Submissions policy

KIC are keen to receive submissions for review. You can either send us a link to something at neil@keep-it-creative.com or mail us and we will give you a postal address.

We regret that due to the number of submissions we receive, we cannot return submissions. We endeavour to review everything we receive, but when things get busy we can't guarantee a review.

If you are a budding music journalist and would like to write for us, then drop us a line at neil@keep-it-creative.com .  It's unlikely that we can pay you, but should you turn out to be the next Lester Bangs, we always need content for promoting bands, so there might be a future in it.

Lots has been happening in the world of XAD since I last reviewed their music. They are now handled by Amnezia Bookings and have been racking up gigs and recording new material. Their latest single is 'Mary turns to gold'. It will be released digitally on the 29th of February. The hard work seems to have paid off.

What immediately strikes you is that XAD have recorded with a far denser sound this time around. The band at the time was enhanced by Devin on keys and Wes on drums. The dense sound is lifted by a poppy synth lead, which gives it a retro feel. So we have Smashing Pumpkins
guitars, 90's electro pop and a retro moogy synth which gives it an almost 'twee' element. The vocals are double tracked throughout with a female singer called Francesca Laneri.

My first impression of the song was that it has a great sound. The second impression was that it was over before it started. It's a 'blink and you'll miss it' 3 minute pop song. The synth hook is great, and the duel vocals work very well - especially to introduce people slowly to the band.

The song leaves you wanting more - there isn't even time for a guitar solo. I can see it being a an opening track(or early track at least) which builds pace for the album. This is a much more upbeat XAD than their Distant Future EP and would provide a great respite to Ted's more 'sensitive' moments. Great work!!

Zadok - Unit of Judo E.P.

I first came across Zadok when I was in Gateshead for some training. Chris, guitarist and singer for Zadok, was on the same course and told me his band was playing that night. He told me that they were Progressive-Grunge-Folk. It sounded interesting enough and I wasn't doing anything that night anyway. They were playing in a pub called the Three Tuns, but I was reliably informed that they have played in everything from bookshops to charity shops in their rise to the dizzy heights of The Three Tuns.

The Three Tuns is a bizarre mix; Two pubs served by one bar. One half is a grungey sweaty bar-sized music venue and the other has tables of old men playing poker. It's the type of amateur level that I always felt was missing in Amsterdam. The spaces for unsigned amateur bands learning the ropes is taken up by tourist-friendly cover bands who's main employment in the UK would be as wedding bands. While their talent is undeniable, there was something which warmed the cockles of my heart when I walked into the Three Tuns and saw a Kurt Cobain wannabe knocking out fairly derivative grunge tunes on a Fender Jaguar with only his mate on drums for support. It's nothing great but at the same time, genuine and from the heart.

Eventually it's the turn of Zadok, they have a Bass player, Chris, who I know, on guitar and vocals a drummer and a keyboard player who also has a microphone.

Once Zadok start, you realise that they are a little above the pub scene. They are a well practiced prog outfit which feels a little out of place in a dingey pub with a handful of people supping mid-week Guinness and 'Newkie Broon', but the dodgy sound gives it a grungey edge which accentuates their ragged edges.

It takes me a little while to work out, but the band basically sound like a post-grunge ELP. There is none of the over-perfection which renders a lot of the prog rock genre so boring. There were no extended keyboard solos and drum solos and no dwarves dancing round miniature models of stonehenge. Instead there are some well timed, well practiced off the wall and interesting prog-rock. Normally I would get bored pretty quickly, but the lack of polish and Chris's unusual collection of guitar licks holds my interest. He has an interesting collection of fast soloing - jazz like chords and classically influenced chord inversions, but still know how yo hit the guitar like he's enjoying it and not just playing it.

The first song is instrumental, but thankfully Chris sings on several of the song to change the texture a little. Other than Mogwai - my attention tends to wane at purely instrumental music. Even though it's a 45 minute set, they seem to finish very quickly. It's a great sign and I was left wanting more so I checked out their EP.

The EP starts abruptly with no intro. I thought prog was meant to be all about the intros. The mix is quite Bass heavy, which makes sense because it is played almost as a lead instrument, carrying much of the melody. This gives the recording a strange 80's feel, but at the same time the recording is rough and ready and beyond it's prog roots, there is a feeling of post punk new wave experimentation. The guitar on the record is far lower in the mix and almost has no effects. Other than the prog histrionics and rhythmic interplay between the instrument, the guitar is largely dry on the verse and the arpeggios sound almost twee. The break down reminds us that the band have balls and the track is over before you've quite worked out where it's going. The Bass gives the whole thing a power reminiscent of Rage Against the machine, but in a completely different setting.

