Presley Johnson – Images Of Youth

Offering tracks flushed in individual soaks of indie pop, pop rock, folk, and blues, UK band Presley Johnson release their second album in the tasty shape of Images Of Youth. The eleven track release is an eclectic and engaging ride through a musical summer with evolving moments of feisty energy, persuasive elegance, and acoustic beauty. It has a little something for everyone with a heart of melodic enterprise and descriptive imagination.

The release of their self-titled album in 2011 on independent label Stalkers Records set ears and tongues into an agitated buzz over Presley Johnson as has their live shows especially across the UK and in Germany. Their first album and certainly the new also Stalker released Images Of Youth, see the Northampton quartet of Wesley Manning, Jon Martin, Andrew Miller, and Alex George bringing a diverse encounter of rock n roll in its myriad of disguises, from being riotously energetic through to offering a simple melodic seduction the release is a consistent engagement which lights fires or has them simmering within, but always it makes something happen inside.

The opening song Had It All is an immediate ride of eager rock with melodic hooks and teases around the sinewy spine of crisp rhythms and the moody bass sound. It is an easy infectious stroll, the vocals an expressive lure with at times wonderfully rusty tones whilst the accompanying harmonies are as lush and appealing as the warm voice of the guitar. It is the rolling rhythmic thrusts within which excite the most though, their rumbling presence lifting a strong song into a recruitment of greater temptation.

The following Anita’s Last Dance secured adoration with its appearance as a single earlier in the year and within the album still steals all the attention. It is a mischievous folk pop dance upon the ear, its gently teasing guitars and excited yet tender caress within the warm ambient air delicious whilst the enthused vocal harmonies and melodic elegance brought with a slight English reserve is a summer day for the senses. A fresh and vibrant piece of rock n roll temptation, the song makes way for another distinctly unique character in Sinking Ships. Three songs in and all have been openly different with the third a blues guitar crafted flame with as on all the songs, an expressive lyrical and vocal narrative which captivates as richly as the sounds holding their words. Though not quite as impacting as its predecessors the track still forges a solid and welcoming attention for its invention and dramatic textures.

The acoustically sculpted Oh Love with its country lilt is a decent if uninspiring song for personal tastes whilst the Cajun sprung I Don’t Love My Neighbour is a mix of moments where it simply has toes tapping to crescendos to times especially in the chorus and its surrounding builds where it has the passions leaping in invigorated union. Both though continue the undeniable pull and quality of the album with ease whilst the splendid mix of thumping ear pressing rhythms and strong acidic guitar blazes alongside emotively driven vocals within the mighty My Muse is a stand put highlight to grace any melodic blues clad rock album.

Tuna and The Sweetcorn is a compelling and thrilling invitation with contagious melodies, equally enticing hooks, and a sixties almost Beatlesque swagger in full flow to enlist the listener emotionally and vocally. It has to be said that not all the tracks upon Images of Youth linger after their departure but this one has a massive hook which refuses to leave the memory and thoughts as does the excellent title track, a song which at one moment brings country seeded sounds to the fore and in others has a Kinks like elegance and rock feel to its mellow bewitching body.

Completed by the emotive touches of Home and Shoot You Down, the first a smouldering keys caressing arrest with a building magnetic ambience throughout and the closing track an acoustic folk song with a bite all genre fans will adore, Images Of Youth is an impressively crafted  and expressive romp of imaginative endeavour and honest beauty. Certainly Presley Johnson did not ignite the fullest of passions with the release but its presence will undoubtedly be a persistent companion across the summer months.

www.presleyjohnson.co.uk

7.5/10

RingMaster 29/04//2013

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Mike Tyler – Money Grows on Your Knees

    Money Grows On Your Knees the new single from poet and musician Mike Tyler is a deceptive little tease, a song which left indecision during certainly its first and even second excursion through the ear  but all the while was working away and laying a hook which emerged again and again well away from its source. It is an addictive little creature which though still coated in a less than stable opinion is like a tic which is almost impossible to remove from thoughts and imagination.

