EP Review: Test Transmission - Urgency

Test Transmission are a post-rock/grunge quartet from Leeds and Harrogate. They describe their sound as "Harsh, male vocals twin with melodic female vocals, soaring above a dark ambiance, brought about by effect-driven guitars, heavy undertones and powerful drum beats." and are influenced by bands such as 'Biffy Clyro' and 'Smashing Pumpkins', whist still having a very distinctive sound of their own. They have played venues all over Harrogate and Leeds and seem well on their way to larger venues and more high-profile gigs.

Their début EP ‘Urgency’ was released on 1st Feb, and is available for free download here

Before I start, there's one thing I need to make clear which is also present in other reviews of the EP, the mixing is very poor, the balance between the vocals, guitars and drums in particular makes the overall sound of the album lack a lot of dynamics and balls. In my opinion this should be overlooked when looking at the EP, poor mixing is always an issue for bands on a shoe-string budget and should not really be held against them, and I'll avoid bringing it up again too often. Now that's out of the way, on with the review…

Test Transmission - Urgency EP

The opening track ‘Collateral Damage’ gives the EP a very atmospheric opening, with a brilliant opening riff, being a good statement of intent for what is to come. It is also good to see that each track on the EP is individual, while still retaining a similar sound that keeps them together, something the band should be credited for. The single from the EP ‘With You’ provides a strong song with some nice hooks, good harmonies and intricate guitar parts, working together for a very competent song. ‘Coalesce’ gives a slightly heavier sound to the EP, with ‘chugging’ guitars at the opening, the Biffy Clyro influence prevalent here, however the track could certainly do with being a bit more ‘in your face’ dynamics-wise, something that I’m sure isn’t an issue live. 'Programme' starts with a droaning guitar, reminiscent of one of my favourite songs ‘There There’ by Radiohead. The vocals seem to be a bit out on a limb and isolated from the rest of the music, something that unfortunately does not work that well, unlike for bands such as ‘Joy Division’ where it is one of their most defining features.  ‘Our Promises’ is a more indie-rock ‘The Cure’-type song, a more toned down and tender end to the EP, the song itself is arguably the best on the EP, however the ‘drop’ or ‘break’ about half way through is disappointing, with slightly better mixing, it could sound massive, euphoric and really give the ending of the EP some charisma, rather than the lacklustre thing is it now.

There are a few other overall points I’d like to make; Firstly the vocals for some may be a bit of an acquired taste, while Louise’s vocals may not cause that much of an issue and personally I think suits their ambient sound slightly more, Connors are a lot more distinctive. This is in no way a bad thing, bands like WU LYF (who sadly are no more) had a lead vocalist whose vocals were sometimes painful to listen to and then bands such as Biffy and The Phantom Band which have distinctive regional accents for their vocals. EP’s are also all about potential; they are the tool bands use to get better gigs, radio appearances, festival slots and many more, as well as giving an indication of what the band is capable. The reason I’ve given the band a slightly better review than others is that I think that there is a lot of potential there, and I will be very interested to see where the band decide to go from here, whether ‘bigger rock’ like bands such as Biffy and ‘As I Watch You From Afar’ or more ambient post-rock like bands such as ‘Bon Iver’ or ‘Godspeed You! Black Emperor’, either way I’m sure there is only better come from them.

7/10

Here is the single from this EP, ‘With You’:

The band will be playing dates throughout February including this Friday at The Library In Leeds supporting Jonny Quits (which I will be reviewing – see the event preview here)

Mason

Musings: Provocative Songs

Its that time of year again, that odd time when the long nights are slowly rolling back but winter still has a firm grip over you, an odd time which leaves many looking for comfort or solace in something. For some they find it in other people, family, friends, loved ones. For others things like art or photography. But for me I find it in my iTunes. The kind of songs that make you feel something beyond a catchy riff or a hum-able tune, songs that stir the emotions and memories, comfortable and uncomfortable ones. These aren't necessarily sad songs, but rather fulfilling ones, an intricate mix of the careful poetry of the lyrics and the music itself, which can stretch from vast soundscapes to one man and his guitar. Any song that can make someone feel something like that deserves a good amount of credit, and as a musician and lyricist, if I can ever make anyone experience anywhere similar emotions from a piece of work that I've helped create then it'll be a job very well done.

Quite often these songs find themselves on the end of albums, a closing statement of the work, and quite often a chance for the artist to bear some of their soul to whoever happens to be listening, something that artists do not get enough credit for in my opinion. Here are a few of my favourite provocative 'album closers':

re:Stacks - Bon Iver
Epilogue - The Antlers
Leave Me Alone - New Order
Cymbal Rush - Thom Yorke
Vessels - Tall Ships

Many of these type of songs also find themselves further back into their albums, and are no less as emotional and capable of raising the hairs on the back of your neck. There are dozens of these songs in my music collection but these are just a few of the ones that have been playing in my room of late:

Surprise Ice - Kings Of Convenience
Lippy Kids - Elbow
Woman When I've Raised Hell - Josh T. Pearson
About Today - The National
Champagne Year - St Vincent
Love Is All - The Tallest Man On Earth

Enjoy.

These next few days should also see a flurry of reviews coming soon, including EPs from Test Transmission and Ghost Capsules, as well as Foals' highly anticipated new album 'Holy Fire'.