Luckily Juno is a suite and tracks 2 and 3 continue the same theme. Chris sings in a recognisable North East accent. For some reason I sing without my accent. I try to make sure, that I don't sing in an American accent, but I certainly don't sing with my own accent as Biffy Clyro. It's something i've never got used to with The Biffy as I think it's too close to home, but it Chris it seems to add to the juxtaposition grunge against prog.

I can't really make out the lyrics - to be fair, I never put much effort into figuring out lyrics. I still mumble through songs which have been my favourite songs for 20 years. When I saw them live, they played a set about "Space conscription". Whatever the lyrics are, I'm sure they are a witty take on sci fi.

The final track is 'Caltrops'. It's the only track on the E.P. that isn't part of the Juno suite. It shows off a little bit of the band's folk influence, but Prog and Grunge are still the strongest elements.

I have very little experience of prog. I'm not sure if really liking the 3 or 4 good Pink Floyd albums really counts. I've never had much time for any of the classic prog. I struggle to see how anyone can have much time for it after punk knocked it off it's huge 'genuine-goblin-skin' pedestal. Thankfully Zadok seem to have taken the best of both worlds and aren't too much up their own arses despite being great musicians. While listening to the E.P. I think of the Six by Mansun. They have the same balance of prog to balls(for want of a better word). I'm sure real prog fans or grunge prog fans can make better comparisons, but its the best I can do.

I pray that their grunge sensibilities don't get eaten up by studio mastery but that they can find a coherent sound which can act as a canvas on which to present their songs. I look forward to a full album and hopefully some Scottish tour dates.

Zadok @ Bandcamp
Zadok on Facebook

Six Mile Wide - Washoose EP

Six Mile Wide are a hard rock band from Ayrshire. They were playing Harley's in Ayr a few weeks back and I got their E.P. to check out before I went to see them. When you hear the thrash of guitars from the first track you know that you are in the hard rock/metal genre. I have a tenuous relationship with hard rock as a genre - growing up obsessed with Led Zeppelin means that I know where it all comes from but some of the stuff that led on from that in the 80's was diabolical, and not in a good way. As a simple judgement of where the division line lies, I like hard rock but I don't like metal. As far as I can see - hard rock disappeared sometime in the late 80's and metal continued to regurgitate the same thing again again for the rest of time...

Anyway - less of my diatribe. Six Mile Wide seem to sit on the 'Hard Rock' side of the spectrum. It's foot to the floor meat and two veg rock and roll.

From track one(Your Mine) you can see that the band have their chops and they seem to know each other pretty well. The track has an interesting start and good dynamics. The track is recorded very well. If anything there is too much reverb on the drums for my liking, but it gives the whole thing a Bonham-esque sound. The best thing about track one is the ferocious onslaught of guitars which leave nothing to the imagination

The way Track two(am I home yet) starts reminds of me Ænema by Tool, but once the backing vocals start we are transported back to the "Denim years" It's a good track but I've realised why the drums were sunk with reverb. They are using an electronic kit, so the drums are a little bit perfect and to hide it they are sunk in the mix a little. They've done it very well, and I almost didn't notice, but it's the one thing I'd change in the mix.

Track 3(let it go) has a more modern drum sound. This along with a slightly exotic sounding guitar gives the ear a rest from the onslaught of the first two tracks. The vocals have a punkier feel which makes the song pretty interesting, by the end of the song, there's a real build and the band move toward a more metal feel - making it a pretty impressive song compositionally.

Never break, track 4 is full on riff rock. The chorus goes a little Soundgarden-ey and the sound is more 90's than it is 80's. Its a good track - probably the heaviest on the EP.

Sick smile(track 5) has a catchy hook and starts with a classic build. It's quality convinces you that the band can churn out some pretty high quality rock again and again. It is as strong as all the other choruses on the EP and you end yourself singing along after only a few plays.

All in all it's a well recorded good EP and it bodes well for a full album. Once the electronic drums have been heard - they can't be un-heard and while it doesn't pose a big problem - I think for me it's the biggest weakness of an otherwise pretty solid sound. I do, however understand the convenience of electronic drums for live work and practicing, I just wish they would stay organic when they were recording.

Seen live, the band are a force to be reckoned with, and you could do worse than checking them out if they make it to your neck of the woods.

Neil McKenzie - Bare Buff

There's a fair bit of nepitism here, as Neil is my partner in Keep It Creative. Bare Buff is Neil McKenzie's debut album. He has been playing music for as long as I can remember, but the concept of him singing is a relatively new thing, which previously only happened if he'd had a few and there was no one else around who knew the words to Pearl Jam songs.

