Redfest 2012

Located in the heart of Surrey at Robins Cook Farm in Redhill, Redfest is the perfect alternative to the large corporate festivals. The 3-day  festival boasts 5 stages filled with upcoming British talent; the outside Main stage, Gozibe Introducing stage, Acoustic stage, and 2 dance stages which run until 3am.

Friday afternoon saw the only rain of the weekend, but had cleared by the time Mallory Knox hit the Main stage. The band have been playing festivals shows all summer which shows as the crowd sing a long to tracks from their EP 'Pilot', and new tracks 'Hello' and 'Wake Up' go down well for the upcoming band, one to watch for sure (8). Up next on the Main Stage, Subsource brought their mixture of dubstep and punk but the crowd decided it was too early and the performance falls slightly flat (5).
Over on the Gozibe Introducing stage, Attention Thieves got a lot of deserved attention with their punk/post-hardcore sound and are sure to have gained a handful of new admirers (8). Young Guns are no strangers to British music these days and deliver their expected punk rock to the Main stage. Gustav Wood looks at ease fronting the Buckinghamshire outfit, and tracks from their second album 'Bones' go down as well as old favourites (7). A quiet break to the Acoustic stage saw Oxford-born Adam Barnes playing a mixture of tracks from 'Blisters' and new songs, proving why he attracts such a large variety of music fans (8).
The Introducing stage headliners Shadows Chasing Ghosts didn't get many to play to but still put on an energetic show (7) as everyone headed to see dance rock band Modestep bring in [by far] the largest crowd of weekend, playing singles 'Sunlight' and 'Show Me A Sign' as well as tracks from the charts, finishing the Main stage on a high (8).

Saturday afternoon saw trio Loose Lips play the Introducing stage sounding like a mix between Motion City Soundtrack and Alkaline Trio (6), before Natives hit the Main stage in the glorious sun. Ignoring their Not Advised past, Natives got through half an hour of new tracks which sounded great but left the crowd longing for an album release to really get involved with the New Forest quintet (6). Sonic Boom Six return to the festival scene playing a few older tracks and covers before their new album is out, and gave the Redhill audience a reason to dance. Finishing with 'Piggy In The Middle', Laila and co are back and are more fun than ever (9).
Deaf Havana have played all over the country since the release of critically acclaimed album 'Fools and Worthless Liars' and finally unveiled a brand new song in memory of Phil from 'Hunstanton Pier'. The recent addition of lead singer James's little brother to the live show adds an extra tightness to the sound of the band as they successfully warmed the crowd for the night's headliners (8).
Fei Comodo last ever festival show was seen in the Gozibe Introducing stage as the band headlined Saturday night to an enthusiastic crowd who were mostly seeing the band for the last time. A great send off for the Essex post-hardcore band who will be greatly missed (8). Kids In Glass Houses are veterans on the pop-punk circuit these days, and with 3 albums behind them, the Welsh rockers have plenty to choose from for their hour headlining set. With most of the bands performance haling from the Dirt album, Aled and friends closed the day with smiles all around (7).

The final day of Redfest welcomed Straight Lines to the outside Main stage who unfortunately played to a small crowd, but got through some of their best tracks from 2012 release 'Freaks Like Us' (7). Bedford quartet Don Broco's new album Priorities gives us all something to look forward to this summer, while vocalist Bobby entered the wall of death as he's now expected and fan favourites 'Dreamboy' and 'Thug Workout' were belted out, Don Broco put on one of the best shows of the weekend (9). The Skints slowed proceedings down with their London reggae but disappointingly fell flat (5).
Over at the Introducing stage, Proxies were dancing away to their electronic rock (7) before Hildamay's headline set proved to be only the beginning we will be hearing from them (8).

Redfest has grown and grown over the last few years, and showed that the biggest isn't necessary the best. A highly recommended festival for anyone looking to sample the best of British rock music, chill out to the best acoustic acts around, or to party all night to DJ's.

