Music Revolution

Artist: Arabian Chatline

Track: Lions & Tigers

Genres: Indie / Indie Rock / Alternative Rock

Arabian Chatline is an exceptionally talented young unsigned band deriving from Bridgwater, Somerset. This Alternative Indie Rock band comprise of members: Ben Toomer on Vocals and Bass, Max Mees on Guitars, Josh Redman-Thomas also on Guitars and George Richards on Drums. This dynamic fresh Rock band are one of the most hotly tipped in the south west delivering exciting dazzling tunes which are a delight to the ear. Ben on lead vocals has a beautiful tone to his voice and has a very interesting British sound whom I can aliken to Bombay Bicycle Club and Foals.

The 4 piece band from Somerset formed in 2009 and uses the modern technological influences to distribute their music to the masses and expand their ever growing fan base via the usual social media sites. Popularity grew in 2011 and the year got off to a good start with various small gigs and intimate parties, which were held in places such as Spaxton, Combwich and Taunton and played with other popular local bands from the Bridgwater and Bristol area such as Why Kill Ian?, A Tale Of Two Cities, New York City Cops, Out For Tomorrow and The Splash. This evidently widened AC’s fan base which was heightened with the highlight of the year being a Czech Tour in October of last year, an amazing and knowledgeable experience for Ben, Max, Josh and George both musically and intellectually and therefore have become inspiring for young bands wanting to pursue music.

Arabian Chatline released their debut single ‘Lions & Tigers’ earlier this year and it is an extraordinarily potent piece of music with an original and definitive sound there isn’t anything to dislike about this band, the track flows  flawlessly producing a tremendously tight composition whilst being enjoyably encapsulating.

‘Lions & Tigers’ begins with a tremendous introductory guitar riff which flows seamlessly into the opening vocals of the track; being an inviting introduction for the listener. Ben Toomer on lead vocals opens with the enticing lyrics:  ‘All open your mind to prove that every dog has its day. Un-open packages will unravel to show your pimp a holiday’. From the onset Arabian Chatline entwine interesting and dynamic lyrics into the song showcasing their natural talent as musicians. As the track continues the riffs continue to allure the listener with tight drum beats accompanying the guitars perfectly, the multitude of layers within the track develop ‘Lions & Tigers’ into an exceptional composition with great vocal tone and range producing awesome melodies. This young quartet construct irresistibly atmospheric music that evokes excitement instantaneously, they create an unusual and brilliant sound and portray an intriguing quirkiness, can’t recommend Arabian Chatline enough, prove to be exceptional songwriters and lyricists as well as excellent with their instrumentation.

As the track continues the percussion and in particular the drum beat itself could do with having more punch, just to have more of an impact within the song otherwise it tends to fade into becoming obsolete. A couple of minor tweaks to the song such as the riff towards the latter part of ‘Lions & Tigers’ would be even more impressive if they wacked up the compression on the outro and the rest is faultless in my opinion.

There is something about Arabian Chatline and their debut single ‘Lions & Tigers’ that gets under your skin, like a virus. You will most certainly have this tune stuck in your head and will be singing it by the end of the track. I’m very much expecting them to release the debut album in the upcoming months; I’m extremely excited about this Alternative Rock group and urge you to listen to this track. AC is most definitely ones to watch in 2012 and eagerly anticipate what delightful little gems they will release for us to listen to next.

 9/10

Similar Artists: Bombay Bicycle club, Foals, Incubus, The Maccabees, Radiohead.

‘Lions & Tigers’ is available to buy exclusively on bandcamp now.

Artist: Worship

Track: Leviathan

Worship are a dynamic trio creating fabulous Alternative Indie with elements of electronica and are producing an exceptional impact in the music world. There’s a lot of noise being made about these guys at the moment, being an extremely hotly tipped group of 2012. Once you’ve heard their music, you’ll sure to remember them, these guys are brilliant at what they do and music is certainly what they do best. They themselves describe their genre of music as Bewildermental; an extremely aptly titled genre for Worship.

