The Flaming Lips – Sun Blows Up Today

The new Flaming Lips track continues their experiments in sonic weirdness. Guitar and synth rock out in a wave bright, psychedelic noise yielding an energetic and enjoyable pop song. Coyne’s lyrics are naïvely optimistic but the line “On this epic day” is just awkward. Other than that, the song in really enjoyable and closes with a thrilling solo of screaming synthesisers.

 

7/10

Words: Peter Hufton

 

Bullet for My Valentine – ‘Riot’ 

In the same vein as previous album Fever, Bullet for my Valentine continue to say farewell to their Metallica-influenced sensibilities of old, and lovingly nurture a new pop-metal sound, exemplified by new single ‘Riot’. However, by abandoning the thrash riffage in favour of ‘catchier’ songs, Bullet effectively throws away everything that was different about them, and this shows. ‘Riot’s bland and repetitive nature, complete with cringey teenage ‘fight the power’ lyrics, and no real vocal melody besides the odd ‘woah-oh’, is shoddy work from a band on the downward spiral.

 2/10

Words: George Wright

 

Don Broco – ‘Fancy Dress’

When faced with a catchy chorus it’s often hard to fight the urge to jiggle around in your seat a bit, and Bedford foursome Don Broco seem to have mastered the art of the above. Gritty guitar riffs and a killer hook form the underbelly of ‘Fancy Dress’, whilst frontman Rob Damiani’s vocal swoons over the top, staple alt-rock ‘woah ohs’ aplenty. This is a sweet pop-rock assault on the senses, which causes one to jiggle profusely (and then press repeat).

 

8/10

Words: Tania Burnham