Things Vice sent me in the post

Here's all the reviews I've done for Vice since September, I don't know if any of them got published I haven't seen the magazine in a long time.



Shipwreck
Abyss
Deathwish

Dense, negative hardcore like Integrity, Ringworm and that kind of thing. The problem is the lyrics are so vague, flowery and generally sixth-form-poetryesque that it’s hard to relate and get fucking angry like the singer is. Hardcore should be about real shit.

6


Pixelh8
The Boy With the Digital Heart
Hidden Youth Records

This is all programmed on Gameboys or something, some of it is actually pretty moving and sad and some of it sounds a bit like ‘Showtime’ era Dizzee beats. However, it’s still the musical equivalent of wearing a NES controller belt buckle or wearing a t-shirt that says ‘All Your Base Are Belong To Us’.

5


Tusk
The Resisting Dreamer
Tortuga/Vice/Hydrahead/ADA

Some prog metal bands get into perfection and want to sound exactly like the ocean or a planet, but this is kind of loose and rocky and you can tell they’re still just fallible men with instruments who like boozing, which makes them infinitely more likeable than nerds with clipped goatees who don’t smile when they play.

8


Los Campesinos
Hold On Now, Youngster…
Wichita

Remember Bromhead’s Jacket and Artrocker Magazine? Singing in English accents and wearing polo shirts with ties? All that was shit but popular three years ago, and these boring, smug students missed the boat so they’re just shit.

3




Our Brother The Native
Make Amends, For We Are Merely Vessels
Fat Cat

This is pretty decent post rock with singing bits like Twilight Sad or a less screamy Circle Takes The Square, which is all well and good but guess what? They’re only fucking 17! When I was 17 I thought Rancid were revolutionary socialists and massive skate shoes were the bee’s knees.

8


Envy
Abyssal
Rock Action

This is so dense, emotive and powerful that it’s kind of a good explanation as to why young men get so into hardcore that they just end up awkward, autistic vinyl nerds who will never know true love.

10/10


VietNam
VietNam
Kemado Records

What’s not to like about country rock done right? This sounds like Wilco with the guy from the Jesus and Mary Chain singing. Yeah that’s right, it’s really good. I don’t understand why they would admit to having the same producer as Maroon 5 in their press release though, seems like the kind of thing you’d want to keep quiet.

8/10


Grizzly Bear
Friend EP
Warp Records

I’m having a rough time emotionally at the moment, not proper hard times or anything -I still have my health and I sort of have a job- it’s girl problems and shit. Anyway, this record, in all its shimmering, snail’s pace, miserable glory, has had me in the foetal position all afternoon. I'm a little fag.

7/10




Jesu
Lifeline EP
Hydrahead

This is not metal anymore but metalheads still love it cos they think Justin is a genius and should be allowed to do whatever without anyone complaining how what he does sounds more like shoegazing stuff than industrial grind these days.

8/10


Prefuse 73
Preparations
Warp Records

Why did I get sent so much Warp stuff this month? Some of this sounds like music for car adverts and some of this is pretty emotive. It comes with a bonus disc that sounds like the score to a really sad film, which I actually like more than the main disc.

6/10


Joe Lally
Nothing Is Underrated
Dischord

Joe Lally’s bass parts were one of the main reasons Fugazi were so interesting and cool, this is kind of like the quieter songs on the last few Fugazi records but with a singer that can actually sing, I don’t know if that’s better, just different.

7/10




The Weirdos
Destroy All Music
Bomp!

Rock and roll is never going to look as much like a threat to civilisation as much as it must have done in the late seventies. Why is everything so boring now?

8/10


Saviours
Cavern Of Mind
Kemado

It’s such a shame that someone invented the phrase ‘hipster metal’ because it makes me feel guilty for really, really liking this.

8/10


Figurines
When The Deer Wore Blue
Strange Feeling

Figurines can really sing -like the Beach Boys in fact- so why are there so many boring jangly guitar passages? They should get a lovely orchestra with violins and really tug on our heartstrings.

7/10


Black Mountain
In The Future
Jagjaguar

If I wrote for Q magazine I would call this proper rock music. This is almost totally flawless and has bits of Wilco, Sabbath, PJ Harvey and Jesus and Mary Chain in all the right places.

10/10