Worship consists of members; Tim Alexander, Jordan Fish, Tom Mayo, hailing from Reading. The trio are returning after over 6 months out of the main spotlight, as they’ve been working on and composing their first full length album and from what we’ve already heard, it’s going to be one hell of an album and have been creating a sombre and catchy brand of atmospheric indie rock with the right amount of electronica blended into it.. Their first released demo; ‘In Our Blood’ in October 2009, instantly caused waves of excitement in the music industry and this was an insight of things to come for the group. After this there was immediate interest from various people in the music world and were asked to record at Radio 1 and then booked for 2010s Bestival. This instantaneous reaction obviously gave Worship the confidence to continue to show progression within themselves as a band and then went to Norway for a month to develop their song writing and hence penned a selection of fresh and electrifying tracks. Following the group’s success they subsequently toured the UK with such similarly exciting acts such as: Everything Everything, Dry The River and The Antlers. The guys have also played numerous festivals and even supported rock legends Primal Scream.

Since releasing their first demo Worship have regularly featured on various well known blogs and in publications such as Kerrang, The Guardian, The Independent and have had sporadic plays across Radio1 and Kerrang. Henceforth Worship have fully cemented themselves as ones to watch in the music scene.

Leviathan is the follow up single to the popular tracks: “Collateral” and “House of Glass”. Worship has kindly offered up this new track to the internet world for free download, free listening, a delightful bonus for fans of the band. This track is coming from their up and coming album; the name of which is yet to be announced. The track begins with Worship’s very own brand of mournful and atmospheric indie rock, with the delightful opening lyrics: ‘I can feel the ocean breathe slowly, it wraps its arms around me. Underneath these sheets, I found a world that I was sure I’d lost.’ Sung with dazzling poignancy by lead vocalist Tim Alexander. ‘Leviathan’ starts with a steady yet infectious beat and builds up slowly, gradually gaining tempo with electronica elements increasingly introduced. This trio hailing from Reading evoke extreme emotional potency and melodic tone throughout the track. And perfectly produce the balance between sombre and heart wrenching with incredibly joyous; which is a difficult feat to create, yet these guys manage to develop this seamlessly.

From the onset there’s an irresistibly interesting element to ‘Leviathan’ as they evidently portray their gloriously gloomy alternative indie rock, but then they faultlessly entwine tendencies of electronica making for an overall more exciting and enticing listening experience as Worship are masters at inspiring genre spanning music overflowing with gloomy exuberance and their very own intelligently innovative brand of despairing catchy atmospheric rock.

I absolutely love this track it evokes emotion within me and is instantaneously infectious, there’s brilliance filled within every layer of ‘Leviathan’; of which there’s a multitude of, pushing a dark collection of components with brief respites of the simple yet exceedingly effective notes of the piano composing a terrific basis of instrumentation and the main hook that is powerful and encapsulating and will still be playing in your head even once the song has ended. Ranging from upbeat jubilant moods all the way to darkly lyrical and reflective compositions painting a deep and rich picture of their individual brand of musical brilliance.

Reviewing and listening to ‘Leviathan’ by Worship has been a true delight and have become one of my current favourites. From start to finish their songs have an atmospheric synth base that is haunting to listen to, evoking various visual  whichever genre of music you love this band will have a great effect onto you, this track just gets under your skin and is contagious to the ears. There are certainly huge prospects on the horizon for this talented trio.

9/10

Artist: No Americana
Track: Never Say Never from their debut EP ‘Declaration of Independence’
Written and Produced By: No Americana
Label: Vigo Records
Genre: Alternative Rock

No Americana are an extremely British sounding and distinctively remarkable Alternative Rock band from Walsall, Birmingham in the West Midlands, consisting of members; David James Foster on Lead Vocals and Guitar, Adam Beddow as Guitarist and on Backing Vocals, Jamie C. Weate as Bassist and also on Backing Vocals and Daniel Taylor on Drums. This talented quartet officially formed in December 2008 and from that point instantly began writing their impressive material. The year 2009 was when No Americana began to cause a rumble in the music industry, as they were lucky enough to perform at the Download festival for the very first time; of which they gratefully played at, this was a much larger impressive accomplishment due to the fact that they were still unsigned at this point; an achievement that sparsely occurs within any scene of music. The group were also fortunate enough to have opened for heavy rockers The Wildhearts on their full UK tour, which was then followed by a European tour with American Rock band Stone Sour. Offend for the quartet heated up some what in 2011, as last July they experienced their very first Sonisphere involvement after literally only releasing their debut EP in the same month, which evidently displays just how exceptionally talented No Americana are, and have continuously displayed that they’ve progressed an awful lot since then.

