Barriers to Right

  Forest Live 2025

  The Commoners Live

  Montreux British Dedication

  Joanna Shaw Taylor UK Tour

  Within Temptation Ukraine Film

  Gaza - Too Little, Too Late

  Robert Jon & The Wreck Live

  Mike Peters Remembered

  Elliot Minor Live Manchester

  The Swell Season LP & Tour

  Robert Jon & The Wreck ‘24 Tour

  EARTH DAY 2025

  Montreux Lineup 2025

  The Omen (Has Arrived)

  Divine Comedy Back in ‘25!

  DOWNLOAD 2025

  The Damn Truth UK Tour

  David Gray’s New LP & Tour

  On Freelance Photography

  Trump’s Winning Ways…?

  Martha Wainwright’s Debut LP

  Roger Waters on Amused To Death

  Trump, Drunk On Power

  Apartheid and Beyond…

  David Ford Live in ‘25

  My Favourite Records

  In Dreams…

  Coheed & Cambria New LP & Tour

  Young Knives New LP & UK Tour

  Elliot Minor Back In 2025

  Emily Barker LP & 2025 UK Tour

  Political Inhumanity

  Record Reviews

  Ani DiFranco 2025 Tour

  “Let Right Be Done”

  Farah Nabulsi Filmmaker

  G3 Reunion Live LP in ‘25

  IS THIS IT?

  Larkin Poe Live in ‘25 + New LP

  Laura Marling New Record Out Now

  Rise Against 2025 Tour

  Rag ‘N’ Bone Man New LP & Tour

  The Middle East Crisis

  Ezra Collective New LP & Tour

  Leif Vollebekk New, Great LP

  Stick In The Wheel Returns

  SO, WHAT’S CHANGED?

  “They’re American Planes…”

  Olive Tree By Olive Tree…

  Ani Di Franco In Conversation

  Gemma Hayes Returns

  Remembering Thomas Hoepker

  Joe Bonamassa Live in 25

  On Misinformation

  Joan As Police Woman LP

  Politics - Who To Trust?

  The 76 Year Catastrophe

  Black Country Communion Back!

  Within Temptation Live Recordings

  Beth Gibbons New Solo LP

  Politics Is Failing

  Ani DiFranco New LP

  Pink Floyd’s Animals Remix

  SHIT FLOATS

  Seasick Steve Alive & Kickin’

  “My country, right or wrong…”

  Heart Announce Live Tours

  Anais Mitchell HADESTOWN Returns

  The Photographer’s Selection

  Gaza Nightmare Continues

  Princess Goes COME OF AGE

  Philip ‘Seth’ Campbell Live

  This Troubled World

  Dark Side Of The Moon 50th

  The More I Hear The Less I Know

  Great Albums: Fresh New Life

  Hozier’s New Album

  Nicole Atkins Jim Sclavunos Live

  SBT (Sarabeth Tucek) Live

  I’m As Angry As Hell!

  Magnum - A Year in Ukraine

  Alessandra Sanguinetti Interview

  The Damn Truth Live

  Newton Faulkner Live

  The Handsome Family Live

  The State We’re In Pt II

  Eric Gales Live

  The Cavalry Never Arrived

  Chvrches Live

  Andrés Peña Flamenco Star Live

  Paul Draper Live

  A Fly-Free Zone

  Liverpool Jazz Festival

  The Charlatans Live

  UK Democracy Threatened

  Rag’n'Bone Man Live

  Sea Girls Live

  Martha Wainwright Live

  Politics is Failing

  Lucy Kruger TRANSIT TAPES

  Joe Bonamassa Live!

  Rodrigo Y Gabriela Interview

  Music & Brexit

  Happy New Year?

  On Barbra Streisand

  The State We’re In…

  Welcome Back! But To What?

  What Have We Done?

