'Handsome Devil's Club' is the second single by Frank Carter's new outfit, Pure Love. This was released in late May (!) apparently but totally passed me by and I only found it about a week ago after my friend told me that their Reading festival set was pretty awesome!
As I said in a previous Pure Love post, this is the complete opposite of what was occurring in the original Gallows; this is Carter showing his versatility as a songwriter and performer, and I really cannot get over what a surprisingly good singer he is! 'Handsome Devil's Club' is as poppy and catchy, if not catchier than 'Bury My Bones' was. I know that even if I tried to dislike this song, I would still end up liking it, and when Pure Love's debut album is released before the year is out, I will definitely be getting it. The only thing that I'm not so keen on are lyrics such as "Give me a good girl / The kind that wants to please / Give me a good girl / Down on her knees" - I know, I know, cue the feminist in me, and cue much eye rolling from male readers over picky modern females. Sexism will always exist to some degree, and I suppose I'd rather have fun singing it in a good song, rather than in some semi-R'n'B derogatory chart hit rapping about 'bitchez' and 'hoes' and the like. Anyway, looking forward to both the Pure Love album, and the new Gallows stuff, and if my memory doesn't fail me then, as far as I'm aware, Pure love should be supporting Pulled Apart By Horses on their UK tour this autumn! The 'Handsome Devil's Club' single, including 'Bury My Bones' and the videos for both songs, can be purchased for £1.99 on iTunes! http://therealpurelove.com/ http://www.facebook.com/therealpurelove
Slightly late today ladies and gents, but I have FANTASTIC news (for me at least anyway!) because, after approximately 8 or 9 years of loving and wishing, my wish has come true! I.. am going to see.........
I can't express how happy I am at all! This bands means so much to me and they've been my favourite band for so long! This was really perhaps the first band that made me make the transition into more mature 'rock' music, moving away from bands such as Lostprophets etc and into post-hardcore.
Alexisonfire are a very diverse band, easily shifting between being melodic yet edgy and downright aggressive punk. What also makes them unique is their effective use of not 1, not 2, but 3 (!?) vocalists! In theory, it should be a mess, but it works so well because each of the vocalists specialise in a certain vocal range; George Pettit shrieks and screeches his tirade, Dallas Green smooth, pitch perfect voice, with Wade MacNeil straddling the fence in between with his rumbling punky undertones!
The band announced that they were to split last year, after Green decided to devote himself full time to his folk side project, City and Colour, whilst MacNeil was named the new Gallows frontman following the departure of Frank Carter, but that's another story! At the time, I was so distraught that I'd missed the opportunity to see them play during their previous run of the UK (their visiting Nottingham seemed too far away at the time, despite the fact that I'm now willing to travel to London!), so I'm ecstatic that my friend managed to get us tickets this time :D
Back to the song - this is 'Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama!', taken from their second album, Watch Out!, perhaps their most experimental release, and my personal favourite! It was the first song that I heard by them and will always be amongst my favourites, perhaps just being on the subject matter of Go-Karting! If you like this, go check all their albums; if you're not so keen on one, you may be on another, as the sounds shifts a little through the time periods. Their last release, Dog's Blood EP, was easily their heaviest stuff to date and they went out with a bang!
Alexisonfire are playing London's Brixton Academy on Mon 3rd December (sold out) and added Sun 2nd December due to demand !
Now. I first happened upon this song on MTV Rocks on a mid-week 2.a.m where I was utterly tired and also utterly unwilling to move from my perch on the sofa and upstairs to my bed, despite it seducing me intently. When this first appeared on screen, it took more than a few seconds to realise that it was a post-Gallows Frank Carter practically crooning in a suit to throwback '80's and somewhat similar to The Darkness, minus the tongue in cheek element. Even the video itself is all cheesy kaleidoscopic camera effects. I don't think I blinked for 3 minutes, whilst I coordinated breathing and catching flies.
I think you see where I'm going with this.
Anyone familiar with Gallow's angsty hardcore punk such as 'In the Belly of a Shark' with Carter's rage and screeching will be similarly shocked by such a departure.
But I like it.
It's so radically different and unexpected that it will no doubt polarise audiences and lose him the more fickle half of his fanbase, that many would consider it career suicide. But all of a sudden, Frank Carter comes across as likable and somewhat accessable, stating his mission early on in the opening lines 'I'm so sick and tired of singing about hate/ It's never going to make a change. / It breaks me down bit by bit/ Keep me steadily feeling sick'. He is clearly aiming for something lighter than Gallows. Musically, the song feels familiar and nostalgic, as previously mentioned.
It was a risk that may still swing either may, but the song may be catchy enough to pull it off.