In 2011 No Americana released their debut EP ‘Declaration of Independence’, the opener on the 6 track EP recorded at Fiveways Studios is ‘Never Say Never’; introducing the world to this marvelously talented young band that exudes confidence and dedication. Throughout the song the band’s various eclectic influences from genres such as Punk, Alternative and Rock all shine through to a correct degree; not being overwhelming or mimicking their musical idols, which is often a disappointing factor with some artists, No Americana overcome that fact, as they utilise their influences and musical inspirations to convey their unique and potent sound and style.

The track begins with an instantaneously catchy guitar riff, a dazzlingly powerful introduction to ‘Never Say Never’, with the perfect amount of heaviness running through the riff making for an impeccable start. David James Foster’s vocals are initially introduced at the 30 second mark and begin with an instant punch in the lyrics which are heightened with David’s clear and distinctive vocal tone and sound, the style and tone of the lead vocals are intensified and well complimented by the melodies and harmonies from Jay Weate’s talented melodic tone on Backing Vocals. These are amplified even more so as the band are exceptional lyricists with articulate and poignant lines and phrases conveyed seamlessly with the dynamic intelligence of the track itself. Though at certain points during the composition, the instrumentation drowns out the vocals ever so slightly, although this is my only criticism for the entirety of the track, proving how impressive this opener for their debut EP really is.

No Americana create an utterly amazing style with captivatingly unique sounds and infectiously catchy riffs, forming innovatively upbeat exciting music unbound with any restraints, as this quartet evidently intend to make a statement in the music industry and are certainly on the right track for doing so, combining a delightful composition with epic sounding guitars and includes great comp and beat, as Daniel plays the drums with real aggression building throughout the song, which is conveyed impeccably on the record, producing extremely hard hitting drum beats.’Never Say Never’ is composed with perfect length and timing within the instrumentation and delivers impressively sharp lyrics with a very British sounding edgy Rock, producing a massive and magnificent sound with an epically incandescent style surrounding the track, a band who will surely achieve great success, one to definitely watch as they continue to rise above the ranks of this music scene.

8/10
Similar Artists: You Me At Six, Stereophonics, Skarlett Riot, Killing For Company, Arcadian Riot.

Artist: Enkounter

Track: The Tempest from their debut EP ‘Shadows’

Written and Produced By: Enkounter

Genre: Rock / Gothic / Semi-Operatic

Enkounter are a uniquely interesting band from Perth, Australia, conveying a new breed of musical talent with progressive madness of chaotic metal combined with pure gothic passion, with a real originality. This young Perth band consists of members; Gina Bafile on Lead Vocals, Troy Standring, K-Man on Drums and George Garofallou on Bass. Various influences echo throughout their large repertoire of superbly constructed tracks with artists such: Dream Theater, Fantomas, Audioslave, ZZ-Top, A Perfect Circle and numerous other musicians alike with an eclectic mix of genres. This exceptionally talented Australian group started their music life in early 2007 when they officially formed with then only 3 members, enjoying creating interesting pieces of diverse music with the grandiose theme of Muse’s Origins of Symmetry, things progressed instantaneously when classically trained singer Gina become the newest member in late 2007, introducing an entirely different dimension to the music Enkounter creates, an extremely welcome one at that.

‘The Tempest’ is a track on Enkounter’s very first EP; ‘Shadows’ released in August 2008, this particular song was released as a special edition version, which was featured on ‘Kill City’s’, Volume 7 compilation and has played throughout various radio stations across the US, this debut EP has since been followed by their first double CD album in early 2009. From the onset ‘The Tempest’ conveys an extremely powerful feeling, almost magnificent with a potently catchy guitar riff with a perfect amount of heaviness running through it, then with irresistibly encapsulating superlative vocals of Gina Bafile promptly producing a wonderful effect onto the listener with Enkounter’s haunting melodies forging a new breed of music with dazzling passion and lust amongst the poignant and eloquent lyrics making for a thrilling track overflowing with exuberance.