  A RISK TOO FAR

  Photojournalism Hero

  Samantha Fish Live

  Gill Landry Live in Chester

  Noah Gundersen Live

  David Gilmour’s Interview

  Snow Patrol Live in Manchester

  New Model Army Live

  Shakespears Sister Live

  Lamb Live in Manchester

  The Struts Live

  Sting & Shaggy Live

  David Gray Live in Liverpool

  John Lennon Interview


Fontaines D.C. New & Great LP

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Fontaines D.C. A HERO’S DEATH. Partisan Records

‘A Hero’s Death’

“The song is a list of rules for the self, they’re principles for self-subscribed happiness that can often hang by a thread. It’s ostensibly a positive message, but with repetition comes different meanings, that’s what happens to mantras when you test them over and over. There’s this balance between sincerity and insincerity as the song goes on and you see that in the music video as well. That’s why there’s a lot of shifting from major key to minor key. The idea was influenced by a lot of the advertising I was seeing - the repetitive nature of these uplifting messages that take on a surreal and scary feel the more you see them.”

Grian Chatten (lead singer)

The Single Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLNt8aMNbvY

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Review

After listening to debut record DOGREL and witnessing an unruly, wild mosh-generating live performance in Manchester last year, this second record surprises… Opener ‘I Don’t Belong’ is a good example. It’s a guitar strumming, steady and slow bass rhythm song, with vocal clarity which enables every word to be heard, and understood: “You shoulda heard me in the lounger/Telling people what they was/Spitting out all types of sugar/Just dying for a cause, cause, cause…I don’t belong to anyone…I don’t wanna belong to anyone.” It’s a contemplative song with a talking-pace vocal that convinces that it is genuine and true. I’m impressed.

Even with the high-revving pace of next song ‘Love Is The Main Thing’ the initial sonic restraint is sustained with Chatten sounding as though he’s talking with his audience. The melody is huge, the Tex-Mex bass guitar moments add a dark and interesting vibe. So far, so excellent. ‘Television Mind’ is next and maintains a rapid pace with that bass guitar sound dominating the opening moments. Drum rattle away as the talking-pace vocal delivers another set of strong and passionate lyrics: “That’s a televised mind/16 bars for the televised mind/Dublin line for the televised mind/We’re all televised minds.” The message clearly reflects today’s media influence and (missplaced) power to convince.

‘A Lucid Dream’ delivers with its varied pace, moody bass guitar and madly rushed, driving choruses backed by another massive melody. It’s breathless and magical. ‘You Said’ with its distinctive guitar intro, softer Chatten vocal and memorable melody delivers a simpler sound that is nothing less than compelling. ‘Oh Such A Spring’ offers an even simple tune with its stripped-down instrumental arrangement and clear, sincere vocal. The tone is lighter, the message is simple and one of hope: “I wish I could go back to spring again.”

‘A Hero’s Death’ has a punk underbelly with some surprising touches such as the traditional vocal chorus and other influences. It’s an upbeat song that delivers another set of accessible and intelligent lyrics: “Don’t get stuck in the past/Say your favourite things at mass/Tell your mother that you love her/And go out of your way for others/Sit beneath a light that suits ya/And look forward to a brighter future.” ‘Living In America’ is a harder and darker song with a more distant vocal and Chatten sounding like a supercharged J Cash! The melody again is strong and its an excellent example of the very high production standard that exemplifies this record.

‘I Was Not Born’ again follows a punk rock route with its driving bass rhythm and darting guitars. The echoed vocal delivers yet another set of brilliant lyrics with a clear message: “I was not born/Into this world/To do another man’s bidding…All you antiquated strangers/All throwing in the towel/To do another man’s bidding.” ‘Sunny’ is a lighter-than-light tune which is akin to a parent telling a child stories and offers a very different sound. The record concludes with a musical beauty called ‘No’. Acoustic guitar introduces the song and remains the chief protagonist. Chatter’s vocal is nothing less than clear, moving and believable. In line with most songs here the melody arrives in truckloads and lyrics that are real and compelling: “When you go down to that place/It makes a monster of your face/It makes you twisted and unkind/And all the right words hard to find/There’s no living to a life/Where all your fears are running rife/And you’re mugged by your belief/That you owe it all to grief/No.”

I admired the band’s debut album but I love this new one. There’s restraint in abundance, with instrumental arrangements and vocals delivered with great clarity; so that the sentiments expressed so sincerely are heard and understood. It’s music from the heart, soul and mind and totally essential.

5/5

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