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DEMOS
EDITION 22 JULY 2005
All My Friends Are Dead
It’s encouraging to hear that even at the demo stage, All My Friends Are Dead sound mature, expansive and highly entertaining. It’s the kind of beautiful, seductive post rock sound that’s sadly lacking in our fair city at the moment, and as the three tracks of subtle, sublime brilliance drift on by, you get the feeling that these guys are onto something.
Imagine an Explosions You Black In The Mogwai support act, and you have All My Friends...It’s ambitious, refreshing and strikingly different for such a young band. At the risk of sounding like any more of a cliché, these guys are ones to watch out for. (GM)
www.allmyfriendsaredead.co.uk
Boy Called Roy
“What is it with bands these days? Why doesn’t anyone want to sing in tune anymore? That’s if you can call it singing, it’s more like talking out of tune.” That’s what my Gran would be saying if she was listening to this. I would argue with her that some of these modern bands can pull of such vocal stylings with great success and make some wonderful songs that are every bit as wonderful as the beautiful singers of my Gran’s youth, The Fall have been doing it since I was a twinkle in my Dad’s eye, even new bands like Art Brut entertain me without having much musical ability.
I’m afraid though that when we’re talking about Boy Called Roy I’m with my Gran. Above the lack of ability in the singer, the main problem here is that the material isn’t interesting enough to hold my attention in the slightest. I can assure you that as soon as this demo finishes I won’t remember a single thing about it…Yep, there it goes. Gran, what were we talking about?..... (CL)
Drunken Monkey
If old is the new new, then Drunken Monkey are about as new as it gets. Okay, that may sound a little harsh. Drunken Monkey are proud of their ‘Bay Area Thrash’ influences and display their colours in plain view on their tattered denim sleeves. There are hints of Metallica, Corrosion Of Conformity and Slayer, but also dabs of Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. Vintage stuff and vintage, vintage stuff. There are moments of ethereal beauty (the opening of ‘Wasted Hate’) but it is principally VCM (Very Chuggy Music) and there is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is their lapsing into emulation and self-indulgence. Songs go on too long and as for the eleven-and-a-half minute instrumental? Drunken Monkey have got the potential, but they need to put some distance between themselves and their influences. They also need to step away from the Emerson, Lake And Palmer. Quickly. (RW)
Fado Rock
It seems that Fado Rock wish us to think that they ‘ROCK!!!!’. First of there’s the name. Then there’s the front cover of this CD, which features cards, gambling tokens, cigarettes and, the most ‘ROCK!!!!’ of all drinks Jack Daniels. So, just picture this, I’m ready for my ears to be blown out by dirty, nasty morally corrupt noise. I want this music to make my ears bleed, to inspire me to dust off the old air guitar, perhaps go attack some grannies. With all this hope I press play. And they sound like fucking U2. This is ‘ROCK!!!!’ as a twelve year-old Smash Hits reader would hear it. Only someone with no previous experience of the thrills of rock’n’roll could find it exhilarating.
