debut album hits stores this week.

The band are set to play the following dates;

May

1 Kingston New Slang

2 Oxford Carling Academy

3 Bristol Thekla

4 Norwich Waterfront

5 Brighton Concorde 2

6 Nottingham Rescue Rooms

8 Birmingham Carling Academy 2

10 Glasgow Arches

11 Newcastle Carling Academy 2

12 Manchester Academy 2

14 London Mean Fiddler

15 Stoke Sugarmill

Crystal Castles - Alice Practice

Crystal Castles Myspace

I Was a Cub Scout

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:47:00 +0000

I was a Cub Scout had to cancel some of their SXSW shows this week as some of their equipment had been stolen. The band were set to play as part of NME's showcase at the festival in Austin, Texas.

The band published this statement at the venue; “Sadly, when we got to our hotel car park this morning we noticed our van was missing a lot of equipment and that the van had been broken into. With this, we regret to inform you that we will not be playing today. We are really sorry, but hope to be back soon.”

However, reports suggest that one of the items stolen, a sequencer which“basically - electronically speaking - is the band”.

This is a recent performance of Pink Squares from the boys as part of 'BBC's Introduces' at SXSW;

The band are expected to go out on tour with Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly next month but with this latest report seeds of doubt have been sown into their plans. The dates are as follows;

April
2 Glasgow ABC
3 Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
4 Manchester Academy 2
6 Cardiff University
7 Sheffield Plug
8 London Shepherd's Bush Empire

I Was a Cub Scout Myspace

I Was a Cub Scout Official Wesbite

SXSW

New Weezer Album

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:13:00 +0000

According to reports from Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, their next album should be out by June time. He stated on their official website that one track still needs to be mixed but that all Weezer fans should expect to hear new songs on their myspace site and on radio stations in the coming months.

He goes on to state "The album is meaty, crunchy and melodic like a good Weezer album should be".

Official Weezer Myspace

Colour, Tubelord @ Fighting Cocks, Kingston.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:41:00 +0000

Tonight’s showcase of southern English Indy takes place in the twisting back rooms of a venue in the suburbs of London. Once we get into the venue, there's a fluorescent glow of the UV lights spat out across a zebra pattern covering the wall, startling my eyes. The mix of tones and lights is suitable for the first act Colour.

The band, recently recruiting ex-Meet Me In St. Louis bassist, Lewis, take to stage all looking like professional Indy kids straight out of your favourite Skins episode. Their music flows with complex melody structures leaving the audience tapping to the snap shot drum and bass structures created. The band engage triumphantly with their audience, clapping and singing in time to "Over The Moon", a track on the bands latest EP
Colour 4.5/5

Whilst the party poppers are popped, spinning in the fan above the stage, tonight's headliners, Tubelord, get things moving. Twiddling Indy guitars over grooving bass lines sets them apart from the NME centrefolds. Structure is the most important thing to this band, so important not to have one, rebelling against conventional song writing. Again the crowd get right into the mix of things, dancing and singing along to Big Scary Monsters latest signing. The generating Indy scene, seen here today, gets my heart racing. Exciting bands making great fresh music, witnessed by only the toilet tour audiences nationwide.
Tubelord 4/5

Colour

Tubelord

Hit The Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Hit the Lights have finished recording their follow up to 2006's This is a Stick Up... Don't Make it a Murder. The announcement came on frontman/guitarist Nick Thompsons Blog. Demos of the new album can be found on the bands Myspace.

It's been a hectic year for the band being on top of the world after successful UK tours, including a main stage appearance at last years Give it a Name festival. Seeing their singer exit the band left a void for the band to fill. The band tried recruiting a suitable replacement until the guitarist found the confidence to step up to fill the empty vocal boots.

Click Here to see Hit The Lights studio diary.

Astoria to Shut

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:00:00 +0000

The London Astoria will be closing down in the near future. The popular London venue, which has been standing for over 80 years, is being shut due to the progress of the Crossrail scheme linking Maidenhead and Shenfield, Essex via the Central line.

The London Astoria is a landmark venue within the industry allowing many bands to bridge the gap between "toilet-tour" venues and arenas.

The Astoria has been running as a venue since 1976 and has seen bands such as Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Blur, Manic Street Preachers, Green Day, and Rage Against The Machine, as well as thousands of dedicated artists from around the world.

Over the past few years in London the Hammersmith Palais and the Marquee have seen their final customers. Campaigners have been striving to save the Astoria but it seems that another legendary music venue will see its final performance.

Save The London Astoria - Dean Ward

Save The London Astoria Petition

http://www.savetheastoria.org/

Slam Dunk Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:16:00 +0000

It's been announced that Cute Is What We Aim For, Boys Like Girls, Story Of The Year, Fightstar, You Me At Six, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Big D & The Kids Table, Sonic Boom Six, Random Hand Tonight Is Goodbye, Furthest Drive Home, All Or Nothing and All Forgotten are confirmed for this years Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds and will take place Bank Holiday Sunday 25th May

Furthest Drive Home - Diamond Watch

Tickets cost £17.50 from Crash Records

Slam Dunk Fest has seen a rise in popularity since it's first venture in 2005. In previous years it has allowed small UK bands to share the stage with big American acts such as Paramore and Fall Out Boy.

