As bassist with The Answer, Mickey Waters has got to fulfill more rock ‘n’ roll ambitions in the past few years than most people will get to achieve in their entire lifetime. Fortunately for us that means he has a steady supply of stories to entertain us with.

With the ink barely dry on their major label contract, bastions of DIY punk Gallows have chosen to reissue last year’s debut full-length with a bonus CD of unreleased material, mostly comprised of BBC session versions of the same tracks. It’s an interesting enough curio, with two so-so new songs and a nice cover of Black Flag’s ‘Nervous Breakdown’ thrown in for good measure, but hardly essential, and will doubtless piss off those already in possession of ‘Orchestra Of Wolves’. Ethical quibbles aside, the album itself is pretty fantastic, a feral howl of a record which breathes riotous life into hardcore’s rotting corpse. These twelve tracks rage with an intensity rarely heard on modern punk releases, successfully channelling the ferocious energy of their live show onto disc. It’s not merely noise for noise’s sake, though. There is a fierce intelligence at play in the lyrics, and Gallows are not afraid to divert from standard hardcore musical practice; witness the frantic synth underpinning the squalling ‘Will Someone Shoot That Fucking Snake’, or the subtle piano which adds such depth to ‘Six Years’ for evidence that this lot are a class above their dogmatic peers. This is a great purchase for newcomers, then, but existing fans needn’t bother.

Words_Lee Gorman

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DOWNLOAD: ‘Abandon Ship’, ‘Six Years’
FOR FANS OF: Million Dead, Snapcase, Refused

With the ink barely dry on their major label contract, bastions of DIY punk Gallows have chosen to reissue last year’s debut full-length with a bonus CD of unreleased material, mostly comprised of BBC session versions of the same tracks. It’s an interesting enough curio, with two so-so new songs and a nice cover of Black Flag’s ‘Nervous Breakdown’ thrown in for good measure, but hardly essential, and will doubtless piss off those already in possession of ‘Orchestra Of Wolves’. Ethical quibbles aside, the album itself is pretty fantastic, a feral howl of a record which breathes riotous life into hardcore’s rotting corpse. These twelve tracks rage with an intensity rarely heard on modern punk releases, successfully channelling the ferocious energy of their live show onto disc. It’s not merely noise for noise’s sake, though. There is a fierce intelligence at play in the lyrics, and Gallows are not afraid to divert from standard hardcore musical practice; witness the frantic synth underpinning the squalling ‘Will Someone Shoot That Fucking Snake’, or the subtle piano which adds such depth to ‘Six Years’ for evidence that this lot are a class above their dogmatic peers. This is a great purchase for newcomers, then, but existing fans needn’t bother.

Words_Lee Gorman

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DOWNLOAD: ‘Abandon Ship’, ‘Six Years’
FOR FANS OF: Million Dead, Snapcase, Refused

Three albums in and The Cribs are more volatile and vital than ever. They have the right attitude, a real message and a supreme knack for writing killer tunes. In short, they’ve got it all and their time is now…

With their storming debut album, Justice are about to prove there’s life after mammoth crossover hits. With brutal noise, romantic melodies and a kids’ choir involved, it’s gonna be interesting…

Name: Skinworks
Business: Tattoo Parlour & Piercing Studio
Address: 33a Queen St
Belfast
BT1 6EA
Telephone: 028 90329146
Website: http://www.tommygunns.co.uk/

AU caught up with Tommy and Donal of Belfast Skinworks to hear about their background and experiences as professional tattoo artists, and their views on the ever-changing world of tattoos as art.

How did you get involved and how long have you been doing it for?
Tommy: I’ve been doing it for 11 years now. I was an artist first. But then I moved onto tattoos.

Any advice for people who want to become tattoo artists?
Tommy: Don’t! Haha. No A lot of people think “Oh yeah I’ll be a tattoo artist” but not everyone’s suited to it. It’s hard graft. You won’t make money from it for the first 3 or 4 years.
Donal: Have a back-up plan. Of course, get an apprenticeship somewhere, but be prepared to have another job. We were both doing our apprenticeships but working a second job. There are loads of parlours around the place that will take you on for an apprenticeship.

How long has Skinworks been open for?
Donal: It’s been open for 19 years now. We’ve changed location a few times and it has changed ownership too. Its now Tommy Gunns Skinworks. We don’t just do tattoos though. We all paint canvases inspired by our work, and t-shirts as well. We’re not just a tattoo parlour.

