You Me At Six - Hold Me Down

"I've got you hanging on every word I say ... And you love the way I take your breath away".

As 2010 is quickly coming to an end, I thought it was appropriate to write a little something about one of my favourite albums of this year; Hold Me Down by You Me At Six.
I often listen to music that portrays how I feel at a specific time, as personally, I believe music has the ultimate power to get me through emotional times in my life. Hold Me Down, has helped me do just that.

Hold Me Down is the second album from British pop-punk band, You Me At Six. From the first song on the Surrey rockers' album, The Consequence, the listener is introduced to the recurring theme present underlying every song on the album; the failure of love. Whether this is a direct response to lead singer, Josh Franceschi's, own "break-up", or a reference to anyone's heartbreak, remains a mystery. However, the tenth song on the album, There's No Such Thing as Accidental Infidelity, seems to adhere to the former belief that the album is indeed a representation of Franceschi's own feelings and thoughts.

Liquid Confidence is one of the most memorable tracks on the album and won the title of "Best Single" at the Kerrang! 2010 awards. Other favourites from from the album are Underdog and Stay With Me. The former song was the first track released from Hold Me Down with the familiar pop-punk sounds as heard from bands previously, such as Fall Out Boy and Paramore, the infectious song definitely captures the essence of You Me At Six, who have been branded as the "next big thing". The latter song, a more delicate track, provides lyrics of the perplexity and hurt that love causes; a personal preference.

With catchy choruses, and undeniably strong vocals by Franceschi, You Me At Six sold-out tours in 2010 and are set to do the same in 2011, as well as supporting Blink 182 on their UK tour dates next year.
You Me At Six, in my opinion, bring a fresh edge to the pop-punk scene, which is displayed clearly from their second album Hold Me Down.

                              "This contagious chemistry is killing me".

Pendulum & Hadouken!

"Feed the fire. Break your vision. Throw your fists up. Come on with me".

On Thursday 2nd December, I attended the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and was lucky enough to see, in my opinion, two of the most exciting bands, Pendulum and Hadouken. I had seen both live before, Pendulum once, and Hadouken three times; so, obviously I had quite high expectations. With the hopes that I would be witness to some new exhilarating songs, and get the pleasure of hearing some older and well-loved classics, I most definitely was not disappointed.

"You wanted the world. You wanted it all".

At 8:10pm, after louder growing chants from the audience of "HA-DOU-KEN!", British grindie band Hadouken (pictured above) graced the stage. They opened their forty minute set with the booming synths and building beats of Rebirth, and then to M.A.D, the first and forth song from their most current album For the Masses (2009). The band which formed in Leeds, after lead singer James Smith and Daniel 'Pilau' Rice met at Leeds University, played eight songs from their 2009 album, House is Falling, Ugly, Mic Check, Turn the Lights Out, Bombshock, and Lost, including the two opening songs just mentioned. But, intertwined within their set, Hadouken treated the buzzing audience to sneak previews of two new songs, Mecha Love and Oxygen, which will be released on their new album which is due in 2011. The audiences taster of what can be expected for new Hadouken stays true to their grime roots providing catchy lyrics and featuring lead singer, James, showing off his vocal abilities and talents by amalgamating both singing and raping their creative words, which indeed adds even more electrifying variety to the band's appeal. This can be seen from the excited roars received from the crowd after hearing both new tracks. Also, the band included in their set popular favourite That Boy, That Girl, with a force showing the audience how far they have come and the staying power that this band possess.

At 9pm, Australian electro-rock, drum and bass band, Pendulum (pictured above), began their two hour consecutive play list for the sold-out night of their tour, treating the audience to nineteen of their contagious songs. Spoiling their fans with a variety of old and new tracks, they began their set with the magical, introductory sounds of Genesis, blending into Salt in the Wounds, both tracks from the Immersion album (2010). In their set, the band treated the audience to a cover of The Progidy's Voodoo People, which appeared to be a hit with their audience who seemed familiar with the iconic track. Juxtaposed to the cover song was Witchcraft, enchantingly, their fans sung word-for-word in time with vocalist Rob Swire to the ballad-inspired lyrics at the beginning of the track, until the song broke into an outstanding, pumping beat which is unmistakably one of the catchiest tunes from their most recent album. Two highlights of the set were old favourites; Tarantula and Blood Sugar, tracks from the 2005 and 2007 re-issue of the album Hold Your Colour, both songs were absolutely electrifying, displaying to the audience just how talented Pendulum are. Every song that the band performed, vibrated throughout the entire arena, with the audience bouncing up and down in unison. Pendulum's Immersion Tour is set to hit North America in February 2011, and the band will also be the opening act for Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns Tour.

2011 is set to be spectacular for Pendulum, so "Hold your colour", and watch this space for new music coming from the band in the not too distant future.

The House of Rawkus

The House of Rawkus is a new, innovative clothing range by the band Hadouken, which is due to officially launch in 2011.

Inspired by their own clothing tastes and image, The House of Rawkus amalgamates the commonly warn symbols of the skull and carcass, with splashes of neon colour.

Skull of Rawkus designed by Lead Singer, James Smith.

What with a new album and a new clothing range set to be released, 2011 is already set to be one of the British grindie band's best years yet; Hadouken are most definitely one to watch

http://www.houseofrawkus.com/