Three years in the waiting, The National have finally released their 6th studio album Trouble Will Find Me. I only discovered the band with the release of their previous album High Violet and I immediately fell in love with the Ohioan band for their dark and melodic sound reminiscent of The Smiths or a more calm and withdrawn Afghan Whigs. Since then I have looked back through their catalogue to songs such as Forever After Days and Rest of Years from the Virginia EP, and 90 Mile Water Wall from The Cherry Tree. After all the homework I had done on The National, it’s safe to say that never have I found a band that could produce more calming and more poignant songs. The new album is much the same, able to create a sense of tranquility and yet to cast your psyche into reflection, it would be better to rename every album they’ve ever produced “Songs to Break Your Heart”.

Trouble Will Find Me, is full pleasing songs, but unfortunately there are some disappointments. I am a fan of this band, so it is a shame to say; but as The National progress and mature it appears more and more as though they are a one-trick-pony, deep-set into their sound and fail to deviate from it. If you like The National’s sound then you’re in luck, because Trouble Will Find Me provides the same sound you’ve heard on High Violet or even Boxer or Alligator. However, as much as I liked those albums, I like to hear evolution in a band’s music and some evidence of development and maturity, whereas all I hear in the new album is saturation.

Trouble Will Find Me is not all negatives, it has to be said.An album doesn’t reach number 3 in the UK albums chart and the Billboard 200 for nothing. As I have said, the album is a masterclass of The National’s sound and therefore serves to provide excellent examples as to why The National are so skilled with melodies and ambient atmospherics. Songs like This is the Last Time and Fireproof offer some catchy riffs and vocal melodies that remind you why you fell in love with them in the first place.

If you’d like to get an idea of the new album, you can hear one of the singles from Trouble Will Find Me – Don’t Swallow the Cap.

On the whole, Trouble Will Find Me is a great album for The National; melodic, mournful and full of hooks, full of all the things that we know and love about the band. However, if you’re looking for new material and development, then this is not the album for you, and serves only as an extension of their previous material.

So it’s pretty cool that they’ve recently done a cover of Banks‘ track Warm Water. Have a listen and tell us what you think!

You can catch Seasfire live on the following dates:

JUN 20           STATION SESSION, ST PANCRAS STATION, LONDON

AUG 03          Y-NOT FESTIVAL, DERBYSHIRE

AUG 09          THE FLEECE, BRISTOL (supporting DELPHIC)

SEP 28           UNDERGROUND FESTIVAL, GLOUCESTER

You may, or may not have heard of Jackson and his Computerband, but one thing is for sure – you’ve got to take a listen.

Jackson hasn’t released an album since his 2005 debut Smash, which saw a little bit of mainstream success and a pretty large underground following spawn. This September however, he’s going to release his follow-up album, Glow.

It’s clear that Jackson isn’t trying to create simple, easily-accessible music, but is trying to experiment. Making use of his own custom-made instruments, his tracks are filled with electronic intricacies, not trying to obtain simple hits, but creating abstract soundscapes.

These are the reasons why Jackson and his Computerband’s music has been marked as a ‘masterpiece’ by many listeners, but also the reason why you probably haven’t heard of him.

Given the nature of his first album and tracks like Utopia and Fast Life,  Glow  at the very least, will be extremely interesting to hear.

Glow  is set to be released on 02.09.13 on Warp Records and Jackson promises an all new live show as his “..computerband is now fully alive”.

We thought that all of you Frank Turner fans would enjoy seeing him cover a classic track by the Foo Fighters.

Turner covered All My Life  by the Foo Fighters last week in Radio 1′s Live Lounge, in addition to a performance of his newest single, The Way I Tend To Be.

The Way I Tend To Be  was released yesterday (June 17th) through Xtra Mile Recordings, and is the second single from his newest album Tape Deck Heart.

You can visit Turner’s site here, or read our interview with him at: http://holdupnow.com/an-interview-with-frank-turner/

PS4 console revealed

After a somewhat slow start to the conference (involving The Walking Dead coming to Vita and a GTAV bundle for the PS3) Sony finally showed us what their new console looks like (see below). I like it but personally, although it is massive, I think I prefer the look of the XBone. Sony then announced that there are currently 30 titles in development for the PS4, 12 of which are new IP.

