Music
No doubt about it, The Neon Handshake was a good record - not a great one by a long shot, but for a debut it was more than enough to back up Hell is for Heroes' incendiary live shows that were creating an ever-growing legion of fans.
Things were looking good. MTV was paying attention and when they played the Reading Festival Radio One tent in 2003 there was only just enough space left to breathe. But then something went wrong. From headlining a sold-out London Astoria they soon found themselves without a record label, without media interest and back on the toilet circuit. The future was definitely not looking bright.
Transmit Disrupt, therefore, is a stab at life: a make-or-break attempt and regaining a position as one of Britain's finest, and a middle-finger salute to the major label bosses who felt they weren't serious commercial unit-shifters.
And all credit must be given to Hell is for Heroes, because it's a pretty damn good record. Given the artistic freedom they craved on the Captains of Industry label, the band sound is more focused and alive than anyone would have dared predict or hope. Folded Paper Figures is their most impressive track to date, delivering the trademark Hell is for Heroes wall-of-noise driving riff, along with Justin Schlosberg's passionate call-to-arms vocals and a chorus that will grab you and not let go until it says so: proof alone that what doesn't kill you definitely makes you stronger.
Throughout the record, Hell is for Heroes display a newfound maturity, with tracks such as Kamichi and the excellent They will call us savages: a restrained, calculated sleeper hit of a song using a rolling picked guitar riff and perfectly-measured mellow vocals.
However, as with The Neon Handshake, musical variation is very much secondary to passion, and after a while there is a sense of one track blending into another without forging their own identity.
Yet there is a sense that the record is only a taster for the live show - the arena in which Hell is for Heroes are truly in their element. Whilst One of Us and Discos and Casinos don't immediately set the stereo on fire, the thought of hearing them live in the Zodiac is a mouthwatering prospect.
Many people thought they could write Hell is for Heroes off, but Transmit Disrupt is proof that certain bands don't fold up and die when the industry seems to be against them. They've been away for a bit and now they're back in venues playing support to bands that used to play beneath them, but so what? Make or break this record may be, but if history teaches us anything it's that Hell is for Heroes are not a band to be written off.
Every now and again a band emerges so powerful, so confident and just so damn good that for a short moment it makes you proud of this country we live in and its music scene.
Opener Sex is the band at their most swaggering. The huge opening lead riff leads into a simply unforgettable anthemic chorus that will convince you that the three minutes for which it graces your stereo are the best three minutes of your life.
With their music laced with numerous hair-metal influences from the 1970s and 1980s, songs such as Jessica and Severed may not break ground in terms of originality, but at a time of British bands competing on coolness, it's the breath of fresh air that the rock scene needs.
Whilst the music is never truly original, it never once falls into the trap of being formulaic due to the impressive musicianship on display. Left of Centre uses a more laid-back start before crashing into an epic chorus designed to get fists raised in every gig, whereas Pressure slows the pace right down, providing a power ballad that manages to go against every cliché that gives the term such a bad reputation.
These axe-wielding sleaze rockers know how to put their souls into rock and roll. For the sake of British music, thank God for that.
For a band consisting of the vocalist from hardcore act Glassjaw, Daryl Palumbo, Dan the Automator Man of the Gorrillaz (plus guest slots including Rancid's Tim Armstrong), what's surprising about Head Automatica is their coherent and innovative sound.
Their re-released debut is a record overflowing with riffs, frantic drumming and frenetic organ keyboard effects. Jaunty, ambitious and fluent, there's an energy to this which can overcome even the more traditional moments.
Vibrant enthusiasm and immediate infectious sing-a-long chords mark the opening; At the Speed of a Yellow Bullet. This is followed by the layered soundscape and decisive structure of Brooklyn is Burning. There are many more moments of note in this fabulously overstated debut. Dance Party Plus boasts a fantastically repetitive chorus and breakneck drum sequence, buoying up the riffs until a final shouting layered breakdown that crowns the track with glorious irreverence. Meanwhile, lead single Beating Heart Baby is all fabulous melodrama and tight chord sequences, oozing.
Sure, there are moments of funk-punk monotony, such as the low-key Solid Gold Telephone and strangely droll morality tale Head Automatica Soundsystem, but then the track changes back to thrilling power and all is forgiven.
Hard-fi
Cash Machine
While the label claims that Hard-Fi are the sound of 20-something gun-slingers on the minimum wage, this sounds like remarkably polished funk-rock with a slight ska undertone. With the verses telling a carefully constructed story about the dwindling state of the singer's personal life, and with a chorus that's catchier than diphtheria, this single is impressive, and it looks like this band might well be breaking into the mainstream soon, especially with their Graham Coxon support slot.
Kelis
In Public
After listening to newlyweds Kelis and Nas beg for each other's exhibitionist sex over these four minutes you'll probably feel the need for a few Hail Marys and a couple of days contemplative Bible study to cleanse yourself. Even so it's definitely worth shuffling your Gran out of the room and giving this a spin if only for Nas's inspired application of Shakespeare's metaphysical ponderings in reference to his hard-on. Whilst it might not be RSC-approved, Hamlet's never sounded quite so kinky.
Britney Spears
Do Somethin'/Megamix
Taking a novel approach to the term 'time off', Ms Federline phones in the most basic 'r 'n 'b-esque pop-by-numbers' affair to no particular effect. While the lead track is inoffensive enough, her enunciation and tone desperately channel Gwen Stefani's innovation. Meanwhile, the megamix serves only to remind us just how similar all her previous releases really are.
Want to check out the best student bands? IMSOC hosts Vertigo at the Cellar on the 1st February, starring jazz/rock act Seventh Level. The Battle of the Bands also starts 8th February (upstairs at the Wheatsheaf).
3rd Feb 2005