Big Catch Up 1 - Marching Church - This World Is Not Enough

Elias Rønnenfelt took a break from the country-infused post punk of Iceage to release this gem. While Marching Church began life as a Rønnenfelt solo project, for debut album, ‘This World Is Not Enough,’ he is joined by a full band complete with strings and horns.

‘This World Is Not Enough’ takes us through an array of varied sounds from the pumping drums of opener ‘Living in Doubt’ to the shrouded darkness of ‘You’re Father’s Eyes’. The Iceage front man’s often bleak but always fascinating lyrics tie together each song with illustrious ribbons of pure pretension.

I can see that this album will not be for everyone. If you’re a fan of beautifully grandiose music and Nick Cave-esque vocals this album was lovingly crafted with you in mind and you’ve in for a treat.

Mourn - Mourn

Madrid's Hinds (formerly Deers) took 2014 by storm touring their playful summer tunes and bringing the fiesta wherever they went. Travel east to Spain's second city and you'll find group of young Catalonians. Barcelona's Mourn, from a distance seem to have popped up over night, releasing their self-titled debut LP on February 16 on Captured Tracks.

Opener 'Your Brain Is Made of Candy' paces out of the blocks before trotting along echoed guitar strums and leaping into a drum lead gallop. A sudden finish to what has become a raucous opener sounds almost as if some ludicrous person has pulled the plug on the four teenagers. They quickly set things straight by jumping into the suitable named 'Dark Issues'. Thundering drums and ragged guitar riffs create a shroud of post-punk smog which leaks slowly into your jubilant ears.

'You Don't Know Me' and 'Marshall' offer up a mesmerising few minutes of heavy head-banging guitars at the album's midpoint. 'Squirrel' then meanders towards a more indie sound with a busily bumbling bass solo which plunges into a pool of slashed guitar chords.

 Youthful anger opens 'Jack' as singer Jazz Rodríguez Bueno calls out "you think you're awesome, I say you're boring, you called me a baby, I just said fuck you!". This fury continues until the albums bitter end in the form of the band's first ever song, 'Boys Are Cunts'. Scratching guitars accompany vocals reminiscent of Savages' front women Jenny Beth. Soft coos then morph into agonising screams of punk rock euphoria as the album explosively arrives at an abrupt finish.

On the surface Mourn's music is far from the dreamy indie rock of Hinds. However, as front women Bueno and Carla Pérez Vas chant "Your brain is made of candy" a fierce wave of youth power crashes against the glistening beaches of Barcelona. Despite their sound differences, Spain's two brightest new bands are leading the latest wave of exciting young European musicians and the future is looking sunny!

Albums of the Year - #5 Eagulls - Eagulls

As the end of 2014 is nearing lists are beginning to pop up everywhere. Everyone has their own favourite albums and that is what makes the lists great, they get people talking (or arguing). However, none of the lists I've seen have got the top five albums on the year right yet, so it's up to me to give you the definitive top five. Here is number five:

Leeds five-piece Eagulls are without a doubt one of the UKs best live acts, their intense post punk noise makes for a sweaty night out to say the least. The band's eponymous debut album is no different, turn it up loud enough and the band, who very rarely make conversation between songs at live gigs, could almost be in the room with you.

'Nerve Endings' gets the kicks off in a shroud of feedback which is eventually broken into by a heavy baseline. Screeches of guitars echo in the background as frontman George Mitchell cries out "Theres no reason, no sense, no meaning/behind my awkward smile". The song was written about Mitchell's own troubles with anxiety making the bleakness wistfully personal.

The album doesn't get any less bleak as it goes on. 'Hollow Visions' builds up slowly before diving into a whirlpool of bittersweet guitars while on 'Amber Veins' Mitchell talks of heroin use. Penultimate track 'Opaque' comes with the album's standard whirring guitars and throbbing bass. The poetic lyrics tackle the subject of sexual abuse with Mitchell roaring "now its too late/you've found your prey/you had you way".

One of the album's stand-out tracks and a definite crowd pleaser is 'Possessed' is a tangle of post-punk noise. The track has made some notable TV appearances on Later... with Jools Holland and even on David Letterman's prestigious Late Show. The latter is a major steppingstone to cracking the US, something this angry bunch of Loiners thoroughly deserve if this fantastic debut album is anything to go by.

Iceage - Plowing Into the Field of Love

Iceage's change of sound seemed at first to shock fans that would have possibly expected new material reminiscent of the ravishing punk noise of last year's You're Nothing. However once the initial shocked haze had cleared it became easy to see links between tracks like 'Jackie' and 'Morals' and those on the band's new album Plowing Into the Field of Love. 

Opening track 'On My Fingers' begins with a simple but weighty bass introduction not dissimilar to that of 'Morals'. 'The Lord's Favorite' however, has a more country and western feel to it despite frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt's vocals retaining their rough punk charm as he grumbles "I do believe I'm the lord's favourite one". 

Iceage use a wider range of instruments on this album including a viola and a mandolin, however what really stands out is Asger Valentin's Trumpet cameos. As 'Forever' closes the brass kicks in with a flurry that puts the icing on top of an already deliciously dark cake. "I lose myself forever" Elias calls out amidst a sea of whirring guitars enticing us to jump in with him. 

The highlight of the record is perhaps the beauty of 'Against the Moon'. Piano keys twinkle as a heartbroken Rønnenfelt sighs "Softly she put her hand on my mouth/Softly, so that I/In the silence/Only heard breathing/Closed in living". However there is a darker side to the track as the gentle melody and lyrics are juxtaposed with it's one line chorus, "Pissing against the moon". 

Iceage clearly knew it would be hard to better You're Nothing for pure aggression so they've written an album that is more experimental and more complex. Despite being less abrasive than its predecessor, Plowing Into the Field of Love still an example of the rage fuelled post-punk that we've come to know and love.