Vexihomp ‘mini’ LP
A brilliant piece of work from what I am sure will be a very successful band in the near future. You should definatly give it a listen even if you are not an indie fan as it is quirky and a joy to listen to.
The Sheffield Scenester
And while we’re on the subject of great existential questions, ‘Vexihomp’ raises another – how on earth can a band who consistently churn out brilliant EPs still be unsigned? Perhaps ‘Vexihomp’ will finally give them the boost they deserve.
Ark Magazine
All in all, a cracking little mix this. A four man oxymoron, they combine originality without actually being too original. Far too many times a singular influence runs throughout an EP or album like a tribute band without the same songs. Here they blend seamlessly into one another like a jigsaw of all the great indie music of the last 20 years. 9/10
Leeds Music Scene
Volcanoes are definitely a band I’d more than recommend telling your friends, and your friend’s friends about. Get down and see them at a gig before these guys go big (which they will) and you’ll have missed the chance to see them in an intimate venue.
www.new-reviews.co.uk
Lyrically this band are funky and from the heart. You feel what they want you to feel. This combined with sounds so unique, will make you want to delve into the world of the Volcanoes further, to see what they have to offer. What they do offer you is fun music you will want to hear again and again.
Rock & Roll Queen
Volcanoes are making music which is bursting with enthusiasm and ideas, music which will excite and which many bands signed to labels can only dream of ever making. Volcanoes may be unsigned right now, but surely it will only be a matter of time before they show those on major labels how things are done.
Room Thirteen
So, if you’re still not listening to them after all this, then you are unworthy of your existence. Just kidding. But seriously, do listen.
musicisthenewcocaine.tumblr.com
‘Vexihomp’ is definitely an album to check out, especially since Volcanoes are currently an unsigned band. They may not be for long!
www.shout4music.com
Volcanoes are very much their own band and to put it simply the boys have written some good songs here. It’s a tight knit and well produced EP – dynamic, funky, upbeat, it’s surprising these guys are still unsigned.
No-Title Magazine
You see, these guys don’t seem to cow-tow to convention and although there are slight similarities to others that have gone before them,VOLCANOES march to a different beat altogether from others that would claim to fill that particular genre (8.5/10)
Loud Horizon August 2011
Trying to understand why this band is not signed yet is a great mystery when listening to ‘Triceratops’. It’s nowhere near crazy how the distinguished guitar riff remains in your head hours after listening to the album. A fantastic track off the album that could put many songs in the charts to shame.
Volcanoes determination over the last six years has definitely proved successful with this mini album. Overall, Vexihomp boasts six entertaining songs that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Shockingly, Volcanoes are unsigned so jump at the chance of owning this mini album which will be released on 12th September.
www.rawreviews.co.uk
‘Beat Me To The Bull’ just sounds fucking massive and incorporates a garage sort of feel akin to The Stooges or Mudhoney, which I like a lot.
www.hangout.altsounds.com
Exposed Magazine Sheffield – print only
It’s probable that this is 4th time lucky for Volcanoes. The individuality of the band is something not to dwell on, but to admire. a concoction of zingy yorkshire roots, smashed together with casually smart vocals, result in something you’d expect to find on a Red Hot Chili Peppers B-side – if the chilies were Yorkshire lads, that is. Anyway, listen to this, it’s one of them rare finds giving you a kick up the arse leaving the slightly guilty feeling that you’re a bit more mainstream than you thought 8/10
Badchild Farsight EP
You can feel their determination, and its great. Why aren’t these guys signed again?
Knock backs wouldn’t affect them in any way, shape or form. They would just keep striving to succeed, and you can take it from me – they will get their big break. And when they do, they will deserve it.
www.new-reviews.co.uk
Volcanoes don’t sound like an unsigned band, they sound like they’ve been in the limelight, on Jools Holland and in NME for years. They have a very experienced and confident aura.
www.soundblab.com
Buy it, listen and dance and then write to your local MP and ask why Volcanoes haven’t been signed by a major label yet
www.leedsmusicscene.net
Volcanoes have already released several EPs and each of them has been of a consistently high standard. Happily, the new tracks from their upcoming EP, ‘Badchild Farsight’, are no different.
www.arkmag.co.uk
Volcanoes have come up trumps with a collection of songs that show both diversity and individuality.
www.thesheffieldscenester.co.uk
No-Title Magazine, Leeds (print only)
The first track on the EP ‘Who’s The Badchild’, hardly starts as it means to go on when rolling bass, spoken lyrics, fuzzy synth pads and bleeps a-plenty give way to an arresting breakbeat, penetrated by distorted guitar stabs. Reading about Volcanoes online, it seems that they are a band with many fans, just not the right fans as, (much to the annoyance of their followers) they are yet to be signed. Based on the first trap on this EP, I can see why they are annoyed. The ballsy, spoken lyrics swagger out of your speakers with the confidence of someone who has made it, and the syncopated guitars get you moving. So far so good.
Track two, ‘Harlequin’, follows on down the fuzzy road carved by track one, but this song looses the chest-out, chin-up, ‘get the fuck out of my way’ confidence, and replaces it with a lament with how you can’t fit in unless you ‘say the right things’. Are Volcanoes saying the right things? Maybe not, but they still sound pretty good!
