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Dirty
Money - Better Times
It all started
off so promising, but by the end of the demo, I was left frustrated and perplexed.
It's a shame really, because the overriding impression of this band is one
of potential. There's no shortage of ideas in this band, a lot of talent, but
the sum of the parts don't add up in the finished result.
The first track,
Better Times kicks off in fine style... reminiscent of The Red Hot Chili
Peppers and is catchy enough. They know that. It's their title track and is probably
a big crowd pleaser live.
There's a fine groove, but it tends to get
too loose and the whole thing feels in danger of falling apart. But the warmth
of the backing vocals and an admirable lyric pull it back into focus.
The sounds are great... it's a thoroughly modern mix of funk, dub and electronica
and, with a talented producer, has the potential to be a dark, brooding single
in the vein of Massive Attack. But the truth is, they don't get close to the quality
of the Bristol blue skool movement that they probably aspire to.
There
are great moments, cool vibes, fine performances... but there're too many sounds
competing in their mix and the rest of the demo struggles to match even the promise
of Better Times.
The group lacks a musical identity, so some time
away, spent songwriting, is just what this doctor orders! The key word is focus
as they've got the ingredients to make it, but they need the tunes. On the strength
of this demo, they have one great track and not much else.
Some might
say I'm advocating procrastination, but when you've undoubted talent like Dirty
Money have, you need to focus your energy. I wish them all the luck... they have
a chance in the music industry. I hope they take it!
[Also see Dirty
Money band page ]
The Fire
- website MP3s
I did have a bit of
a chuckle when we received the e-mail from The Fire, as they were wondering whether
we had a quick enough connection speed to utilise their site! This is the BBC
chaps… we don’t use dial up modems! Good Lord, I even have 560 K at home.
Anyway onto The Fire. To quote an A&R man… "Why should I surf the net
when a band has a website with their music on, if they can't be arsed to send
some pics a biog and a demo CD, then I can't be arsed to find out more about them.
Basically you have to put a bit of work to get noticed!"
So I am
only doing this review as Jon, one of our webmasters asked me to do so. The moral
being, don’t send links, I’m not interested. I didn’t listen to all the tracks,
just selected 3 at Random.
Track 1 Why did you have to go
I found this a little scrappy. Sorry boys! The bass is very disjointed. And
the timing is way out. I couldn’t listen to it all.
Track 2
Special Girl
A token ballad. The mix on this is far better than the
last song, all the same, something is missing, and I can’t just put my finger
on it!!
Track 3 Blinkin not thinking
This is by
far the best song on the site. It has a feel that they have written this and they
haven’t used their influences to “copy” someone else’s style.
There
is plenty of room for improvement in the playing standards of the chaps, but that
comes with time. They are a young band, have the grit and determination to succeed,
and are focused on what they are doing.
I don’t think the recorded work
will be anything like the live performances, and I have been knocked for saying
that the only way to progress, is by getting out and playing live… well I stick
by that. The apprenticeship of a musician is having beer bottles thrown at them,
not necessarily filled with beer. The punter's reaction is a steep learning curve.
In conclusion, this band have the attitude to go a long way, but just
remember, the bands you take the piss out of now, are the bands you support on
the way down!!
[Also see The
Fire band page ]
Agent Blue - Snow
Hill
This isn’t really a demo, as the band has got their
deal, albeit a small label, it's still a deal.
I have noticed a little
bit of Graffiti, and stickers with the band's name adorning them, around the Shelton-Snow
Hill areas. They’ve been played on Radio 1, and just to bring them to the pinnacle
of their career - they've even been on Den's show on BBC Radio Stoke!
It’s a well recorded and mixed CD, and has a bit of a punky feel to it. Sort of
Therapy! With Stokie accents.
The three tracks have been well chosen:
Snow Hill, Gear, and Something Else - Snow Hill sounding the strongest to my ears.
The vocalist sounds like he has just started to gargle with concrete,
and doesn’t half give it some! Although he does go a little out of tune is places.
Bass and drums gel and give the songs the drive they deserve. And the
“dirty” bass sound is brill, it sort of pummels your insides.
With regards
to the guitarist/s, he has a sound that resembles Johnny Marr from the Smiths,
but with extra attitude.
I hope these guys go far, and hope to catch
them live soon. [Also see our review
of their website]
Back to the
top...
The Ravens
- Let This Be The One
The Ravens are
a six-piece band local to Stoke, comprising of 2 sets of brothers and Laura Harvey
the backing vocalist.
My first impression is drawn due to the time they
have obviously spent presenting the CD, with some great photographs and a professionally
finished CD, screen-printed not a label. (This doesn’t cost as much as you may
think, and it does make you take a good look at its contents).
The songs
recorded on the demo, prove they have quite a lot of talent, and vision to how
their music will be presented to the listener. But, (there is always a but!) I
think the use of double tracking the vocals would have improved the sound immensely.
I’m not saying he’s a bad singer - he isn’t, they are a little on thin side.
And I know a lot of bands like to have the raw, live type feel to the recorded
work, it don’t always work. With live work you have the atmosphere, audience (hopefully)
and an adrenaline boost that is there to lend a hand. So in the studio you need
a little help.
Obviously the cost of recording comes into play, as does
the production of the finished project, in all honesty, £200 more on the recording
would have it sussed, or to put it another way, the earnings from one gig.
I do think though, that they should have given a rough copy of the demo to
someone who could have told them which track is the strongest. Most bands think
the best track is the one they enjoy playing most of all!
My band has
made the mistake of putting the track we thought was ideal for the opener as track
one, and then finding out, when it was too late that the strongest track is further
into the recording. It’s very hard to do, but you have to take a step back and
distance yourself momentarily from the songs, try to be the listener instead of
the musician.
