Who could have thought that after the pause of 11 years that THE LILLINGTONS could not only come back, but release one of the best melodic punkrock albums this year. Released under the wings of Fat Wreck Chords, this album contains 12 songs.
The new material is in my opinion a bit different from the old stuff, the song structures are a bit more complicated and I think that the band brought some new influences in their songmaking. The opener “Golden Dawn/Knights Templar” just blew me away. It might be only me, but I heard some NWOBHM influences in “Insect Nightmares”. Also, I heard some of The Misfits in “London Fog”. The mainman Kody sings better than ever and the anthemic choruses and harmonies on the backing vocals made goosebumps on my skin. The opening melody of “Zodiac” is outstanding and this song is absolutely one of the highlights on this album that has no weak spot. I would love and I am hoping that I will catch these guys live somewhere somehow. Definitely a winner!
Prior to listening to this record that came out on Felony Records, I have never heard about Bear.
This band is hailing from California and they are playing a mixture of melodic hardcore and punkrock. The album consists of intro plus eight tracks. After the instrumental intro the opener “Tales of Government Fuckups” is not a fast song, but it is a beautiful melodic slow song with political lyrics. There are a couple of more faster upbeat hardcore songs on the record like “Anytown, USA” or “Ready or Not”. The song structures are interesting, having shifts in rythm and melody, but they are never boring. The vocals are melodic, but not cheesy, rather shouted and sung at the same time. As I said, the whole album is pretty political and the lyrics are awesome. My personal favourite of the album is for sure “Mission Accomplished” and I listened to it a couple of times in a row. This is an awesome melodic hardcore punk record, so check it out! Also, if feel like it, check other Felony Record releases, because they have a couple of awesome bands out there.
Farewell in Vegas come from Lille, France and they play an interesting version of hardcore, so it was nice to interview them for my zine.
Hello and welcome to my webzine! For start, how would you describe FAREWELL IN VEGAS to the readers of this zine that didnt hear your band yet.
FIV is a band of true friends that make their music. As simple as that!
How did you get in touch with the underground music scene? Why is this diy underground scene and ethics so beautiful?
We like to see our friends and other people we don’t know at shows! Seeing them enjoy that moment with us is one of the best thing to live in life!
Where do you get the lyrical inspiration?
Scars! The ones we got deep inside ourselves.
What is more important in your music, the lyrics or the riffs, what comes first when you are making a song?
First I need an instrumental, then lyrics come. Its my way to make music. Instrumental is as important as lyrics for me.
You recently released a new ep. Its rather early for the feedback, but what can you say about the ep?
We are very happy that this EP finally came out! We hope people like it!
How big is the scene in your hometown? Are there venues and clubs and fanzines, bands?
Yes! We almost know evryone in the local rock scene! Some are very good friends of us!
How is living in France in general? Do you have daytime jobs?
Ahah! Living in France is cool! But we’d like to go on tour in different countries! And yes we do!
What do you think about the rising right wing tide in the world? Did the recent terrorist attacks only increase the hatred among people?
Sadly we live in a world of hate… But Love will save our souls one day. It has to!
When are you planning to release the new material? Will it be different compared to the stuff you have done until now?
Early 2018! Oh yes! A new vibe is coming for that new stuff!
Thats it for the first time, thank you for your answers. For the end, tell me one thing. What do you guys know about Croatia? Maybe you heard for some Croatian band from our scene?
Sadly we don’t know much about Croatia! But it would be a pleasure to come and party with you guys!
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 