TRACKS OF THE MONTH
BABYMETAL METAL RESISTANCE
earMUSIC
TACOCAT LOST TIME
Hardly Art
eeeee .ALL KILLER NERD ROCK WITH A BRAIN. With their third full-length, Tacocat demonstrate exactly why they’re your new favourite band. Their fun, feminist surf-pop-punk takes on new territories. ‘Lost Time’ sees their fun feminist surf pop punk take new territory: bigger, bolder, and more polished than the scruffy and hasty, but still loveable sounds, on 2014’s ‘NVM’. Tacocat flip a sugar-coated middle finger to those that misrepresent the cause, showing how feminism can be as much about fun as it is confronting issues. Jasleen Dhindsa
eeee UTTERLY BIZARRE, BUT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? Babymetal’s debut album was a sugarcoated burst of challenging vibrancy. Gleefully skipping between the ridiculous and the fun alike it caused intrigue, discussion and excitement but now, one year later, they can’t get by on curiosity alone. It’s a good job then that ‘Metal Resistance’ takes the playful spirit of their debut and builds a daring, colourful world around it. Highkicking, arm-swinging and relentlessly daring, it’s sheer entertainment. Wide-eyed and optimistic, Babymetal have caught up with their runaway momentum and grown into something that’s here to stay. Ali Shutler
WEEZER L.A. GIRLZ
Think you know what to expect from Weezer come 2016? Think again. All those snarky internet jibes just went out the window - Rivers has nailed it. ‘L.A. Girlz’ is undoubtedly the closest to the Blue/’Pinkerton’ sweet zone the band have come in well over a decade. Coupled with the other new tracks from their upcoming White Album, it’s official. It’s time to get excited about Weezer again.
PVRIS YOU AND I
.A LOUD REVOLUTION THAT’S SURE TO DIVIDE.
Membran
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After the runaway success of ‘White Noise’, you wouldn’t blame PVRIS for taking a step back to find space to regroup. Lynn, Alex and Brian have always played the game differently. Atmospheric and chirping, ‘You and I’ still captures their film noir spirit but, instead of back alleys and bedrooms, it’s built for the stage. PVRIS have always had a rich, cinematic edge to their music but now it comes in glorious high definition.
Hacktivist aren’t quiet little wallflowers, content to keep their opinions to themselves. Political in the extreme, their brand of fast-flowing tech-metal quite obviously draws a line to Enter Shikari - to the extent that Rou Reynolds makes an appearance on standout ‘Taken’. Such robust statements, though, are rarely for everyone. For those with a strong enough stomach, Hacktivist might lead a revolution. Tom Jackson
.HAZY, DREAMY PSYCH ROCK WITH A CRUNCH.
WOAHNOWS
Psych rock. Shoegaze. Somewhere inbetween - over the past few years more and more bands willing to lock into a groove and surf the milky way have found success. Desert Mountain Tribe’s debut full length sees the three-piece in the kind of confident form that sets them apart from the competition. Stephen Ackroyd
Taken from a new 7” single, (out digitally now, physically on 1st April - Ed) ‘Mess’ is the sort of laid-back, lofi gem that keeps Woahnows so close to our hearts. Melodic but packing enough muscle and invention to raise the odd hair, it only goes to confirm one of the best underground talents on the metaphorical block.
HACKTIVIST OUTSIDE THE BOX
UNFD
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DESERT MOUNTAIN TRIBE
EITHER THAT OR THE MOON
MESS