Taken from his well-received album Erection of last year, the first thing to note and praise about the release is its packaging. Coming in a 7” green vinyl/CD bundle with a sleeve design complete with jigsaw front and lyric sheet back, the single takes one right back to the late seventies/early eighties when sleeve design and imagination was as rife and vibrant as the sounds they enclosed. It is an instant clutch of strong points on the board for The Art Can Not Be Damaged released single. It is also very apt for the artist from New York. Mentored in a bar by the poet Delmore Schwartz, Patti Smith, and Tom Verlaine of Television, Tyler has sculpted interest, respect, and inspiration with his words within others. World famous graffiti-smith Banksy stencilled his words “only the ridiculous survive” outside Paddington Station in London whilst Beck also was inspired by his charismatic pull when honing his song writing craft. Tyler became known as The Most Dangerous Poet in America after breaking his arm during a reading, and his poem The Most Beautiful Word in the American Language has found its place on the blogs, MySpace pages, and Facebook walls of a great many, not to mention fridge doors. He is a puzzle in many ways, an intricate confusion which the packaging of the single perfectly hints to and to further give relevance of the artwork the artist talks about his single by saying “My new single is such a lopsided seductive beast. Deep deep bass with a pop frosting and a growling lead yawp. It can be kind of sweet in places and then a dungeon-door-slamming-echoed-thud takes over; a contradiction in tones. It’s the boiled pot of the gumbo stew of black and white that is America; greed and innocence, joy and exhausted hustle. Might explain why we decided the packaging of the single would include an actual puzzle.”

Money Grows on Your Knees instantly punches the air with heavy pressing beats soon joined by great expressive keys and the straight face vocals of Tyler. He is not a natural vocalist, his spoken word delivery a dulled edge to the vibrancy of the music but it soon persuades the longer the track plays with the ear. The persistence of the rhythmic seduction and equally tempting bass is near irresistible whilst the keys craft a warm engagement which holds the hand as the songs opens up its summer framed by additional vocals from a sirenesque female voice and singing from Tyler both standing behind his core gait of delivery. As one would expect the lyrics make you think without needing to spend over time evaluating their coaxing narrative whilst the brassy bellows of the synths are like small fanfares in the sultriness of the song’s skies. An encounter easily described as Jonathan Richman meets Jona Lewie whilst John Otway and Mike Doughty add their support, it has proved its dangerous contagiousness as whilst writing the review up to this point and listening to its throughout,  Money Grows on Your Knees has provided  a conclusive argument and won its case…or maybe just worn down the defences, whichever it is a devious little treat.

Accompanying the song on the single is Corny Song, a new track from Tyler. Energetic and mischievous the song was inspired by a show in the UK where he was promoting the Erection album. It like the first is not an instant draw and has yet to convince but again it lingers and teases long past its expiry time.

For quirky, unpolished, and honest indie/pop devilment the single is well worth a fun filled amble with, but be warned it will not be leaving you alone from that point on.

http://www.cutepoet.com/

7/10

RingMaster 23/04/2013

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Chantal Claret – The One, The Only…

by Anna-Franziska Milanollo

With big boned rhythmic seduction and even more tempting melodic suggestiveness, the debut album from Chantal Claret is one delicious romp of sixties pop and modern insatiable inventive hunger, a release which makes the term having a good time as a description seem rudely limiting. The former vocalist for the excellent Morningwood, Claret has crafted her own soulful and enchanting not forgetting vivacious sound, into a larger than life treat which brings femme-pop from five decades ago in a feisty and thrilling union with attitude drenched indie pop. Think Imelda May meets Brenda Lee with strong whispers of Wanda Jackson, Gwen Stefani, and at times essences of Brody Dalle’s Spinnerette, and you get the unique presence of Chantal Claret. The One, The Only… is an album which has feet and emotions pumping in time and passion with the forthright sounds it offers, a release which quite simply and persistently thrills with each and every enthralling note.

    The One, The Only… is something very different from anything Morningwood unveiled though there is still a visible thread between the two due to the stand alone vocals of Claret who arguably upon her first full length solo release has found an even richer and expansive depth to her tone and delivery. Following up the acclaimed Pleasure Seekers EP whose four tracks also grace this album, the new release dances with the passions and ear to send a rapture marauding through the body like a tide of raucous melodic energy which ebbs and flows yet never leaves anything less than captivated seduction roaming its presence.

The opening intro introduces the artist like you would have found at an authentic live performance or TV show of the sixties, or so my Dad told me… an audience excited and drooling as the artist takes her spot in their eager spotlight. It leads right into the muscular rhythms and initial crafty tease of Bite Your Tongue, a song which sways with devilment whilst coaxing the passions into its instantly infectious embrace. The rhythms continue to dominate from the drums and bass, even in its quietest lure, whilst the keys add smokey whispers to stand side by side with the blaze of horns. It is a terrific start with a female snarl and wile to its magnetic temptation.