Not that this is bad, per se. It’s more a case of false advertising. I’ve been teased, tantalised, led to expect something. All I’ve got is stadium rock with all the shiny, marketable edges bashed away. It’s four all right songs. That’s all. (TG)
www.fadorock.tk
Grace – Where Spiders Cry
All is rock in the world of Grace, and boy do they mean it. If you like Stereophonics or Feeder – then you’ll love Grace. I can’t say this is my cup of vodka at all; those strained vocals, that FM radio mix, those embarrassing vocals, that twiddly guitar solo that sounds like it came straight of a Julio Englesias album. I can’t take any more. I’m going to wedge myself into my leather kecks and go and buy a motorbike and hit the A52, with the wind in my hair. (SM)
Haiku:My:IQ – My Dumb Aesthete
This is great! If you like your pop music off-kilter with mad time changes, then this if for you. ‘My Dumb Aesthete is like the Cardiacs playing a Smiths song, whilst The Electric Baths features the most swoonsome chorus this side of the first Suede album. Moving on, and 2x2 takes it down a notch with an understated acoustic sea shanty that gets going near the end and features the vocals of a man that smokes 80 Marlboro Reds a day. Finally, ‘Safari Lounge’ is a mad rockabilly kinda thing with Parklife-era Damon Albarn on vocals. Very, very good – hunt them down and kiss them on the face. (SM)
www.ultrasonicyouth.co.uk
Jon James Hall - November EP
Opener ‘Dorothy Pig’ is a gorgeous, lushly melodic piece of lovelorn acoustic loveliness in which the voice of Jon James Hall stands out. The aching, breathy nature of his vocal imbues the words with pained resonance; the sadly sweet tone is resignedly fatalistic and the music inventive and witty. ‘Ballad of an Invisible Man’ is similarly catchy and stands out in a genre that often yields overwhelmingly samey chaff. These two songs rise above the bar with genuinely beautiful grace and the potential to probably shift a fair few units, given the chance; unfortunately third song ‘How?’ doesn’t scale quite the same heights, becoming a little staid, and lacking the spark of the previous two, whilst ‘Sleepy House’, although possessed of a stark minimalism, is a bit of an anticlimax.
The vocal throughout is compelling, affecting and passionate, and the music is beautifully played and written, but that isn’t be enough in the overcrowded world of the acoustic balladeer. Half of this CD is an impressive lesson in how to stand out; the other half an example of how not to. (RT)
Headrush
Quoting Motley Crue and Guns and Roses as being among their influences, Stoke’s Headrush give the eighties a full metal salute on their three-track demo, Back Again, Rock And Roll. ‘Perfect Drug’ opens with a riff lifted directly from Zodiac Mindwarp and a vocal line that hasn’t seen the light of day since Paul D’Ianno fronted ‘The Maiden’, ‘Saviour’ is a lighter-in-the-air power ballad of the ‘November Rain’ ilk that outstays it’s welcome at over five minutes long while ‘Just Bring It On’ sounds a bit too similar to Aerosmith’s ‘Eat The Rich’ for comfort. The production standard is high however, perhaps a bit too high for a band that could do with a bit more sleaze in their stride. Essentially, this is a huge chunk of metal cheese that would make a dairy intolerant shrivel and die, but it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. Unashamedly does what it says on the tin. (RW)
Her Name Is Calla – Paraplegia
If only they hadn’t mentioned Radiohead in their press release, I’d have given this a glowing review. As it is, all I can hear now this twat Yorke. Still, Her Name Is Calla are doing something 99% more interesting than a lot of bands out there. Their sound is meticulous. Every chord is perfectly taut, every vocal howled like it was their last. The only bad thing here is the over-indulgence of ‘Your Life in Pictures’, which is downright pretentious. However, ‘Hidden Body’ does a nice line in alt.folk and ‘Hideous Box’ is creepy enough to keep me interested. Close, then, but some way off being great. (SM)
www.hernameiscalla.co.uk
Juma
‘Parting Shots’ kicks off Juma’s latest effort with a funk riddled bass line and disco lite drums, sounding as crisp and as clear as any band possibly could hope to. It’s an interesting mix of styles that makes up this two track CD, it’s almost Sleater-Kinney, but tripping on acid with Bootsy Collins and bongos. It’s a pleasant enough listen, and in the current musical climate will obviously make lots of friends in high places.
