Plan B (Pendulum remix): Stay Too Long

Essentially just another Pendulum track, enough said. Don't get me wrong, Pendulum were intuitively innovative, and should be credited for their amalgamation of musical genres, but their remixes often leave a bitter taste in my mouth; as the saying goes "if it ain't broke don't fix it". With every remix they put out, the original song receives a good battering from their now cheesy synths and generic, heavy guitar distortion. 

The track "Stay Too Long"survives just a minute of Plan B's high pitched yet fairly decent vocals before it is battered as the Pendulum build-up kicks in much to my annoyance.

It is so predictable! I knew from the offset that as soon as a glimpse of Pendulum seeped through that Plan B would revert to his anger driven lyrical flow accompanined with displeasing sirens. It's one thing for Pendulum to continue making conservative and unchanging music for thmeselves, but to sabotage other artist's work is not on. 

What really gets to me about this remix is that the work Pendulum put in is clearly minimal and very lazy. I would put money on the fact that when they heard this song they thought that Plan B had given it to them on a plate as the track is so easily transformed into one of their own; at least with their take on Prodigy's "Voodoo People", it felt like a fair amount of time had gone into the production process. 

Pendulum offer nothing new and the only saving grace in this track was that Rob Swire's irritating robotic voice was not present. But if that's the only positive to be found in a release then... 

If I was Plan B I would throw this remix back in their face, and smash Pendulum's synthesisers for good measure for destroying a quality tune. 

Wiley new single: Take That

The Godfather of UK Grime is back! And in the words of Wiley, he's got the formula and he'll 

rain on all o' ya, take that!

Solely responsible for bringing the grime scene out of the underground of Bow, East London, Wiley has managed to take the likes of Tinchy Stryder and Chipmunk to the limelight through his own successes and now it's his time. 

New track "Take That" is supposedly written as a response to colleagues continual mocking of his pharmaceutical degree, well, if this is the sort of tune he rolls off when he is annoyed then imagine his musical potential when he's steaming mad.

This sure-to-be-club banger shakes you awake from the offset, with Wiley's voice demanding you Take That!

Teaming up with Brooklyn based Producer, Chew Fu to move his music in a new direction with choppy, razor-synths, the track instantly reaffirms that this song is anything but forgiving in content, and exudes a vibe of frantic mayhem and panic with a massive dose of satisfaction.

This is one of those tracks which will be accepted by genres across the musical spectrum, and I'm sure that 2010 will be Wiley's year as he follows fellow Grime superstars to deserved success.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjoQEckfDeQ

Your Demise: Joiners

Your Demise stormed the stage at Southampton's Joiners on Monday night with their hardcore metal sound as their Santa Slaughter tour tears across the country as relentlessly as their own music. With an army of fans, Joiners seemed as crowded as ever and certainly as manic. Likened to bands such as Hatebreed and influenced heavily by hardcore bands such as Sick Of It All, Your Demise offered an English familiarity within their tunes and never once tried to take on the Americanisms, which so plague this scene. 

Newly appointed singer, Ed McRae, the anger-driven manifestation of the band, never once stopped moving, pacing the stage like a lost rabid dog. He was as exhausting to watch as the hardcore metal is on the eardrum. However, as furiously as his mannerisms were projected, the rest of the band appeared glued to the stage except for the occasional meager sway.  

Apart from McRae's shrieking demands, Your Demise provide a generic metal show and definitely not an intimate one at that. I never felt engaged, with a lot of the songs sounding the same and as the show went on it felt like you were just listening to the same track stuck on repeat.

The exclusion of a driving guitar force could possibly be the root of Your Demise's lack of innovation and individuality, and inevitably their success, but hey, the kids at the show didn't seem to mind. 

Mumford and Sons new single: Winter Winds

Let's not mess about, but when the word "folk" is uttered, people usually think one of two things, they either think Johnny Cash or they think Wild West. It's the fact of the matter. It is only the educated, folk music enlightened few who can differentiate between sub categories. So, for me Mumford and Sons promote a somewhat underground, and to some extent a dying genre with effortless finesse. This London group are cropping up everywhere at the moment and doing the UK folk scene the world of good.

Putting the whole genre-defining debate aside, Mumford and Sons' "Winter Winds" is a superb standalone track and a very memorable one to boot. You know when an unknown or obscure band releases a huge hit? Well this is there's.

It's like folk music but not; Indie Folk if you will. There is something very astutely accessible and real about this song and indeed this band. With peculiarly endearing lyrics complimented with uplifting melodies, it resonates a feeling of realism and beautified nostalgia within true love.