Is there much competition between the different artists and parlours in Belfast?
Donal: No there’s not much competition at all. Maybe a few years ago but now there is just a general camaraderie. We get on well with the people in the likes of Skullduggery. Which is good. There are a lot of good artists in Belfast. Some bad ones too though.

How do you feel about programmes like Miami Ink and do you feel tattoos have a negative image?
Tommy: No I don’t think they do. Well it depends. Maybe older people don’t get them.
Donal: Programmes like Miami Ink are raising the image and profile of tattoos. We have people coming to us right now saying I didn’t realise you could get so many colours and that they didn’t realise you could get nice pictures and portraits and things. Though you have to be careful making stars out of tattoo artists. I guess like making a star out of anyone.

What’s the weirdest tattoo you have ever done and how many do you reckon you have done?
Tommy: It’s more weird people than weird tattoos. Like you have girls getting ice-cream cones and things. But I reckon I must have done at least 10,000 tattoos now at this stage.
Donal: I reckon it could be closer to 30,000. We do maybe six a day, but like Tommy said its more weird people than weird tattoos. There was one guy who got the logo of the company he works for on the back of his head. The company make packaging, so the logo was just an empty box. We also had one guy get a Crunchie bar tattooed because his nickname was Crunchie.

Do you ever discourage people from getting a tattoo done?
Donal: We discourage people getting names, especially of girlfriends and boyfriends. We had one girl a while back who already had two names of ex-boyfriends and she wanted to get another one. We try to talk to people first. Get to know them a bit. We can do really good custom designs, there is no point just getting something that’s in fashion.

What were your first tattoos?
Tommy: I got my name. I’ve had it covered up since though.
Donal: My first was a tribal band. Just as they were becoming popular. I think you maybe always do regret your first tattoo. Or maybe not. It depends I guess.

By all accounts the first ever solo album from erstwhile Banshee and 80s icon Siouxsie Sioux should have been a cringe-worthy affair. At first AU was expecting to hear the sonic equivalent of your granny singing Patsy Cline songs after one too many Special Brews but thankfully, we couldn’t have been more wrong. ‘Mantarey’ is a thrillingly fresh sounding record that shows Siouxsie as a songwriter of real class. While the album has a thoroughly modern edge, there are more than a few nods to her glam punk past (particularly on the T-Rex-inspired ‘They Follow You’) to keep the acolytes appeased. Siouxsie’s voice is still as powerful as ever and if anything, it has improved with age. Anyone expecting the singer to mellow out however will be disappointed, as over the course of ten tracks she seems hell-bent on showing us that she’s growing old disgracefully. On the whole, ‘Mantarey’ is a near-perfect album brimming with wit, drama and soul. It’s also a stunning and spell-binding return to form that should see Siouxsie earn the respect she deserves. Her debut solo album might have been a long time coming but it was definitely worth the wait.

Words_Edwin McFee

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DOWNLOAD: ‘They Follow You,’ ‘Here Comes the Day,’ ‘Loveless.’
FOR FANS OF: The Glove, PJ Harvey, Bat For Lashes

By all accounts the first ever solo album from erstwhile Banshee and 80s icon Siouxsie Sioux should have been a cringe-worthy affair. At first AU was expecting to hear the sonic equivalent of your granny singing Patsy Cline songs after one too many Special Brews but thankfully, we couldn’t have been more wrong. ‘Mantarey’ is a thrillingly fresh sounding record that shows Siouxsie as a songwriter of real class. While the album has a thoroughly modern edge, there are more than a few nods to her glam punk past (particularly on the T-Rex-inspired ‘They Follow You’) to keep the acolytes appeased. Siouxsie’s voice is still as powerful as ever and if anything, it has improved with age. Anyone expecting the singer to mellow out however will be disappointed, as over the course of ten tracks she seems hell-bent on showing us that she’s growing old disgracefully. On the whole, ‘Mantarey’ is a near-perfect album brimming with wit, drama and soul. It’s also a stunning and spell-binding return to form that should see Siouxsie earn the respect she deserves. Her debut solo album might have been a long time coming but it was definitely worth the wait.

Words_Edwin McFee

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DOWNLOAD: ‘They Follow You,’ ‘Here Comes the Day,’ ‘Loveless.’
FOR FANS OF: The Glove, PJ Harvey, Bat For Lashes

What is it with The House Of Love? Why are we not running about, loudly proclaiming the genius coupling of Guy Chadwick’s songs and Terry Bicker’s guitar? Perhaps because, like many other rock’n’roll pairings, it all ended in a cloud of recriminations, mud-slinging, musical differences, and a comeback that ‘underperformed’. But what does that have to do with the legacy they left behind?