The thrilling start continues with Pleasure Seekers, a track which has the fire of the band of the same name in the sixties and the gentle pop artfulness of Nancy Sinatra, through the contagious Pop Pop Bang Bang and on to This Time. The second of the trio is one of the highest pinnacles, its arrival on a nursery rhyme like coaxing opening moving into a riveting stroll of woman scorned devilry with accompanying violent intent. Not the most involved song in its construction but certainly the most dramatically mesmeric and energetic, the track enlists the listener into its revengeful mischief with enigmatic craft and arcane breath. The third of the trio leads the senses into a wealth of bulging rhythms and enchanted melodies coated in a sinister design which sparks an ardour as potent as the sacrificial seduction of a siren, both inescapable and unrelenting.

Arguably there is a constant surface shine and glow to the songs which shades the variety at work initially but with songs like the Crystals/Yeah Yeah Yeahs prompting No Love Lost and the Aretha Franklin/Gwen Stefani call to arms of Real Girls and their curves and swerves, any similarity in the coating is soon dispelled with their individual voices, the latter of these two a hip hop/pop fusion which makes it impossible not to hungrily enlist in its cause.

Further flames of pleasure come with the fifties gaited Black Widow, a song which is as tricky as it is insatiable, its aural tongue licking its lips as it seizes the heart with the appetite of its subject. The Mari Wilson sounding Honey Honey stands alongside the song as another real high point its sixties energetic kiss from keys and passionate vocals leaving thoughts and emotions into unbridled mischief before handing over to the excellent Song For The Sinners, the best song on the album. It stomps with guileful invitation and addictive charisma whilst the licking flames of the again irresistible horns incite further temptation into its cute yet dangerous heart.

The One, The Only… is an outstanding album which guarantees nothing but full and breath-taking pleasure, and who could want to share those moments with anyone other than the temptress Chantal Claret.

http://chantalclaret.com/

9/10

RingMaster 03/04/2013

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The Hush Now‏: Arkansas

Taken from their forthcoming album Memos, new single Arkansas from US indie pop band The Hush Now is an engaging invitation to their impending summer release. Formed around 2008, the Boston band has drawn strong plaudits and responses to their previous albums and been equally acclaimed for their appearances at the SXSW and CMJ festivals and though relatively unknown outside of their homeland, one suspects the quintet with the new single can look forward to that changing, especially in the UK with the arrival of the album is the new song is an example of its contents.

Formed in 2006 by vocalist/guitarist Noel Kelly, The Hush Now first made a mark on fans and critics with their debut self-titled of 2009. With its pop and dreamy soundscape fusion the release made a good mark on independent radio charts and pulled comparisons to the likes of Cure, Guided by Voices, My Bloody Valentine, and Teenage Fan Club towards the band. Second album Constellations a year later continued to set the band up as one to watch. With a line-up completed by guitarist Adam Quane, bassist Pat MacDonald, drummer Barry Marino, and John Millar on keyboards, the new single feels like the next potent step for the band towards the widest recognition.

Arkansas was seeded in a road trip to one of their festival appearances. Noel Kelly tells more, “Arkansas started out with a garage band loop conjured up by our keyboardist in the back of our crammed tour van while on our way down to SXSW. It’s a good 36 hour haul from Boston to Austin. We played a couple of shows on the way down in NYC and Philadelphia, but on the last leg of the trip and about halfway through the state of Arkansas our drummer found out that a dear friend had passed unexpectedly. We stopped and mulled over our options at a gas and sip and eventually decided to carry on. We spent the week in Austin like ghosts shifting through the crowds and then piled back into the van for a marathon, non­stop drive back to Boston.  Although the song at its core is about being caught in a manipulative relationship, the lyrics try to capture that time rumbling back through the vastness of Arkansas, staring out the window and lost in reflection with a sense of nothing to return to at home.”

Opening with dowdy singular notes of the keys the song soon lures in a richer melodic tease from Millar and a deep bass temptation from MacDonald which sets up the ear eagerly for the mellow and expressive tones of Kelly. His gentles vocal caresses engage over the firm rhythms and guitar flashes, soaking the brewing sounds in a fine emotive and infectious harmonious wash. Across its length the track is a persuasive slice of accomplished indie pop but into its chorus ignites an even stronger passion for the inventive smouldering intensity and passion of the song. Ending as it began, Arkansas is an inspiring and tenderly forceful seduction towards the band and their approaching full length release.

For elegant yet fiery pop music crafted with heart and emotive generosity The Hush Now‏ is a band to pay close attention to.