The Order 1886 announced

The first PS4 exclusive to be revealed during Sony’s conference was a steampunk action game set in London called The Order 1886. It’s being developed by Sony Santa Monica, known for the God Of War series.

Here’s the cinematic trailer.

Transistor Revealed

A new game from Supergiant, creators of the excellent indie title Bastion, called Transistor was next to be revealed. It will make it’s console debut on PS4.

Here’s the trailer.

In addition to this, Sony announced that 8 more indie games will make their console debuts on PS4 next year. These are:

Secret Ponchos

Galak-Z

Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee – New ‘n’ tasty

Outcast

Mercenary Kings

Don’t Starve

Ray’s The Dead

Final Fantasy XV revealed

Square Enix used Sony’s conference to announce that the long awaited Final Fantasy Versus XIII is now Final Fantasy XV. Both a trailer and gameplay footage was shown, the latter suggesting a move away from the series’ traditional JRPG gameplay into a third person action game.

Here’s the trailer.

And the gameplay footage.

But that’s not all Square Enix had up their sleeve, following this announcement with the reveal of Kingdom Hearts 3 and a HD remake of the original Kingdom Hearts (called Kingdom Hearts 1.5).

Here’s the trailer.

It’s worth noting that both Final Fantasy 15 and Kingdom Hearts 3 will be released for Xbox One as well as PS4.

Elder Scrolls Online Coming to PS4

It was confirmed that the Elder Scrolls Online, an MMO spin-off of the popular RPG series, will be coming to PS4.

Here’s the trailer.

Again, the ESO will be coming to Xbox One too.

Mad Max Announced 

Mad Max, a game based on the film series from the 70s/80s and 1990 game, was revealed at the conference and will be developed by Avalanche Studios, creators of the Just Cause series. It will come to both PS4 and Xbox One.

Here’s the trailer.

PS4 can play used games

It was here that Sony landed their biggest blows to Microsoft. They confirmed that unlike the Xbox One, gamers will be able to buy, sell and trade in used PS4 games as well as lend them to a friend. An online check-in will not be present either, allowing offline play when you’re internet is down. Sony even showed us a glimpse of their funny side in this video which illustrates the ease in which people will be able to lend PS4 games.

Despite these things, Sony announced that a PS Plus subscription will now be necessary to play PS4 games online, just like an Xbox Gold subscription. This news may sting PS fans after the PS3 boasted free online for so long, hopefully the quality of free games on offer each month will remain at such a high quality after this change.

Watch Dogs Gameplay demo

Ubisoft hit the stage to announce exclusive content for both Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed IV and show off a new gameplay demo for their upcoming game Watch Dogs which was first revealed at E3 last year.

Here’s the demo.

Destiny gameplay demo

Sony ended their conference in style, giving us our first look at gameplay footage for Bungie’s new online shooter Destiny.

Here’s the demo.

PS4 price revealed

Finally, Sony closed the conference by revealing the launch price of the PS4: £349. Compare this with the Xbox One’s rather steep price tag of £429 and this looks like it could be a big deal for the PS4. We saw how much the PS3 struggled at first when it launched at a higher price than the 360, it’ll be interesting to see how the Xbox One fairs.

So a strong conference from Sony then. In terms of the amount of games shown off I think Microsoft’s conference just edges it, but Sony needn’t worry about that. The internet has spoken and Sony are still the clear favourites coming out of E3, Microsoft are gonna need to do a lot of work to get the fans back on their side.

If you’re in the know then you’ve probably already heard Eats Everything & Justin Martin’s track The Gettup. However, if you haven’t, then you’re in for a treat. The track’s release is notable as it is the first official release that these two producers have released as a duo.

Following the hype around the duo’s release, the track itself is catchy and consists of a range of parts that keep it interesting. From the continuous high-hat hits, to the vocals appropriately repeating “get up”, the track is one that can be danced to as well as be commended for some nice bass parts.

Take a listen to the preview here or watch what one crowd did to the song below.

You can now buy the track at Beatport here: http://www.beatport.com/release/the-gettup/1098715

Or support find out more from these producers at:

https://www.facebook.com/justinmartinmusicpage

https://www.facebook.com/eatseverythingmusic

With what seemed like the world and it’s mother hunting for their blood following the Xbox One’s reveal back in May, Microsoft were under a lot of pressure to deliver at their conference. So, did they? Here’s a brief summary of what was shown:

-Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain shown

Microsoft kicked off the conference with a short section of gameplay and then a (good, if not slightly odd) trailer for MGSV. The game looked great and it was a nice, and unexpected, way to open the show.