The entirety of the track exudes a tragic tale of life and love, with emotionally potent lines and phrases delivered with genre spanning appeal with a Gothic Rock with almost nearly Operatic tendencies with phenomenal orchestral composition. This Australian quartet create an experience that is truly not one to be missed, the theme of magnificence continues right to the very end of the track as each and every member of this band has an abundance of talent which is evident through every single note played in this thrilling ride of musical brilliance. The melodic tone and quality is incredible, with Gina’s Operatic and Classical training sparkling through the whole of ‘The Tempest’ adding an extra element that forms it into much more of an interesting listen. A very minor criticism would be that at times the influences shine through to a degree that becomes too much, they still remain unique but idealistically they need to become even more original and take on this own brand of music fully that they are already pursuing, with also more dynamics to flow through the vocals, which would in turn improve the tone. Overall it is clearly evident through listening to Enkounter’s ‘The Tempest’ from their debut EP that they overflow with talent and tireless dedication, portraying that they can make an impressive mark in music with genre spanning appeal.

Artist: Addison

Track: Nearly Perfect Strangers

Album: Self-titled

Produced and Written By: Addison

Genre: Power Pop / Punk / Emo

Addison is a Power Pop / Emo punk band originating from Pittsburgh, PA, USA, consisting of members; Bobby Gerginski on Vocals, Matt Dulac on Guitar and Vocals, Kyle Shearer also on Guitar and Vocals, John O’hallaron on Bass and finally Rich Bradford on Drums. They purely began writing and performing music to have something fun and interesting to do at the weekend, although it has grown far further than they could have imagined. The talented five piece developed a local following of fans with their incredible hit song ‘Winds Of The Eastern Shoreline’ and soon rose in the music ranks, having an ever increasing effect on music lovers in the US, the guys have also been lucky enough to have shared the stage with such artists as: Forever the Sickest Kids, Four Letter Lie, 13 Yards to Victory, Scenes From a Movie and many other bands alike. Addison is evidently a band who tirelessly dedicates their time to make brilliantly distinctive music with dynamic tracks making for exciting listening.

‘Nearly Perfect Strangers’ is a delightful track featuring on Addison’s debut self-titled album, a song that is a perfect introduction into the music and world of Addison. The track starts off wonderfully with a phenomenal introductory guitar riff, instantly encapsulating every element a true pop punk / rock band should include into their music, with Bobby Gerginski’s distinctively tantalising vocals setting in at the 30 second mark with good vocal tone and developing marvellous dynamics throughout the entirety of the track, creating an instantaneous captivation to the music, with the opening lyric; ‘Get up we’ll start the let-down, if the nights almost over, you won’t be asking for me anymore’; an excellently intriguing beginning for ‘Nearly Perfect Strangers’. Overall the vocals are impressive, however they could certainly be more powerful in specific areas of the track, especially with the bridge and the lead up to the main chorus, there’s a much needed expansion to the tone of the vocals and the five piece should definitely work on the multitude of layers within the track throughout to make everything sit much more naturally together and within the various other elements of the music itself, though overall there’s a wonderful basis of a track, with extremely tight instrumentation, it just needs some tweaking and improvements to develop into a more polished piece of music.

Addison develop the track with an exponential amount of energy and punch, making it a thrilling ride from start to finish with intriguing and intelligent lyrics and an instantly catchy chorus due to the magnificent lyrics with such tremendous emotional potency it’s evident the five piece are drawing from their very own personal experiences which are then excellently conveyed and portrayed within the lyrics, rendering a stronger connection to the listeners, as they sing of lost love with passion and poignancy, evidently produced within the line ‘3 years and nothing but a scar to show’; conveying beautiful expressiveness, showcasing what incredible lyricists Addison are. ‘Nearly Perfect Strangers’ continues to be an electrifying pleasure with fantastic chomp and thump from the exceptionally talented Rich Bradford on the drums. Nearing the latter part of the track it undertakes a different direction, with echoing overshadows beneath the lyrics with the repetition of the chorus, this introduces a wonderfully interesting dynamic to the composition and is produced perfectly, with the great amount of reverb and distortion working amazingly, giving a whole other dimension to the track, then the layers of the track are reintroduced with even greater punch and grit than before incorporating alongside a dazzlingly heavy guitar riff finishing the whole of the song off in perfect fashion.

