Riffed

Kasabian this week released their fitfth album '48:13' and in our review we gave it a 9/10, and it's no surprise as to why, with huge tracks such as 'Ee-zeh', 'Bumblebee', 'Bow' and many more, but the highlight being, for this week alone, 'Stevie'.

Stevie is one heck of a tune from Kasabian. One that really defines the whole album. There's an upbeat tune that is constant throughout, matched by that rawness Kasabian have. Stevie is really a hybrid of their old material and new material, and it works perfectly. 'And all the kids they say, live to fight another day' is that catchy chrous that when you hear, you will instantly recognise. A chrous you can't help but shout out at the top of your voice. 

Stevie is a perfectly mastered tune and the highlight of an album that is full of highlights.

RIFFED's Rating: 9/10

If you haven't yet purchased '48:13', buy it here: http://www.kasabian.co.uk/announcing-new-album-4813/

And read our review: http://riffed.webs.com/apps/blog/show/42358750-kasabian-48-13-review

RIFFED x

Kasabian this week released their fifth album '48:13' and it is already being dubbed album of the year.

'48:13' has proppelled Kasabian back into the spotlight and with the Pyramid at Glastonbury awaiting, could this be Kasabian's best year yet? Earlier this week we reviewed the new album and we'll post the link at the end of this post incase you haven't yet checked it out, we awarded '48:13' a 9/10 on the first listen, but after a few more plays we'd probably nudge that up to a 10 now. It is that good. There is not one bad track on the album, but is it too soon to be dubbing it album of the year? Who knows what could appear later this year, but as we are halfway through 2014, let's for now call it the album of the first half of the year. If you haven't yet purchased '48:13' we strongly advise you pop into your local music retailer and purchase a copy or download it via iTunes. We love it.

Our review of '48:13' : http://riffed.webs.com/apps/blog/show/42358750-kasabian-48-13-review

Purchase here : http://www.kasabian.co.uk/announcing-new-album-4813/

RIFFED x

There are many albums set to be released this year that we at RIFFED cannot wait for. From this huge number of forthcoming albums, we collated a list of the top 5.

5 Childhood - Lacuna

Indie rockers Childhood plan to release their debut album 'Lacuna' on the 12th of August this year. Previous releases such as Solemen Skies and Falls Away provide solid evidence that Lacuna will be a storming debut album from the London lads.

4 Jaws - Be Slowly

Brum boys Jaws have announced debut album 'Be Slowly' will be released this September and we expect this to be huge. As EP's such as Milkshake are anything to go by, Be Slowly will be one heck of an album.

3 The Courteeners - TBC

News has become apparent Liam Fray and the lads are planning to release a new album in August. Not much else has yet been said but this news has certainly got us at RIFFED extremely excited.

2 Spector - TBC

Fred, Jed, Tom and Danny plan to follow up their debut album 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' this year with a new album and we seriously cannot wait. Well they're making us wait a while aren't they... But we expect this new album to top their first as singles such as Decade of Decay and Reeparbahn are sounding fantastic.

1 Royal Blood - TBC

Brighton rockers Royal Blood are set to release their debut album and we qoute 'around August time'. We are huge fans of Mike and Ben and expect this to be a contender for album of the year. It's bound to be huge.

We hope we've gotten you as excited as we are for these forthcoming releases. It's set to be a huge year for albums. Enjoy.

RIFFED x

RIFFED received their copy of Kasabian's new album '48:13' early. So, due to this, we thought we'd review it for you.

Track listing :

1 (Shiva)

2 Bumblebee

3 Stevie

4 (Mortis)

5 Doomsday

6 Treat

7 Glass

8 Explodes

9 (Levitation)

10 Clouds

11 Ee-zeh

12 Bow

13 S.P.S

On the whole, '48:13' doesn't let down. Kasabian have reached the heights of which they've hyped their new album up to. When the first single 'Ee-zeh' was released a few weeks back, many were expecting '48:13' to be a flop. But after the weeks have passed, Ee-zeh has grown on many people, although it may have been different to their usual style, many have warmed to it. Ee-zeh being one of the highlights of the album, a huge tune, a bold statement from Kasabian implying they are still that band from Leicester we all know and love. Stevie, Bumblebee, Glass, Bow, Treat, Doomsday, Clouds, S.P.S and Explodes are all highlights too. Pretty much implying how fantastic '48:13' truly is. Bumblebee and Stevie alongside Ee-zeh really are the pick of the bunch, proper Kasabian tunes. Huge noise. That rawness that we all love. Bumblebee may just be a racket, but it is one that is fantastically engineered, a brilliant tune. Whereas Stevie has that catchy chorus that when you hear, will instantly spring to mind. Another outstanding tune. '48:13' really has not let down. A huge album from Kasabian. We award it a 9/10. The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury awaits.