Ghostfest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:12:00 +0000

This years Ghostfest line up has been announced. Johnny Truant, The Ghost of a Thousand, and Architects are to play the festival taking place in Leeds, on 28th and 29th of June. The festival has been going 4 years strong now and is seen as a pinnacle festival for UK hardcore bands.

PenKnifeLoveLife, Ghostfest 2006
Ghostfest 2008

Camden Crawl 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:18:00 +0000

The line up for this years Camden Crawl has been announced. The event takes place on the 18th and 19th April across venues around the London borough. Headliners are yet to be announced, but with the calibre of last years acts, there's no doubt you won't be disappointed.

Biffy Clyro, Camden Crawl 2007

Confirmed acts so far include Reuben, Crystal Castles, This City, Does it Offend You Yeah? plus many more. In total over 50 bands will play the event.

Weekend tickets cost £49.20 and are on sale now. Under Sound will have exclusive content from the festival.

Camden Crawl

This Town Needs Guns

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:21:00 +0000

This Town Needs Guns have uploaded a brand new song on their myspace site. The track "Japanese Ultra-violence in D-Minor (the saddest chord)" will only be available as part of their back catalogue which will only be out in Japan and Australia. The song will only be available in the UK on Import.

This Town Needs Guns

Big Scary Monsters Records

Rapture Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:16:00 +0000

It's been announced that this years Rapture Fest will take place at the Face Bar, Reading on the weekend of the 9th & 10th August. A Full line up is expected to be released on the 5th May. The success of last year can only promise great things from a promotion company striving to supply its eager audience with inspirational unsigned bands.

Maths @ Rapture Fest '07

Rapture Promotions

Under Sound Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:26:00 +0000

The Under Sound Forum is now open so sign up and share your opinions amongst others. We'll update music news that interests you. You can find the link in the right hand column anytime. So what are you waiting for? Sign up NOW!

City & Colour

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:29:00 +0000

City & Colour, aka Dallas Green, has announced new tour dates in April in support of his 2nd studio album, Bring Me Your Love which is released on Monday 11th February.

The dates are as follows;

April

02 - Brighton Komedia
03 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
04 - Nottingham Rescue Rooms
05 - Glasgow Oran Mor
06 - Leeds Brudenell Social Club
08 - Birmingham Glee Club
09 - Colchester Arts Centre
10 - London Union Chapel
11 - Manchester Royal College of Music
Supported by Attack in Black on all dates.

Waiting... was the first single released from Bring Me Your Love on Hassle Records.

City & Colour Official Myspace

Hassle Records

Dine Alone Records

R.I.P. Meet Me In St. Louis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:17:00 +0000

Guildford's indy-punk-math band, Meet Me In St. Louis have decided to call it a day. The band who started back in 2005 only just released they're debut album Variation On Swing. Whilst promoting the album in October, singer Toby left the band. Paul, Oli, Benny and Lewis were determined to carry on, but the lack of melodic and lyrical structure hindered the progression of the bands outlook. They failed to recruit an appropriate replacement since Tobys departure.

The band released this statement on their official myspace site;

Hi,

I'm writing with great regret to inform everyone that Meet Me in St. Louis has reached its end. This is due to a loss of another member (Paul) and the agreement that the band would not be the same if that member were replaced. It came as a shock to the rest of us as our plans for the next few months were extremely positive after such a bumpy ride at the end of 2007. When Toby left, we all felt pretty low but we got through it becuase we knew that the music would be written by the same 4 people and essentially be the same. Although he had input musically it was minimal and was mainly focused on vocal melodies and lyrics. We were able to carry on with confidence and either get a new singer or continue instrumentally. Unfortunately the same could not be said in this instance.
I cannot tell you precisely what the reasons for Pauls decision are. I think it was a snowball effect of events over the past 3 years that made being in a band extremely hard to deal with and eventually became too much.
So that's it. On a positive note, I personally have had the most exciting 3 years of my life. I think that we'd all agree on how proud we are to have been able to create music with each other and perform it to so many people. Writing and playing shows, whether it be to 20 people or 200, was what we lived for. It was what we were, for 3 years. At times it was fucking gruelling but overall, incredible.
It wouldn't have been possible without the help and encouragement of so many people: Our family and friends, fans (a lot of whom have become friends!), BSM and Xtra Mile, promoters, every band we've ever played with, everyone who's put us up for the night or more, anyone who's given us a review, anyone who's ever taken pictures for us, every sound man that let us play really really loud, even those who didn't i guess... Without these people we wouldn't have an album and playing live would have been really fucking dull.
Although the band has come to an end, i'm pretty sure we'll never stop playing music and hopefully other projects will be as exciting if not more.

So once again huge thankyou's and many apologies to everyone.

The end.

Oli and MMISL

x x x

Meet Me In St. Louis were signed to Big Scary Monsters Records and were recognized for their non-stop touring schedules and DIY ethics. Hopefully new projects will spawn out of such a talented set of musicians.

Their latest release, All We Need is a Little Bit of Energon and Alot of Luck, was released as a single in September 2007.

Meet Me In St. Louis Official Myspace

Big Scary Monsters