Artrocker Magazine’s Single Reviews for the week commencing November 29th

The Unkindness of Ravens
I Used To Be So Pretty EP
(Sonic Fire Records)

This is the first EP from filth-rocking electro terminators The Unkindness of Ravens, and their simple ingredients of one distorted bass, one phat drum machine and one 007-style female croon, are likely to blow your nuts off.
The record starts off with a typically sinister juxtaposition: 'Til I Get Home' could be a death threat or a charm offensive, the menacing technorock pulling a red curtain down over singer Nina's love bitten howl.
Title track 'I Used To Be So Pretty' is a swaggering piece of strobe-lit cyber grunge, with the bass diving deep underwater to dark depths of distortion. It is, however, the third song 'Circle' which provides the highlight of the record: an urgent plea for sanity amidst emotional destruction, the scorched-earth production perfectly suits its damn fine chorus.
Where they go from here depends how the band find Berlin as they decamp to write their album, but if the cold metal sheen and android-speak of 'Prototype' is anything to go by, one thing's for sure: this unkindness has taken to the skies. Caw! Caw!
Ric Rawlins


Tricky
Ghetto Stars
(Domino)

There's a photo of Tricky wearing boxing clobber on the inlay to this single, and I tell you now: you wouldn't mess. He looks like a cross between Bruce Lee, Satan and Davros.
I'm adamant that it is not because I'm scared shitless of Tricky, however, that I'll be awarding 'Ghetto Stars' four out of five: slow motion hip hop beats, cinematic violins and Franky Riley's solemn femininity all work together to remind us why Bristol once sounded like the most fascinating hood in the UK. The man himself, meanwhile, is in no mood to come overground; "Ghetto stars don't go far," he huskily warns, "ghetto traps locked behind bars." Excuse me, I need to pee my pants now.
Ric Rawlins


Flashguns
Come And See The Lights
(Friends Vs Records)

The first release from Flashguns’ debut album has the band sounding young, fresh, clean and strong, with stealthy drums hurtling forth as the driving factor.
Thanks to some over-familiar guitar melodies, the song does lean towards the clichéd end of the emotive rock spectrum, but that’s not to say Flashguns are a weak lemon drink of an emo band: quite the opposite, with a few tweaks and a bit more bravery this could be a kickass single.
Emily Warner


Meet The Storm
Sailing On A Broken Compass EP
(Self Release)

Sometimes the warning signs are never clear enough. Like, for instance, if you're planning a trip to the wonderful Amsterdam, people may try to warn you about their road systems, the trams and their mental cyclists. You'll heed their warnings, but you won't understand until you've smoked yourself silly and tried to cross the road, narrowly avoiding a tram and having angry Dutchmen ring their bells at you.
Meet The Storm's debut EP has a similar feeling. Opening track ‘I Cant Plan Regret’ is poorly spelt and it's the musical equivalent of being hit by a tram. Gallows and Cancer Bats obviously spring to mind and are heavily referenced, the latter featuring on second track ‘Sailing Out To Fail’, so you get the picture with these guys. Loud, relentless and hard to the core, innit? Only it's a little unoriginal, coming off as unambitious compared to their more exciting contemporaries.
Brad Ferguson


No Age
Fever Dreaming
(Sub Pop)

This would be a fairly normal cannons-blazing rock number where it not for one simple motif: every verse is broken up by what sounds like the Cookie Monster from the Muppets screaming in agony, in reverse, in 3D. Not all that normal then, and not all that crap either. Top marks!
Ric Rawlins