Caitlin Music News, Upcoming Bands

BANDS SET TO BREAK IN 2019

Every year bands branch out and break out into the scene, making a monumental impact nobody expected. Last year’s list of Dream State, Stand Atlantic and Milk Teeth have all gone on to release new music, tour and gain international recognition. So, who’s making the list for 2019?

HOLDING ABSENCE

Holding Absence have gained a massive amount of traction this last year, from touring and creating a split EP with Loathe, to supporting As It Is across their recent November headliner. The band are destined to make an impact this year, releasing their self-titled debut album in  March and embarking on a national headliner in March 2019. Two massive events in the bands timeline in only the first quarter of the year. Trust us, Holding Absence are going to be around a lot, it won’t be long before you hear them too.

BEHIND BLUE EYES

Take a second to recollect – have you heard of Behind Blue Eyes? Perhaps one of the smaller bands on the list, but a band rising through the ranks quicker than you may expect.  Despite currently playing smaller shows, BBE won the oportunity to play alongside Our Hollow, Our Home this October in their ‘Road To Holloween’ competiton. Word is quickly spreading through the metalcore scene and within a year it’s safe to say these guys will go a long way.

SILENT PLANET

Teetering on the edge of popularity over the last year, the scales are about to tip. Silent Planet are only going to get bigger. Being added as a new support to The Amity Affliction/ Senses Fail co-headliner (remember the Bad Omens drama?), touring the UK and releasing their third studio album, they’ve already made waves in the coming year. Bands with already released material can still have their oportunity. Becomung Billboards #16 Top Current Album wuithin a week of release, racking up 913K streams and selling 8600 albums, these guys are firing up on our radar. Check them out, they’re ready for you.

GOLD STEPS

A little different to the alternative/metal dominated list, Gold Steps are a Texas based pop-punk band setting foot into the world of their genre. With popularity slowly building up over social media mentions, the outfit are slowly branching out through their American hokme country – soon to an international reach by the end of 2019. With some fiesty tunes already on the market, now is a good chance to really get familliar with the band themself.

Caitlin Music News

HOLDING ABSENCE TO TOUR THE UK NEXT YEAR

Rising post-hardcore outfit Holding Absence have announced they are touring the UK early next year.

Embarking on an 8 date tour spanning Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester and others, the tour is already set to be the biggest headliner for the group. Bringing Capsize along on all 8 dates, you have the chance to catch two great bands this March.

Full dates can be found below!

Caitlin Gig Reviews, Music News

GIG REVIEW – AS IT IS – 28/11/18 MANCHESTER

As It Is are lined up to play their biggest Manchester show to date – headlining the O2 Ritz. Moving from a pop-punk happiness to a much darker ’emo’ style, it’s safe to say a happy-go-lucky bubblegum pop atmosphere was not to be achieved.
While the band have been around for years, Canadian synth-rock Courage My Love (6.5) supporting large shows on the scale of the Ritz isn’t their forte yet. First on, the struggled to form a connection with a crowd of unresponsive attendees and despite Mercedes’s beautiful vocals and attempts, little could be done to capture a crowd. Through no fault of their own, perhaps it was just a tough crowd. The trio are excellent performers, aside from a slight sound issue causing the bass to smother the guitars, they are indeed a very tight band musically. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t their night.
 
Don’t be surprised when we say Holding Absence (9) are one of the bands on the cusp of breaking out in 2019. Already building a reputation in the scene, the quintet embodied a heavier side of music fans were perhaps not expecting. Instantaneous energy and brilliant stage presence, there was no holding back even in slower tracks ‘Everything’. Musicality was on point as well as stage presence and audience connectivity. If one point was to be made, perhaps more on-stage connection between band members, but otherwise this is a band you will hear a lot about soon.
 
Finally, after embarking on their first UK tour by As It Is in 2015, Trash Boat (7.5) return as supports once again. Generating the largest crowd of fans in the audience, the participation and enjoyment from crowdsurfing fanatics and mosh pit enthusiasts was through the roof. Yet, the bands performance seemed to lack. After witnessing the performance previous runners Holding Absence gave, there was a lacking stage atmosphere. Undoubtedly, the outfit were strong musically, but there was little to make them stand out, little to push them out to those unaware of who they were. An improvement they can work on.
 
Edinburgh’s show turned out to be quite the disaster. Sets being cut short and violent security, As It Is (9) we’re clearly unamused by the events of the previous night. Yet, with a day off before Manchester, the band had recouped to give it their all for this show, notably the biggest performance to date in Manchester.
 
Building a bridge with an audience is fundamental for any live show, and such levels of doing so can easily be seen. Patrick Foley on drums, we will give a pass to. Spending a good half of the show hidden behind a smoke screen (despite a higher platform) its also not easy to give much interaction from so far at the back. What can be said however, is that it can be rather embarrassing when your touring guitarist Ronnie interacts more with the audience than some of the others. Older tracks dug out from the discography ‘No Way Out’ and ‘Can’t Save Myself’ saw lead vocalist Patty Walters moving across the stage singing to front. Yet, it did feel connectivity from bassist Ali Testo lacked majorly in comparison. Granted, it is hard to multitask with instruments and backing vocals, but if guitar/vocalist Ben Langford-Biss can do it, what is the excuse?
 
Harshness aside, an onstage connection between the band could be felt. It’s clear these tracks mean a lot to the group. One of the more emotional connections came mid-way through a the set, slowing down the pace with ‘The Question, The Answer’ and ‘Still Remembering’. Looking in-depth it is almost as if there is a small shift in the emotion of Walters, between gaps going up to fellow band mates mouthing the words ‘I fucking love you’. To see songs played so much still striking deep in the performers is a sight that is heart-warming, as well as showing the depth the band encapsulate in music. A song, perhaps unexpected in the set was ‘The Great Depression’s’ closing track ‘The End’. As a conceptual stage show, voiceovers and formulated colour schemes added to the atmospheric feel. As It Is had an idea for this stage show, but at time almost felt like they were holding back. Going full out could really skyrocket this show, perhaps a thought for their upcoming American show. Aside from a slight timing issue on the spoken word bridge of the closing track, a clever way to end the show.
 
But it’s the performance in the encore of previous and new singles saw energy ramp up ten-fold, something incredible from a band already giving a high percentage of their energy in the show. Ending on ‘Dial Tones’, ‘The Wounded World’ and ‘The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry) pushed a strong end to the show. This group know how to structure a set. Even to the last minute all was given, with ‘The Stigma’ perhaps gaining the largest reaction of fans.
 
As It Is are pushing an important message in their music. To see a room of 1000+ people of all ages singing back such meaningful lyrics and embracing who they are is a beautiful sight. Such connections in the scene may be depleting but shows like this prove that there are still sparks in the darkness.
Caitlin Music News

SLAM DUNK ANNOUNCE BANDS ON THIS YEARS BREAKOUT STAGE

Slam Dunk Festival have just released their list of bands taking over the Rocksound Breakout stage this year!

Headlining the stage are breakout rock band Palaye Royale, joined by the likes of Chapel, Sleep On It and Grayscale as well as our upcoming bandsDream State,Stand Atlantic and Milestones! You can check out the full Rocksound Breakout Stage lineup below!

CHAPEL

DREAM STATE

GRAYSCALE

HOLDING ABSENCE

MILESTONES

PALAYE ROYALE

SLEEP ON IT

STAND ATLANTIC

THE FAIM