Mick Birchall Reviews

Every now and then, I love diving back into the world of pop-punk. I mean it was such a big part of my music taste development in my late teens. Bands like The Blackout, Kids In Glass Houses, The Dollyrots & Zebrahead were a big part of my gigging life. Every weekend I used to, and still do, blast music like that. The bright melodies blended with the hard rock tone usually brings a smile to my face. So I'm always on the lookout for new talent in the genre. Bringing me to Not Ur Girlfrenz . Even at their young age, they exhibit all the star qualities needed to succeed and I can only imagine they're going to get better in time. Which is hard to believe as they're already so good. They have the personality, the talent and the tunes to back it up. Their new EP, New Kids In America is damn impressive. It has a decent range of songs, showing their musical and songwriting abilities.  The EP hits you in the face with solid track after solid track. I couldn't name a bad ...

They are one of the most exciting bands to listen to and watch live. A band that I always love to talk about. Novacrow  is a band that really encapsulates the idea of having fun with your art form. The Liverpool rockers return with their new EP, Criminal Mastermind and it's another diverse collection of bangers that will get you rocking out. They are just one of those bands that can brighten up your day in an instant with their character and energy. Their songs are a good mix of genuine hard rock with outlandish and punchy lyrics. They just have that style that keeps you engrossed and entertained and their charisma just shines through on every track.  The opener of "Fever Swamp" is this big bombastic tune that immediately grabs your attention. The heavy riff and big bass-filled tunes, really sound great as they take their clear love of alternative metal and put their own spin on it. Everything about the songwriting is great as they are clearly having fun maki...

I have been meaning to see Chantel McGregor  for a long time now. I have liked her music for quite a while and I have been told that she is a great performer. So when she announced that she was coming to my neck of the woods in St Helens, I was more than ready to be wowed. The Citadel is a solid venue for this kind of show. It has that right balance of size and space. Being big enough of a venue to hold a decent capacity but at the same time, it still feels intimate.  So it always makes for a good night out. Plus I had the added benefit of not having to negotiate public transport. The venue was pretty full making for a good atmosphere. I also had never heard of the of the support act and I was ready to hear something brand new to my ears. First up on the stage was the wonderfully talented, Lucy Zirins . A simply wonderful vocalist who really lit up the venue with her charm, personality, and talent. A very quiet and low key set, just an acoustic guitar, ba...

Another weekend and another night of rock music. To people who say that rock is dying, I'll say that you aren't looking for it. Bigfoot has been building up a decent fan base and if this Manchester show was anything to go by. A packed out Rebellion Bar was ready for some no-nonsense rock 'n' roll and rearing to go. I usually like Rebellion, it's a good place with a great sound system and bands usually sound their best on the stage, from my experience anyway. I've not had a chance to see Bigfoot live in a while. The last time I saw them was at Bloodstock in 2015 and ever since they kind of fallen off of my radar. However, I usually hear how good they are on stage and I finally had the chance to check them out. So, why the hell not? Also, there were two supports, so lots of opportunities to rock out. Opening things up were rockers, Takeaway Thieves and I wasn't into them at all. Their guitar tone was all over the place and ruined a lot of the goo...

I can not tell you how incredibly excited I am to finally talk about this album. Tantric has been my favourite band since I was a little kid. They were the first band that I ever really connected with on an emotional level. So, after four years of waiting, they have finally put out their new album, Mercury Retrograde . As soon as I saw that this album was coming out I knew that I had to have it and yes, I have pre-ordered it. So imagine the glee in my soul when I was provided with a pre-release review copy of the album. (Big thanks to the band, label and their management for that!) Now they're back with a new album, they have a new line-up with frontman, Hugo Ferreira as the sole original member. The new musicians brought in for this record are Troy Patrick Farrell on drums, Jaron Gulino on bass and Sebastian Labar on guitar. I think they gel rather well together as a unit. This album has more of a straightforward rock feel to it. It sounds like the lyrical ideas from the sec...