Mason

My Latitude 2012 - Friday

Despite Latitude Festival being many weeks gone now, I thought I'd recap my Latitude experience of the bands that I saw (and some I wanted to see but didn't quite manage to). The post would be too long if I listed all 3 days worth so I'm going to write up each day individually. Here goes... (links to youtube videos are in blue)

Friday 

This was my 3rd Latitude festival and I think probably the first year I was mature enough to fully appreciate it. I got there on the Thursday morning without trouble, the tent was pitched, the cider was ready and I had my list of bands I wanted to see. These are the bands I saw on the 1st day:

The first band of the festival that I saw was a Scandinavian punk-rock band called 'Ice Age'. There had been a lot of hype about the band and their 'onstage energy', and someone even telling me they had been compared to Joy Division, an interesting prospect. As it turns out I had a right to be sceptical, as for me, and for a lot of people there it didn't live up to the hype. There was some energy onstage but no more than you'd expect from a punk band. The music itself was heavier than I would listen to out of choice but I stuck around for the full set non the less. But, for me it just sounded like noise, loud, critically acclaimed noise. However one thing in the program about them which amused me, was the anecdote that their debut album was 24 minutes long in 12 tracks.

Ice Age - Total Drench

'The Silver Seas' were a band that I just happened to stumble across on my wanderings around the main arena. The atmosphere inside the tent of the Word arena was very welcoming and the band themselves gave a nice set of listenable songs that the whole tent seemed to enjoy, and as it was not very full, there was plenty of space to get in. The band for me were the definition of easy listening but at the side of many of the other bands I saw, not gripping or compelling enough to inspire me to go home and download/buy an album.

The Silver Seas - Dream Of Love

This is one of my dad's favourite bands and out of a sense of duty I went along to watch the set with him. I've never had much time for Destroyer even with numerous tries and I've always found listening to it a challenge, one that I haven't yet thrown myself into, so I was a bit approaches going into it. The songs didn't grab me, no fault of the band, but it just wasn't my thing. However I could clearly see that they were a SERIOUSLY good band and had a very good following of dedicated fans. Sadly I left early to go and see another band but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I gained a lot of respect for the band later after learning that they were in the crowd to see both Kurt Vile and Dexys, nice to see even musicians of their level still goes to watch bands with us 'mere mortals'.

Destroyer - Leave Me Alone (New Order cover)

Before Latitude I had only given The Antlers a brief listen, in hindsight I should have payed so much more attention. Their set at latitude was one of the best live experiences I've ever had, the sound was massive, expansive reverbed guitars, floating and captivating vocals, deep bass tones and an overall effect that left me speechless. After the festival I went home and bought 2 albums immediately and found that their live sound was so different to that on the albums, in my opinion better live but still very, very good on the albums. This was one of the highlights of my weekend and provided a lot of musical inspiration for the band.

The Antlers - Putting The Dog To Sleep

I'd been told about Punch Brothers by a mate before I came down to Latitude and they seemed an interesting one to watch, by no means your conventional folk band or even your 'indie trash folk' such as Noah and the Whale, they did some far more avant-garde stuff such as a brilliant and inspired acoustic version of Kid A by Radiohead. I was amazed by the electronic and incredibly unconventional and un-acoustic sounds they got out of their instruments. They also did some very good feel-good folk songs, akin to 'Bellowhead' at times.

Punch Brothers - Kid A (Radiohead cover)

I watched Glen Hansard with my tea that day, before I went of in search of bands I'd made plans to watch, and only really chose to stay and watch because of  the convenient chairs nearby. I was initially a bit hesitant as at first he seemed like a typical dreamy-eyed, dreamy-voiced Irishman who was a bit like Ed Sheeran. Thankfully he had much more to him than that and gave a very compelling performance, single-handedly knackering his guitar and his hand in his cover of 'Astral Weeks' by Van Morrison. I particularly enjoyed his more rocky, band-orientated songs, such as those he played when he was part a big Irish folk-rock band 'The Frames' and another band 'The Swell Season'

The Swell Season - High Horses

When I initially heard Metronomy I thought they were a bit dull, more like better than average elevator/lift music than a good indie band. However after a bit of persistence I started to enjoy parts of their album 'The English Riviera". They had were only behind Bon Iver on the bill for the main stage so I had high hopes. I think what happened next was the most disappointing performance I'd ever seen. Firstly they started off with a slightly bad-taste "Its nice to play to a crowd who can understand you", but for me worst of all was that they turned up pissed, not just pissed but absolutely mashed and gave an awful performance. And this pissed me off, as someone in a band I'd like to think I'd give my audience the common decency to give a half decent show and not turn up off my tits, yes I know it's a very 'rock 'n roll' thing to do, but let's face it, they're not a rock band, they're a little indie band from Torquay that sound like their music should be on 'The Sims'.

Metronomy - The Look

Bon Iver: Probably THE reason I was exited to come to Latitude this year, and as it was their only UK festival date this year, it was likely to be very very special. I'd always thought they seemed an odd headliner for the main stage, possibly more suited to the Word arena tent, but any doubts I had went immediately. The crowd were brilliant, nearly everyone knew all the words and sang along, even glares to stop singing and embarrassing myself and him didn't stop me. The sound was beautiful, the songs were so expansive and epic it was hard not to be moved. Even songs from his more lo-fi debut album had been given a reworking into (in my opinion) even better songs. That had a great contrast to when Justin came to the front with his guitar and sang 'Skinny Love' and 'Flume' to an ecstatic crowd. I think this will be one of the gig experiences that I'll always look back on with a lot of fond memories as by the rate their ascension is going at the moment, they'll be too big for me to see again.

Bon Iver - Blindsided

Bands that I missed

White Lies: I was so annoyed to find out probably my two favourite the bands of the festival were on the same billing, but in the end I wasn't going to turn down the chance to see Bon Iver.
White Lies - Holy Ghost

Alt-J: Luca showed me some Alt-J a couple of days ago and I remember seeing them on the program for Latitude. Sadly I was somewhere else, I can't remember where but I'm sure it was something important....
Alt-J - Tessellate

So that was my Friday, a brilliant start to the weekend and it only got better...

Mason.