Check out the single at https://soundcloud.com/thehushnow/arkansas

http://www.facebook.com/TheHushNow

7.5/10

RingMaster 25/03/2013

 

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Sebastopol: The Hateful Mob

     

    Taken from their critically acclaimed debut album Hello All Stations, This is Zero, the new single from UK band Sebastopol is an infectious little treat of a song which requires little effort to immerse within its melodic cinematic charms. The Hateful Mob slowly and seductively coaxes the passions into a vibrant stroll of warm temptation and visual evocation to leave a certain energy and lust to further investigate band, and if not an already had meeting, the album.

The 2011 formed London band consists of vocalist and bassist Nick Powell, guitarist Phil Richards, and drummer Tom Standage, a trio who grabbed strong eager attention with the previously mentioned album and first single from it, Send The Boats last year. Released via Warm Fuzz, the independent label run by award winning producer Ian Shaw, The Hateful Mob was recorded like the album at Drop Out Studios in Camberwell and mixed by legendary post punk producer Mick Glossop (Van Morrison, Magazine, Public Image, The Wonder Stuff). The band has been described as a modern, darker reboot of The Police and the new single is evidence to why though just as rightfully you could suggest the likes of XTC, Teardrop Explodes, and The Divine Comedy, certainly in regards to the new single, its enticing strong whispers throughout suggesting these further comparisons.

The single engages the ear immediately with beckoning melodic caresses of guitar soon accompanied by firm inviting basslines, crisp rhythms, and gentle vocal expression. It takes no time in captivating thoughts and senses with a delicious melodic hook linking the temptation of each declaration of passion driven verse and the subsequent chorus of simmering shadows behind shiny sonics and a golden contagion of melodic infection. Between the riveting summer of the chorus the verses smoulder emotively and musically, the bass of Powell especially inciting to the visuals instigated within thoughts by the song. It is an upbeat song which ignites a measured sense of loneliness, regret, and lost joy skilfully despite its continually catchy and bright gait, the songwriting a sculpted treat to inspire the sounds it bears.

If Sebastopol has yet to glow upon your ear than The Hateful Mob is an irresistible gateway to their accomplished and instinctively crafted addictive sound and equally impressive album.

http://sebastopolband.com/

8/10

RingMaster 02/03/2013

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Charlie Winston: Running Still

    The opportunity to review the new single from British singer-songwriter Charlie Winston came up recently, a track which is easily one of the freshest dazzles of elevated pop to come along recently, but such its impressive heart and sound the urge to check out instead the recent album it came from burned brighter and what a rewarding decision it was. Running Still is exceptional, an eclectic feast of sounds and passion which ignites the heart.

France based Winston took to music at an early age, learning the drums at age eight, moving to the piano at ten, and within two years was writing his own songs. Growing up in a Suffolk hotel, which had a constant tide of itinerant artists, orchestras, actors, and thespians, added to his love and understanding of the performing arts so really it is no surprise his heart fuelled accomplished and imaginative creativity can openly be seen on his album. At seventeen he relocated to London to join brother, Tom Baxter, whilst studying music at Brunel. The next three years saw the pair playing in their band Baxter, with Winston on bass, and finding him writing and playing music for short films, dance productions, and TV adverts as well as producing and recording records with various artists. He continued to sing or play with many different bands on either bass, piano or percussion, whilst for the first time exploring the guitar.

In 2003 whilst recording bass on his brother’s album at Real World Studios, Winston was introduced to Peter Gabriel. Friends with his daughter, Winston eventfully decided to introduce his new EP to her father which led him to being signed to Real World Records, the label of Gabriel, for debut album Make Way, as well as supporting the man on his 2007 European tour. Moving to France next, Winston caught the attention of record label Atmosphériques, and through them linked up with to Mark Plati (David Bowie, The Cure, Louise Attaque) who produced his acclaimed second album Hobo. Released in 2009, the album topped the French charts and drew intense attention and responses in France and adjacent European areas though still back home he was and arguably still is an unknown, well until Running Free, via Real World Records, touches on the nation one suspects.

The album coaxes the listener in with opening guitar strokes and expressive vocals from Winston as first track Hello Alone gently saunters into view. With shimmering sonics and a folk swagger, the song leads the ear and emotions into a mesmeric dance of heated brass, tingling keys, and excitable melodic sultriness. It is a compelling and glorious beginning which instantly raises the anticipation of what is to follow.

Immediately the flirty Speak to Me takes over, a mesh of big pulsating rhythmic seduction and semi-rapped vocals skirt the senses before engaging them in an enthralling unexpected big boned stomp. The track instantly reminds of Gabriel to be honest with additional elements of Talking Heads and though arguably it is an easy unchallenging composition for the listener it is nothing less than incitingly absorbing.

