Escapade – Red Sky

Jun2

With the attention and praise grabbing success of their debut EP, Stepping Stones, still fresh as that of its title track as lead single, British rock band Escapade have given their strong emergence a new potent boost with their new track. Second single Red Sky is a rousing slice of melodic rock bred on the mix of Brit pop and psychedelic rock which lit up its predecessors. More than that though, it is the Leicester outfit hitting a new plateau in sound and creative energy while dishing up their most potent and rousing song yet.

Emerging from the creative linking up of singer/songwriter Sam Wyatt and guitarist/songwriter Adam Bailey, Escapade stepped forward in the autumn of 2015 with the band growing from an acoustic pairing of the two with the addition of bassist Jordan Alleston and drummer Martin Wenham the following year. Their first EP and its single stirred up a wave of praise and support the way the band, including that of Kasabian’s Tom Meighan, and is sure to be matched and easy to suspect eclipsed by the reaction to Red Sky.

The single makes a low key start, sweeping in from distance with a great flirtatious bassline and angular swipes of guitars as percussion and beats dance. Wyatt’s vocals are just as enticing, his delivery lively as the sounds around him and like them carrying an instinctive catchiness which flows from song to imagination with energy and adventure. Though inspirations to the band spring from the sixties to bands such as Oasis, The Stone Roses, Nirvana, Green Day, and Black Sabbath, Red Sky soon has thoughts casting back to eighties bands like The Mighty Lemon Drops and The House Of Love during its adventurous canter; every passing second of the song seeming to draw a new twist and flavour of sound; psych and indie rock conspiring with mod and Brit pop in a web of stirring and melodically inflamed enterprise.

Listening to Red Sky, there is a realisation that as enjoyable and striking as they were, previous tracks were missing a certain spark, one Escapade has found and ignited within their new and seriously impressive single.

Red Sky is out June 2^nd

Upcoming Escapade live shows:

June 10th – The Shed, Leicester

July 28th – The Music Cafe, Leicester

http://escapadeband.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/escapadeuk/

Pete RingMaster 02/06/2017

Norquay – Animal

Jan4

norquay-artwork-squared_RingMasterReview

You may have missed it in the Xmas turmoil and festivities but Animal is one single ears and attention should still seek out as the New Year relaxes into place. The latest track from Norquay (pronounced Nork Way); the song is a boisterous and rousing slice of rock ‘n’ roll marking the next step in is creator’s budding music career.

Norquay is the solo project of Aberdeenshire hailing songwriter/musician Andrew Norquay, an artist who returns from a three year hiatus from music due to his commitments as a commercial diver with a bang in the shape of his new single and the equally striking Vices EP from which it comes. Drawing on inspirations from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Radiohead, and Oasis, Norquay creates a sound which wears familiar essences on its sleeve yet weaves them into slices of fresh anthemically honed imagination. The five-track Vices EP confirms that suggestion; Animal reinforcing the claim with its snarling riff driven, melody spiced virulence.

Casting a character somewhere between Queens Of The Stone Age and Johnny Wears Black, Animal roars from its first break of guitar casting a hook which just grips the imagination. Rhythms and keys are soon additionally engaged in the raw and tenacious enterprise crowding around the potent tones of Norquay, all uniting in a thickly infectious and magnetic persuasion.

With a stoner-esque scent to its alternative rock endeavour, the song swiftly and imposingly involves the listener physically and emotionally; a quality the best rock ‘n’ roll always carries.

Animal and the Vices EP are out now through iTunes and Amazon.

https://www.facebook.com/Norquayuk https://twitter.com/norquaymusic

Pete RingMaster 04/01/2017

Righteous Reprobates – Scarlet Sky

Aug25

Righteous Reprobates_RingMasterReview

Scarlet Sky is the new single from UK indie rockers Righteous Reprobates, a song which infectiously shimmers and lingeringly jangles from its first touch.

Based in London and Kent, Righteous Reprobates draw on inspirations from the likes of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Nirvana, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin. Openly a nineties Brit Pop flavour escapes their sound, the quartet using it, on the evidence of Scarlet Sky, to spice up an instinctive ability to create an infectious proposal. Certainly the song wears its influences openly; a familiar character to its sound hard to escape but similarly the new single shows all the attributes and invention which has seen the band draw strong attention and radio play since emerging.

From the first breath Scarlet Sky grips ears in its glowing lure of sound, its steely texture and smouldering melodies encasing warm vocals and harmonies as rhythms frame it all with a web of catchiness. The vocals of guitarists Rob White and Jack Griffiths emerge to unite perfectly across the inviting landscape of the track, their fingers equally casting a weave of angular and melodically spicy enterprise with just a touch of the 80’s more mod inspired bands such as Purple Hearts and The Chords to it.