Addison create a distinctively encapsulating piece of music in the form of ‘Nearly Perfect Strangers’, lyrically, they are truly incredible with eloquent and poignant lines within the track, there are various elements which are wonderful with irresistibly catchy riffs and lyrics, though it still lacks some excitement as the music needs more dedication to it as a whole to develop their sound into something faultless and innovative and improve their music to the degree which they are evidently able to achieve, as it’s obvious that this American five piece are a naturally talented group of musicians, who could do wonders with their unique sound and style and with slight improvement Addison should definitely achieve the recognition they truly deserve for their music.

8/10

Similar Artists: The Jumpsuit Apparatas, New Found Glory, Gatsby’s American Dream.

Artist: Choonz

Track: Huuskys

Album: Lads of Lash

Written and Produced By: Choonz    

Choonz are an exceptionally talented three piece alternative and folk band from Bristol, the trio consists of members; David Garner- Fiddle, Brian Haitz- guitar and Paul Garner- Flute. Brothers David and Paul and friend Brian are three young multi awarding winning musicians with high hopes and aspirations for their fresh and energetic brand of alternative folk music. With strong inspirations from Irish and Scottish music with a great emphasis on expression and improvisation, as they showcase a multitude of tracks designed to captivate and dazzle the audience. The guys have had significant experience with gigging and creating their tracks into faultless pieces of musical brilliance, having toured extensively -opened and even headlined festivals across Europe, they have even supported the likes of Jethro Tull and Newton Faulkner. Their debut album; ‘Lads of Lash’ is a 12 track CD; consisting of 10 studio tracks and 2 live tracks, making it an enjoyable and diverse debut album. The opening track on the album- ‘Huuskys’;  is a truly magical start to ‘Lads of Lash’, the song is of perfect length, although personally I think neither the band name nor album name do the music justice; as they don’t seem to coincide with theme within the music they create, so those first impressions of band name, album title etc. weren’t overly impressive, but don’t let that cloud your judgment on the band or to be hesitant to listen to them due to that, they’re one of the best folk bands I’ve discovered in a very long time and am eager to await the music they release next.

The opening few moments of ‘Huuskys’ is at a gradual pace with the instrumentation of the Guitar fiddle and flute all introduced into the track one by one then the layers bind together and the tempo and pace exponentially builds from there on. The song is purely instrumental, though captivates the listener nonetheless, they convey a fantastically raw and wild sound with tremendous energy and kick and this continues for the duration of the track.

The tempo heightens until around the two minute mark, then there’s a perfect transitioning point in the track as the tone softens slightly with the echoing tones of the flute, mastered impeccably. There’s such a varied instrumentation in ‘Huusky’s’ meaning it never becomes boring due to the excitement in the composition; a short flute solo follows, then alike to the beginning the chugging background guitar is reintroduced and the layers begin to a line flawlessly into place again. I’m amazed at the incredibly fresh talent this group hold, showcasing musical wizardry throughout the entirety of the track, with beautiful lyrical music, an excitingly upbeat and fast paced tempo and atmosphere, yet creating a peaceful mood simultaneously.

Choonz have exceeded any expectations I first had to an incredible degree and have created a tremendous debut album, which is captivating and truly oar inspiring for any young musicians out there, this Bristol trio have such a powerful and experimental style, I’m certain they will set the music world on fire with their magnificent talent, as I’m sure you’ll be enthralled by every note and will be hooked from start to finish; as they continue to display reels of talent and hypnotise the listener.