The previously mentioned single, Where Can I Buy Happiness?, ignites a furnace of pleasure and passion, its smouldering heat and sexiness a lure of the richest potency and fired elegance. It has a familiarity about it which is hard to pin point and certainly only adds to its triumph whilst its soulful plea connects with an inner understanding all can relate to. The quizzical bassline is exceptional and strolling within the glaze of emotive keys and again fine vocals adds to the compelling breath of a quite stunning song.

Already the diversity of the album is loud and continues throughout each subsequent track. The Great Conversation is a wonderful encounter of the dramatic, its weave of nostalgia and modern sensational. The song is a quirky English stroll through European classical intrigue complete with whispers of steampunk and totally delicious. The piano driven ballad She Went Quietly without sparking the passions of previous songs is a thoughtful evocative caress whilst Unlike Me is another tender amble across thoughts with its padding of rhythmic feet and mournful yet smiling strings, guitars, and harmonies.

The balmy soul of Until You’re Satisfied lifts the passions again to previous elevations, though they never ever dip into anything less than excitable at any point, before the southern blues soaked steamy encounter Wild Ones trips the light fantastic over the senses with steamy melodics and insatiable mischief. It is another major highlight which makes the perfect invitation and companion to another piano ballad in Making Yourself so Lonely, a song with a big breath and grander emotion.

Rockin’ in the Suburbs with its breathless excitement ,which transfers to and erupts within the listener, begins the closing straight for the album, the infectious and agitated rock n roll within its walls undemanding and generous with its rewards. Completed by the pop romp of Summertime Here All Year, a song with a touch of Julian Cope/Black about it, and a final emotive hug from Lift Me Gently, the magnificent Running Still is a lingering and continually returning treat which swirls around thoughts and memories long after its final kiss. If after its release Charlie Winston is still a mystery to the UK even the world at large, than something is seriously wrong.

http://www.charliewinston.com/

9/10

RingMaster 27/02/2013

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Elle Rayenne: Rayguns EP

Luan Tian Photography – http://www.luantian.co.uk/

Having heard some good whispers about UK band Elle Rayenne and their blend of indie pop, there was a degree of expectation from their new EP Rayguns but certainly not of just how potent and sensational it would be. The four track release is a mesmeric splendour, an EP which from first note to last not only captures the imagination but immerses it and the senses in a golden blaze of melodic radiance and creative bliss.

The band from Broadstairs was formed in early 2012 by vocalists Jericho Tozer and Clare Ashton-Cobb. They soon released their debut single Celestial Navigation under the C3U record label using local band Fish Tank for the track. In May of the same year, the pair formed their own band from musicians around Kent, bringing in guitarist Dan Smith, bassist Thom Bennett, and James Davies on drums before working on new tunes and playing live. Their sound as mentioned is a vibrant and warm glaze of indie pop but to that there is a flush of folk rock and acoustic pop which brings an extra spice to thrill the appetites of ears and emotions. It makes for a quite delicious treat, a pleasure which is as infectious as it is richly rewarding.

The release opens with De-construction and a gentle breeze of guitar caresses and warm sonic kisses whilst Tozer avails the song with his expressive tones. The bass of Bennett rumbles beneath with a smouldering stance moving into a resonating stroll as the song opens up its heated arms of melodic and persuasive elegance. Ashton-Cobb then steps forward with her equally impressive voice to torch beautifully across the now energetic and compelling skies of the song. It is a track which is gently anthemic with a charged heart enriched with sizzling vocal harmonies and fiery dazzling beauty. Both singers are strikingly impressive and combine for an even greater fire to which the song musically dances alongside with an irresistible hunger. There is an element of The Sundays to the song, both bands able to mesmerise with aural beauty which impacts like a flame.

The title track opens with a mischievous smile on its face, the twin vocals grinning in harmony with a folk pop tease before expanding into a contagious summer of heated melodies and sultry passion. Like the first the song is impossibly catchy and instigates passions and voice to its emotive cause. With the guitars of Tozer and Smith again raising delicious sparks and the rhythms of Bennett and Davies an unashamed invitation to party, the song lifts the spirits and raises an inner smile which refuses to die away. As this and its successor plays on the ear, thoughts slip to eighties indie band Jim Jimenee, another band where instinctive folk and pop meshes were infectiously rife.

Absent is an initially gentler invite, a smoky guitar intro with framing sinewy drums accompanied by again openly meaningful tones from Tozer bringing one into the heart of the song, a centre which soon ignites a swagger and feistiness leading to another epidemic of emphatic force and grandeur. It is part pop rock and part indie folk wrapped in a pop sheen which lights a beacon of pleasure.

