Tiger Mimic - It Was Still Dark

Being up North, we tend to cover the Manchester and Yorkshire scene more than any, with Michael's radar firmly set on Scotland, we often overlook what's going down south.

Watching False Heads tear apart Manchester's Soup Kitchen last year, Michael pointed out Alan Wells to me, a photographer with his finger firmly on the pulse of everything modern, everything loud and everything London.

Every now and again, I'll flick through his Instagram, check out his photos and listen to the bands on Spotify, I'll always find a few gems. One gem I found sparkled a little more than the others. That gem? Tiger Mimic.

50% American, 50% English, 100% cool, Tiger Mimic stick out because they are doing something a bit different. A trait which shines through on their new single 'It Was Still Dark'.

The silky soft vocals tell a story of two people who find themselves in a strange place. Singers Jess and Bram often give you a nostalgic Rhythm and Blues buzz, while the most catchy guitar hook you will hear all year, funky skate-punk bassline, quick-fire drum fills and "Hey's" keep the adrenaline pumping. You won't know whether to mosh or to slow-dance.

For fans of Metric or The Strokes, Janis Joplin or The Dead Kennedys (I know, right?), Tiger Mimic are a band worthy of your attention. Formed in 2018, when Jess R (vocals and keys) and Bram Johnson (vocals and guitar) moved to the UK and joined with Ben Willis (Bass) and George Latham (drums), they have a groovy EP, Elephant Skeleton, and will be dropping new music over the coming months.

'It Was Still Dark', produced by Kevin Vanbergen, who has worked with the fabulous Nova Twins, is Tiger Mimic's most polished and catchy work to date, and I'm sure you'll find it on many an ALOMR playlist in the near future. That damn riff will be stuck in my head for weeks!!

We will keep you up to date with all things Tiger Mimic, and hopefully get to see them live once we are allowed to play out again. I totally recommend following them on Instagram too, Jess and Bram have really embraced the lockdown with some brilliant acoustic "at home" sessions and plenty of silliness. Having had a brief chat with them, I can confirm their personalities match the quirky music and psychedelic lyrics.

Go check out 'It Was Still Dark' on Spotify and Bandcamp. While you're at it, check out last year's EP, and show them some support on Instagram and their Official Website.

I think we need to start paying more attention to London!

20 years of Papa Roach - My Top 10

Papa Roach!

Papa Fuckin' Roach!

Summer 2000, I was 16, and heavy metal was the only thing I cared about. I lived in Germany, where metal was huge. We had UK Satellite TV and I would tape music videos off MTV2 and Kerrang and then watch them over and over again. The only 2 videos I can 100% confirm were on that tape? 'Last Resort' and 'Between Angels and Insects' by Papa Roach. I had a CD wallet that I would carry around in my school bag, the first CD in that wallet? 'Infest' by Papa Roach. I got a white pair of Adidas Superstar trainers, because that's what Jacoby from Papa Roach had on in their videos. When I saw Fight Club for the first time, I remember saying "cool, this film has Papa Roach lyrics", it never occurred to me that it was the other way around. Safe to say, I was a huge fan. Why wouldn't I be? They took Nu-Metal and they perfected it!

Saturday the 25th of April 2020, and we are in a global lockdown. Things are completely different, I'm 36 now, I have a job (I think) and a wife, and I don't sit in skate parks, I don't live in Germany, I don't tape music videos off MTV2, I don't even know if MTV2 is still a thing, I don't have a CD wallet, but you know what? I still love that album. I had a listen yesterday, and the memories came flooding back, the day 'Infest' by Papa Roach turned 20.

So what do they mean to me today, as a grown up? I've seen them live twice, Blood Brothers is my ring tone, they find themselves on nearly every car playlist I make, and my best friend, Kris, insists on requesting 'Broken Home' every time there is a DJ playing rock music, and every time, we dance our asses off. So what do they mean to me today? Exactly the same! 

Here are my Top 10 Papa Roach songs from their amazing 20 year career. Join me in saying Happy Birthday to one of the coolest bands that ever graced our eardrums.

10. Renegade Music

A return to the raw, aggressive, Papa Roach energy, later in the band's career.

9. ...To Be Loved

Fast, fun, and the first Papa Roach song to be used as the theme tune for Raw.

8. Time And Time Again

The second single from their second album, a belter.

7.  I Almost Told You That I Loved You

The best song from Metamorphosis, and proof that the band could adapt and change with the times, they didn't need to keep rapping (although I wish they would).

6. Face Everything And Rise
The title track off the F.E.A.R album, probably Papa Roach's most grown up work.

5.  Broken Home

It's raw, it's real, the subject isn't nice but the song bloody kicks ass. And I dance to it every time I'm out with my boy!

4. Between Angels and Insects'

The second single, great video, great tune. Did you know they used some of the lyrics in Fight Club?

3. Scars

Probably the most iconic Papa Roach song apart from "that one", and rightly so, an absolute epic.

2. She Loves Me Not

This is a beast. It's always hard to follow a great first album, not many bands can do it. Throw out a tune like this and you're safe.

1. Last Resort

"That one", the obvious number one. The rock night dance floor filler for 20 glorious years. I've heard this in indie clubs, metal clubs, rap clubs, it's iconic, it's catchy, and it's never going anywhere.

Happy Birthday Papa Roach. I love you!

Stop what you're doing and listen to 'Love & Error' by Chapter and Verse

It's so exciting to catch bands when they are on the brink of something really special.

When you find a great band playing in a pub, or a small venue in front of 20 people, you follow them on Instagram and join them on their long journey.

Or, on the flip side, you get into a band after their first mega hit single comes out and they are on the radio, and you see them in a club or bigger venue with a great atmosphere.

