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