Reviews roundup – Jared James Nichols vs. Autobahn vs. Leather Leaf vs. Dead Memory

Reviews roundup – Jared James Nichols vs. Autobahn vs. Leather Leaf vs. Dead Memory

 

JARED JAMES NICHOLS
Black Magic
Listenable Records

When “Old Glory & The Wild Revival” came out I said it was was “monstrous blues rock in a Pride & Glory kind of way”. I was right, of course. And now he’s back for another crack.

And it’s “monstrous blues rock in a Pride & Glory kind of way”. Thank goodness for that. There’s be no overnight conversion into noodling or intimate confessions. No he’s cranked his power trio up and then cranked it out. Which suits me nicely. So he’s still mixing up seventies styled Leslie West moments with oodles of southern rock emotion and a scoop of the blues to make it rise up. The opening track (and lead single) ‘Last Chance’ blasts off and sums up exactly what he does in under three minutes. So there’s no faffing around here. But it’s not all balls to the wall as a quick listen to the almost delicate ‘Home’ will attest.

But it’s mainly about delicious riffing, of which my favourite is ‘Got To Have You’. It’s bouncy and addictive. But wherever you drop the needle you’re guaranteed to find something you want to listen to. For sure the production, at times, seems a wee bit on the dry side but turn the volume up loud enough and it will blow you away. Highly recommended. The promo has 10 tracks but buy the CD and you get three extra songs including two recorded at Hellfest 2017. It’s also available on vinyl.

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AUTOBAHN
The Moral Crossing
Tough Love Records

It’s not surprising to learn that Autobahn hail from Leeds. After all this is where the Sisters of Mercy and their offspring sprang to life back in the eighties. And if you’re in the market for some eighties styled electro goth pop then this is somewhere you ought to be.

Add in the requisite indie nods to the likes of Joy Division and Autobahn are probably the perfect band for moody nineteen year olds at jumped up polytechnics who seem to think that their lives are really shite. Well walk in my shoes for a few decades and then come back and tell me about shite. Back to Autobahn and even an old manic depressive drunk like me can tell they’ve got that wee bit extra that could push them up the ladder of success.

Don’t come her looking for any Kraftwerk sounds, mind. No, it’s droning guitars to the front on songs like title track, ‘Execution/Rise’ and others with the standouts probably being the cheery ‘Obituary’ and equally chirpy ‘Torment’. It’s well produced and arranged and seems them starting to expand their sound. The indie depressives will love it.

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LEATHER LEAF
Desecrated Minds
independent

Back when their last record “Aggravated” came out I quite enjoyed their early eighties indie metal sound.

Of course this is a band who say they’re influenced by Evanescence, In this Moment, Symphony X and Disturbed so that probably wasn’t really much of a compliment. Well this time around they do sound a bit better although the songs themselves retain some of the ramshackle charm from last time around. They are getting more ambitious in their songwriting as the likes of the seven minute plus ‘Barely Alive’ will attest and ‘This Haunting’ is probably the closest they’ve got to emulating their heroes and it’s by far the best song on offer.

The delightfully named Melissa Madnezz certainly has a voice you’ll remember and the two years that have passed have served them well as this surpasses their debut.

 

DEAD MEMORY
Welcome To My Fairy Tale
Timezone

German alternative rock time now. I heard their “Cinderella” release a couple of years back and was impressed that they actually knew how to right songs. Something a lot of alt-rockers forget about.

Well they still know how to write a song so that’s a good thing. Musically it’s still a mix of modern rock, post grunge and modern post punk so it’s not going to be the first thing I reach for when I need a musical fix. But for those who like This Sort Of Thing it will be an interesting listen.

On songs like the title track, ‘Friday Night’ and ‘Born To Fly’ they show that they have enough of a commercial spin on their sound to take a few steps in the right direction. They’ve even got a radio friendly power ballad in the shape of ‘Take Me To Neverland’ which would make folks sit up and pay attention should they get the chance to hear it.

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