Monday 29 March 2010

Red Queen's Race

For some completely unknown reason, I lost connection to the Internet early on Sunday and got it back again five minutes ago, so now, without further ado, I'll start again with the listening to the fresher applicants.

WORLD OF FOX are a band of Brummies with a folky sound. It sounds like somebody's got a hammered dulcimer there as well as a guitar, which si all to the good. "Please Take Your Time" doesn't set my world on fire but it's a pleasant enough track. It has the air of folk music from the early sixties, before people started putting their fingers in their ears. Not bad at all.

TOM WILLIAMS AND THE BOAT have a simple song in "Concentrate", that combines a strong beat and some fine guitar, piano and violin playing with thoughtful words and strong vocals. This is an excellent track. It's danceable AND thoughtful. I'd certainly buy it.

GEORGE KIRCHNER classes his music as Rock/Punk and that's true as far as it goes, but his sound reminds me of Glen Matlock's Rich Kids, project. "Hey You" would certainly have got me bopping at the Alex Wood Hall in Cambridge back in my own punk days. Trouble is, I can imagine it being played exactly as is. This feels like nostalgia.

RIGOLO are a trip hop band from London. I'm not sure they're a very good one but I love their website and I love the singer's voice so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. "Kiss Me (Like You Mean It)" has that voice over the top of some rather syrupy pseudo classical strings, that I find rather irritating, but there's a germ of something special there, if only they can let it emerge.

GURDAN THOMAS are an experimental band, or so it says on their website. They play acoustic music with what sounds like a tuba or euphonium to provide the rhythm. It's upbeat and yet on "God Is Me", the lyrics are a fairly cheerfully sung ditty about horrible things happening. I find it highly amusing. I think it's meant to be funny.

MICKEY P play funky electronica with a strong, exciting beat and some interesting musical games being played in the background. Shame about the vocals. I know I've often said I wanted vocals where there weren't any, but in the case of "Wanna Get Off", I'm afraid it would be much better without the vocals.

REMODEL: Are they (goodness gracious) mods? The playing reminded me at first of the Who, but the vocals are completely original. "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" is a delicious track. It's not particuarly clever or arty, despite the title. A great track. And I confess, a great title too.

No comments:

Post a Comment