8/10

Live Review: Wolfmother @ Indigo2

6/7/12 Wolfmother + Turbowolf @ Indigo2, London.

A broken down van couldn't stop Bristol quartet Turbowolf from playing this evening, eager to share their own brand of psychadelic electronic metal with the London crowd. The band have been touring the same material for the last five years and finally released their debut album last year to much critical acclaim, seeing the band have singles played on Radio 1 and playing shows all over the continent.
The late arrival tonight didn't allow enough time to perfect the sound quality, but Chris Georgiadis led the set [along with his usual outrageous shirt] with old fan favourites 'Read and Write' and 'Ancient Snake' along with newer tracks 'Bag O Bones' and 'Roses For The Crows'. With seismic riffs and exciting live shows, the band are certainly looking an exciting prospect (8).

"Hello Knebworth", Andrew Stockdale jokes to the Indigo2 crowd, as the Australian band open their Sonisphere replacement show. After several lineup changes and label set backs, Wolfmother now tour as a five-piece and still [despite their worldwide success] only have two albums to their name. Even though 7 years have passed since their debut self-titled record, 'Wolfmother' still dominates the setlist with punters hearing hits 'Woman', 'Joker & the Thief', and 'Dimension' amongst others. A musically excellent performance clearly attracts an older demographic to Wolfmother shows, expecting a real Rock and Roll concert.
Wolfmother approach their live appearances as a band with 25 years of experience, and boasting 6 albums behind them would. An impressive 2 hour performance for a band with just 2 albums, but more material will definitely cut out any filler songs during the middle of the set.

7/10

The Offspring - Days Go By

You must have been living under a rock for 25 years to have avoided the Offspring's career. Dexter and co. brought their brand of punk rock to the mainstream public in the 90s, and now return with their ninth studio album 'Days Go By'.

Opening track 'The Future Is Now' is an excellent start, sounding similar to modern day Rise Against, as well as 'Secrets from the Underground' proving that the Offspring can provide the same fast punk rock of old. New single 'Days Go By' falls slightly flat and seems dull in comparison, but 'Turning Into You' and 'Hurting As One' will make great listening for die hard fans.
You would think that a career spanning two and a half decades, and after selling over 50 million albums, that the Offspring would know what they were good at by now. Although creating some of the best fun rock songs of all time, 'Cruising California (Bumpin' In My Trunk)' is a disaster and just sounds awkward and embarrassing [think less 'Pretty Fly For A White Guy' and more your drunk parents singing karaoke at a wedding]. 'OC Guns' is also completely misplaced and makes the album disjointed.
A random but welcome re-recording of 'Ignition' classic 'Dirty Magic' brightens the mood before the album peters out, disappointing promise from the start.

'Days Go By' isn't the best album the veteran rockers have produced but nobody was expecting it to be. If used wisely, it has enough good tracks to keep their live show fresh and new, but they won't be gaining too many new fans any time soon.

5/10

Yashin - We Created A Monster

After the release of 'Miles Away But Getting Closer EP' and the departure of vocalist Michael Rice, Yashin recruited two frontmen to fill the void. Scottish screamer Kevin Miles and American singer Harry Radford now create the sound that we now recognise as Yashin. New album 'We Created A Monster' continues what 2010's 'Put Your Hands Where I Can See Them' started for the now American/Scottish band.

An introductory song leads into 'Runaway Train' and 'New Year or New York' showing Yashin's dual vocals at their best. With bands such as Deaf Havana and We Are The Ocean opting for clean vocals only, as well as Alexisonfire breaking up, there may be a gap in the market here for Yashin to exploit, and rival bands like The Blackout on the British scene.
More melodic tracks 'Pushing Up Daisies' and 'The Game' show a softer side to the band, followed by a seemingly pointless interlude before 'Angel's Son' picks up the tempo once again.
TV and radio friendly 'Make It Out Alive' stands out for being partially different, before returning for more of the same to close out the album.

Nothing particularly ground-breaking or new here, but expect the kids to love it.

