SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED

WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND SLIPKNOT

★★★★★

THERE is always something primal at the root of a Slipknot disc and Corey Taylor et al have really been on it writing their sixth studio album.

I’m wary of saying Slipknot are embracing the mainstream, however We Are Not Your Kind has branched into being dark metal with gothic pop leanings.

The catchy Nero Forte is a rampant, drill-like drumming frenzy with a real Linkin’ Park (if they really ramped it up) vibe, while new anthem (and the first single) Unsainted is up there with Duality as being one of the best tracks they’ve produced and the lyrics are hopeful that Taylor is finding a way out of a dark place.

NOW, NOT YET HALF ALIVE

★★★★★

LONG BEACH indie dance-pop rockers

Half Alive are on the cusp of something quite great.

The high-energy trio – singer Josh Taylor, drummer Brett Kramer and bassist J Tyler Johnson – are managed by the same team behind Twenty One Pilots and have a lot to live up to with their debut album following the release of critically acclaimed single Still Feel.

Tracks such as OK OK and Arrow are highlights and the band’s somewhat experimental but effortlessly cool take on indie rock pop-meets-electronic is easy to listen to. As a first full body of work, this is a coherent, peppy, vibrant offering.

HOW DO YOU LOVE? THE REGRETTES

★★★★★ THE Regrettes’ sound is an appealing mash-up of 1950s girl groups, 70s New Wave and 90s grunge.

The LA punk-pop group’s second album takes a spiky look at the vintage tropes of love and lust.

A romantic undertone is set with the short opening track, a spoken word poem that asks: “Are you in love?” The album then goes on to explore the full cycle of love found, experienced and lost.

In doing so, lead vocalist Lydia Night and cohorts mine a rich seam of teen angst set to infectious rock hooks. Stop and Go, Fog and Pumpkin feature some of the most rousing choruses since Weezer emerged out of the grunge scene.