Chaos And The Calm by James Bay

BRIT Critics Choice Award winner James Bay is a gentle soul. A man hidden behind beautiful long
hair and a hat that not many could pull off, he seemed to appear from nowhere and instantly steal the hearts of many. He's now a known star, full of promise with a number one debut album and that album, titled Chaos And The Calm, is 59 minutes of delicately crafted beautiful sound.

Hit single, Hold Back The River sits near the top of the album as a friendly remind of why you love this man so much before tumbling in to the ever-beautiful Let It Go. No, not that whiny princess song from Disney's Frozen, but the song which washes over you and makes you want to melt. Previous single, If You Ever Want To Be In Love lifts the tone and shows some versatility in what this man can do. This continues into Best Fake Smile which is fairly frantic in comparison to the pre-conceived notions you have about James Bay. It's also one of the best songs of the album. When We Were On Fire introduces some sultry soul into the mix but before you get too carried away, the tear-jerkng Move Together brings you back down to Earth. It's a challenge not to see this song through without a lump in your throat but it is more than welcome considering the romantic sentiment of the song. Collide gets you dancing and brings some fervent flare to the album which has an effect on it's successor Get Out While You Can. The ending five songs sees the likes of  Clocks Go Forward and Stealing Cars take you back to where it all started, the soft embrace of a man lulling you into romance and security with his voice and guitar alone.

There's a reason Chaos And The Calm entered the charts at number one; it's because it's a rarity one man creates an album which embodies happiness and sadness so effortlessly and perfectly.

8/10
Listen to: Let It Go, Best Fake Smile, Collide

Young Chasers by Circa Waves

Circa Waves are the sound of all things summer. They are made of that infectious, indie-pop-
rock stuff that pulls large crowds at festivals, sells out gigs and creates a massive buzz on the rare English sunny days well all know and love. So their debut album Young Chasers should be a massive smile fest, right?

Right...

Latest single T-Shirt Weather makes an early appearance on the album setting that upbeat tone whilst singing about love and sunshine and it's sandwiching songs Get Away and Fossils keep that vibe despite the slight change of conversation: "One day I want something I just can't get" urges Keiran Shudall in his swoon-worthy voice. At some point you find yourself at the delicate Deserve This which gives you a moment to sway and swoon but before you know it title track Young Chasers picks the tone back up and throws you straight into a head-bopping, toe-tapping frenzy with singalong "woohoos." Okay, it's generic indie rock n roll but it's still fun! The tradition continues and reaches the wonderful Stuck In My Teeth, which has been freshly licked with detail for it's switch from single to album favourite. Best Years is a somewhat depressing reminder about the speed and joy of youth but nonetheless it's another catchy number and brings you to the ending trio among which is the most urgent song on the album, So Long.

Young Chasers is the album you'd expect four British lads in their indie youth to make. It is all the things that will excel them into the venues they've dreamed of playing to crowds of adoring fans but it simply lacks urgency. There's nothing particularly fresh about this album, and it's lack of excitement is disappointing. It's not bad by any means, but it's simply a bouncy indie record that will make you smile, a bit like all the other ones out there.

6/10
Listen to: Stuck In My Teeth, Best Years

Stacks by Palm Reader

With just two weeks to go until those wonderful Palm Reader boys release their second studio album, Besides The Ones We Love, they've treated us to yet another gnarly track. Stacks is everything you love about this band and more and it's just another reason to be overly excited for the album. It also comes beautifully timed with the announcement of "5 shows, 1 day, 0 fucks" which takes place on May 4th. So if you want to get loud and dirty, Palm Reader have just given you the chance. Listen to Stacks below and then buy your bloody tickets!

Brainwashed by While She Sleeps

Brainwashed is a masterpiece. A modern classic. A heroic return. A monumental victory.

While She Sleeps have had a difficult couple of years full of personal battles and uncertain times but luckily they have pulled through and it seems they are stronger than ever. 2012's This Is The Six was an incredible album full of songs proving Sheffield's latest metal crew to be big contenders. What Brainwashed does is shit all over that notion; these lads are no longer contenders, they are champions and deservingly so.

The Divide, album opener, is 52 seconds of muffled voices getting louder and more intense, a metaphor for the society we live in, and then an abrupt silence occurs before the gang vocals of New World Torture are unleashed. The first single off the album, it's still a huge anthem that can't be ignored. Your Evolution starts to smash your ear drums apart before title track Brainwashed thunders into existence. It's bloody good with yells of "Brainwashed! Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off!" We Are Alive At Night provides a melodic moment of reflection in typically beautiful While She Sleeps fashion (as do later tracks Kangaezu and The Woods) and then Our Legacy begins. Riffs galore, this track says something about not only Brainwashed as an album but about While She Sleeps as a band. Their music is their legacy, not just in sound but in lyricism also. More riffs and thunder come in the form of previously released Four Walls before Torment unleashes fury in a manner that mirrors it's content about personal demons. There's no stopping While She Sleeps. Trophies Of Violence, No Sides No Enemies, Method In Madness and Modern Minds all continue with relentless energry and insanity. This is an album full of power and purpose and it's exactly what you want this band to be.

"This music is our therapy. A song for those who never give up." -Life In Tension

9/10
Listen to: Brainwashed, Torment

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Sing Out, Survivor by Palm Reader

Another month, another new Palm Reader firecracker. Sing Out, Survivor is an emotional number from metal's new favourite lads but it's a hell of a good tune. Soft and subtle but still undeniably heavy, this single is one of the best things Palm Reader have released from Besides The Ones We Love and with just less than a month to go until their second album is released, everyone is peaking with excitement! Check out Sing Out, Survivor below.