7/10

Futures - The Kharma Album

Formed in 2009 from the remains of promising upcoming bands Tonight Is Goodbye and The Riverclub, Futures sold out their first ever gig, released a critically acclaimed EP and signed to major record label Mercury records. But after recording The Kharma Album over a year ago with no release, Futures cancelled their contract and released the album independently on their new record label Indigo.

Opening tracks 'Start A Fire' and 'Islands In The Sea' have arena anthems written all over them, with big choruses and Ant West's voice sounding better and cleaner than before. Latest single 'Karma Satellite' slows things down with sounds reminiscent of Francesqa.
'Indigo' and 'Say My Name' provide enough of a sing-a-long to keep you interested during the middle of the album until we're reminded of the excellent 'The Holiday EP' with a re-recorded version of first ever single 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'.
Acoustic 'We Had It All' and upbeat 'Today We Had Love' close the album to show the diversity that Futures have to offer.

The Kharma Album's delayed release put Futures success on hold, but only slightly. Expect the Buckinghamshire band to be on your radars for a good while yet.

7/10

Failsafe - Routines

Preston based rockers Failsafe return with their third album eager to follow on from a successful spot on hit TV show 'The Inbetweeners'. 'Routines' has better production quality than previous efforts and pays off with catchier choruses and cleaner riffs, resulting in Failsafe finding their perfect sound. 'Early Hours' and the title track [and first single] 'Routines' provide big sing alongs, while opener 'The Persistence Of Memory' immediately shows us that this band has progressed so far since 'The Truth Is...'. Closing with the anthemic 'Worth The Wait', we can do nothing but agree...

9/10

Canterbury - Heavy In The Day

Farnham four-piece Canterbury finally return with second album 'Heavy In The Day', three years since well received 'Thank You' graced our ears. The release of several of the album tracks as previous singles and EPs does nothing to dampen the excitement of 'Heavy In The Day', as the band continue to release records completely independently, and 'Thank You' producer Peter Miles returns.

Introduction title track 'Heavy In The Day' is a slow disappointing start from the normally upbeat band, but things change around immediately with 'Something Better' which delivers as one of the best songs the band has written.

Brand new single 'Saviour' has Radio 1 written all over it, and is sure to give Canterbury more media attention than ever before, whereas tracks 'Wrapped In Rainbows' and 'She's a Flame' go down as unmemorable filler tracks. 

Crowd favourites 'More Than Know', 'Calm Down', and 'Ready Yet?' provide the rest of the stand out tunes from the albums, possibly pushing Canterbury into the forefront of the Indie Rock scene.

So, a mixed bag of an album for Canterbury this time around, but when it's good, it's damn good. It can only improve the selection of live tracks for them to choose from, and could see bigger and better things coming for the band.

7/10

Catch Canterbury on tour, now!

Skindred - Union Black

Skindred are probably the only reggae metal band in Wales, but if they weren't they would still be the best. Newport's finest return with 'Union Black' sounding larger than ever. Love or hate Papa Roach frontman Jacobby Shaddix, you'll be singing his chorus on first single 'Warning' for days, while 'Doom Riff' and 'Game Over' satisfy all head-banging needs. Skindred fans will welcome 'Union Black' with arms open as wide as possible, exceeding expectations after a lacklustre 'Shark Bites and Dog Fights'. Already praised as one of the best and most fun live bands around, this addition to their catalogue of huge crowd-pleasers and dancier tunes will no doubt make their festival shows draw in more and more punters. See you in the pit.

8/10

Steel Panther - Balls Out

Steel Panther's old school glam rock image is crude, sexist, filthy, and everything else you could want in 80s style metal. Although seemingly 30 years overdue, Steel Panther have bursted out onto the scene and established themselves as festival favourites within a couple of years. 'Balls Out' continues where 'Feel The Steel' left off, with ridiculous lyrics and stadium sing-a-longs. This time round we hear advice on how to get girls like Tiger Woods, and boasts of the band sleeping with 17 girls in one day. Any of it true? Who knows, who cares. More please.

8/10