Here’s a link to the reveal.

-New Xbox 360 revealed

MS then took everyone by surprise (well I assume everyone, I certainly was) by revealing a new model of the Xbox 360. It looks a bit more like the Xbox One now; I can see some parents buying this instead of the XBone by mistake. Poor kids.

-Xbox Live Gold Members to  receive free games

In what appears to be a response to Sony’s PlayStation Plus scheme, MS announced that Gold Members will now receive two free games each month up to the XBone’s release in November. They then announced that the two games this month will be Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed 2, but compare that with PS Plus’ offerings this month (which includes Deus Ex and Saints Row: The Third) and it doesn’t seem like that great a deal. I mean, how many people own a 360 and don’t have/did have those games already? I’m gonna guess not that many.

-World Of Tanks for Xbox 360 announced

MS then announced that the popular PC MMO World Of Tanks will be available to download for free this summer. Here’s a link to the reveal.

-Ryse gameplay shown

Crytek took to the stage to show a section of gameplay from their new XBone title, Ryse: Son Of Rome. The game was initially announced during MS’s E3 conference back in 2011 as a Kinect title, it now appears to be an ancient Rome themed hack and slash. The game looked great visually but the combat appeared rather QTE-heavy, although after getting hands-on with the game, Videogamer claim this may not be the case.

Here’s the demo.

-Killer Instinct revealed

A free-to-play remake of the 90′s fighting game Killer Instinct was revealed as a XBone exclusive. It has since been clarified that the game will be free to download but only one fighter will be available, players can then purchase additional characters if they wish. An interesting model, similar to that of free-to-play MOBA League Of Legends (which I am addict of incidently), but I’m unsure how successful it will be on the Xbox. We shall see.

Here’s some gamplay.

-Sunset Overdrive revealed

An open-world shooter called Sunset Overdrive was the next of the XBone’s exclusives to be shown off. It comes, surprisingly, from Insomniac, creators of the Rachet and Clank and Resistance series, who before now have been a PlayStation only developer.

Here’s the reveal.

-Forza 5 shown

A trailer followed by a short section of gameplay was shown. Forza looks as good as ever and will now feature a system called Drivatar, which races for you while you’re away. ‘We can race together, even when we’re not together’.

Here’s the trailer.

-More of Quantum Break shown

Sam Lake took to MS’s stage for the second time within a matter of weeks to show off a new scene from Remedy’s new game Quantum Break, which was first revealed at the XBone reveal.

Here’s the demo.

-D4 revealed

A new game from Swery65, creator of Deadly Premonition, D4 was revealed. It will be an episodic title exclusive to the XBone.

Here’s the trailer

-Project Spark revealed

Porject Spark was the next exclusive to be revealed. Following in the footsteps of Media Molecule’s Little Big Planet games, Project Spark will allow the player to create and share their own games. Use of the Kinect voice sensor to develop your game was shown.

Here’s the demo.

-Twitch Deal announced

A deal between MS and Twitch was announced. Using the XBone’s video editing features players will be able to upload/stream their videos to Twitch.

-Dead Rising 3 announced

The next installment in the crazy, zombie smacking series was shown off and will be exclusive to XBone. Some people expressed concerns that the demo suggested that the wackiness of the previous games has been put aside. Again, after having hands on time with the game, Videogamer think that while the game is taking a more serious tone, it still retains a lot of the silliness that fans of the series are so fond of.

Another change to the series is the lack of a time limit and save restrictions which have featured so heavily in the previous Dead Rising games. Capcom have confirmed that this is the case, stating that they wanted to make a more approachable game, but that a ‘Nightmare Mode’ has been included which will have these and will be available from the get go.

Here’s the trailer.

-New Halo revealed

A stunning, mysterious trailer was shown which then turned out to be a new Halo game. Is this Halo 5?

Here’s the trailer.