Final song Under The Thumb like the others makes an impact from its very first breath, inciting drums and their big rhythms waking up further intrigue whilst the guitars simmer with sonic lures and the two vocalists weave their bewitching magic to leave one basking in their lush presence. Though arguably the track is less virulent for the passions, it majestically strolls across the ear with disarming craft and a winning sun to leave a big grin on the emotions.

The Rayguns EP is a cracking piece of songwriting and melodic realisation, a gorgeous release which is sure to make Elle Rayenne a quintet on the lips of a rapidly growing legion of delirious fans.

Rayguns EP is downloadable for FREE! @ http://ellerayenne.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ElleRayenne

8.5/10

RingMaster 16/02/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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Onward Chariots: This is My Confession

    This is My Confession from Onward Chariots is one of those albums which though it does not quite light a raging fire in the belly or hold a firm grip on ones attention from start to finish, it is a release which is hard to tear away from. The band has a sound which is a delicious hybrid of indie pop and progressive rock with a continually changing wash of extra steamy additives.  Because of this their debut album is a consistently intriguing and engaging release which leaves a warmth and satisfaction that cannot be denied or dismissed.

Onward Chariots is the invention of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ben Morss, an artist who has toured the world, played with Californian acid-jazz group 11:11, and arranged and played on albums for artists like Cake. He is also a music geek who has immersed himself in the sounds and creativity of Peter Bjorn & John, Belle & Sebastian, Yo La Tengo and The Beatles, a collection of artists amongst others which the album suggests have flavoured his own invention. Originally Morss recorded under the name Chariots of Tuna, which from accounts was a relatively short-lived project but in 2008 when Morss was playing in the Infinite Orchestra alongside Dan Davine (drums), Shawn Setaro (guitar), and Rus Wimbish (bass), the quartet came together to create melodic intricacies of pop which they mutually longed to make. This moment in time was the first official steps of Onward Chariots. The following year saw three songs posted online which led to strong responses and acclaim worldwide through blogs and fans with the band being compared to the likes of The Beach Boys, Beulah, The Shins and Belle and Sebastian. Festival appearances and radio play earned the band further recognition over the subsequent years leading to through Skipping Stones Records the unveiling of their first release.

The album is themed by the concept of boy meets girl, the tracks playing with premises and emotions from the varied teases of love. It begins with the golden showers of sonic elegance brought by the semi instrumental Opening. Twinkling melodies, warm harmonies, and brass borne kisses light the sky before a fiery energy intervenes to lead into This Is My Confession I. A wonderful throaty guitar sound introduces the track to remind of the first days of Killing Joke before opening into a pungent press of heavy rock sturdiness and the welcoming vocal lilt of Morss. Into its stride the song is an insistent and magnetic pleasure with an equal depth of sinewy allure and infectious melodic teasing.

The following Mel Gibson is a lighter pop rock romp with plays like a mix of Weezer and Union Starr. It is a peppy piece of energy which continues the impressive start. It is as catchy as a virus and takes the ear on a stroll of punchy rhythms and eager to please melodies which do not have to ask twice. There is also, to be not the only time on the album, a persuasive eighties breath to the song which adds to the engagingly textured musical poetry.

Following songs Sisters and Brothers with its heated Jan and Dean like harmonies and smoky trumpet persuasion and I Just Met a Girl with its jumpy swing recalling the classy tones of Town Called Malice, both without igniting the emotions as strongly as the earlier songs, leave the listener buoyant over their melodic and infectious rhythmic invitations. Though the album offers some instantaneously connecting songs it is generally more of a grower with the likes of When You’re Smiling and the harmonically glowing Mama along with the previous two songs, eventually earning their place in ones praise through the continual pleading of their tenderly crafted hearts across many plays.

The sixteen track release closes its first part with the heavier stomp of This Is My Confession II, a superior re-working of the first full song which then takes us into arguably the strongest part of album where songs like the mesmeric Forever Never Ends with its sultry melodic glaze shimmering across a seductive bassline, You Don’t Have To Be Unhappy, and I Want Everything reach stirring heights and hit the passions with the cleanest accuracy. The second of the trio has a great hook to start off its playtime of sixties pop and an addictive swagger complete with further impressive harmonies which feel Four Seasons inspired. It is a wonderful song equalled by the charging rock urgency of I Want Everything, a song which incites instinctive ardour for its outstanding rampancy.

