Raised by hounds must have rediscovered the alternative rock bible before they picked up their instruments, warmed their vocals and found what could almost be described as the holy grail of sound which they have now polished into a sound that is kind of both New Wave and Old School with their new single ‘Home’.

Fans of bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Guns n Roses will find a place in their playlists for Raised by Hounds, with their sweet sounding guitar tones and soaring vocals this track would not sound out of place.

Smooth flowing riffs flowed out of the start of the track, shortly followed up by hypnotic sounding vocals which added together gives the ‘Home’ a huge atmospheric foundation to build on. Then the middle 8th arrives, it’s edgy and adds a new swing to things and is sharply followed by the chorus which bangs right into place.

Raised by Hounds have developed a polished track which is loud and proud with layers of different tones and tempo which keeps the record interesting throughout its 5 minutes 41 seconds of playtime. For some listeners who have become use to tracks fitting into 3 minutes for a radio, ‘Home’ may feel too long but why waste a good thing when it sounds so good.

‘Home’ blends energy filled guitar sounds with rustic vocal tones effortlessly together which allows Raised by Hounds to stand up and take ownership of this New Wave Old School sound. It feels like they’re making a statement about taking great elements of music gone by and making it present once again.

3.5 Hook out of 5 

Written by Kess Anthony

If we are honest, Korn fans have not really had all that much to get excited about in the last fifteen years or so. There have been odd rays of competence in the half dozen or so albums since their peak ‘Untouchables’ but nothing has really come close to lighting the fuse on the fireworks that were their early work.

Their newest track ‘You’ll never find me’ shows some signs that things may be heading in the right direction with a killer riff that gets just enough playtime to get your head nodding. Jonathan Davis has spoken recently about doing the vocals his way and taking his time to get them exactly as he wanted them to be, drawing on the darkness caused by the horrendous recent tragedy in his own life. In ‘You’ll never find me’ as Davis sounds on top form, delivering some of the best vocals that we’ve seen in recent years from one of the most unique talents in metal and breaking down into agonised shouts as the song draws to a close.

Davies has always been the spice of Korn but the engine room that drives the band has always been the guitars and bass of Head, Munky, and Fieldy. Its heartening to hear that after this unit can still crank it out sounding heavy as hell and whilst things have undoubtedly evolved, it still sounds definitively like Korn. If there is a disappointment, sometimes the drums whilst decent feel that they could just give that little bit more and they miss that occasional extra off beat hit on the snare. 

The song lacks the punch and heft in the chorus to be a classic and if this is the best that ‘The Nothing’ has to offer when the full album drops in September, then my excitement will quickly fade but for now there are plenty of signs that Korn’s next album is going to be worth checking out. 

3 out of 5 Hooks   

Written By Jimmy Rock 

The title of Sum 41’s latest track, ‘A death in the family’  almost perfectly sums up how we feel about it. For a band we loved back in the  early noughties to produce such a poor track feels like the final nail in  their coffin. The track is hollow with a lack of energy and life, at a time  when the band needed to breathe new excitement and enthusiasm in to their  sound, they have found themselves nose-diving into the abyss. 

It feels like Deryck Whibley, Cone McCaslin, Tom Thacker, Dave  Brownsound, and Frank  Zummo don’t want to be here anymore and their making new records because this  is the only thing they are used to doing with their time. Gone are the well  timed guitar riffs and steady drum beats which used to trigger an instant  excitement of fuck whatever I’m doing today I’m stopping right here and  playing this track on repeat.  

The tempo of the whole track is too slow, the vocal  performance is the same, it is lacks the authority that grabs the listener’s  attention which used to be the trademark of so many Sum 41 tracks that have  gone before. The track is bordering on being a bit poppy with a half decent  drum display and then all of a sudden it just got worse, as a guitar solo was  forced on us, it is just a flat line moment to end the track, but I was glad  for it to end. Don’t let the pangs of nostalgia persuade you to buy this  record when then are so many new and exciting bands that could use your  support! 

1 out of 5 Hooks

Written by Kess  Anthony 

MPA is a young man at the age of 22 from London, MPA has a wide range of influences which finds their way into his sound. A muti instrumentalist who writes,  records and produces all his own material so lets find out about his new single. 

‘Outta your mind’ starts with an easy flowing guitar riff which would find itself at home in a Supergrass track, a steady paced drum beat provides a backing soundtrack for the lyrics which then arrive at the forefront of the record.

When MPA introduces himself with the words ‘Outta your mind’ you instantly feel a retro vocal display wave wash over you, this track is an easy and relaxing listen which gives you access into MPA’s private world.

The lyrics are the focal point of the song over instrumental expression, at just 2 minute 18 seconds the shortest of track doesn’t allow much opportunity for instrumental progression. However, MPA is a storyteller and he successfully carries the track with strong lyrics, such as “restring your ideology”, “trepidation at your door”, and “that you’re no longer relevant”. 

MPA certainly had us nodding along with interest on this one and its is well worth a few minutes out of your day to listen to. Check him out!

3 out of 5 Hooks

Written by Kess Anthony 

As soon as we heard Busted were making a comeback and releasing their new single, Radio, we hoped our radios would be broken. This is partly because we never got the craze first time around and 13 years later it seems a little cringe worthy watching three men in their 30’s pretending to be teenagers. We’ve grown up with Busted but they seem to have done very little growing with their sound.

The other reason is because like most of Busted’s other tracks it’s Charlie Simpson’s rustic voice which is their saving grace, you’ve got to feel sorry for Charlie his strong sounding voice deserves a song with better lyrics and music than Busted’s current offering. James (Bourne) seems to have slipped into the background, with Matt (Willis) and Charlie  taking the majority of the vocals, which begs the question do the two main members really need their backing singer?

The band have also seemed to have left their guitars at home for this track and gone with a sound which most generic pop acts have harnessed recently. Maybe this is Busted’s way of showing us a different more developed style or maybe they are showing a willingness to adapt to where the money is in the industry.

‘Radio’ is very much a pop track with a catchy chorus, but it's pushed on you so much, you can find it tedious after a few listens. No matter what we say here at Off The Hook Music this track will over excite boy band fans and harden the views of Busted’s die-hard fans, and all they really want is more of the same.

This is a song which that will be totally forgotten by the year 3000 and more than likely by the end of 2019.

2 out of 5 hooks

Written by Kess Anthony