‘The Greatest Story’ is much in the same vein, a high energy dance workout really, as it cracks the six minute barrier with it’s drugged up funk. All in all, will probably appeal to the dancing indie fans more than anyone else, but has the potential to cross over. (GM)
Kat Vipers
Somewhere, in a rundown roadside motel deep within the reaches of David Lynch’s brain, an old gramophone crackles into life. It is playing ‘Lady Purple’ by Kat Vipers and suddenly the scene becomes complete. Hauntingly beautiful, yet equally unnerving, these 5 piano-driven compositions chart territory most memorably previously explored by This Mortal Coil and, in the off-kilter organ stabs which open Lady Purple, Tom Waits. Yet Vipers succeeds in steering wonderfully of-coarse on several occasions, offering bountiful excursions into the deeper, darker reaches of jazz, balladry, and the avant-guard. With ‘This Soldier’s Gone To War’ stretching in excess of 11 minutes, Vipers is triumphantly unafraid to take her time in constructing her cinematic, disturbing sound-scapes. Sometimes minimal and brooding, other times deteriorating into catlike squalls, it is Kat’s voice which frequently takes centre stage....and what a stage this is. Decorated with yearning string arrangements and buried in thick, black reverb, the sound truly belongs to some otherworldly film noir piece, but is nevertheless thrillingly original, and achingly beautiful on any home stereo ....or crackling gramophone. (TM)
www.katvipers.com
Kid Id
Kid Id front man Ralph Pelleymounter has built up quite an impressive name for himself on the acoustic scene of recent (despite your correspondent never chancing upon one of his gigs yet). Just as people would probably go, “oh, that Raplh Pelley-wotsit, he’s good, I’ll go see him”, he decides to get a proper backing band, and call it Kid Id. That’s brave. I like that.
So, we get a five track demo. It’s good as well actually. It has a certain ‘funk’ to it (OK, so funk is often a band thing, but not here, ok), the acoustic guitar is obviously leading it all, but on many of the tracks, ‘Some Lonesome Place’ especially, the bass skips along very nicely (if a little loudly) and creates a very impressive groove. Ralph‘s lyrics are often a little buried in the mix, but appear to be quite smart, a little witty and they are sung in an impressive raw vocal style. He sounds like he means it. Which is always important. I like this. (TG)
Mexican Deathcap
I’ve been trying to get hold of this bloody CD for months and now I finally have it, I haven’t stopped playing it.
First up is ‘Reverse Psychology’, a fat rocky riff that leads into some sleazy, Distillers-esque vocals, hardcore bass lines and pounding drums. This is by far the best song here. It’s slightly longer than your average song at 4:10 but by no means did I lose interest in any aspect of it.
‘Stimulai/Symetricai’ opens with haunting singing and some random samples of a BBC news broadcast. The bridge tends to meander off slightly but manages to whip back round just in time to keep me completely engrossed.
‘Mouth’ is the darkest song on the CD. It offers slow verses that drag you deep into the depths of depression only to pull you back up again with hard, fast choruses that could leap out and scare small animals.
The songs could be tighter but, overall, were made and executed with passion and enthusiasm. For a first CD, this is a lot better than most of the half-arsed drivel you see nowadays. (K-LB)
www.mexicandeathcap.tk
Mishkin
There is an increasing absence of chapters in the book entitled ‘how to make your bland rock band sound...well...less bland’ (catchy title I know), and Mishkin have obviously done some extensive revision of the chapters previously plundered by the likes of Oceansize and perhaps Radiohead. Yes, this is prog. Yet, ‘Dance Of The Fireflies’ is an agreeable enough collage of dynamics, switching between spoken word, psychedelia and some plain heavy riffage which results in a satisfying ‘emo-metal’ product: their musical ADD more often benefits the sound and some thrilling, moments are achieved. ‘Bruised And Hairless’ is a similar affair, only this time the amps are turned to 11 and a heavier sound takes dominance over the previously more melodic elements, some of the band’s subtler qualities being lost along the way.
