ALBUM REVIEW: "True View" by Stick To Your Guns

Stick To Your Guns have been dealing in frenetic, anthemic hardcore punk for almost 15 years now, and their sixth studio album True View follows the same well-tread path that they (and so many other similar bands) know so well. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; they certainly know how to put together a banger or two, but it really depends on where you sit on the fence with hardcore punk. For me there was just enough of interest to keep my attention for the whole album and keep me relatively entertained, but on second and third listens there really isn't much there for me and I suspect that this will be the case for most. I mean, you can only hear the same build up and breakdown formula so many times before it becomes exhausting. The strongest element of True View is the lyricism, which has always been the biggest stake I've held in Stick To Your Guns' music, but even in this corner the band has lost some of the vitality and impact they once had. I don't know if it's because I wasn't already upset and looking for affirmation going into this album, but I often found myself wondering exactly what I was meant to be emotional or triumphant about. And with 13 tracks all aiming to be super emotional and uplifting it all becomes too much by about two thirds of the way through. In conjunction with the traditionally flat dynamic contrast of hardcore punk, True View became very hard for me to enjoy as a whole after the first spin. There are more than enough tunes to get the mosh pit moving, though, and they've already proven that they can't go wrong it that department. So that's something.

Favourite Songs: Cave Canem and Doomed by You

Least Favourite Songs: Married to the Noise and 56

Rating: C-

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ALBUM REVIEW: "A Man Apart" by Ben Ottewell

Ben Ottewell's third LP A Man Apart goes boldly where he has been before, and while it certainly does that pretty well it doesn't manage to either strike new ground or any real emotional response. There is a distinctly "nice" feel to this record, which is, um, nice I guess if that's what you want. But it just doesn't feel like there's any immediacy or forward motion on any of these songs, like Ottewell is content with writing songs that could be on four wheel drive ads. Again, there isn't really anything particularly bad here, it's just a singer-songwriter album that isn't trying to break new ground. His typically growly voice is also beginning to give way to a more accessible, smooth tone, which could place you on either side of this record. For me it just cements it's place firmly in the middle ground somewhere. Favourite Songs: Own It, A Man Apart and Lead Me Least Favourite Songs: Watcher, Back To The World and Bones ...

1 YEAR LATER: "22, A Million" by Bon Iver

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EP REVIEW: "Same Kind Of Different" by Dean Lewis

Dean Lewis offers up six largely acoustic-driven tunes on his debut offering, all of which are clearly aimed at wider appeal. The acoustic-pop thing has never really done it for me (read my recent Ed Sheeran review here ), mainly because behind the slick production and singable hooks there's a general lack of songwriting to be had. This is where Same Kind Of Different sits a rung above most other similar albums; take the sugar and fairy dust away and there are still six complete songs that could be on a singer-songwriter album, rough and bare. I can appreciate the way these songs have been tailored to be played to a larger audience, but the substance behind the shine is more important to me. The six songs do sound very similar, however, and they do tend to blur together into a singular mass - which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you are. For me that was a bit of a concern on second and third listen, but I was generally pleased by Same Kind Of Diffe...

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