9/10

Similar Artists: Seth Lakeman, Cara Dillon, Sam Lakeman

Artist: Black Iris

Track: The Tangled Web We Weave from the EP Black Iris

Written and Produced By: Black Iris

Black Iris are an exceptionally talented four piece melodic metal band from Guilford, Surrey; consisting of Jaxter on vocals and guitar, Johno Madgwick on Guitar, Ed Forbes on Bass and Alex Gregson on Drums. They’re currently exponentially increasing they diverse collection of songs and song writing with deeply meaningful lyrics and beautiful melodies. They’re gradually increasing their fan base through working extremely hard and consistently gigging up and down the country and so far they’ve been lucky to have supported bands such as Julien-K, The Blackout, The Defiled, Starseed and Shadows Chasing Ghosts. Black Iris’ extreme hard work and determination to make music and to develop a name for themselves is evident with their self-titled- 4 track EP; ‘The Tangled Web We Weave’ is the longest track on the EP, being almost 8 minutes long in duration. When I realised that track was of that length, I anticipated that alike to a lot of tracks this long it might be too long and needs to be shortened by a minute or so, as some artists who do this don’t succeed with the portrayal of the track and it actually becomes quite boring, unnecessarily long and at about the 6 minute mark monotony sets in, though not with Black Iris they produced ‘The Tangled Web We Weave’ in such a way that made the entirety of the song captivating and enjoyable to listen to from start to finish and every sole element is placed perfectly within the premise of the track.

‘The Tangled Web We Weave’ is the opening track on the Black Iris EP and is a wonderful introduction to the band, as they perform destructively magnificent music. With a unique sound and style and intensely awesome head banging hard rock. The introduction of the track is full of heavy guitar riffs and exciting bass lines, launching attack as a determined metal core band. Gradually Jaxtor’s soft low tone voice is introduced into the track within the multiple layers of the composition. The drum beat develops as the track continues with great chomp and tremendously punchy resonant tones of the bass drum constructing the track into a much warmer sound. They deliver each layer of the track with such depth and control, it sets them far apart from others in their genre and in a whole other league with their remarkable talent shining through every single note of the track, it displays that they’ve continued to correct and perfect their style through the years, to produce such a magnificent piece of melodic metal to showcase to the world. As the song continues, Black Iris produces such deep and expressively dark lyrics, which also build a darkness beneath the music with a hard-core edge. This is certainly the heaviest song on the record and at around the 3 minute mark, the heaviness intensifies with an extreme hard-core bridge with complex riff patterns and exceptional technique with each and every instrument, also with the heavy ride in the drums creating a great blend of various tones. Another treat is the tantalising guitar solo towards the latter part of the track.

Black Iris succeed with developing and creating a tremendous debut EP with fantastic production and beautiful hard-core music with destructive intent, melodic harmony and deep and heavy rhythmic breakdowns; that are combined in such a way that Black Iris effortlessly forms emotionally empathetic lyrics; combining inventive experimentation through incredible timing changes and catchy harmonies. If you’re a fan of either rock or metal or any sub-genres in between then Black Iris is definitely worth discovering.

8.5/10

Similar Artists: Killswitch Engage, 36 Crazyfists and Bullet For My Valentine.

Artist: Last Approach

Album: From Me To You

Produced and Written By: Last Approach

Track: Thinking Of Tomorrow

Label: Recently signed to Adixtion Music

Last Approach are a four piece alternative rock band, consisting of; Steve Kingman and Bryn Wright on guitar and vocals, James Porter on Bass and Vocals and Tony Barton on Drums. They have quite an expansive repertoire of songs with a mixture of different musical textures. ‘Thinking Of Tomorrow’ is an excellently produced track and is part of their 6 track debut EP called From Me To You, both written and produced by Last Approach, these four lads from Bangor & Anglesey in North Wales prove to be one of the band’s to look out for in 2012, as I’m sure the recognition they truly deserve is soon to appear.

From the instant the song begins, there is a solid and distinctive sound which will be a recognisable element throughout the entire of their EP, with genre spanning appeal. It starts with alluring guitar riffs setting up the song with distinction from the onset. It leads into a heavy introductory with a melodic tune and a tone that sits perfectly amongst the building tempo and their own individual style. They balance a perfect mix of infectious melodies with poignant and meaningful lyrics, mastering the premise of a true rock band. This song is a journey from heavy riffs into melodic tunes, enhanced greatly by the harmonies within the vocal lines, as they add an extra dimension to the music in the form of a third vocal, which heightens their sound immensely and finish in an anthemic style of chorus.