The song creates atmosphere, which you can almost taste with every syllable, with its use of banjo and brass creating a fabulous fable-like masterpiece. "Winter Winds" is the sort of track that makes you stop what you are doing regardless of the task in hand.

If Mumford and Sons fail to take off, then this song must be cherished. It is simply timeless and it will still have the same effect on people in fifty years time as it has today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pABNMCYOO4Y

Apples: The Unit

Interesting music but a decidedly average performance, consisting of little to no stage presence. If Apples (a five-piece from Hereford) upped the anti a bit then they will go on to huge things.

The music was great, and after seeing them perform at The Unit on Saturday I checked out the band’s myspace, and recognized the songs from the gig instantly, and I felt they did well to perform the songs as crisply as they did in recordings.

They simply make flawless pop music. Comparable to the likes of Vampire Weekend fused with Madness, with a faint hint of The Smiths’ jangly, reverb sound. Although I offer comparisons to this band, what I liked about them was they are hard to pigeonhole, and although being by no means original, they take on the guises of a variety of artists.

Unlike so many other up and coming bands they have managed to get the layering in their songs correct so as to make them sound complete and not empty. The stand out track for me was “Monty, It’s time”. This was a great tune, which had really catchy backing vocals that had me humming the whole evening. Delightfully infectious.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell if the audience were there to see these guys or if they were just there because it is somewhere for the alternative people to congregate. I would like to think that the turnout was for the band but I don’t think it was. This shouldn’t dishearten the guys as it would be surprising if they are not on Radio 1 within a year; clear up the disengaging live show and the potential is endless. These guys are on to a winner.

Towers of London: Joiners

Forget the facade and charade of Donnie Tourette's appearances on Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Celebrity Big Brother, because when the Towers of London come to rocking something fierce, do they?!

Storming the Joiner's stage on Sunday night in true punk rock fashion, singer, Donnie could have said anything and the crowd would have lapped up every word of it. The band played up to the cliche mannerisms of a standard punk band with ghastly smirks and peculiar hand movements, but instead of leaving the audience feeling embarrassed for them, the crowd relished in the scene.

Essentially, what it all boils down to is raw talent and these guys definitely have this by the bag load. Keeping a dying UK punk scene alive, true punk fans have to put their faith in the new generation as the likes of Sham 69 and UK SUBS aren't going to be around forever, plus it would be unfair to expect these veterans to tour forever. Towers of London are certainly as mental as the original punks of the day, and as far as music goes, they are on a par with, if not better than the punks of the late 70's.

Going to the gig with preconceptions of witnessing a bunch of media whores, i was pleasantly surprised. Tonight was all about the music. Stand out tracks were the crowd-pleasing "I'm a rat" with its awesome intro build-up, which climaxed into a crescendo searing lead guitar riff, with a catchy chorus of repeating I'M A RAT. Simple yet effective.

Towards the end of the gig the band left the stage leaving just Dirk Tourette on stage with an acoustic guitar. He gave a great acoustic version of "F**k it up", which, apart from being suitably mesmeric, provided a well earned break for the army of exhausted fans. Then, after being prompted by the crowd to give another song he played the theme tune for Only Fools And Horses, which was excellent. Not expected, but certainly well received, it fitted oddly well in with the vibe of the show.

Without a doubt, one of the best gigs I have been to this year. You simply don't get new bands going all out to make this style of music anymore. With beautified adaptations of punk being broadcast on the airwaves today, Towers of London make no compromises and uphold how the style was meant to be.

The Cribs new single: We Share The Same Skies

Go home Johnny Marr! The former Smiths guitarist's influence is ruining the style of Wakefield rockers The Cribs.

Where The Cribs' once shambolic nature was unrivaled, their new sound is no good and certainly not unique. All fingers point to Mr Marr.

Of course with any new band mate, there is sure to be a new acquisition of sound, and a new layer added, but with such a dramatic change in direction, The Cribs sound is barely recognisable even when comparing their latest single to releases from their previous album.

The Cribs used to sound fresh, but this latest offering "We Share The Same Skies" resembles a distant, banished cousin of The Smiths. Do we really need another band resembling a modern day Smiths?

Musically the song is hard to bash, and I'm sure there will be the age old argument of "the band have matured", but this should not happen in The Cribs' case as it's their careless nature which brought them to media attention and admired musical credential in the first place. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

NME top 100 cool list? Wrinkly old rocker Johnny Marr? I don't think so. With Johnny Marr in toe, he is dragging down both the music and the look of The Cribs.

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DbcAl3EbIs