The screamo vocals employed towards the disc’s climax secure that all important ‘emo’ tag, none of which detracts from Mishkin’s obvious promise though, and there’s enough of it here to warrant a second listen. (TM)
www.mishkin.co.uk
The Morphines
Kicking straight in and pulling no punches The Morphines play fast and furious garage punk rock. Even though it does sound like a lot of the music coming out of the very popular scene at the minute there is plenty catch your attention. Lots of crunching riffs are brought to life with some great lead guitar that takes things of in totally different direction. Track 2 Strictly True bounces along in a jaunty reggae whilst being an altogether darker song. All three songs belt through at warp speed. Singer Ben vocal style brings obvious Ian Curtis comparisons although there is a fair lashing of Johnny Rotten bile. There are also plenty of smart lyrics and the line ‘the words I say are not strictly true, it’s just my point of view’ is the kind of mantra a whole generation of misunderstood youth would take to their hearts forever. (KH)
home.btconnect.com/PlumPromotions/ bands/themorphines
Nervous Shakedown
Nervous Shakedown’s third demo is a bit like March in reverse – in like a lamb, out like a lion. The opening track, ‘Come With Me’, harks back to the days of The Cult and The Almighty, and is probably the weakest of the trio, but certainly sets the tone for the rest of the demo – simply rock and roll. Dan Wilson leads the melody with his marvellously moody growl, whilst the guitar seems to wander and the drums thump on. It’s good, but… ‘Not Playing God’ is bit more like it – the band sound more together, blending the menace of Monster Magnet with the infectious silliness of Terrorvision. Personally though, I think they’ve saved the best ‘til last with ‘White Shoe Rock ‘N’ Roll’, a song that lures you in with a chilled-out low groove then belts you in the face with raw aggression. Worth a look if you like your rock au naturel. (RW)
www.nervousshakedown.co.uk
The Palms - Loft Music
Sweet Jesus, The Palms want to sound like the Stone Roses. Every inch of this, from the wah wah guitar, to the danceable drum beat, to the oh so northern vocals just screams ‘dodgy baggy wannabes.’
Pretty much all of the Roses back catalogue is plundered here. They had ‘Mersey Paradise’ The Palms have ‘Liverpool Streets.’ The ‘Roses had that annoying backwards recording thing, what a surprise ‘State of Me uses the same technique for its’ intro.
At present there does seem to be a small baggy revival going on, There was The Music and now we have the God awful Kasabian reviving memories of Spike Island for the Carling sponsored generation but to be honest I can’t see that the Palms will ignite anyone’s interest until they start to add a pinch of originality to the proceedings. (CL)
www.the-palms.com
Pink Eye
This six track demo comes as a result of two sessions and done, in true demo style, at home however they get their point across despite the fancy production. Three young chaps from Hull have been together for about seven months and come pedalling their punk pop wares. The longest song is just under four minutes with the rest power riffing their way to just over two. Obvious comparisons come in the form of Blink 182 and other pop rockers. Tackling the classic teen themes of love and lust each song has a head bobbingly simple chorus. My favourite track is ‘Always and Forever’ for it’s crazy synth action. Final track ‘The Fix’ starts off like a highland classic and then shifts deeper and darker. Having both the ballard and the mosh tracks in their catalogue with a bit more production they could be the sound track to an American teen drama.(HH)
The Rise
Remember the early nineties? All baggy bass-driven grooves and hard-rocking riffs. The Rise certainly do, and over the coarse of this disc they make damn sure you know about it. Its not that the riffs aren’t hard-rocking enough, or that the bass lines aren’t baggy enough, its not even that Andy Dioxin’s vocals are so Shaun Ryder he’ll be on the smoothies by the end of the month. No, the problem lies somewhere within the sum of all these parts. With Kasabian rising fast though both the indie ranks and the pop charts, and rumours of a Stone Roses reunion aloof, there’s no doubt that baggy is heading for a comback, but where Kasabian pepper their sound with electronic squirls and blips, The Rise simply regurgitate the mixture, and no amount of resurrected ‘swagger’ can hide that. New Situation you call this? More like early nineties situation this time lads. (TM)
www.theriseuk.com
Rise To Addiction
To be honest, I was really gearing up to not like this – with it’s artsy apple and nails motif, I was expecting something a bit pretentious. I guess you shouldn’t judge a book or demo by its cover because it transpires that I was wrong on both counts. Rise To Addiction quite simply rock. Their sound ranges from the radio-friendliness Nickelback (excuse my French) through Alice In Chains to Thee Obsessed, with multi-layered vocals that are comparable to Wino or Ian Astbury. Every mother’s son of them shines instrumentally, but special mention must go to the guitars, soloing just this side of indulgence, often intertwined, and bringing to mind, style-wise, Zakk Wylde and Joe Satriani. The sound is full, flawless and as tight as my wallet the day before payday and I would love to see if they could pull it off live. Any time they are in Leeds, I am most definitely there. (RW)
www.risetoaddiction.com
Louis Romegoux
This demo could not have been delivered to Sandman HQ at a more perfect time. There is a sense at this time of the year that guitars have been unplugged from their amps in grubby dark venues, and the maelstrom of new and exciting bands has abated until the music rags wait for their student target audience to return in late September. So it’s summer - and simplicity plus beauty is what we want to relax to.
