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Kat Von D - "Love Made Me Do It"

26/12/2021

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I’d like to, if I may, to take a short minute, to talk about KAT VON D. Now, a lot of you are probably going to be aware, that she is primarily famous for her position on the acclaimed reality show "LA Ink", where she cemented herself as a world-renowned tattoo artist and colourful personality (Despite her ironic preference for black & white portrait ink). This position led her into a world of glitz and glamour with her celebrity clientele, and over the number of seasons she co-starred in the show, her name grew and grew.  

With her high-profile connections and her name in the spotlight, over the years she expanded her business and brand portfolio from not only tattoo and body art, but into a prolific make-up career, where she championed vegan make-up, being a devout animal lover (No animal testing for those confused, no bunnies in slutty lipstick), to yes...even singing.  

Now...don’t get me wrong; just because you are admittedly very talented at one thing, and have been able to grow a successful following with another, doesn’t mean EVERYTHING is going to work. Hypothetically at least. To make this point, her appearance on “Rosary Blue” by THE 69 EYES wasn’t exactly spectacular back in 2012, but is it fair to judge a person's singing career on one niche bonus track? 2021 saw Kat release her debut solo album, by the name of “Love Made Me Do It” …let’s see what it took her nine years to get up to.... 

The album opens up with “Intro”; the most original of opening tracks, and, it’s your typical purely instrumental introduction that’s designed to create a sense of suspense and intrigue. Though, to be fair, the deep, chilling synths here give off a very “Stranger Things” vibe. I swear that TV show’s intro was so good it’s become a standard bearer to this exact sort of synth driven instrumentation. First track proper then; “Vanish” follows in the same vein as the aforementioned 69 Eyes collaboration. It’s a hushed, delicate piano piece with Kat’s vocals sounding husky, raspy and vulnerable, as she sings about her fears towards being able to love. It’s quite a solemn, self-depreciating track and really quite deep in its self-reflection to be fair, and an emotionally powerful start.  

Lyrically, Kat can remain subtly negative in certain aspects but credit to her, despite this, she’s released a selection of absolute bops, and we’ll start with “Exorcism”. The percussion rich retro synths give this a wonderfully new-wave throwback, and the chorus is on another level. The almost spoken-word delivery of the track's vocals allows for the harmonious notes to shine through, and for all intents and purposes this is a brilliant pop song.  

This is continued with “Lost At Sea” which instrumentally channels the same energy electronically as say, WILLIAM CONTROL, and the throwback vibes are strong here. The chorus feels like an eruption of frustrations as Kat sings the tracks title, amidst a barrage of more intense guitar and drum work and the whole piece just feels like, more of the frenetic advocation of her own mental state and wellbeing. The string work adds taste and maturity to the overall message and it’s like a real sense of reflection, sung with honesty and it’s applaudable.  

Album highlight then “Pretending” is simply superb...the 80’s-rich electronic pop harks back to the likes of ULTRAVOX and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS and yet again, the chorus here is one of the catchiest things you will hear this year. This is modern new wave pop at its very best and once again the simplicity of a catchy-ass chorus, along with the nostalgic vibes of early new romanticism allow this to be a legit tune; this is a flawless, faultless pop track and all of the applause needs to go to Kat for delivering this. There are other efforts such as “Enough” which channel the likes of THE CURE, and even "Protected" featuring PETER MURPHY of BAUHAUS no less, but to be fair, we’ve peaked. 

While not being a complete sweep, with the likes of “Interlude” being ultimately pointless, and “I Am Nothing” returning to that solemn, hushed slow-jam effort, it’s not an entirely fun-filled record. Obviously, the tracks that stand out do so on their own merit, and each to their own, but to lose the intro and interlude cliches would save some time, and it’s only a shame that Kat indulged in more of the slower offerings, knowing what she is capable of as a pop star it turns out.  

Don’t get me wrong, the album as a whole, is impressive and wasn’t what I was expecting following the 69 Eyes collaboration, but I’m glad it’s gone this way. Few modern pop artists correctly mix modern production with the aesthetic of their own 80’s influences and too often it becomes cliché, but with Kat not being a renowned musician, the expectation was non-existent, and her tracks have sounded fresh as a result. It’s not a perfect album start to finish, but it’s a brilliant nostalgia trip, and a great gateway for some of y’all younglings to take an interest in some classic 80’s electronic pop. Love apparently made her do it, I just hope she does it again...[7] 

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/KATVOND
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Ist Ist - "The Art Of Lying"

16/12/2021

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We’re approaching the end of 2021, but, despite the best* efforts of many a government (Sarcasm), most things haven’t changed since the shit-show that was 2020. Things have arguably eased up, yes, however, the controversy and conspiracies surrounding the whole Covid issue and it’s resulting 5G vaccines are ever present. There’s backlash over the “rules”; some for one group, some for others (Typical Conservative Party hypocrisy of course), booster jabs, passports and general shithousery. The whole situation remains a joke quite frankly.  