Though it ebbs and flows in stature a little too much to be elevated to the highest echelons of acclaim, This is My Confession is a thoroughly enjoyable album. Certainly it takes its time to persuade but eventually does with style and deserves for all to take a stroll within its warm heart.

http://www.onwardchariots.com

7/10

RingMaster 14/02/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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The Tax – Eternia

Combining evocative essences of indie, rock, and electro pop into a refreshing and infectious sound, The Tax is a band set to garner major attention nationwide especially with the forth coming release of debut album Eternia. The London quintet certainly set attention and enthusiasm in motion with the release of their first EP Someone Is Watching You nearing the end of last year and with their full length release confirm and push all the positive thoughts and emotions already gathered towards them into fully blown acclaim.

Formed in early 2012 and featuring ex-members of successful group The Betarays, a band which wowed audiences at such places as the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool and became the Famegames and Meer music band of the year in 2011, The Tax offers an intelligent and contagious brew of irresistible pop and synth warmth with a sinewy spine from the towering rhythm section. The new album is an easily accessible release but one which is rich in thought and carefully crafted, using defined washes of melodies and inciting invention rather than easy cheap tricks to capture the heart. The more you listen to it the better it sounds too making it one of the first essential releases of the year.

Produced by acclaimed producer Tim Hamill, who has worked with the likes of The Manic street Preachers, Duffy and the Stories, the album instantly lures you in with the opening dawn of groaning synths of first track Am I Ever Gonna Get You Back. Turning into a melodic stroll which echoes eighties hard rock and new wave electro pop of an Aha, an uncertainty is initially brewed but soon dispelled as the vocals of George Hill and their renowned quality adds real expression to the now intriguing song aided wonderfully by the warm vocal tones of bassist Katy Zee. With all elements in place the track expands into a pop rock journey of imagination. The keys of Peter Jennings dominate the song without defusing or overriding the pulsating bass strokes of Zee or the punchy beats of drummer Peter Randazzo and the guitar textures of Stevie Watts. It is a strong start to the album which like the release grows on the emotions but in hindsight after the following charge of excellent creativity, is a mere tasty appetizer.

The following Heartbreak. London. UK leaps at the ear with its vibrant chorus starting things off. It immediately has one infected and ready to join the cause as Hill steps forward to paint a lyrical picture accompanied by thumping rhythms. The keys bring light to the shadows told before unleashing a heated dazzling with the great vocal harmonies and returning anthemic chorus in tow. The song is a masterful slice of indie pop which never rests on its laurels, the sizzling guitar solo and multi vocal sweeps simply immense flourishes.

The chilled ballad like I Am Never Alone continues the growing diversity of the album, its emotive breath an initial whisper over the senses from the impressive vocals and tender weaves of keys. Moving into a stronger almost sinewy presence the track envelopes and draws willing thoughts and emotion into its expressive heart with ease. Though a less forceful and more provocative track The Tax still wrap it in an infection causing air which will not take no for an answer. The same goes for its successor We Tell You A Lie, one of the towering highlights on the album. Again the eighties new wave/rock elements shine especially with the explosive chorus and harmonies though it is the caging beats of Randazzo and the sensational bass resonance and darkened elegance conjured by Zee which earned the greatest acclaim. As with many songs the band forges a mesh of rock and melodic pop which is stunning, each element allowed free rein within a mutual and equally sharing companionship.

Through the likes of the South Of The Border with its heated passion and the piano led ballad You Have Justified Me, the album enthrals and pleases generously but keeps its greatest moments for the tracks There’s No Time, Young, Empty And To Blame, and I’m A User. The first is a romping irresistible surge of eager riffs, jabbing rhythms, and hungry energy which recruits feet and voice early on into its vibrant rock pop dance. The second of the three is equally as compulsive, the vocal duelling outstanding and the synths a swirling weave of golden caresses and thrilling beauty. The bass of Zee again sends tingles where they should not be and the song explodes in the heart like a mix of Betarays, Secret Affair, and dare one whisperings of The Kinks and The Beatles. I’m A User is a delicious track of energy and warmth with again a sixties wind to its pop sails which just lights up emotions and the senses.

Ending on the first single from the album, Motorway, which is released on BYmonster records on the 21^st of January and marked by a gig at Broadcast in Glasgow on the 24^th, Eternia is a striking and thoroughly impressive piece of true pop music. The track itself is a satisfying and catchy encounter which will recruit a great many and it is easy to see why it was chosen to lead though personally with stronger and even more infectious tracks to be found on the fabulous album another track would have been our choice.