Louis Romegoux in the above instance is a leader of men to clam us down in the heat wave. With a cut to the chase lyrical talent he is here to remind us that a guitar and a single voice can make music feel much more than a fashion statement. For his age Louise is a prodigy based on the evidence of this demo. His voice sounds like it has suffered more woes in its life than Neil Young or Charles Bukowski could ever have imagined. Also, the softly plucked melodies are parallel to Nick Drake. I think in some way he is closely related to Dennis Driscoll in that they both share a cunning evaluation of the emotions that make us humans tick.
‘Feels Like Monday’ is a standout track in its own right, however the last track on here, ‘Revolution Coming’, is nothing short of astounding. Sounding very much like a protest song b y Dylan in ‘65, it is not easily defined as a Dylan rip off. the melody is unique in that you feel that this is Louis’s song and his message too. It is a simple statement on the current political second wind that has been for far too long intert. And the best thing, along with the other four tracks, is that it is convincing. (MC)
www.myspace.com/louisromgoux
Skank Agenda
‘If you like this EP half as much as you liked our debut, you’ll F*****g hate this.’ Says the handwritten insert of Skank Agenda’s latest offering, a six-track blend of authority-baiting jangle-punk that lies neatly between Green Day and the Bouncing Souls and a couple of quirky covers thrown in for good measure. Subjects coming under the Agenda’s hammer include education, sunglasses and the queen mum, though it is less manifesto than many-fisto, with a fair amount of wit and a general ‘couldn’t give a monkey’s’ attitude to boot. It’s fast, it frantic and, more importantly, it’s fun. It’s not the tightest of productions, but you just don’t care when you hear them slaughtering Bob Dylan and Bugsy Malone and enjoying it too. Oy Oy and indeed Oy. It’s also very short, like this review, so if you don’t like it, that’s a definite advantage. But I do, so there. Sorry to disappoint you, lads. (RW)
Sol De Coda
Let’s be honest, most of the demos that are sent in to here don’t sound like this. Normally it’s a group of lads playing a bunch of jangly guitars and singing songs about how pissed of they are that sound like they were written by a teenager in a strop. That is why Sol De Coda’s CD is a breath of fresh air.
A piano, a gently plucked guitar, a soft, slightly trip hoppy drum track and a voice. And oh what a voice. Somewhere between Jeff Buckley, Chris Isaac and Chris Martin, slightly melancholic yet suitably euphoric.