I don’t think they’ll get a deal with this demo, however,
it’s worth sending to a few A&R people to test the water. I’d also like to see
them live, which is really the best place for music. [Also see our review
of their website]
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top...
Souldriver
- Let This Be The One
A fabulously
presented piece. And when I read that was recorded at my old mate, Sean Lowe’s
"Prism Studio" in Hanley, I was expecting a great bit of recording, and wasn’t
disappointed.
The best drum sound to be recorded in Stoke-on-Trent is
by Sean, (an ex-drummer, who has also recorded some footy song for Radio Stoke).
With recording at Sean’s place myself, I know how he works with a band,
and that if something isn’t good enough, he’ll stop you and say, "can you play
that.... now what’s the word… better??" Which is good when paying by the hour…
I digress!
On the CD, there is a diverse styling to song structure,
as well as musical style. The opening track "Let This Be The One" is
in my opinion the strongest number, so they have used the first few minutes of
the CD to their best advantage.
An important thing to remember when
submitting a CD to record companies. If they don’t like the first few seconds
of the first track, they’LL skip through the rest without really taking notice.
The big boys are fickle, and need everything handing to them on a plate!
It is so easy to be critical of someone’s own material, and hear some of
their influences in either the lyrics or music. Souldriver have done a pretty
good job of using their influences without plagiarising them to the extent you
can sing a totally different vocal line. I’d really like to see these live and
get a feel for the energy they have committed to disc.
For a finished
product, it’s great, as a demo, it needs 7 tracks chopping from it! Which ones,
well personally I’d keep "Let This Be The One", "Darkest Hour"
and "Steppin Outta Line". In that order as well.
These guys
have a shed load of talent, so I hope they get "discovered" And if they are thinking
of sending out to the A&R men, it may be worth considering the smaller labels,
where the money is gonna be crap, but they will put all their might behind you
(for what that’s worth). It's going to be a hard slog, but then, life sucks when
you grow up, then you die!!!
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the top...
Trilemma
- Crowded Wilderness
I am going to
be brutally honest with this band, and the only reason being is that they have
a certain degree of talent, but it does need to be leashed in a way that they
themselves haven’t yet discovered. I don’t want to think I’ve taken the piss either!
I also want to be proved wrong!!
My first impression is always in how
the "product" is presented. I have to give these boys 10 out of 10 for this, but
I fail to see the significance of the "holiday photo" added to the package. (Maybe
a mistake and should be in a drawer at Robs house) And I don’t see why a band
produce a vinyl single that is not for general release.
Another thing
that amazes me, is the fact this band don’t gig?? Gigs are the most viable place
to sell copies of the single, opening the market so to speak. More people hear
it live, then vote with their £2.50 RRP. You know if you are doing it right then.
It is also a sign of laziness as well; bands need to work up through the ranks
of pubs to clubs to bigger venues etc, maybe then a record deal.
Onto
the songs. What can I say, sorry chaps, but it’s a bit of a dirge, and needs winding
up a little. The chorus effect used on "Sorrow Passim" is a little too harsh,
and needs to be toned down a little, as it gives the effect of the guitar breaking
up a little, although aesthetic, not at all effective!
The drum track
over the whole of the single is way too far in the background. I’m taking it that
it’s either a drum machine, or one of the drum banks from a keyboard, If it is
a real drummer, my apologies for liking him to a machine, its so far in the back
of the mix, that its inaudible.
"Finite Things" Track 2 needs
the timing sorting out a bit. There are a few bad sections when they loose it
totally! The lyrics are very clever, but a constant harmony vocal line is too
much. Maybe consider double tracking the same vocal line to make them stronger,
Harmony is good in small doses!
Maybe Trilemma are going for a "We are
an eccentric band really…. honest!" tact. This is total crap, and doesn’t wash
with me. Get out there, do some gigs, get the experience, then consider recording
some more.
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Eaton Park - (no demo
title)
The first rule when sending anyone a demo, is to present it as a package.
This is the first hurdle and unfortunately "Eaton Park" has fallen there before
the CD is played. There was no track list, sleeve notes or band pix and so on.
But I do have an advantage, as I saw them at "The Limelight" in Crewe
a couple of years back. So I know what they look like! (But is that an advantage
or not?)
Anyway, onto the demo. The first track has the initial chord
sequence of "G add D, C add D" if you don’t recognise it, listen to Poison’s "Every
Rose Has a Thorn". An overused set of chords, even one of my old bands lifted
them in 1989!! Vocally, he has a pretty strong voice, but the tracks on the demo
are thin ballads, they need something that can kick a little bit more ass. I’m
sure they've got something like that in their repertoire.
Track 2 -
another acoustic number, with the lead guitar playing a bit of a riff over the
top. This has a good bass line, and sound at the same time. There are a few bum
notes included as well, but this is not a bad thing, I like to hear music in its
raw form and not too polished.
Track 3 - this is the best track, but
is very reminiscent of the Verve, or maybe Richard Ashcroft. I think Eaton Park
could be a leading band in Stoke, but they do need to sit down, and try to eliminate
some of the bands they listen from their own songs to make them a bit more unique.
Also, when sending out a demo to record companies, (or even local radio
stations) put the strongest track first. This will ensure that the A&R person
will listen to the whole of the CD, and not just skim through it, then send a
rejection letter.
And as mentioned at the beginning, spend a little
time on the overall presentation of the "product". The big bosses that run music
in this country do like to see what they will be merchandising to make them even
more fat profits!
The quality of the overall recording is not too bad
either, maybe the lead guitar on track 2 could be lifted a bit more.
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