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Review: 'Asylums'
'Killer Brain Waves'   

-  Album: 'Killer Brain Waves' -  Label: 'Cool Thing Records'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: '29th July 2016'

Our Rating:
All over, people have been bemoaning the way the Internet has killed music. Or they’re complaining that the major labels have commandeered the Internet and every corner of commercial TV and radio, meaning that the potentials the Internet initially offered independent acts and labels have been effectively shut down. Steve Albini is one of the few who has contradicted this, suggesting that music, if not the old industry model, is in better shape than ever.

Asylums seem to be proof positive of this. They haven’t spent their time whinging about the industry or major labels or the paltry royalties paid by iTunes and Spotify. They’ve been too busy setting up a label, writing and releasing songs, and getting them heard.

I first heard Asylums on receipt of their debut single, ‘I’ve Seen Your Face in a Music Magazine,’ and a few days later caught a glimpse of the super low-budget video for the release on ‘Sunday Brunch’ of all shows. Given that they always show major-backed pseudo-indie, pop and shit r’n’b, their, scuzzy, buzzy sound stood out a mile. That was late summer / early Autumn 2014, since when they’ve made countless small festival appearances and now, here they are, launching their debut album.

Suffice it to say Asylums’ rise has been pretty meteoric, and deservedly so. Yes, they’ve had some good breaks and fantastic exposure, but it’s not because of the slick marketing machine they’ve got working for them, and while their PR’s evidently been working hard, they’ve got to this point by virtue of hard work, storming live shows and, above all, brilliant songs. They combine the energy of punk with an energetic take on an alt-rock and indie sound but some killer pop hooks. They’ve got a distinctive guitar sound (kind of like a hyperactive wasp looping the loop) and a certain quirkiness, which gives them an edge in an identikit indie world.

As a band, they’re credible, and the songs relatable: a song like ‘Joy in a Small Wage’ wouldn’t work from some major label puppets in snazzy threads and sporting a sharp haircut. Look at these guys: they’re your everyday IT nerds, and they can’t afford haircuts let alone high-end trainers. Or, if they can, they don’t care. Their collective energy is channelled into the music. And they’ve got a lot of energy. While the album’s got plenty of songs that are social and relevant, it’s an album that’s also a lot of fun, jam-packed with concise guitar-driven songs (and brain waves) that are all killer and no filler.

Asylums Online


  author: Christopher Nosnibor

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Asylums - Killer Brain Waves