During some downtime, and with a fair amount of goading from his peers, he finally put together an album of songs. I had the draft mixes sent to me in dribs and drabs over the weeks he was mixing the tracks. It was initially pretty difficult to listen to one of my best mates singing. We are so used to hearing singers on the radio, that it can be quite off-putting when you know the singer.

Track 1 - The Plough - The album opens timidly with a song which celebrates taking five minutes out when you are at a party and pondering a little bit while you watch the stars. It's a song that I think almost everyone can relate to. The mixing and combination of the instruments is dense and spacey. Neil's vocals are mixed too low, which is probably a reason that the singer shouldn't mix and produce the album themselves. The mood is very ponderous.

Track 2 - Dead Saints and Gandalf - Track 2 picks up the pace and the mood. The track tells the story of traveling in Romania and alludes to a mistrust of priests. It does so with some humour and Neil manages to rhyme Diarrhea with Dacia. The track is pretty strong, even though it doesn't have a clear structure.

Track 3 - Run Away - This song is pure pop. It has one of the best choruses on the album. The song has a great interplay between two guitars where the arpeggios return to the mood of track one. while Neil may not be the greatest of singers, the dual vocal parts of the chorus are uplifting and makes the chorus instantly recognisable.

Track 5 - Forgotten Memories - After a short palette cleanser(Track 4) This is the first inaccessible song on the album. The lyrical content talks of endless summer nights spent partying with friends. These are presented over a very melancholic fingerstyle guitar passage. Different soundscapes drift in and out behind the song to emphasise the songs themes. It is a nice effect, but I'm glad every song on the album isn't like this.

Track 6 - Fluffy memories - This is a pretty simple song which trundles along with an off kilter rhythm built from a dense guitar sound played against a drum loop. The song is nice enough and it's simple construction makes it different from most songs on the album

Track 7 - Elegant Architecture Doesn't Generally Create Function - After two more experimental tracks, this is a return to form. An acoustic guitar plays some beautiful chords which are eventually joined by some valvey electric guitar to create a questioning chord progression. The vocals are very fragile in places, but this humanises and highlights the honesty of the sentiment.

Track 9 - Shadow on my shoulder - After another palette cleanser, Neil gives us a purely acoustic number. It's a good solid song. It has tinges of Neil Young circa heart of gold.

Track 10 - Whisky before bed - This is one of the strongest tracks on the album. It has a wonderful spacey slide guitar which I think is the closest Neil gets to country. Its another song which looks to past memories. It's a recurring theme of the album. Before the song can develop too much of a downer, the outro becomes more uplifting and takes the piss somewhat.

Track 11 - 10 years - This song doesn't just continue a great run. It also introduces Alfons Trosemito who plays guitar on this and track 15(someone else bar). More dense valvey arpeggios give way to a lovely guitar run from Alfons which opens up the vocals to the chorus. The melody and pop sensibilities of the track are very strong and it mixes well with the wonderful lead guitar.

Track 13 - Heaven and Earth got married today - After the final palette cleanser, we get a change of mood. It;s a song which is familiar to me; Sandra and Neil co-wrote it for a wedding a few years back and Neil recorded Sandra playing it for her album. This time it is a duet between Sandra and Neil, and we get a real beauty and the beast experience between the two vocalists. I think it works though and it's nice to hear another timbre of voice on the album.

Track 14 - Blueprint - This is more old mateiral. Its a song from a band Neil was in a few years back. It's a great song, and it makes sense that Neil has picked it up again. Neil singing it gives it a slightly more sombre mood, but it works very well and despite claiming he doesn't do Lead, the solo is pretty good.

Track 15 - Someone else bar - We get more Alfons on this track which provides a great penultimate song for the album. The guitar work and composition ease the burden of what is quite a dour song. After a wall of harmonies the guitar drips with emotion as the outro re-emphasises the fruitless frustration of the song.

Track 16 - Make History - In order not to end the album on a downer, Neil closes off with a Ukulele! Ed Vedder would be proud. Its very difficult to write a sad song on a ukulele, and this is no exception. It is a mantra to the listener(or more likely to Neil himself) on making history by writing great songs.

All in all the album is a great achievement. Neil has written, recorded and produced the album and plays almost everything on the albums this includes guitar, bass, drums, vocals, keyboards and ukuleles. This is probably the best and worse thing about the album. The achievement is impressive, but I think the songs could sound even better if they had been honed by a band and a few more heads had been involved in the final recording. I know Neil feels the same way, and tried for some time to get people motivated in Amsterdam. Given the options available I think he did very well, and this is a great first effort. The songs drip with the emption and the determination to have got these thoughts out before now. I think now that the tap has been opened we can expect much more self-penned work from Neil.