Eternia is a forceful recommendation from us and the proof that real pop is not found in the force fed mire of blandness brought by the popular media and giant labels but alive and innovatively kicking in the underground sounds of the country with The Tax right to the fore.

https://www.facebook.com/thetaxband

RingMaster 12/01/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

The Cellophane Flowers: Staring At The World

Ringmaster Review – “Staring at The World engages thoughts and imagination like the sun invites the day, with warm mesmeric charm veined with heated enterprise. The Cellophane Flowers is a unique melodic joy to soundtrack steamy days and sultry nights.”

Since the release of their acclaimed If I Was A Girl EP and the following impressive Freeze Me single, UK indie pop band The Cellophane Flowers has been the source of much anticipation for their debut album. Staring At The World gets unveiled upon the world on December 3^rd and without any reservations can be said to satisfy all hopes and expectations laid upon the London quartet and more. It is an enterprising and thrilling release of what the band term ‘psychopop’, not that their sounds have that deranged quality really but it does carry a certain disturbed presence which is captivating and quite delicious, a description which can be firmly applied to the album.

The four members of the London based band hail from four different corners of the world joining together to add their own distinct spice to a sound which is unique and imaginative. The first notable thing about The Cellophane Flowers is the distinctive and entrancing voice of Italian songstress Francesca Corradini, her sensual and magnetic distinct tones lighting up the heart of every song. Her vocals have an emotive caress which is as mesmeric as it is charmingly spicy to offer every song on the album a seductive flavour upon the already compelling sounds brought by guitarist Ian Sumner who grew up in Brazil, Australian-Italian-Maltese bassist Luca Napolitano, and drummer Nick Guy who has one side of his heart in Egypt and the other in Suffolk. The album was recorded with producer Dave Allen (The Cure / Depeche Mode / Human League / The Charlatans) and finds the band at their most potent and alluring yet, the ten songs it has within its distinct artwork melodic kisses of warm and tender mischievous pleasure.

 Voices is the first song to coax the ear and beyond, its initial simmering whispers a gentle breeze behind the teasing tones of Corradini and a rich sonic guitar enticement. The song has a building presence which incites the pulse and heart into adding their excitement to the rising energies of the track. As it opens its arms to their fullest melodic expanse the feeling of an imminent crescendo is realised with the energetic chorus and fairly rampant stroll the track elevates into. The teasing is repeated as the infectious charm of the song tinged with a shadowed breath overwhelms the senses for a glorious and inventive start to the release.

The following song The Promise continues the impressive engagement, its sinewy basslines and acidic sonics of the guitars combining to create an eighties gait which reminds of China Crisis at times and Au Pairs in other moments. The riffs of Napolitano has a wonderful snarl to their invention offering dark corners to songs which playfully counter the surrounding crystalline and glowing shards of melodies and rainbow like harmonies. The song finds this union at its height, though each and every track in their varied guises are fuelled by their superbly crafted companionship within the framework of sturdy and compelling skilful beats of Guy.

A trio of tracks in the glistening shapes of Pendulum Eyes, Forever Lost, and Tears Of A Clown sway and beckon next, the first two with a definite sixties air to their lush evocative sound. The first is a simple yet sharply defined pop song with an air of five decades ago whilst the second has a fuller soak of the same time within its smouldering elegance. Throughout there is a Donovan feel to the song within the at times scorching almost epic like indie texture of the song. The last of the three is a gentle weave of tender vocals and equally soothing sounds though again there is that miniscule of feistiness which marks all their songs.

The excellent Rock ’n’ Roll with its thumping and hypnotic drums, which the band say were recorded in a massive disused NHS hospital kitchen, sends extra thrills through the body alongside long term favourite song from the band, Belinda. The boisterous first song of the pair is a sizzling blend of raw guitar strokes and those contagious rhythms framing the ever absorbing vocals of Corradini. It is the most infectious ‘riot’ on the album which just sends tingles through the emotions when it opens up its pulse racing climaxes. It is like Throwing Muses and Whale at a teen hangout with Spinnerette and quite irresistible. Belinda is just as addictive with its calypso groove veined fiery caustic grazing of rock guitars and group harmonies. The track is a ‘collision’ of shadows and warmth lyrically and musically and quite brilliant.

Completed by the tangy western simmering Time, the persuasive Lucky Day, and the closing melodic fondle of In A Hole, the album is a release to accompany any emotion and The Cellophane Flowers a band destined to find a place in many welcoming hearts.

http://www.thecellophaneflowers.co.uk/

RingMaster 26/11/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright