Car Boot Records
The heavy guitar lead “Another Step”is the debut album from Manchester quartet City Reign, and is an expressive burst of story, doing indie how indie should be done.
The tracks were all recorded in Salford’s Scared Trinity Church, so the songs have a striking natural reverb; the cymbals don’t crash, they shatter, and the vocals wrap around your ears like sharp ribbons. This works in the band’s favour especially so in the stripped back “Retaliate”, which has a much more vulnerable sound compared to the other instrumentally layered songs; it’s not perfect vocally, but the breaks in Bull’s voice are so emotionally truthful that it doesn’t really matter.
The record itself is both open and intimate – from the metaphorical lyrics of “Anchor” to the simple and catchy hook “Say want you want, I’m not listening…” in “Daybreak”, making it more accessible to those ears not so fond of indie, unlike the pretentiously “hipster” music from most bands in the genre.
One of City Reign’s strengths is how the band successfully builds up to each song without becoming monotonous or boring. “Ahead Of Ideas” accumulates slowly to a momentous breakdown of sound, bursting with atmosphere and passion.
Another Step might be more indie than most of you would like to think about, but those of us who don’t mind the odd Oasis number; it’s a definite promising start to the band’s music career. ***1/2
Samaa Husain
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Latest session: Sunday 14 April
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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 2 April 2024.
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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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