With bassist Jack Collier offering a pulsating stroll through his strings as drummer Charlie Kenny drives proceedings with captivating beats, it all adds up to a highly enjoyable and tasty insight into the anthemic sound and growing imagination of Righteous Reprobates.

http://www.righteousreprobates.com https://www.facebook.com/righteousreprobates

Pete RingMaster 25/08/2016

Escapade – Stepping Stones

Aug4

Escapade_RingMasterReview

Wearing its Brit pop inspirations on its sleeve while providing a fresh breath to embrace, Stepping Stones is the new single from British quartet Escapade. The title track from their recently released EP, the single also shows the flavoursome essence of psychedelic rock which the Leicester quartet weave into their infectious sound. It makes for an invitation to newcomers easy to get hooked by and confirmation for fans that the band is worthy of the fuss brewing up around them.

Emerging from the creative union of singer/songwriter Sam Wyatt and guitarist/songwriter Adam Bailey, two musicians meeting on Facebook after the latter replied to a message placed by the former and subsequently becoming an acoustic duo playing around Leicester, Escapade stepped forward in the October of 2015. With a line-up completed by bassist Jordan Alleston and drummer Martin Wenham, Escapade soon lit up the local live scene, making their debut at two charity music festivals followed by a slot at the Salford Music Festival. This year has seen the band take their Oasis, The Stone Roses, Nirvana, Green Day, Black Sabbath and Kasabian influenced sound to Liverpool’s Cavern Club among many eagerly welcoming venues and spark rich interest with Stepping Stones, EP and now single.

Escapade artwork_RingMasterReview From an initial guitar lure wrapping its melodic tendrils around ears, the song swings into vibrant action as crisp beats and a sultry guitar jangle align to the darker hues of bass and the catchy tones of Wyatt. The prime hook cast by Bailey throughout the track steals the appetite with ease, its bait spiced by the rousing exploits around it as song takes ears and hips in hand.

There are no major surprises within Stepping Stones yet it is one of the freshest slices of Brit Pop heard in a long time and easy to breed a want for more, which the EP it comes from certainly supplies. Escapade is a band already noticeably going up through the creative gears with the potential of major things within their horizons

Stepping Stones, the single, is released August 5^th via Fin Records with the Stepping Stones EP out now.

Upcoming Live Dates:

19/08/2016 – O2 Academy 3, Birmingham

20/08/2016 – 229 Club, London

02/09/2016 – Sumo Bra, Leicester

17/09/2016 – Finfest, Abbots Bromley

20/10/2016 – Nottingham University, Sutton Bonnington

http://www.escapadeband.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/escapadeuk

Pete RingMaster 04/08/2016

The Bluebook Project – Pockets of Dirty Change

Aug4

The Bluebook Project_RingMasterReview

With appetites and bodies still rocking to their Take Me Away EP and the feistily rousing singles taken from it, UK rockers The Bluebook Project reinforce their growing reputation with Pockets of Dirty Change. As their previously powerful Hurricane Blues, the new single is one of the attention grabbing encounters within the latest EP, and as the other songs found within, a proposal which grips within seconds.

The Bluebook Project art_RingMasterReview The Bluebook Project hails from Bedfordshire and draw on inspirations from the likes of Iggy Pop, The Who, The Ramones, and Oasis. Formed in 2013, the quartet has gone from strength to strength as a live proposition and with releases, beginning with the 2014 unveiled debut EP Out of the Blue. Its ear pleasing introduction to the band was backed by a perpetual flow of live shows which included support slots with the likes of Slaves and Coasts before the foursome of vocalist/bassist Dan Thorn, guitarists Dan Watson and Jordan Smith, and drummer Benn Davis set about recording the Take Me Away EP. Its success is history but sure to be emulated with the unleashing of Pockets of Dirty Change.

The track is fuelled by the punk infested rock ‘n’ roll the band is becoming forcibly renowned for, guitars straight way creating a fiery wall of temptation before rhythms swing along in alignment with the infectiously bolshie delivery of Thorn’s vocals. The song becomes inescapably addictive in no time, a contagious flirtation of hard rock toned punk ‘n’ roll equipped with ear friendly yet cantankerous grooves and a pulsating rhythmic rousing of ear and spirit.

The Bluebook Project bring an edge and excitement to their sound which sets them apart from the crowd, Pockets of Dirty Change further evidence, and it is hard not to be a touch impatient to hear their next step whilst stomping around to their current treat.

Pockets of Dirty Change is available now.

https://www.facebook.com/thebluebookproject https://twitter.com/TheBluebookBand

https://instagram.com/thebluebookproject/

Pete RingMaster 03/08/2016

Mark Mathews – Black Heart Down

Apr25

Mark Mathews_RingMasterReview

As a teaser for and invitation to his new album, The Raging Sea, British singer songwriter Mark Mathews releases new single Black Heart Down, a song to get the feet moving and spirit bouncing. It is a song which does not startle yet needs little time to spark an energetic response to its boisterous rock ‘n’ roll.

Half Spanish on his Mother’s Side and Northern Irish from his Father’s, Belfast bred Mark and his family was moved to the East End of London by his actor Dad, leaving a home town “heavy with stories of death and guns.” Mark’s musical tastes and heart was inspired, amongst other things, by the discovery of Sgt Peppers in his Mum’s vinyl collection and a freebie tape titled Sixties Mania that came with a box of Kellogg’s cereal. The emergence of Oasis was the trigger for Mark to pick up a guitar and write songs. Embracing the sounds and songwriting craft of other artists such as The Beatles, The Kinks, The Band, and Ryan Adams too, his music passion and career was soon a full-time involvement.