There were and have been positives to take from the past 12 to 24 months however. Yes, despite lockdowns, millions being put on furlough schemes (Not going to lie, I enjoyed 3 months off paid) and ok, the Coronavirus itself, there has been plenty to keep us going, especially in the form of new music, and that brings us to today's band.  

​Every year, I tend to personally discover at least one new band that really catches my ear, and for 2020 I have to give the credit to my good friend and gig partner James Oakley, for introducing me to IST IST. The Manchester-based quartet, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Adam Houghton, bassist Andy Keating, guitarist/keyboardist Mat Peters and drummer Joel Kay, had released their debut album “Architecture” and it properly excited this reviewer. With a synth layered dose of lively yet, vocally deep, indie-rock based post-punk, they captured the sounds of JOY DIVISION, EDITORS and WHITE LIES and I was hooked. In the year that's passed, having seen them perform in the Manchester Academy while socially distancing, and seeing them in the Louisiana, Bristol, in some tiny upstairs pub room, everything BUT socially distancing, it’s fair to say I am beyond excited for their sophomore album, “The Art Of Lying”...let’s check it out. 

The album kicks off with “Listening Through The Walls” and on face value I’m all for the creepy, psychological chiller vibe the title insinuates. Just imagining some nutcase living in your crawl space bopping along to your new Ist Ist album before he kills you in your sleep. Lovely. It’s actually quite a sullen, slow start with a somewhat deflated tone. The percussion sounds like it’s emotionally given up and there’s a real feeling of sorrow to these synths. It makes for an interesting opening track in sense of timbre, as we lead into “Fat Cats Drown In Milk”, and this is more like it. 

The new-wave / post-punk, bass led simplicity of this brand of dark indie-rock, is the sound 
we’ve come used to and it’s a sound the band excel at. The synths here are restrained to no more than a subtle layering, adding character, and aside from this the tempo changes and musical surges are kept almost reined in, teasing the listener in ways, and it works because you want to hear the lads unleash.
 


Next up we get the Chuckle Brothers on a bad case of paranoia courtesy of “Watching You Watching Me”...or...NEIL DIAMOND when he was simply stalking Caroline prior to touching her. I jest. The track is a pleasantly bouncy effort which channels the likes of THE CURE in some aspects, as there’s a soft, flowing synth melody countering the pacey cymbal-led percussion and it somehow manages to sound equally upbeat yet downtrodden. Those crunchy bass chords in the bridge too just give this an extra layer of swagger and it’s really enjoyable. 

The first album gave us reason to expect bops aplenty and 
we’ve got some more here to sift through. “The Waves” retains their simplistic lyrical approach, but the guitar work takes the forefront here and chorus hook is just something else. The tempo here ebbs and flows just like the tide and it acts as a metaphor in its own ways, for the waves may seem chaotic at times, noisy, disruptive, but there’s a calm beneath them, and it can be taken emotionally and mentally, positively and negatively in terms of your well-being. It’s quite a reflective track this. “Extreme Greed” returns to the more 80’s-inspired synth-rich new wave pop, while “It Stops When It Starts” harks back to those slightly darker, grittier post-punk days, and both styles work. 

While there are slower, more morose offerings here like the ironically titled “Don’t Go Gentle”, we find a band here, not departing too far from their debut, more so fine tuning their sound and continuing to find their feet as songwriters. All of the aforementioned bands above in their own ways sum up the style and aesthetic of Ist Ist’s music and lyricism; the simple yet meaningful, the deep, dark, yet, hopeful aura of their sound is the appeal, and they are one of the UK’s brightest bands at this very moment in time. “The Art Of Lying” is a solid follow-up, and I’d be lying to you all if I didn’t tell you Ist Ist were worth checking out. Now go buy your own copy and stop listening through MY walls ya’ cheeky bastard! [7] 

WWW.ISTISTMUSIC.COM
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    Gavin J Griffiths, a.k.a GavTheGothicChav, lover of new music and supporter of bands. Inspired by a mixture of horror and comedy, and fueled by a blend of alcohol and sarcasm...if you're a singer / in a band and would like a review written up, please do get in touch via the email address at the top of the page and I'll get back to you ASAP. Much love x

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