The Evan Whitton Blog: After Hours

RVG - Brain Worms - The Singles, Reviewed  It’s generally accepted I think that the threshold of quality for opening acts is incredibly mixed. Some can be incredibly forgettable, while others leave a serious impression despite their opening slot, and after seeing them open for Billy Nomates, I see hard-edged indie shoegazers RVG falling into the latter category very comfortably. So after their set finished, I did a quick Google, and you can imagine my excitement when I saw they had a brand new album, ‘Brain Worms’, set for a June 2nd release. So of course, I had to check out the singles. Common Ground If you’ve never heard RVG before, I’d wager this is a very good introduction, because it showcases the band’s appeal, or at least a significant part of it, in a perfectly distilled way. The reverbed, depressive guitar leads and classically post-punky bass sound very alluring, playing some very cool melodies, and the drums still have a heft and punch to them despite the ambient sound. ...

Foo Fighters - But Here We Are - The Singles, Reviewed Foo Fighters were one of my first loves in music. For a seven year old, I thought their tracks were the heaviest things on the planet at the time, and I’ll always hold the hits off seminal albums like ‘The Colour And The Shape’ and ‘There Is Nothing Left To Lose’ in very high regard, as they could be said to at least partially ignite my passion for music. Despite that though, for whatever reason, I never really kept up with their output too closely despite the seismic effect the hits had on me. However, like everyone, I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins, and was obviously unsure if they’d continue. So with the announcement of a new album called ‘But Here We Are’ set for release on June 2nd, I knew I owed it to them to give this one a proper go. Rescued This for my money does a pretty good job of being a Foo Fighters comeback single, while also paying ample respect to the contexts surroun...

Rancid - Tomorrow Never Comes - The Singles, Reviewe d  Rancid are one of the biggest names in the skate-punk genre. Led by frontman Tim Armstrong, their mix of punk, pop and ska has given them a very loyal fanbase, as well as a few genre highlight records with albums like ‘...And Out Come The Wolves’ and ‘Let’s Go.’ Now, 6 years after their ninth, the band are back with their tenth album ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’, set for release on June 2nd. So let’s take a look at the singles. Tomorrow Never Comes For all intents and purposes this does a pretty good job as an opening track. The fiery guitar riffs, punchy d-beat drums, grinding, wiry bass, all tricks straight out of the classic hardcore punk playbook, and so obviously they all work very well. The guitar solo is pretty run-of-the-mill but to be honest at the same time I’m not sure what I was expecting. Vocally and lyrically, it basically follows in the instrumentals footsteps. Tim’s rapid fire, angry delivery on the verses works well...

Underworld - *Upcoming 2024 Album* - The Singles, Reviewed Along with the likes of Leftfield and Faithless, Underworld are one of the first and best examples of purveyors of what we now know as progressive house, often using expansive, 6/7/8+ minute run times and a number of eclectic influences to construct dance floor anthems of truly epic proportions. Made up of vocalist Karl Hyde and producer Rick Smith (and formerly DJ Darren Emerson), they have a nearly inscrutable back catalogue. Starting out as a synth-pop band of all things, with the release of their 1994 classic ‘Dubnobasswithmyheadman’, they began to produce what will likely prove to be some of the best dance music of all time. Of course mega hit ‘Born Slippy NUXX’ sticks out, but there’s so much more, whether it’s with other breakout albums like ‘Second Toughest In The Infants’ and ‘Beaucoup Fish’, or indeed with much of their later material, like with the brilliant ‘Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future’ in 2016, or the...

John Kearns 'The Varnishing Days' Review at  Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds - Loveable Oddball's New Show is Whimsical, Pensive Genius  It seems to have been somewhat of a trend with me in recent times that the people I'm most excited to see on the new series of Taskmaster are the people I'm least familiar with. John Kearns is perhaps the perfect example. Some people upon initial googling may have found his highly abstract character comedy incongruous with the very timid, eccentric, loveable portrayal he put across on that show, but I absolutely loved it. The one thing I knew with any certainty was that an eight year old five minute YouTube clip wasn't enough, I needed more. Luckily for me, as any savvy comedian would after becoming a fan favourite on one of the biggest comedy shows in the country, John announced his new stand-up tour 'The Varnishing Days' soon after, with a date scheduled at the Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds. So with that, I rocked up on a r...

PENGSHUi - EP ii - The Singles, Reviewed I imagine like many people, I was introduced to PENGSHUi’s music through a brilliant remix of The Prodigy’s ‘Light Up The Sky’ in 2018, but after recently deciding to check out their own stuff, I was very impressed. Their mix of raucously heavy, crushing metal with hyped up, gnarly rap flows and electronic textures almost felt like a UK take on nu-metal, while also being more distinctive and, quite simply, a lot heavier in their approach. So when I saw that they had a new EP out in just a few weeks, March 10th to be exact, I jumped at the opportunity to cover it. So, let’s have a look at the singles. Madman Talk about setting out your stall because this track does it nigh on perfectly. The instrumental pulls absolutely no punches, with one of the absolute gnarliest basslines I’ve heard so far this year, complemented by some really nice, snappy drums. Then, when those wobbly electronic textures come in and the chorus hits with those monstrous wal...

Evan's Extraneous Interests: My Personal Best of Stand-Up Comedy Genres: Part 3 of 3 Hello and welcome back to the third and final part of my personal best of stand-up comedy genres. As the title suggests, in this series, I intend to present what I believe to be the best of the best in terms of stand-up comedy videos/shows in a variety of different genres, 9 in all, to recommend for your viewing pleasure. To recap the winners last time: the winner of the blue comedy category was Jethro’s ‘Ready For Battle’, Victoria Wood claimed the title in the old-style category with her ‘Audience With...’, and the victor in the absurdist category was the James Acaster double bill ‘Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999/Make A New Tomorrow.’ So with that out of the way, let's round this thing out with the final 3 categories. How about we start with a bit of music, and discuss those comedians who integrate music into their act to great effect? Whether it be to compliment a particular joke or routine, o...