Searching For Zero by Cancer Bats

Grizzly Canadian heavyweights Cancer Bats have been hidden away for God knows how long

creating their fifth studio album, Searching For Zero, and boy was it worth the wait! Liam, Scott, Jaye and Mike are known for their indisputably brash rock 'n' growl noise and this fifth installment in their discography is that turned up to 100.

The album opens with the previously released Satellites and not far behind it is Arsenic In The Year Of The Snake; two songs that have already gripped Cancer Bats fans by the scruff of their necks, riling them up. For further riling there's songs like All Hail which rattle your brain in your skull but in contrast there's Beelzebub which feels almost sultry in it's slow steadiness. Then there's Buds which feels like pure unadulterated rock 'n' roll where Liam's coarse vocals surround you like you're frolicking about in a bath of muddy glory. Album closer, No More Bull Shit, is thundering in it's entrance and feels anthemic in it's exit, sealing itself with a stamp of triumph. Searching for Zero is fun and mayhem galore but if there's one thing this album lacks it's an abundance of sing-a-long moments. They've been a staple throughout previous albums in songs such as Hail Destroyer and Bricks And Mortar, but Searching For Zero misses those in your face moments. Instead they're disguised in the likes of "need to remind myself of who I really am" from the powerful True Zero and chants of "world on fire" from the urgently pounding Devil's Blood.

"No More Bull Shit" feels an appropriate phrase for Searching For Zero: Cancer Bats mean business and that business is headbanging, thumping noise. It is awesome.

7/10

Listen to: Arsenic In The Year Of The Snake, Devil's Blood

Lost Forever//Lost Together EP by Architects

Those wonderful Architects lads have treated us to a little EP, free in this weeks Kerrang! Magazine. It's been a year since they released their critically acclaimed album Lost Forever//Lost Together so the EP has come as a bit of a birthday celebration-come-tour warm up (which they embark on in less than a week)-come-first Kerrang! cover celebration. EXCITING STUFF!

The Lost Forever//Lost Together EP is a four track haven comprised of the stunning Colony Collapse and the ever passionate Youth Is Wasted On The Young, alongside two previously unreleased tracks, Shadow Of A Doubt and Untitled 2. The former is incredible, it's a mystery as to why Architects didn't just include it on the actual album because it's as great as the likes of Naysayer and C.A.N.C.E.R. From the start it's thundering and urgent and it contains the grit and grizzle that make Architects the force they are. Untitled 2 is beautiful in it's light and shade and is a reminder that these boys aren't just going to scream in your face, they're going to nurture you as they do it too.

Go buy Kerrang! Magazine because this is an EP you need to have in your life.

In The Moment: TURBOWOLF

Who the fuck are Turbowolf and why should you care?

Turbowolf are Bristol's finest exports and they'll make your bones rattle and your heart race with their gritty psychadelia infused rock. The mix of riffs, trippy synths and snarly attitude makes for a listening experience that will leave you longing for more. For the past four years, the band have forged their way into the industry, filling festival slots and tagging along on tours with the likes of Pulled Apart By Horses, Korn and most recently Death From Above 1979. What's more is very soon they'll embark on a headline tour across the UK. Exciting stuff right?

So, if you haven't heard of Turbowolf, firstly, where have you been? Secondly, what's stopping you from checking out your new favourite band!? Their debut self-titled album is available everywhere and it's full to the brim with tracks that will have you throwing some dance-come-thrash shapes. I'm not entirely sure what dance-come-thrash shapes look like (and I can't promise that once you start throwing them you'll be able to stop) but however weird they will look, they will fit beautifully with the wonderfully weird Seven Severed Heads or The Big Cut. Then there's A Rose For The Crows, Let's Die and the brand-spanking new Nine Lives, all of which deserve a mention for just being gnarly as.

If you're gonna check these guys out, do it now, because their second full-length, Two Hands, is due out in April and you're probably going to want to pre-order that! And buy tickets for their tour. So what are you waiting for?

Chasing Yesterday by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Chasing Yesterday is something a little bit special. The second full length album from the man who used to share frontman status with his brother in one of Britain's biggest rock bands, is oozing with sophistication, experimentation and a sound that is distinctly individual.

Where 2011's self-titled debut had to prove a point, this offering certainly doesn't. Noel's been there, done that and got the t-shirt. What this album actually feels like is something that Noel has been meaning to make for a long long time. He slips and slides between riffs, keys and saxophones with ease, the slower songs and the more upbeat feeling natural and exciting. There are areas where the album drags a bit, with long instrumental interludes that all sound fairly similar, but there's also bursts of excitement too. In The Heat Of The Moment and Lock All The Doors are bruised with bravado and confidence whilst You Know We Can't Go Back has all the swagger that should accompany a song with such a buoyant beat. The Mexican sees a new sound weave it's way into Noel's work and lead single Ballad Of The Mighty I closes the album in true Gallagher fashion,with grit and integrity. Although this album lacks sing-a-longs and instant favourites, it's fresh-faced feel makes up for it and has you questioning, where will Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds go next?

Chasing Yesterday deserves your attention, now.

Listen to: Ballad Of The Mighty I, In The Heat Of The Moment

7/10