With a self description of ‘We sound like Heaven, We feel like God’s burning a hole into your heart, We play like demons, and We smell like Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ Slam Cartel set you up perfectly for their diverse brand of rock. Their debut album Handful Of Dreams has everything covered with an extra injection of character and energy.

The heavy metal riffs of opening track Wishing Eye set you up for a musical journey that taps into several different genres. The inflections in the spoken lyric of Once In A Lifetime are a perfect showcase for their charisma and enthusiasm followed by a ballad jam packed full of drama in Breathe. The soft beginning and build up before trailing away, gives vocalist Giles Van Lane a chance to display the power and control behind his voice. The influence of the Foo Fighters is evident in Hold Me with the heavy drum rhythms, raw vocals and song structure; as well as featuring a solid guitar solo from Tommy Hendriksen. The blues licks of Missmatched Ties are infectious and is personally one of my favourite tracks.

Slam Cartel’s classic rock sound, infused with various other elements make them a interesting and addictive band to listen to. It’s not hard to see why people are kicking up a fuss about this London group!

Slam Cartel are one of five bands we are featuring who will be playing the legendary 100 club on August 11th, all in the name of great unsigned bands! Get your tickets now!

Laura Woodhead

Emerging from Kent, Broken Hands come blasting towards you with their modern version of indie rock. With a slight touch of psychedelia, they’re of the Kasabian genre utilising hazy guitar tones and echoing vocals. New single If You Need To Lie has a catchy opening which very easily gets stuck in your head. The addition of synths only adds to their sound, rather than hampering their talent.

After a successful first EP, touring with Band Of Skulls and evident musical growth, it’s going to be a big year for this young quartet!

Laura Woodhead

When I hear the term 1 man band, I think of a Dick Van Dyke joker like in Mary Poppins; Lew Palgrave couldn’t be further from it! From the bowels of Scotland, Lew brings his version of distorted, bluesy music. As in the early days of rock n roll, it is one man and his guitar, except he adds some drums and harmonica in too! With song subjects of of alcoholism, sex and drugs told by a the strong, raspy voice, he is one engaging character.

Taking all of the foundations of traditional, blues driven rock n roll, The Rag N Bone man reminds us of how rock began and how simplistic it can be.

Emerging from London, Sulk are bringing back an element of well loved Britpop mixed with their own dose of psychedelia. Their music is a beautiful kind of poetry with influences such as The Stone Roses evidently shining through. Using synths and floating vocals, they bare some resemblance to The Horrors . The Dandy Warhol’s frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor is a huge fan of the group, and it’s easy to see why. Their distorted guitar rhythms add a modern edge to their 90’s foundations and make their music truly captivating.

Check out their most recent single Back In Bloom below. The group have also announced summer UK tour dates.

Think Michael Monroe mixed with Madonna. Think Skid Row meets Lita Ford. What you get is Mia Klose ladies and gentlemen. A native of Sweden living in London, she is getting ready to take the rock world by storm with her brand of 80s rock, served up with a 21^st century twist.

Like a modern day Pat Benetar, Mia’s vocals are sweet and powerful, backed by heavy solid guitar and melodys that will stick in your head for days. She has style and flair, but also all the rock credentials and a fierce attitude to back it up! Currently writing and recording new material for her debut album to be released this year, Mia is fresh and exciting new talent ready to show us what she is made of!

You check out some of Mia’s tracks over on her site www.miaklose.com or head to her Facebook page!

With influences ranging from the classic sounds of The Beatles to the modern edges of indie from the Arctic Monkeys; Johhny Get The Gun mix the two so they compliment each other excellently. Their sound is built from dominant guitars and pounding drums but they still manage to capture that dreamy, hypnotic element. Lead singer Wayne has that typically British tone with plenty of commanding presence. With two well received EP’s already under their belt, their latest single Good As It Gets displays their musical progression and confirmation that they have found their unique place on the musical map.

The band are currently on tour around the UK with 2 dates remaining in Southampton and Camden; head down if you can! Tickets can be found here.

Pursuing the prog rock route, LA group Ancestors add a dash of doom metal into their sound, blurring creative boundaries. Their music has classical flare, melodic riffs and pounding bass lines, quite the experimental mix.

You can hear a new track Whispers below, taken from new album In Dreams and Time which was released on April 10.

Something that might interest you? Well you’re in luck! The band are currently staging a competition to win their back catalogue and a pair of signed drumsticks. To enter is a simple case of submitting a picture of your tattoo’s!

You may have heard about a significant musical movement titled new wave towards the end of the seventies; Glaswegian quartet Endless High have tapped back into the genre to remind us of its brilliance. The mix of electronic, experimental music and the more modern sounds of indie are what make Endless High. Having been together just under a year, their care and attention has gone into completing this album, and it shows in the final product. The album has a great mix of tracks, some not dissimilar to The Bravery, especially the likeness in vocals from Ronnie Marshall. His subtle vocal tones grab your attention without taking away from the musical talent of the band behind him. Each track has its own musical character through varying guitar effects and gripping drum rhythms; the eccentric element of new wave. The band have found a pretty perfect balance between the human and electronic sides of music to create tracks with an experimental sound but not too over the top.

Concentrating on the album for a year has paid off in their favour, and we hope to catch them on the road some time this year.

You can check out Leave It All Behind on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

Laura Woodhead

Rent Boys. Slightly provocative name, cracking music. Hailing from Leeds they are most definitely one of the most refreshing bands I have heard in a long time. Their sound is hard to pin down, one bit garage rock, one bit trash, one bit punk, like one big accumulation of them all smashed up  and attempted to be put back together again. But the labels do not matter, all that matters is the fact they make great music.

They go beyond the realm of normal, conventional bands and create their own breed of spontaneous, experimental noise, but good noise.  This can be highlighted perfectly on new single Shoot Your Shot. Its intensity is electrifying, the guitars are dirty and the electronics atmospheric, like The Jesus and Mary Chain on acid, it is guaranteed to get you moving. It kind of grabs you and doesn’t let you go until the song is over, takes you on this 2 and a half minute trip of craziness, feels good. The b side, I Think…. is a more toned down affair. Reminiscent to early Horrors, but not as hipster, it is much more intelligent than that. Slow, whiny guitars with what can only be described as haunting effects layered over the top, gradually speeding until they reach a crescendo at the end, another crazy trip, fantastically done. 

Here is the, pretty insane, video for Shoot Your Shot

The single is available now from http://rentboys.bandcamp.com/. Check them out, you won’t regret it!

Caris Smith

Once again the Americans have got it right, this time the source is Stonerider. Heading back to rock n roll roots and that vintage sound, they are a joy to listen to. Their bluesy riffs and distorted guitar tones scream out influence from the early seventies. Matt Tanner’s unique vocals are hypnotic and add to the ambience the instrumental side of the music presents. Hailing from Atlanta, the rich sounds of the South are evident giving it that extra spark of character and depth to accompany the psychedelic element. The attention to detail in each track makes it hard to pick a favourite as they are all brilliant in their own right.

Their fan base is constantly growing with glowing reviews and enthusiasm for their music. Make sure you don’t miss out!

The bands second album Fountains Left To Wake is available on the 28.02. Watch this space for a full review!