A Little Indie and A Little Metal

Album: Grand Unification
Artist: Fightstar
Release Date: 06 March 2006
Genre: Emo-rock, Metal
Country: London, United Kingdom
Band Members:
Alex Westaway (vocals, guitar)
Charlie Simpson (vocals, guitar)
Dan Haigh (bass)
Omar Abidi (drums)

Fightstar is a rather interesting band. If you have heard of Busted,the teen-pop band and totally hated it, there'd probably be a prejudice about this band because Charlie Simpson used to be in Busted. But then I didn't know when I listened to Grand Unification, and only to found out soon after it. Lucky that I didn't, I find this album surprisingly pleasant. I was mostly intrigued by the album artwork, provoking a sense of doom, dark and mysterious, so as the album.Listening to this album is like being educated in Fightstar's own theories, from opening interlude To Sleep to closing track, Wake Up, Grand Unification is a pretty consistent album which is why it is pleasant. Though it lacks of surprising moments, this album has it's own hiddem gem. Waste a Moment and Open Your Eyes are infectious in it's own way while Grand Unification Part 2 is the song that shows Fightstar's strength, from the message it's trying to say to how they uniquely presented the song. Perhaps Busted would be the reason that killed the hype Fightstar should be getting. Grand Unification is definetly not a masterclass release, moderate at it's best but other than that, the album is very successful in creating the mood for listeners, totally transform the listener into their Grand Unification project. From start to end, this album is worth a listen.
:: Beaker's Verdict: B-


Album: As Fas As The Eyes Can See
Artist: People In Planes
Release Date: 28 March 2006
Genre: Indie-rock
Country: Cardiff, United Kingdom
Band Members:
Gareth Jones (vocals)
Peter Roberts (guitar)
Kris Blight (bass)
John Maloney (drums)
Ian Russell (keyboard)

As Far As The Eyes Can See is one of my favourite album so far in 2006. From Cardiff, UK, People In Plane's debut album is an unique indie album that has been much under-rated. Generally, people can say this is an indie album but really, there are several noticeable genres in this album that it's much more than indie. And this is why this album is so brilliant. Their ability to blend their musical instruments with their vocal perfomance to create songs heavy with atmosphere and complex with melodies is where they come out different than any other indie bands. As Far As.. is a good album full of hidden gems, and the listener would be surprised to find out what the album has to offer songs after songs. The highlight of the album would probably Token Trapped Women, from the words to the guitar riffs to the vocals, this song is a almost a perfection. Falling by the Wayside is also another gem. The vocal performance was stunning accompanied by dark atmospheric slow acoustic guitar riffs. "I'm losing control, falling by the wayside, I'm losing control, falling by the way side.." there is just something painful and gloomy about the way he sings it. Fire would be my ultimate favourite of this album, it's slow and it's dark, the lyrics are brilliant. "The flower grieves the wall..." a sorrow way to kick off the song, and slowly, infecting my ears and then my mood. It's almost like I could feel the pain of the song. Closing track, Narcoleptic is their most ambitious attempt on this album, a blend of blues and rock, this song is unique at it's own right. This album by comparion, quality wise, is a very close follow-up to 2005's The National's third album, Alligator which was also no.3 in my 2005 favourite albums. It's very mood manipulating, and most importantly, People In Planes does not sound like any other bands out there. They've created an album that is pretty honest to themself, as well as to the listeners.

::Beaker's Verdict: A+

Album: Murder Nature
Artist: Head Control System
Release Date: 04 April 2006
Genre: Experimental, Metal
Country: Portugal, Norway
Band Members:
Daniel Cardoso
Kristoffer G. Rygg

I am pretty unfamiliar with heavy metal genre so I don't really know what makes up of this album to be considered as good. I was simply attracted to the title: Murder Nature and hence made an effort to listen to it, and really I quite like it. It's just my instinct that I think this album is pretty good. Kill Me, Rapid Eye Movement and It Hurt are some of my favourites.

::Beaker's Verdict: B