Absolutely nothing, as these timely re-issues prove. Signing to Creation records, and instantly hailed as saviours of rock’n’roll (mainly by Alan McGee), the hype was justified by the still impressive first single, ‘Shine On’. Heralded by a military drumbeat, Bicker’s guitar takes off and scrapes the very heavens themselves, then Guy Chadwick’s ominous voice and lyrics come in, hinting at some darkness just behind the surface. And so began a story of thwarted promise.

Other early singles such as ‘Christine’ and ‘Destroy The Heart’ took that blueprint in a million different directions, yet somehow failed to become the classics they were meant to be. Continuing in this vein, their early albums were packed with everything that makes British indie-rock exciting and essential, but still failed to connect with the wider public, entrenching the band’s position as music press darlings and nothing else.

Still, the momentum was enough to get the majors interested and McGee - by now acting as their manager - eventually wangled a deal with Fontana records. Another year, and a million ‘big name’ producers later, and The House Of Love returned with an album that finally scored them a fraction of the chart success they wanted and deserved. But the music scene had changed, with Madchester lording over the attentions of music fans and accusations of ‘sell-out’ hanging over their heads. McGee jumped ship, Bickers acrimoniously exited the band, and they limped on for a few more years.

But their dark, proto-shoe gazing sound still glistens and amazes, and is ripe for rediscovery. The House Of Love are, at best, a footnote in musical history, but these re-issues could change that, and inspire a whole new generation of people to pick up a guitar and reach for the stratosphere.

Words_Steven Rainey

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DOWNLOAD: ‘Shine On’, ‘Destroy The Heart’, ‘Christine’
FOR FANS OF: The Smiths, Slowdive, Ride

What is it with The House Of Love? Why are we not running about, loudly proclaiming the genius coupling of Guy Chadwick’s songs and Terry Bicker’s guitar? Perhaps because, like many other rock’n’roll pairings, it all ended in a cloud of recriminations, mud-slinging, musical differences, and a comeback that ‘underperformed’. But what does that have to do with the legacy they left behind?

Absolutely nothing, as these timely re-issues prove. Signing to Creation records, and instantly hailed as saviours of rock’n’roll (mainly by Alan McGee), the hype was justified by the still impressive first single, ‘Shine On’. Heralded by a military drumbeat, Bicker’s guitar takes off and scrapes the very heavens themselves, then Guy Chadwick’s ominous voice and lyrics come in, hinting at some darkness just behind the surface. And so began a story of thwarted promise.

Other early singles such as ‘Christine’ and ‘Destroy The Heart’ took that blueprint in a million different directions, yet somehow failed to become the classics they were meant to be. Continuing in this vein, their early albums were packed with everything that makes British indie-rock exciting and essential, but still failed to connect with the wider public, entrenching the band’s position as music press darlings and nothing else.

Still, the momentum was enough to get the majors interested and McGee - by now acting as their manager - eventually wangled a deal with Fontana records. Another year, and a million ‘big name’ producers later, and The House Of Love returned with an album that finally scored them a fraction of the chart success they wanted and deserved. But the music scene had changed, with Madchester lording over the attentions of music fans and accusations of ‘sell-out’ hanging over their heads. McGee jumped ship, Bickers acrimoniously exited the band, and they limped on for a few more years.

But their dark, proto-shoe gazing sound still glistens and amazes, and is ripe for rediscovery. The House Of Love are, at best, a footnote in musical history, but these re-issues could change that, and inspire a whole new generation of people to pick up a guitar and reach for the stratosphere.

Words_Steven Rainey

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DOWNLOAD: ‘Shine On’, ‘Destroy The Heart’, ‘Christine’
FOR FANS OF: The Smiths, Slowdive, Ride

Their early singles saw them heralded as the Great White Hopes of Irish rock and on debut album, ‘Achieving Vagueness’, The Flaws prove they’ve got the bite to back up the bluster. Sonically their lineage can be traced back to the eighties and the dark guitar excursions of Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure. They’re pickpockets with pizzazz and even if songs such as ‘1981’ and ‘Lost In A Scene’ sound a tad derivative you cannot help but be lured in. What’s more, in Paul Finn they have a singer of distinction, the undiluted sincerity of his vocal gently enfolding the intimate, love-bruised lyrics. ‘Achieving Vagueness’ is a confident debut and if they can loosen their grip on the past, they might have a remarkable future.

Words_Francis Jones

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DOWNLOAD: ‘1981’, ‘Idolise’, ‘Throwaway’
FOR FANS OF: Echo & The Bunnymen, U2