Last Approach create an epic soundscape, blending destructively heavy rhythms and riffs to impressive timing changes and instantly catchy lyrics and melodies; singing of natural progression of love, that in time fades and the true emotion is effortlessly entangled within the lyrics and is portrayed brilliantly to the listener, as it acts as a creative form to tell the story of the great expectations you await in life, that fail to come to fruition, ending up with disappointment; a feeling that everyone encounters at some point, but then it’s the attempt to then escape the disappointment to  the loved ones around you that is the main enduring theme in this track, this story within the lyrics is successfully intertwined amongst the music and has an impressive effect on the listener, willing them to hear more and continue with anticipation with the rest of their debut EP- ‘From Me To You’- and have made ‘Thinking Of Tomorrow’ a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience.

8/10

Similar Artists: Hundred Reasons, Tool, U2, The Ataris

Artist: Dan Croll

Produced By: Joe Wills

Written By: Dan Croll

Track: ‘Closer’

Dan Croll is an unsigned artist who has recently appeared on the scene and has been getting a lot more hype as of late and has been lucky enough to gain an ‘essential download’ status from Q Magazine. The music scene is rapidly cottoning on to the wonders of this young Liverpool lads expansive talents as a singer-songwriter. With Q marking his song ‘Home’ as one of the essential tracks to download this year. And from listening to even a small number of his tracks, it is evident why.

The track ‘Closer’ is a marvellous introduction to Dan Croll’s music and veers an intriguing insight into his mind and the eagerly anticipated upcoming album he’s currently working on with the help of producer-Joe Wills. ‘Closer’ is a track that will be Dan’s debut EP and sits perfectly between the other confirmed songs on the EP- ‘Marion’ and ‘Home’. The track begins with such soft acoustics with the guitar that it’s almost delicate and creates a growing sense of stillness and smoothness. Dan succeeds with continuing to develop and build on an extreme closeness throughout the track, which produces an intriguing intimacy with the listener and wills us to hear more. ‘Closer’ is a joy to listen to and it’s instantly recognisable that Dan is an extremely eloquent songwriter, his voice is consistently smooth and honeyed; reminding me very much of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. A brief pause issues the second part of the song with the continuing, but effective repetition of the eerie lines- ‘Move closer so I can see you when you speak.  Move closer so I can watch whilst you sleep’. Then the song heightens and a mild climax emerges, the drums instantly perk up and his voice takes on more of a texture, an urgency if you will.  He works on building sensitive, light harmonies into insistent, eerily transcendent tracks. And I’m very eager for the release of Dan’s debut EP and hope to hear something even more expansive and dynamic than ‘Closer’. Definitely one of 2012’s one to watch.

9/10

Similar Artists: Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons.

Hiya guys, welcome to my new Tumblr blog- ‘The Best In New Music’- I hope you enjoy it! This is my very first post of today’s song of the day.

Artist: Adam Croft

Produced by: Josh Dunnet & Adam Croft
Written by: Adam Croft

Track: ‘True Love Fanatic’ from the album ‘New Weird England’

Adam Croft is an artist I literally discovered yesterday; a young unsigned singer-songwriter/ producer, certainly has an art in making music. ‘True Love Fanatic’ a new single released as part of his brand new album; ‘New Weird England’. ‘TLF’ begins with a chugging acoustic guitar and then Adam’s meloncholic whispery voice sings of love-lost lyrics. The song builds steadily from there: Adam’s strong yet fragile voice builds and resonates as the track slowly progresses.
He seems to have an art of intertwinning superb songwriting amongst the music in such a way that it’s a real delight to listen to.
It glides effortlessly along to end of the track, with a Radiohead esque feeling toward the latter part of the track, as a debut, it’s an incredibly impressive album with a distinctive resonance and sound, with a theme of alternative folk blended with elements of rock, the variable genres build the sound to produce an effective result for the listener.
A wonderful songwriter with raw emotion filling the song to the brim, and with the repetition of the lines: ‘I know you too well. and I love you too well.’;still echoing in my ears even after the song had finished.

8/10

You can listen to this track and other tracks from the album: ‘New Weird England’ on Adam Croft’s myspace page- http://www.myspace.com/adamcroftband

Similar Artists: Frank Turner, Bon Iver, Radiohead.