Purchase '48:13' in stores from Monday 9/06/14

Or pre-order here : http://www.kasabian.co.uk/announcing-new-album-4813/

RIFFED x

Arcade Fire brought their worldwide Reflektor tour to London this week. They played two nights at the legendary Earl's Court, Friday the 6th of June and Saturday the 7th ahead of their headline slot at Glastonbury later this month aswell as playing British Summer Time at Hyde Park in July. Unfortunately RIFFED weren't able to make Earl's Court for the gig, but Xfm was on hand to broadcast it live from London, meaning we could review it for you.

The setlist :

01 Reflektor

02 Flashbulb Eyes

03 Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

04 Rebellion (Lies)

05 Joan of Arc

06 Month of May

07 We Exist

08 The Suburbs

09 The Suburbs (Continued)

10 Ready to Start

11 Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

12 Intervention

13 No Cars Go

14 Haiti

15 Afterlife

16 It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus)

17 Sprawl ii

18 Normal Person

19 London (The Smiths cover)

20 Here Comes the Night Time

21 Wake Up

The setlist, slightly different to that of the previous night but not one to be frowned upon. Arcade stormed onto the scene with a fantastic version of Reflektor, supplying that unmatchable live atmposphere the Canadians create at every gig they play, followed fantastically by Flasbulb Eyes. As Arcade continued to amaze all at Earl's Court, there were beautiful renditions of Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), Rebellion (Lies), Joan of Arc and a surprise with the play of Month of May. We Exist and The Suburbs sounded impeccible, We Exist being the new single release from Reflektor and old classic The Suburbs pleasing many fans. Ready to Start, Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels), Intervention, another surprise with the playing of Intervention, No Cars Go and Haiti, all was a treat to listen to, an absolutley outstanding performance of No Cars Go it is has to be said. Arcade begin to close their set with Afterlife, which sounded just like a studio version, faultless. It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus) and Sprawl ii followed in spectacular fashion, Normal Person was next, a huge tune from Arcade and it was no surprise that it also went down a hit. Arcade threw many surprises into their set at Earl's Court and maybe one of the biggest being the cover of The Smiths with London, but we wouldn't call it a cover. They owned it. Arcade closed their emphatic set with Here Comes The Night Time and Wake Up, probably their most popular tune, and what a perfect way to end a perfect gig. Arcade made Earl's Court their own, roll on Glastonbury and Hyde Park next.

RIFFED x

RIFFED have collated a list of the top 5 young/new artists for 2014. We're expecting big things from the following, and don't be surprised if they do reach the top of the industry by the end of this year. 

5. The Brookes

We recently did an 'Introducing...' interview with The Brookes and now they have made it into our Top 5 Artists To Watch For 2014 list. A Libertines/Oasis/Miles Kane-esque band, a real Britpop/rock gem. We are tipping them to become huge.

4. Childhood

Indie band Childhood have just released their debut album 'Lacuna' and following previous single releases such as 'Solemn Skies', we were expecting this to be a cracker and we weren't let down. Expect Childhood to propel even further forward as a band in 2014.

3. Catfish and the Bottlemen

The Welsh lads have stormed into the media spotlight recently with releases such as 'Kathleen' and 'Rango' and we don't expect them to step out of the spotlight anytime soon with their debut album 'The Balcony set to be released on the 15th September.

2. Johnny Lloyd

The former Tribes frontman has gone solo since the split of the Camden band, but this hasn't affected his brilliance. He was our single of the week with 'Pilgrims' from his forthcoming EP also titled 'Pilgrims', which we cannot wait for. Expect more from Johnny very soon and a tour, we tip him to have a fantastic 2014.

1. Royal Blood

Recently supporting Arctic Monkeys at Finsbury, and having played Glastonbury and with Reading and Leeds to name but a few the Brighton rockers are becoming a household name, but we saw them when they weren't so popular. There was 20 or so people at the Fruit in Hull and it was free entry, yet now look where they, the duo keep on propelling further and further forwards but we expect them to go even further. The best is yet to come from Mike and Ben.

We hope you enjoyed reading our top 5 list of artists we tip to have a brilliant 2014 and we sincerley hope you give them a listen if you haven't yet done so.

RIFFED x

Indie rockers Catfish and The Bottlemen have recently encountered a huge surge of popularity since their release of new tunes such as 'Rango' and 'Kathleen', as well as smashing their recent headline tour and not letting down on the big stage at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Glasgow. A busy summer of festivals is ahead for The Bottlemen and it's no wonder as to why with releases such as 'Fallout', which this week is our single of the week.