I’m not being encouraged to sing along, dance, jump about or any of the crap that music is so often trying to make me do. This is just hypnotising me into a beautiful, blissful state. Three tracks isn’t enough, if I’m being this nice after three tracks just imagine what I’ll be like after a full LP. (CL)
Shortwave
Electronic alert! With a name like that I shoulda known, I guess, but Shortwave make some fucking magical sounds with what sounds like a ZX81 and a bin lid. I imagine this band dress all in black and sit at parties reading books. And I quite like that. ‘If It All Ends’ is a relentless, hypnotic chug, which draws you in with deadpan vocals, whilst ‘Recognise’ doesn’t quite hit the mark, but is sexy enough all the same. Then there’s ‘Done It Again’, which could easily be a Gary Numan song, but without the crap vocals. A most entertaining quarter of an hour. (SM)
ShotByBothSides
Bloody hell. I don’t think I’ve heard such an intense start to a demo ever. SBBS make sure you’re listening, as ‘Hydropathy’ kicks in, sounding like a metal/ emo, screamo, extremo, whatever you want to call it, masterclass- pitched harmonics, chugging riffs and painful screaming all colliding headfirst into each other.
It’s well executed, maybe not entirely my cup ‘o tea, but I can easily see why people like it- it’s loud, and unapologetically so.
Things carry on with ‘OneStepForward’s punk-ish leanings, the slow build-up to stand out track ‘CurriculumVitae’ and finally the none-more-metal closer ‘TheTorn’. If you like guitars and wear a lot of black, then I’m sure you’ll find something to like about this CD. As for me, I’m going for that cup of tea and a sit down now... (GM)
The Vultures - Rebel Yelp
This EP conjured up images of black drainpipes and pudding basin haircuts, the retro 60’s feel seeped from every groove. The distinctive guitar riffs and rhythm in most of the tracks could have come straight from the dark and smoky atmosphere of The Cavern.
Though some of the tracks on the EP are quite individual there are clear influences of other bands in others of the songs featured. If Smarten Up and The Libertines’ Vertigo are played simultaneously they could almost be one and the same, however, I don’t recall Pete Doherty ever singing about “articulated lorries” and “cross channel ferries”, in a bangra style. Smarten Up really grabs your attention with a catchy base line that won’t leave you alone, although I don’t think I’ve heard the word “pox” in a song since the middle ages!
Deadstepper reveals another popular and current influence for the band, in the form of The Cribs. The echoing “oo-oo-oo” ’s could have been scripted by Gary and the boys themselves. The final track to mention, The Ballad of Sinead & Alex, is Irish/Celtic through and through. The whole make-up of the song -rhythm, tune, drumbeat, and lyrics, are the Emerald Isle itself, cleverly mixed with the Scottish fraternity in the melody of When Jonny Comes Marching Home. (CM)
This Way Out
This Way Out are average. Let that be said. There’s not much to hate about this demo, except perhaps the fact that there’s nothing to love. ‘Cover Me’ opens with a muted, ‘brooding’ intro, which is average. The heavier ‘rock-out’ section which follows is average to an equal degree, and lets not forget the inclusion of that most average of average dynamics, the ‘quiet/loud’. With 2 of the three tracks here barely reaching the three minute mark, there’s little to complain about, trouble is, there’s equally little to get excited over. Sure, ‘Inside Yourself’ kicks off with a pleasing little riff, and ‘Six Feet Under’, by its climax has snowballed enough times to accumulate considerable power and bite. Yet, ultimately, This way Out serve only as a punkier, slightly heavier version of those...erm...average rockers Foo fighters. Still, at least they have the courtesy to point out the exits eh? (TM)
The Zapatistas – See Me After
Much hard work from The Zapatistas, but little inspiration. At their best they sound a little like Fugazi – see ‘Curfew’, at their worst they come across like the bloody Zutons, or someone – see ‘Mous – The Thief’. However, will a name like that I could probably forgive them even this heinous crime. Stop trying so hard, youngsters – it’s so much easier when you relax… (SM)
demo reviews this month are by: Sam Metcalf, Kirsty-Louise Brinn, Tom Goodhand, Tim Metcalfe, Gavin Miller, Rob Wright, Michael Cornin, Kirsty Henderson, Hanna Houghton, Chris Long, Caroline Murphy, Rebecca Tattersall
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