It might be fair to say that UK outfit Crimson Star have not yet found the widespread recognition that their previous EP, Bay View, suggested they deserved but certainly acclaim, a greater reputation, and a fresh wave of fans did follow its unveiling two years back. Now the band has its successor ready to tease and tempt and again we can only say that their voracious rock ‘n’ roll carries all the attributes to provoke richer attention.
The time between releases has seen vocalist/guitarist Jay D Shaw and bassist Roj Ash joined by new addition in drummer Chris Hopton; the Birmingham based threesome uniting to create a trio of tracks which almost prey on ears within The Olde Dawg. The new EP bears the same rousing roar of its predecessor but swiftly reveals something hungrier and more dramatic in character and presence.
Recorded with Romesh Dodangoda (Lower Than Atlantis, Bring Me The Horizon, Funeral For A Friend), as its predecessor, the new release opens with Living A Lie. Emerging on a sonic dawn, punchy rhythms are soon rupturing the air to be quickly joined by bass and guitar bringing the ripe grooves and hooks the band has already earned potent praise for. Once into its eager but controlled stride, engaging melodic enterprise wraps the muscular dynamics of the track which are especially fertile around its eruption of a chorus, dynamics emulated in the similarly potent vocals of Shaw. Groove thick, the track is a striking and stirring start to the EP revealing alone the new strength and imagination in the band’s sound.
The outstanding Norma is next up and immediately accosts ears with its own gripping grooves and rapacious rhythms. The growl of Ash’s bass instantly had ears and appetite greedy to be swiftly matched in touch and temptation by the swinging grooves of guitar and the firm flying beats of Hopton. Again Shaw’s vocals provide a similarly magnetic proposition, at times almost teasing the listener as the song twisted and turned as it got under the skin; unpredictability lining every move and creative trespass offered.
The EP’s title track closes up the release, The Olde Dawg again an insistent bordering on predacious enticement which devours the air in riffs and rhythms whilst tempting ears with melodic and contagious enterprise. Moments of harmonic imagination only adds to the track’s lure, moment s of siren charm within waves of voracity which sweep the senses.
It is a great end to an EP which left us thick in pleasure and keen to suggest all go sail upon The Olde Dawg with Crimson Star, one of the UK’s brightest rock bands.
The Olde Dawg EP is released April 3rd.
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Pete RingMaster 03/04/2020
Copyright RingMasterReview: MyFreeCopyright
It is a great start to the release driven by the rhythmic powerhouse of drummer Frazer Parker and bassist Pete Cook; their muscle complemented by craft as echoed within next up Epitaph. Similarly the prowess of Allison’s delivery and tones are a potent essence in the track’s adventurous stroll, the guitars of Jamie Parker and Lewis Wheeler writhing and creating around all with sonic and melodic dexterity. As all tracks; it too is an offering which revels in its mix of metallic and melodic strains which teases of others yet never shares anything less than individuality.
The EP opens with recent single The Pragmatist and straight away riffs and vocals lure attention, the increasingly grooved invitation of the guitar aligning with the equally potent scowling tones of Edgington. As it establishes its eager stroll, the song ebbs and flows in intensity without losing its instinctively infectious nature whilst always looking to evolve as melodies and the ever captivating grooves share their imagination. More addictive than it seemingly appears at the time, the song is a masterful slice of rock ‘n’ roll setting the release off to a great heavy and rousing start.
A single which has already earned the band eager radio play, Lie To Me follows with its gentle but catchy swing and warm melodic embrace. There is a more caustic edge to the song which swarms its shadows to add further depth to its presence, but it is the emotive tide and melodic dexterity of the band and songwriting which fuels its character to great effect. Though for these ears its predecessor is a mightier lure into the EP, there is no denying the track gets under the skin and into the hips with its accomplished heat and tenacious catchiness.
It opens with that first single, and straight away Arrogance has ears welcoming a sturdy wall of hungry riffs and swinging rhythms. Things relax a touch as the vocals step forward though grooves still engagingly flicker and hooks bite through the guitars as those initial rhythms continue to command attention with their tenacious and weighty persuasion. Hitting its stride in no time, the song soon offers a contagiously rousing chorus and an enticing mix of varying intensity and eventful twists; all fine elements in the anthemic proposal that body and voice cannot resist getting involved in. It is a great start and easy to see why the track made people look up last year, and a success potently backed by the following likes of My Skin and Holding Back.
Taking inspirations from the likes of Biffy Clyro, Enter Shikari, PVRIS, and Marmozets into their electronic fuelled alternative rock, Banshee open up Say My Name with the brief and atmospheric Intro before uncaging its title track. The opener quickly entices ears with its suggestive keys and the vocal potency of Donnachie before the band’s new single, from a similarly low key opening, spins a dramatic and feisty tapestry of sound and voice for the imagination to play with. In full flow, song and Donnachie swiftly reveal their tenacious qualities, riffs and grooves a fiery haze around crisp and brooding rhythms as synths cast an emotive mist.
Since forming in 2010, Martyr De Mona has drawn full praise and an ever increasing horde of fans with their dramatic weave of sound. They have shared stages with the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Black Sabbath, Avenged Sevenfold, Slash, Black Stone Cherry, Skillet, and Alter Bridge, won a Best British Band of the Year award, lit up Bloodstock, and had numerous tracks added to the rotation of national UK and US radio stations and shows. Fair to say that the Romesh Dodangoda (Motorhead, Funeral For A Friend) produced Impera has made the biggest impact on the music scene for the band; one powerfully backed up by its clutch of singles which now includes the rousing Siege Mentality.
First Light hits ears with its title track first, enveloping them in a rich spicy guitar coaxing before pungent rhythms and attitude loaded riffs join the affair. It is a potent invitation which only blossoms further as the song relaxes into a muscular stroll graced by the quickly impressing tones of Swift and prowled by the deliciously dark, almost predatory bass line of Josh Flynn. With rapier like strikes from drummer Ed Dennis, there is no escaping the imposing nature of the song yet its forcefulness is tempered perfectly by the melodic and fiery enterprise of guitarists Ben Fletcher and Will Smith, from riffs to hooks and incisive grooves, their imagination as dynamic as rhythms are commanding and vocals highly persuasive.
Its impressive presence is soon eclipsed by the excellent In A Band, a slice of rugged pop rock with a host of addictive hooks and tenacious enterprise around the excellent vocal union of Williams and White. The track is pure temptation; every lick of a riff, swing of a beat, and dance of a syllable virulent incitement impossible to avoid getting physically involved in let alone ignore.