-TitanFall shown

Titanfall, the first game from ex-Infinity Ward developers Respawn entertainment was shown off in an extended section of gameplay  towards the end of the trailer. The demo showed multiplayer gameplay and involved jetpacks, wall-climbing and mechs. Think Call Of Duty in space and you won’t be too far off.

Here’s the demo.

-The Witcher 3 shown

An impressive trailer for the third game in the Witcher series, and the first to appear on consoles, was shown. This will also be the first time the series makes the transition from linear to open world gameplay. It looks great.

Here’s the trailer

-Xbox One Priced and Dated

The XBone will be released across 21 countries this November at the princely sum of £429. While this comes with a 500GB hard drive  and a Kinect 2, it seems a bit pricey. Particularly after Sony revealed at their conference that the PS4 will lauch at just £349.

So hopefully that’s just about everything that happened at the conference, but how did Microsoft do? Personally, I think it was a very good conference. After the TV-filled XBone reveal,  it needed to be all about the games and it certainly was. They dove straight in with the MGSV reveal and from there on it was pretty much game after game after game, with barely a mention of TV. Yes, some further clarification of the issues surrounding the XBone concerning DRM and always online would have been good; but perhaps they were wise not mention it.

Some roundups of the other conferences will hopefully go up over the next few days, so please check back soon if you found this helpful.

Source: Videogamer, IGN

As with a lot of great music, it comes from some young, energetic and new musicians, calling themselves Dreamers Dose. They’re set to release there debut album this summer and are certainly starting to get the media’s attention with songs such as Pray for Me, Fragile, which you can find at the bottom of this page.

For a band that has been heavily influenced by artists like Queens of the Stone Age, it is only fitting that their debut album is being produced by Queen of the Stone Age’s very own Alain Johannes. Having Johannes producing this album is surely a sign of the potential that Dreamers Dose have, so it will be interesting to see how far they get.

You can listen to Pray for Me, Fragile  here: https://soundcloud.com/arwitman/pray-for-me-fragile-1

Or find out more about Dreamers Dose on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

So Dallas Green returns once again, and each time a little more matured and a little more calming. Nothing could be better proof than the release of his new album The Hurry and the Harm, released on June 4th on Dine Alone Records.

Following the release of Little Hell, Green’s 2011 offering it seemed that he had really started to make a name for himself in his own right commercially, rather than being ‘That guy from Alexisonfire’s side project’. Of course he had always been known, and perhaps he was one of the most well-renown and beloved of all ‘underground’ acts, but with The Hurry and the Harm it’s safe to say that if Dallas has not surfaced already, it won’t be long until he does.

So if you’re one of the unfortunate people who are not familiar with City & Colour so far, let’s talk about the new album.

One thing that can be said about City & Colour is that he’s not one for writing repetitive or ‘samey’ music. Although; on the whole this is true for The Hurry and the Harm I have to say that there are more instances of songs where you can detect similarity to older material, whereas on his previous albums, each song was unique and completely standalone. However, it could very easily be argued that this is because Dallas is settling into his style comfortably. There are few songs in particular that are unmistakably City & Colour. Death’s Song which is one of my favourites on the album has Green’s trademark pessimism and sweet finger-picked melodies. The song seems to cover issues of love and life and allusions and metaphors of death, something that may seem gloomy, but it wouldn’t be a City & Colour album without it.

“What becomes of me, when stop listening? Do I disappear into the silence or return from the void with brand new light?”

Unfortunately, there are some bad sides. I had said earlier that before this concretely styled album Dallas was prone to releasing albums containing varying songs such as Confessions, The Girl and As Much As I Ever Could all on one LP for example, and he managed to do so using primarily an acoustic guitar, even more so with his first LP Sometimes.

It seems to me that The Hurry and the Harm has more style than the others, but less creativity, more lyrical confidence, but less diversity. For me this is a downfall. I enjoyed the fact that I could turn on a City & Colour album for the first time and know that each song would have been different from the last, but with the latest offering, it seems that all songs flow in the same channel. If you listen to the songs Harder Than Stone and Paradise,then perhaps you’ll see what I mean. Songs that don’t sound exactly the same, but don’t sound particularly different either.

Overall, The Hurry and the Harm is a fantastic status symbol of Dallas’ progress and definitive style, however, I would be lying if I told you that it was the best that he had ever released. I would recommend the songs; Take Care, Death’s Song and The Golden State.