Some people get into bands well into their career, and see them at festivals with fireworks and stage shows.

The point is, there is no bad time to get into a band.

...but there is a best time to get into a band.

For Chapter & Verse, that time is now.

We had the pleasure of seeing the UK 5-piece supporting ALOMR favourites, Poets Of The Fall in December 2019.

We arrived part way through their first or second song, and immediately got caught up in the catchy pop-rock exposition. While not blown away, they definitely left something in me, as the following day I added songs from their first EP 'Glow' to various playlists. As I expected, I grew to really like them.

Then, they kept adding other songs, and they kept getting better. At the end of January they dropped 'Sweet Time', and that did blow me away! This is it!

Their second EP is a collection of 5 songs, and it's their best work to date. This is the edge they needed! These are their top 5 songs! I don't like them any more, I love them.

The EP gets your heart racing from the get-go with opening track 'Bad Blood'. Check out the video:

Straight to business, then, with a super catchy, quick and fun banger which sticks it's middle finger up to toxic relationships and broken hearts.

Track 2, 'Beauty Sleep' and another song about past relationships and forgotten love. Another belter that will have you longing to get out there and dance. So how cruel of Chapter & Verse to release this in the middle of a global lockdown. Let's not dwell on the nastiness outside. Unfortunately, the pandemic has meant that the band can't perform launch parties, or travel up and down the country playing the songs to new audiences and growing their fan base. The silver lining, is of course we all have more free time, and I urge you to spend some of it listening to these guys.

The third song is the first of the 2 I hadn't heard previously. With 'Always' we are in a more indie territory. The passion really shines through at this epic midpoint, and the feeling and anguish is clear as day in singer Josh's most sentimental display.

Here we go. Track 4, and my favourite Chapter and Verse song. 'Sweet Time' is just brilliant. A quick exhale and we are straight into a quick drumbeat and vocals from the start. Poppy verses are interrupted by a surprisingly heavy chorus, with chuggy guitars and the catchiness of a summer anthem that deserves to have festival crowds bouncing. Phenomenal track that I, for one, will be listening to for months. Mint! It's got a bloody guitar solo too!

How do you follow that? 'Where We've Been' closes the collection. A slower pace, the closing credits on this twisty ride through anger, heartache, picking yourself up and starting again. The theme is a new beginning in love, putting the past behind you and looking towards the future, and it runs alongside the story of this band who may have just turned the corner to something really special.

I certainly hope so, and I can't wait to see these guys again live soon.

Love & Error is out now, go check it out, it really is worth it. A solid display of talent, and a finger on the pulse of alternative music in 2020, a middle finger that is!

Chapter and Verse are:

Josh Carter - Vocals

Darren Gosling - Guitar

Jonny Hopwood - Bass

Ash Morton - Guitar

Kevin Miller - Drums

March 2020 - New Music Playlist - Indie & Chill

Its been a while since I posted some new music and I've got a handful of new tracks to share. There is a selection of my favorite tracks that bands send in and some of these are bands I've stumbled upon in my musical journey.

So if you're in need of a new pick-me-up or some music to enjoy whilst you self-isolate from the world (whether that be because of this years deadly virus or just because you need don't like people) - then you've come to the right place! Playlist here and embedded below; Indie & Chill - March 2020

Joesef - Think That I Don't Need Your Love, we bumped into Joesef's guitarist James whilst in Glasgow watching Weekend Debt and what a find this is! He's been compared to Amy Winehouse and you will understand why, with his cool mix of chilled soul, jazz, bluesy, easy music to relax your soul. 
Check out the EP Play Me Something Nice. 
Also check out Joesef's Tour as the guys are down from Scotland to tour the UK over the next few weeks. We're going to YES to see them.

Dancing On Tables - Not to Need You, I also really like Body and Black. These 5 lads from Fife make up the Pop-Rock band, they have a really funky sound which literally makes you want to dance on tables. Check them out and if you're quick they're are the start of a nationwide Tour!






Snowflake Generation - Wake Me Up is there new track, Part of Me & Madness are on Spotify and they are decent tracks too. They're really coming along and getting a bit of a following in the Midlands and take a lot a influence from some of our favs! They're also doing a few gigs around Birmingham, Wrexham and London - we've got our eyes on when they come to Manc!

The K's - Got a Feeling is there new track, we also really like Glass Towns! The K's are a fast pace than the last 3 the have a similar vibe to No Hot Ashes & Weekend Debt so they're gonna be a winner in our books. There's some very Punky tracks too, bonus.

ZORILA - Sidney is their new album, I think Disaster is one of the best tracks, you can find it on the playlist. They sound really chilled but energetic and reminded me of a faster more upbeat Turnover



Weekend Debt - Legato we can't have a playlist that's heavily Scottish and not include Weekend Debts latest track! Every great playlist must include this banger it's got some chunky pace to it.

Sam Fender - Hold Out Need I say more, if you haven't heard of Sam Fender then you're really living under rock. Hold Out is the latest release and currently not main stream radios so get your fill here

The Hunna - Cover You The Hunna have been on my radar about 4 or 5 years now and their first album 100 was my sound of the summer 2016! Seeing them at Dot-to-Dot you could see they had something special. The 2nd album lost me, I think it was too much of the Label and not enough Hunna.. anyway they are back, teamed up with John Feldmann (Goldfinger/BigNoise) (!!!) for album 3 and released this corker with Travis Barker, its definitely a step toward the early Hunna.





As we're on the lines of some good chill music how about Paul Bank's (Interpol) new band Muzz and their very loungey track Bad Feelings





for now,
M