Joe's Big Toe » Reviews

Late Night Fiction — Exits, Pursued By A Bear

Joe Innes — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:56:46 +0000

Late Night Fiction’s press release describe them as a “melodic post-hardcore quartet” — and it’s surprisingly accurate. The Hull band have chalked up a number of support spots, including for groups like Twin Atlantic, currently in rotation on Radio One with their single Free. EPBAB is taken from the EP “Medium” which ought to be [...]

Shoshin — City of Patience

Joe Innes — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:53:47 +0000

City of Patience is the debut album from Shoshin, an independent band hailing from North West England. I’m struggling to work out what to say about the album — it’s nothing like what I was expecting. Reading up on the band, it becomes apparent that their ethos is very much in line with the punk [...]

Tellison 15/10/11

Joe Innes — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:16:36 +0000

Walking into the venue, I did a double-take. The Harley is known for being the home of student hipster music, and I suppose Tellison are small enough to draw that crowd — but the music does not fit comfortably in my mind in the same space as Grizzly Bear and the like. The band take [...]

The Dark Retreat — The Devil In Me (Butterfly Kiss)

Joe Innes — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:21:00 +0000

About four years ago, we ran a piece on a five-piece called Bi-Polar Baby. The band have since broken up, which was a shame, because they showed an awful lot of potential, and we were very much looking forward to seeing how their next effort would be an improvement on the last. However, had Bi-Polar [...]

New Found Glory — Radiosurgery

Joe Innes — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 12:12:26 +0000

New Found Glory occupy a place in my heart that doesn’t quite fit with history. I see them as the last of the great nineties pop-punk bands, alongside Green Day, blink-182 and the Offspring — but this is wrong. They were, in fact, one of the first of the next wave, the Drive-Thru bands. As [...]

Alkaline Trio — Damnesia

Joe Innes — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:54:45 +0000

A little over a year ago, we covered This Addiction. The record marked a bit of a return to Alkaline Trio’s punk roots. It’s interesting then, that the follow-up should be such a risky move. Damnesia has only two original tracks on it (the rather weak Olde English 800, and the decent I Remember a [...]

blink-182 — Up All Night

Joe Innes — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:50:48 +0000

In 2005, I thought I’d missed the boat. As blink announced their indefinite hiatus, I cried into my Weetabix, being one of the few who hadn’t seen them live. So, in 2009, when they announced that they were getting back together, I was over the moon. Of course, I expected a bit of a wait [...]

Rise Against — Endgame

Joe Innes — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:24:18 +0000

Recently, I’ve become somewhat disillusioned musically. I’ve strayed away from my favourite bands, or listened to their old albums on repeat. I’m fully aware of how Pitchfork this sounds, but most of the stuff that’s come out in the past year or two has just been of a much lower quality than before. Less innovative, [...]

The Pretty Reckless — Light Me Up

Nikki Burnett — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 19:01:10 +0000

At first glance you can easily misjudge this band, lead singer Taylor Momsen looks like an L.A hybrid of Courtney Love and Cherie Currie. Although Momsen seems to try too hard to be rock and roll, thinking mounds of black eyeliner, confessing her love for knives and swearing before every word is edgy, she will [...]

Fenix TX — 26th October 2010

Joe Innes — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:09:48 +0000

Walking into the venue tonight is something of a disappointment. Fenix TX were one of a handful of groups that shaped my music taste as it is today, and it’s sad to see them unable to draw enough of a crowd to put them in the 800 capacity main room. I stand quietly at the [...]