Buy the album on iTunes

Buy the album on Amazon

Neil's homepage

Moo - Wanted

I first discovered Moo in a bar(Maloe Melo) in Amsterdam. I was there to see another band who they were supporting. As soon as I walked in. I saw some cowboy hats and heard the familiar twang and though. "Oh no… it's a country band". I'm not a big fan of country. I am slowly getting into Johnny Cash via the American Recordings, but in general country doesn't do it for me.

I soon realised, that they had a pretty good energy and that it probably would't be too bad. They must have seen me coming, because the next song they did was the theme from the TV programme Rawhide. I'm sure there is a TV programme called rawhide, but I know it from the Blue Brothers. I'm sold. They clearly have a good enough knowledge of good music to push the boundaries of their three man country punk.

I picked up a copy of their album - Wanted.

Other than one original, the album is made up covers. For the most part these are pretty well known, and many of them were not written for a country three piece.

The band are dublin based but are fronted by charismatic Italian called Claudio Mercante. How he found country or how he ended up in Dublin is a mystery to me. Luckily he sings without a hint of an agent - Irish, Italian or otherwise, so the music remains pure.

The album is very well recorded. No thrills, and it sounds like it could have been recorded just about any time in the past 50 years, if it wasn't for the fact that their are Gnarls Barkley covers on it.

Claudio is ably supported by Darren Flynn on bass, and Art Lorigan on drums. Both perform back up vocals. Darren is full of energy and according to the bands Facebook photos, looks like Jesus with a hangover. I think this is a perfect description, but I've also realised it fits me a little as well. My apologies to Art - he was tucked away in the corner in Amsterdam, so I never saw him. He provided a great backbone and provides a great backbone on the album.

The album never takes itself too seriously, and I think almost everyone will know at least a few songs already. The guitar work is wonderful. The band are by no means a novelty band. The song choice wouldn't include and amazing rendition of 'Lucky' by Radiohead if this were the case. They would have chosen Creep. No that I've heard it I want more. The problem with basing a band on genre is that they have painted themselves into a corner a little. Will an album of original songs be as much fun? Until then, if you are looking for some rocking music for your collection then you could do worse than picking up this album.

The band have their own website.

They can be found on Facebook here

And you can support the boys by buying their album here:

Amazon link
iTunes Link

Fonz Fonzarelly - Recording to Kill

Fonz Fonzarelly is the stage name of Alfons Trosemito - a guitarist, songwriter and rapper from Amsterdam. For his first album he chose to show off his rapping and guitar playing skills on an album of hip hop songs.

Track 1 - Mr Punchline - The album kicks off with a dark beat. Fonz's rap sits on top of an urban beat which is augmented with some thick rhythmic metal guitar which is reminiscent of Van Halen. It makes for a pretty original urban sound. The best of several world.

Track 2 - Get down with me - A 'Karate kid' sample adds a little humour to the dark urban beats coming out of the speakers. The beat and the guitar lines build tension as fonz spits words out at you.

Track 3 - Straight to the bank - This is a total change of mood. A loungey beat gives way to a balladey chorus. In this track, the rapping plays second fiddle to a hooky chorus.

Track 4 - Take a chance - This tracks with urban aggression, and is one of the standout tracks on the album. A masterful solo, pulls it out of the urban genre, and points to Fonz's eclectic roots.

Track 5 - Take Over - Fonz ditches the drum machines and samplers for a real band(Special Delivery Crew). He loses none of his aggression and the band provide a solid groove for Fonz's rapping noodling on the guitar.

Track 6 - 112 bars - This has a Housier backing and font keeps the pace perfectly.

Track 7 - It;s so hard - Fonz drops into Ballad mood and the guitar follows. It sounds like it should be played at midnight on the roof tops as a soundtrack to a dark movie like the crow. Fonz sings the chorus straight with a fragile voice, which provides a good respite to the rapping.

Track 8 - Sick Hop - Fonz returns to thick rapping over urban beats. Its a good track, and a great beat.

Track 9 - The Battle - This track features Armageddon from The Terror Squad. The first part of the track is a battle between Armageddon and Fonz. The second part is Fonz' response. His venom is most effective here as he has focus for his anger, and the two songs on this track are standout points on the album.

Track 10 - Armageddon Diss. - More venom from Fonz over a solid ambient style beat.

Track 11 - The fugitive - The album closes very well with a track featuring Knonam It's a good solid track. The track features more '80's child nostalgia' with reference to the Cobra Kai and samples of Tommy Lee Jones in the fugitive.

The album pushes the boundaries of what we should expect from a hip hop album, with some very original beats and some lightening fast guitar. With such a multitalented musician, it's unclear what Fonz will do next. He is at home in multiple genres, the only thing guaranteed is that its sure to be interesting.

Amazon link
iTunes link