Just like their previous releases, 'Fallout' hasn't let down. Another huge indie rock anthem. A real headbanger, you find yourself playing air guitar mid song whilst belting out the lyrics which are superbly belted out via the voice of Van MaCann which we all know and love. 'Fallout' along with the previous releases are really implying that the Welsh lads debut album is going to be one hell of an album. This week we reward 'Fallout' a 9/10.

RIFFED's Rating: 8/10

Purchase 'Fallout' via iTunes :  https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/fallout-single/id879442580?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 or on Vinyl : http://www.communionmusic.co.uk/shop/products/fallout-7-vinyl-pre-order/

Follow Catfish and The Bottlemen on Twitter : @thebottlemen

Or 'Like' their Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/catfishandthebottlemen

Visit Catfish and The Bottlemen's webpage : http://catfishandthebottlemen.com/

RIFFED x

Last week our editor had his article on Kasabian's appearence on Later... With Jools Holland published in NME (but ssh, they could soon become a rival). And here is the article:

Kasabian's appearance on Later with Jools Holland a couple of weeks ago resulted in many split opinions. 'Eez-eh' opened the show, different to Kasabian's usual style but catchy also, although Serge just seemed to bounce about throughout. 'Bumblebee' closed with an engineered racket, once again very catchy in my opinion. But the question is, have Kasabian still got it? I am personally a fan of their new material and I'm sure 48:13 will be another superb album, but some are finding it not so eez-eh on the ears.

Will '48:13' manage to reach the lofty heights of the previous four albums? We at RIFFED are confident that it will do so. 

Pre-order and stream '48:13' here : http://www.kasabian.co.uk/announcing-new-album-4813/

Follow Kasabian on Twitter : @KasabianHQ

'Like' Kasabian on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/kasabian

Visit Kasabian's webpage : http://www.kasabian.co.uk/

RIFFED x

Brighton rockers Royal Blood have recently had a huge surge of popularity and media coverage. They recently performed on the NME Awards tour with, Interpol, Temples and Circa Waves. But last weekend, the duo supported Arctic Monkeys at Finsbury Park with Tame Impala and Miles Kane. This got us excited as we saw them on their first tour back in October of last year, 20 odd people were their and we got in for free, as well as snatching one of Ben Thatcher's (Drummer) sticks. 

Royal Blood's performance at Finsbury was one that earned them many more new fans, they have that affect on people. Many Monkeys fans are now just as big Royal Blood fans and we don't blame them. Royal Blood broke on to the scene with their powerful tune 'Out Of The Black', it's heavy rock right to the core, but it isn't just racket. It's a few minutes of pure power and perfection, Mike Kerr's (bass) raw riffs are insane and literally blow your mind. They followed the release of 'Out Of The Black' with the release of a few new tracks such as 'Come on Over' and 'Little Monster', each as brilliant as the previous. 

Royal Blood plan to release their album very soon and are also playing at this years Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds festivals to name but a few, we strongly advise you go see them and lose your mind. 

Listen to Royal Blood : https://soundcloud.com/royalblooduk

Purchase Royal Blood singles : https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/come-on-over-single/id857697752

Follow Royal Blood on Twitter : @RoyalBloodUK

And

Like them on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/RoyalBloodUK

RIFFED x

This week Brum boys Jaws announced their debut album 'Be Slowly' is set to be released on September 15th this year. Jaws announced this exciting news on their twitter page and were greated with jubilant replies from many fans. We at RIFFED are extremely excited for the release of 'Be Slowly' as EP's such as 'Milkshake' are anything to go by, it's bound to be a classic. Expect a few old classics to be on the album such as 'Gold' and also new single release 'Think Too Much, Feel Too Little', but also expect Jaws to showcase some newer material. Coinciding with the album announcment Jaws uploaded title track 'Be Slowly' to Soundcloud and was also meeted with many fantastic replies and it's no surprise as to why, another vibey, groovy anf funky tune by the Birmingham quartet that grasps you within the vibe and makes you feel careless for two minutes or so, Jaws have this effect with many of their songs making them a class act. Also, some more exciting news. Jaws announced a tour to coincide with the album release, the 'Be Slowly Tour'. If the lads are coming near you we strongly advise you go see them. We can't wait for September now. 

Find tour dates at ; http://www.musicglue.com/jaws/ and pre-order the album there too, or you can pre-order on iTunes at : https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/be-slowly/id881158737 ;

You can also find tour dates and more info on Jaws Twitter and Facebook pages :

Twitter : https://twitter.com/JAWSJAWSJAWSSS

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/JAWSJAWSJAWSJAWS?ref=profile ;

RIFFED HQ x