In profile: Dead Red Sun

These south London boys may write seven-minute instrumental epics, but don't you dare call them post-rock.

L-R: Ollie Bremner, Tom Murphy and Mike Guppy (Photo: Alex Harley)

“Sausage sandwich and a morning breakfast, extra beans?” Two plates are slammed down in front of Mike Guppy and Ollie Bremner, guitarist and bassist with instrumental rockers Dead Red Sun. Completing the trio, drummer Tom Murphy has settled for a glass of orange juice.

Here's Lookin' At You Kid: The Gaslight Anthem @ Hammersmith Apollo 21.10.10

Photo: Exposure Promotions

I went to see The Gaslight Anthem a few weeks ago and reviewed it for Subba Cultcha. You can read my review here.

Jimmy Gets Old: Invented album review

The obligatory, over-used apology of the not-so-seasoned blogger "it's been a while" tarnishes the screen once more as I begin yet another entry that follows the previous one by at least 2 months. After the last, overly political essay, I thought I'd take this one back to basics with a simple CD review to try and tempt readers back in at a nice accessible level.

The CD in question is the latest release by one of my favourite bands, and one who I’ve gone on record as saying cannot write a bad album. Don’t worry, you won’t get the massive shock of Steve Anderson eating his words here (a very rare event), but I am afraid to say that seeming emo-pop untouchables Jimmy Eat World’s new album Invented (Interscope, released 28.09.10), for me, doesn’t quite cut the mustard in the way some of its predecessors did.

For me, JEW’s musical timeline has seen the Arizona boys go from strength to strength, with an exponential melodic growth between each release, driving the albums forward to poppier and more singalong-laden territory in more recent years. Granted, there was usually the odd track on each record that you couldn’t help feeling was a bit of a filler, but on the whole you could guarantee a quality feel-good, play-loud, experience when blasting out a new JEW album for the first time.