ten56.
IO
ten56.’s main advantage is not being consigned to the shadow of their main progenitors Betraying The Martyrs. The explanation for that is, thanks to the deathcore cover of Let It Go from Frozen that’s become literally the only paper trail they left, there’s no shadow to be consigned to. Thus, there’s the perfect opportunity to start fresh, with musclebound metalcore that’s traded acute vision for low-as-the-earth’s-core slam on past EPs. It’s largely worked for them, too. ten56. are, by no means, an essential component in today’s heavy music lot, but more material from them has made it easier to see the worth in keeping them around.
IO, then, serves as a full-length reinforcement of that, as opposed to anything ready to break new ground. When ten56. venture outside of their metalcore and deathcore boundaries, that’s where their weaknesses are actually most blatant. Drawing from hip-hop often results in a dud—Pig is okay at it, but the closing title track is painfully hackneyed—and no matter how much irony the interlude LIFEISACHORE.MOV pumps through its whistles and stock-music ukulele, it’s no less excruciating. As for Friends that comes dissected into a bickering skit, a panicked rap section and a hunk of low-end gristle, it reads as ten56.’s attempt at ‘experimentation’, only to pan out as three underwhelming fragments blocked together that still feels like an overreach.
It’s worth bringing up how these are far and away the minority on IO, only worth so much attention because of the bizarre amount of weight that ten56. themselves give to them. Not a soul is coming here for anything out of the norm, and even if that’s not what the band want to admit, the jump between them and cavernous, blunt deathcore is not negligible in the slightest. It’s where ten56. seem much more comfortable, Aaron Matts especially in the gutturals that come so naturally to him on Snapped Neck or PTY FCK. Throw in some subtle yet caustic electronic embellishments (the squeals and shrieks baked into Earwig are particularly noteworthy), and the strengths demonstrated on IO are so obvious. There’s even a legitimate array of heaviness to be found, like the chaotic deathcore mauling of I Know Where You Sleep that does all it needs to in under two minutes, or how Good Morning sports a tone that sounds as though the bass strings are about the snap off and the drumbeats could punch a hole through multiple walls in a row.
Yeah, it’s as basic as metal in all its forms gets, but when it’s the most proven success that this album has, why not celebrate it? At least ten56. are leaning in and drilling deeper into what can make metalcore impactful. That in itself is a nice change of pace, and the lack of a single thought being provoked is a non-issue. For turn-your-brain-off, incite-street-level-retribution music that’s exceptionally aware of where it’s coming from, IO gets the job done. Frozen covers need not be a factor here.
For fans of: Paleface Swiss, To The Grave, VCTMS
‘IO’ by ten56. is released on 5th September on Out Of Line Music.
Carsick
Tough Luck
If / when Carsick become absolutely inescapable, it won’t be a surprise. It would’ve been even less of one about 15-ish years ago, but it’s not like the legacies of Jamie T and working-class lad-indie have dwindled that much, at least in the eyes of the listening public. Honestly, it’s the throughline that’s seen a band like Kid Kapichi become so big—it’s a bit more pointed and charged than it was back in the day, but the appeal comes from being profoundly normal guys. Carsick wear that even more plainly, if anything, with Tough Luck literally being about British pub culture as a fact of life.
The most notable bit of condemnation or commentary within that—of workaday culture that allows for just one or two brief evenings of respite a week—is probably Backseat, but Carsick will highlight enough inside of the scene, too. The fact that Violence, Pub Watch and Song About The Police all touch on distinct flavours of pub-dwelling lairiness goes a good way; the repetition of the main theme is softened somewhat. As for Thatchers Gold, the general melancholy of the scene is the track’s key asset, and where Carsick’s slightly-more-in-touch-man-on-the-street personae get the most mileage.
It’s the simplicity and lack of highfalutin airs put on that forms Tough Luck’s main appeal. At the same time, it’s never too flippant in what it’s doing. For as unnecessary as its diversions into Bilk-esque ‘punk’ are, building Song About The Police on a strolling bassline equipped with shimmery indie guitar fragments is a drastically new, drastically good direction for Carsick to take. Meanwhile, Thatchers Gold is unashamed 2000s indie worship (the central melody isn’t a million miles away from Mardy Bum, as a matter of fact), while Violence, Backseat and Pub Watch opt for supremely tight and jumpy punk and pop-rock. Compared to similarly-aligned acts for whom a rudimentary drubbing is the be-all-end-all, at least the potential for some flexibility is there with Carsick. It’d be worth letting Joe Richardson’s boyish vocals toughen up a bit to make the most of that, but a speed bump that’ll sort itself out is hardly worth too much effort to drag, is it?
Besides, right now, Tough Luck is still a strong follow-up to what was already fresh and sprightly on Drunk Hymns a couple of years ago. It’s better in every way that it needed to be, while leaving Carsick’s central lode of strengths intact, and arguably dialling up the mainstream-ready potential just enough to count. It’s kind of shame this is coming just after festival season, because that’s the proven atmosphere in which Carsick can flourish which would, no doubt, happen again. Oh well—there’s always next year, when the runway will be even longer and buzz around one of the most affable new indie bands around will be even more fevered.
For fans of: Kid Kapichi, Jamie T, early Arctic Monkeys
‘Tough Luck’ by Carsick is released on 5th September on Alcopop! Records.
cheerbleederz
(prove me wrong)
The nice thing about cheerbleederz is how creatively free the project seems to be. This is their first release since 2022’s full-length even in jest, emerging from a couple of years of turmoil that spawned something of an impromptu hiatus. For those who’d dub this an indie-punk ‘supergroup’ (amongst whom, you’d have to assume, the band themselves would not be), it’s not how things would usually be. But for the small-scale, unflinchingly human figure of cheerbleederz, there’s none of the binding of necessity to pump out reams of nebulous ‘content’. The fact their return is welcomed with a brief EP says all it needs to, as do the brackets in the title to read almost as a meek or beleaguered sentiment.
In other words, precious little has changed between where cheerbleederz left off and where (prove me wrong) begins. Familiarity with either their past work or their alumnal indie-punk names should leave you pretty much bang-on with these four tracks, in tone, style, vision and scale (or lack thereof). And that’s no bad thing; the core tenet of cheerbleederz has always been of a homespun indie venture without a frill or fancy about it. Even on the de facto ‘big anthem’ passenger princess—a song about finding independence outside of a relationship, designed to funnel into its crucial moment of epiphany—the DIY craft keeps it from soaring too high.
Rather than feel like a flaw, that’s where the charm of cheerbleederz is most potent. It’s not twee or hyper-earnest, and it certainly isn’t oversold to the point of unbelievability. It’s just right for a small, personal project such as this. When they do opt for some rougher guitar on i deserved better (or, heaven forbid, a solo on passenger princess), it’s a wiry little line of scuzz that, by no means, wears grandeur or polish. Alternatively, when playing with softer tones on you got it in for me that are almost casting glances at dream-pop, the bass thunks and drum patter are cushioned by little more than their own roundness.
The one place that feels a little out of step is sleepwalking, though that’s more to do with its fragmented runtime than how the low-hanging indie-rock plays out. As far as construction and direction goes, it’s more standard cheerbleederz goodstuff. Even after their three-year break, nothing about this feels dulled or lacking. There’s nothing that’s really added, either, but be honest—why would you expect there to be? cheerbleederz is a simple, personal, heartfelt project without a single thing forced, and regardless of how and when they illustrate that, it’s always welcome.
For fans of: Happy Accidents, Fresh, ME REX
‘(prove me wrong)’ by cheerbleederz is released on 5th September on Alcopop! Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
