Here at Room Thirteen we pride ourselves on having some very diverse musical tastes and as part as a new monthly feature, we’ll be letting you know just who and what our writers and listening to and why you should be listening to.
If you have any suggestions of bands we are yet to cover and should hear please message us on Twitter.
Ross Pike:
Shrinebuilder - 'Architect' from Shrinebuilder (2009)
Shrinebuilder deliver the expectant heavy riffs and atmosphere of a collaboration between members of St. Vitus, OM, The Melvins and Neurosis. Genuinely huge.
Led Zeppelin - 'Hey, Hey What Can I Do?' from Led Zeppelin Box Set vol. 1 (1990)
Another Zeppelin gem from the heady days spent in Snowdonia in 1970. Fantastic vocals from Percy, strident acoustic playing from Page and backing vocals from a band in good spirits. Make this a tune to brighten a cold evening.
Citay - 'Mirror Kisses' from Dream Get Together (2010)
Unashamedly retro sounding San Franciscoians Citay play out a pastoral and woozy 7 minute pop-psych track that could be mistaken for the Grateful Dead.
Andy Latham:
Black Sabbath - Volume 4
An amazing album considering it was released in 1972, groundbreaking in every way.
The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Behind the Music
Criminally underrated, superb songwriters. Getting lauded by Oasis was probably the kiss of death!
Soulfly - Conquer
Although it was last year’s offering, because sometimes only Grrrr will do!
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Self Titled debut
Staggering musicianship and harmonies that transport you right back to the time.
Jenni Wallace:
Angels and Airwaves - Love
It's typical Angels and Airwaves with positive vibes and light uplifting music. Blending their backgrounds in various forms of rock with sounds produced from a variety of sources each song chimes and waves blending a nice support for Tom DeLonge's vocals. DeLonge is going from strength to strength with his AVA sound which is at polar opposites to his punk beginnings. 'Love' is available for download from modlife.com for a donation of your choice.
Matthew Davies:
Bearstronaut - Nursery Rhyme Scheme
By far and away the track of the moment. An utterly killer riff, fascinating lyrics that skip about with no particular structure and a lead singer that oozes charisma and energy. The highlight though is the fantastic transformation from an angular thrash to a melodic chorus, only to crash right back into the action.
OK Go - In The Glass
Dark and elegant, this song seems as though it should be playing in every club and bar in Christopher Nolan’s version of Gotham City. Taking the poppy nous of the band and twisting it across tense piano lines and edgy guitars, with a tender outro that belies the menace of the song.
These New Puritans - Attack Music
If that prospect of menace was attractive to you, then this song you should probably take to bed. Featuring bouncy keyboards jutting out conspicuously between choral synths and Jack Barnett’s sharp-as-a-knife repetitive vocals; a thrilling, entrancing tale of ‘harmful logic’ and, as promised, attack music.
Museum - Flowers and Dust
At first I dismissed this as a diluted Interpol copycat but on repeated listens it reveals just enough of itself to be listed here; Intriguing lyrics, cute details and a great, if a little too familiar, riff, besides if it sounds good enough to take on Interpol’s ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’ it has to be worth a chance.
Kate Sharp
The National - Boxer/Alligator/Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers/The National/Cherry Tree EP/The Virginia EP
With a new album out in May, The National’s stellar back catalogue is an absolute testament to a bunch of real innovators. From the epic, sweeping ‘The Geese of Beverly Road’, to the nervy intensity of ‘Mistaken For Strangers, to the drunken anthem which has become ‘All the Wine’; everything is terrifically accomplished. New album ‘High Violet’ should be one of the album’s of the year.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Home
After being released in the States last year and the track appearing on the brilliant ‘Community’, ‘Home’ is a wonderful five minute ditty made for sunny days and dancing in the park. Brimming with a glorious sheen of fuzzy joy, it will definitely make the soundtrack to long summer days.
Calexico - Crooked Road and the Briar
There are many tracks that you hear on the radio and attempt to seek out, but Calexico’s ‘Crooked Road and the Briar’ may be the first one that inspired me to instantly reach for the laptop before the last chords rang out. From the soundtrack to Shane Meadow’s low budget masterpiece, Dead Man’s Shoes, Crooked Road is a wonderful musical odyssey peppered with low slung tremulous bass lines and Joey Burns’ alt country croon. Just brilliant.
Paul Chesworth
ACDC - Iron Man 2 Soundtrack
Not yet released
FM - Metropolis
Again not yet release but their first album in 17 yrs - destined to be a belter!
Robin Beck - Trouble or Nothin’ (20th anniversary)
Due to the morons of the A&R world, it never got re-released, so she has re-recorded the whole album.
Opeth - Damnation
Old but still great; Opeth at their mellowest. A stunning piece of work
Bigelf - Cheat the Gallows
Purple meets The Beatles, meets Floyd, meets just about everyone else.
Jim Ody
Langhorn Slim - Be Set Free
His new album that was released at the end of last year, but I had to wait for me birthday a couple of weeks ago before I could afford it. I will review it for R13 soon. I got into him from reviewing his previous debut album a couple of years back. Great Bluesy-Folk from New York.
The Gaslight Anthem - Sink Or Swim
I bought myself this for my birthday too. I love the band’s last album, and this is slightly more raw but just as good.
I'm awaiting Amazon to send me the new Alkaline Trio album (This Addiction), but I suspect that I will be playing that to death then!
James Stant:
Fear Factory - Mechanize
Great to hear the latest offering from the band that inspired many of today's finest metal groups.
Linus of Hollywood - Attractive Singles
A compilation of songs from the Californian singer-songwriter, formerly of the American pop-punk band, Size-14.
The Arusha Accord - The Echo Verses
With a new video released to promote their single, Dead to Me, The Arusha Accord continue their gradual accent to fame