As we get to the halfway point, things begin to slow down, but by no means fizzle out. Having read about their woes of not being able to get signed, track three ‘Talking Shadows’, comes across as the most self-aware on the album, as the lyrics ask, “running on your own, can you get there?”. A highlight of this track is the thick bass that kicks in after three minutes, the heavy bass string sounding like they’ve been plucked by an insanely thick piece of plastic, or perhaps a highly prized thumbnail. If Volcanoes are posing the questions to themselves, then the energy that still exists, in what is essentially a slow song, would suggest that they can.
Having enjoyed everything so far, I have to say that I’m sorry guys, but I really, really, really don’t like track four ’Monkey. Gossip. Cross. Tesseract’. Maybe I’m just not into the 16-beats on the high-hats, fast, angular guitars thing, but after the warm, fun sound of the EP so far, this track feels like it comes out of nowhere, like if Jordan was to suddenly host a prime-time TV programme.
Luckily, we’re back on the course by the end as track five mockingly chants it’s title ‘I Think I Know Stuff Reading The News’ over a suitable infectious soundtrack of processed beat and catchy melodies.
A trip to their MySpace will let you see that Volcanoes have been members since 2005 and, though my maths hasn’t been up to scratch since I left school, I make that six years unsigned. Having listened to ‘Badchild Farsight’, I can count myself as another annoyed fan.
Shaking that Brass EP
Smart lyrics, a tight, hungry, almost urgent feel to the music, an impressive back catalogue of EPs and a long, long list of great reviews leaves one question remaining. Why the hell are Volcanoes still unsigned?
www.thenoisecartel.com
Wowzer - one of the absolutely best CDs I’ve heard all year (and over the last few years as well)! Pure thudding rock-meets-ska from start to finish, perfect mixing, spot-on playing, clear vocals, the works! The four tracks work together from start to finish, and I’ve not been able to kill the repeat switch… pure fun all the way, and way too many influences to catalogue. Nuff said!
www.sheffieldmusic.com
This would be one of my CD’s of the year as I can see real potential, cool riffs and long lasting beats. Please get hold of their song, ‘Making Progress’, if you want to feel good today. They are for fans of the ‘Future Heads’ & ‘The Automatic’. 9/10
www.rockindustry.co.uk
Some bands just make you want to buy a guitar, get your mates together and do the same thing as them. Four piece Volcanoes are a classic example of this and their new EP shows it as it is saturated with energy and has a refreshing spark of creativity.
www.allgigs.co.uk
Refreshing and interesting, Volcanoes are extremely listenable, extremely entertaining and extremely exciting.
www.music-news.com
This approach must’ve had one or two headline acts nervously retuning their instruments during any support slot Volcanoes have played over the last 4 years or so, and this 5 track EP is a very thorough introduction to a band who are clearly going somewhere.
www.tastyfanzine.org.uk
But its with What You Came For that really makes the band shine, with lead man Samson sounding like he’s been part of the furniture now for years, with comparison to early Idlewild.
www.thebeatsurrender.co.uk
I think I may have found my new favourite band in the name of Volcanoes and their brilliant EP – Shaking That Brass.
www.sandmanmagazine.co.uk
Live Reviews
Bedford, guitarist Kevin Shirley, drummer Chris Hall and improbably-named bassist Boa Internationale gave Camden a set made of pure grade indie goodness.
www.shout4music.com
I must admit that this was one of my highlights during this years Tramlines!
www.thesheffieldscenester.co.uk
Most bands, if they were taking to the stage for the third time in a weekend – playing to a small, half empty room after being left off the official bill – could be forgiven for seeming a little jaded in their performance. Not Volcanoes
www.arkmag.co.uk
Volcanoes are one of the most exciting bands on the Sheffield scene.
www.sheffieldmusic.com
Sugar and Snarls EP
My personal favourite is the final track on the EP, ‘Fathoms’. It is a melodic and infectious tune which opens with a Stone Roses-esque instrumental. As it gathers momentum, rhythmic endorphins are released to produce a sound which I can only compare to early Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but with a northern swagger.
www.leedsindieradio.net
Four tracks, four different styles and ultimately four excellent tracks, Sugar And Snarls demonstrates what bands should ultimately be- varied, exciting and entertaining. If Volcanoes can keep this creativity going with their future work, they’ll soon surely be exploding all over the indie music scene.
dannypalmerswriting.blogspot.com
As good as the opening two tracks are, it’s the second half of the EP where things really get interesting. “Pigs in Blankets” has a real “folksy” feel to it and sounds like the sort of tune made to be sang around a camp fire. It shows that the band have more to them than just guitar rock and is definitely another string in Volcanoes’ bow
www.arkmag.co.uk
The Sugar And Snarls EP is one hell of a music display and we can’t stress that enough. Volcanoes are a bunch of talented kids and this EP should set the record straight.
www.entertainment-focus.com
What sets Volcanoes apart from the rest of the indie crowd is their talent with melody. All these songs are laced with wonderful melodies that make the songs interesting to listen to, but they also stick in the mind. Highly recommended.
www.grammymusic.net
With every track being so discernably different, it can often detract from what a band are trying to do and instead of appearing to be adept in their range it can seem a little disorientating for the ears. But, Volcanoes seem to have pulled it off here with their scatter gun approach to this EP. Nicely showcasing four assured tracks, it may be worth keeping an eye out for this band.
www.roomthirteen.com
‘Sugar and Snarls’ is not just recommended, it needs to be listened to.
www.leedsmusicscene.net