Since that start, Mark has gigged, toured, and busked around the world, been voted one of the best artists in London by readers of the Metro newspaper, and been awarded first place in the Indie International song writing competition and nominated for 2 Indy Music Awards for best live act. Either solo or with his band, Mark Mathews’ Late Night Players, he has shared stages with the likes of Andy Fairweather-Low, Frank Turner, Nigel Clarke (Dodgy) Luke Toms, The Draytones, and Dan Le Sac. With a quartet of EPs and a trio of singles also under his belt, Mark is ready to nudge even broader attention with The Raging Sea, and its lead, the highly enjoyable Black Heart Down.

The single has ears cupped in a melodic hug straight away, the alluring acoustic start matched in potency by the darker hues of the bass. They are quickly joined by the strong and inviting tones of Mark, his vocals continuing the warm beginning yet holding an edge and intensity which is soon seeping into the catchy chorus and the overall drama of the track. Continuing to stroll along, the song shares an expressive nature in sound and emotive character in heart whilst infectiously taking feet on a lively ride.

There are seemingly no major landmarks or striking elements to the song yet is as memorable and captivating as you could wish, carrying a craft in songwriting which alone sparks a want to hear more and indeed Mark’s new album.

Black Heart Down is released April 25^th as too is The Raging Sea on iTunes.

Upcoming Live Dates:

April 27th The Bedford London

April 29th The Cavendish London

April 30th Asylum Essex

May 6th Café Del Marsh London

May 8th Amersham Arms London

May 12th Dublin Castle London

http://markmathewsmusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/markmathewsmusic https://twitter.com/markmathewssong

Pete RingMaster 25/04/2016

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Paradigm – Realize EP

Apr6

Paradigm Promo Shot _RingMasterReview

Offering four tracks which either hit the ground running with ears and imagination or simply blossom into just as potent propositions over subsequent listens, it is fair to say that the Realize EP is one attention commanding debut. The first EP from London trio Paradigm, it is a striking introduction to a UK rock band already stirring up strong words of acclaim.

With its initial seeds sown when vocalist/guitarist Alex Blake met drummer Angel D at school where they exchanged a Nirvana album and instantly became best friends, Paradigm truly stepped forward with a line-up completed by bassist/pianist Giulio Granchelli. Honing their sound whilst earning swift and potent reputation for their live presence, the band eventually hit the studio where producers John Cornfield (Muse, Oasis, Robert Plant, New Model Army, Supergrass) and Paul Corkett (The Cure, Bjork, Placebo, Nick Cave), after recording the EP with the band, announced that “This is one of the most fresh and exciting modern rock bands we‘ve produced!”

Realize opens with the instantly impressing Desire, a track which has the listener’s physical and emotional involvement on broad with little time or effort. Riffs and rhythms create a united coaxing further enhanced by spicy grooves and the quickly compelling and throaty bassline cast by Granchelli. As melodies add sultry temptation, the dark tones of Blake steal their big portion of attention, his presence already being described as Nick Cave-esque, and understandably so listening to the opener. It is an enthralling persuasion catching further alight with its rousing chorus and volatile emotive energy. Every twist brings a new spice to enjoy, keys pulsating with an enterprise as resourceful and magnetic as the drama fuelled hooks and collusion of vocals cast across the band.

Paradigm Cover Artwork _RingMasterReview The stunning start is closely matched by Your Darker Side. It is a less intensive affair but just as rich in melodic tempting and creative imagination. Many bands have been offered up as an attempt to describe Paradigm’s individual sound; Muse, 30 Seconds to Mars, U2 among them but we suspect everyone will find out their own unique comparisons, as here the song reminds these ears of The Fatima Mansions and Teardrop Explodes as much as anyone else, a Julian Cope air also seemingly lacing Blake’s again impressing tones and delivery. The thrilling and highly infectious song itself proceeds to build crescendos of energy and intensity, each erupting seamlessly into anthemic roars and gentler hugs of expressive sound.

To reveal another shade to their songwriting and sound, the sombre yet fiery Strangers has a Walker Brothers air to it at times, going on to unveil a grungier presence leading up to and for its tempestuous chorus. Pete Wylie also comes to mind across the song, but as suggested each will hear their own references such the thickness and depth of the Paradigm sound and invention. Fusing various strains of rock, past and present, the song fascinates as much as its catchy qualities seduce, and though it does not leap on the passion as swiftly as its predecessors, Strangers has them just as greedily hooked in time

The same with closing track The Miracle. Its theatre of sound and emotion sees the poetic hues of a piano aligning with almost orchestral like drama, an imaginative blend needing longer to explore and get into but emerging as another easy to embrace proposal if admittedly not quite to the same strength as the previous three on personal tastes. Nevertheless the band only impresses individually and as a single thick flirtation of the senses.

Paradigm have announced their presence in big, bold, and at times breath-taking style with Realize so expect to hear much more from and of this potential bulging band.

The Realize EP is released April 8^th through Sumind Records across all stores.