Brighton Unsigned - July 2012 - Issue 9

© ISSUE 9 • JULY 2012 • FREE

GUY LLOYD’S BLOG

MUSIC REVIEWS

VIDEO REVIEWS

LIVE REVIEWS

This Month

LIVE REVIEWS PAGE 4-7

FEATURED BAND

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BAND PROFILE - BULLIT

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MUSIC VIDEO REVIEWS

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AudioBeach Studios

MUSIC REVIEWS PAGE 14

GUY LLOYD’S BLOG

Brighton & Hove’s Lottery Funded, Non-Profit, Professional Recording Studios

£160

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MAY & JUNE GIG PHOTO COVERAGE

Recording Session Everyday, 10am-5pm

£175

Recording Session Weekdays, 6pm-midnight

01273 252313 | info@audiobeachstudios.com

audiobeachstudios.com | facebook.com/audiobeachstudios.brighton

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FIND US ON FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/BrightonUnsigned FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @BTONUNSIGNED For advertising enquiries please email Alex Clouter at advertising@brightonunsigned.co.uk or call 01903 267770 Editor: Jordan Thomas

Design/Marketing: Steven Probets

Proofreader: Alex Clouter

Email: jordan@ brightonunsigned.co.uk

Email: steven@ brightonunsigned.co.uk

Cover Band Photography: Donna Clark

Writers: Cindy Cheng (CC) Jessica O’Loughlin (JOL) Shaz Simone (SS) Lauren Dyson (LD)

LIVE REVIEWS

‘Access to Music gave me the first push and the freedom to gig and record whenever I could.’

Jessica O’Loughlin

Ed Sheeran

@ The HYDRANT

Genre: Alternative Folk www.facebook.com/S.TheDarkStars The quirky Simonne, donned in fur shawl, black glittery top and hat with plumage, along with her ‘Dark Stars’ provided a diverse live performance as a support act at the Hydrant this month. Manned with a keyboard, a unique vocal style and diverse song-writing, Simonne is reminiscent of female songstresses of the same ilk as Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Bat for Lashes.

The opening song, Phoenix Rising had a particularly Kate Bush-esque style to its fluctuating quirkiness. This was followed by the beautifully simplistic and sad, Love Like You Never and the emotionally captivating Free, in which bassist Mark Robbins (who you might remember from our live review of Dead Whisky, Mark’s other project) added some of his slide guitar magic. In a stroke of true rock and roll creative ingenuity, Mark used an (empty) mini, glass alcohol bottle to create his customary slide sound. Between Simonne singing into an old-school silver microphone while sat behind her keyboard and the wonderful ‘dark star’ playing the clarinet to her right, as well as the grungy bass player, the gig had a 40’s/50’s sassy piano bar feel to it.

There is a lot of ‘same-old, same-old’ on the Brighton music scene but every now and then you come across gems like Simonne and The Dark Stars who offer something reassuringly unique.

Rag Weed invited us to review a gig @ The HOPE of theirs at the Hope this month, so we kindly obliged. The band consists of a singer of slim-build, longish blonde hair dressed in grungy attire along with a somewhat more withdrawn bassist and drummer who fade into the background. The singer flings himself nk around the stage like a man intoxicated with ‘teen-spirit’ to a group of similar / Noise Pu etin Rock Genre: Cr sounding songs comprised of simple riffs with lots of distortion and lyrics sung in an incomprehensible rapid, moaning growl that could literally mean anything and might not even be English. Sound familiar? What’s that you say? Sounds a bit like an early Nirvana? Yes, you are right, this is another Nirvana influenced band to the point that they are verging on becoming a cover band.

The best part of the gig came when the singer decided to scale a pole in the middle of the room, why? In his words, “just because I can.” He confessed this was a random and pointless act however, which made him kind of endearing. Other antics included a fake collapse on stage, playing guitar whilst lying flat on the floor and such violent degrees of head-banging that I feared a brain haemorrhage might be imminent.

Throughout this mad frolicking, the less lively bassist watched on with a smirk of bemusement on her face, like a sensible older sister watching her little brother indulge himself.

www.facebook.com/ragweedrock

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LIVE REVIEW

Shaz Simone

Skief Promotions PRESENTS: Dead Empire and Idiom LIVE one of the uk’s leading music charities

in support of

GOOD MUSIC • GOOD CAUSES

www.skiefpromotions.org

Held at The Volks, Brighton, on Sunday 20th May, the not-for-profit organisation Skief Promotions hosted their biggest event to date. In support of the music charity Rhythmix (who deliver musicmaking opportunities and support to young people throughout the South East), the night witnessed five talents take to the stage and each play storming sets.

First to the stage was no gimmicks hard rock fourpiece Stone Angels. With a stand-in drummer, the quartet - who are currently in their infancy - played a scorching Alter Bridgeesque set, churning out immense riffs, slender solos, and melodic chorus. Their dominant but modest stage presence appeared to be an innate collective ability, an ability that will only get stronger with the addition of a permanent drummer.

If there’s one pitfall

to the quartet’s live performance, it’s that it wasn’t quite a ‘tight’ set but, given the current instability of the band’s line-up and limited practice time with the stand-in drummer, it’s a complaint that has little validity.

Four-piece metal band Here in Venice brought a new dimension to the evening with their progressive posthardcore, a sound that would emerge if Dillinger Escape Plan, Between the Buried and Me and LetLive stage crashed an Alexisonsfire gig.An entirely different show to Stone Angels, their stage presence shone through chaotic energy and charisma. Bassist Ross Andrew moved with a constant groove, whilst drummer Jim Matthews posed mid-set for the resident photographer and vocalist Peter Bailey swung from the venue’s low-rise balcony.

Meanwhile, guitarist Jonny Blade tore through the band’s untitled two-minute track with an incredible

sense-destroying riff, a wired performance from a unique Brighton band.

Keeping in with the theme of energy, but notching it up threefold, was In Dynamics. The three-piece rock band, hailing from Sussex, brought more energy to the table than a ferret on speed. They moved around the makeshift stage with so much force that vocalist Beau Boulden rightly warned of potential injury from bits of airborne stage. Quite simply, these guys are a talented trio with stupendous songs in their wake. From heart-wielding ballads such as ‘Motions’, to likely to fly high anthems, to rally driving riffs redolent of rock band Filter, this was an allround solid performance. Highly recommended!

Idiom travelled the south coast from west to east to play at this charity event, evidencing their dedication to the cause and outright love of playing music. They performed a staggering set, one which demonstrated exactly why the quartet have supported monstrous bands such as DevilDriver, Skindred, and 36 Crazyfists within only a few short years. Vocalist Matt Sharland displayed a natural diversity, entertaining the crowd with numetal raps, seducing clean vocals, and ruthless roars as if he was rapidly transporting between an Incubus gig, a Limp Bizkit gig, and a Killswitch Engage gig. These flawless, potent vocals were met by constant surges of enthusiasm, engaging and interacting with the crowd like their set was the

last anyone would ever see. Drummer Dan Harrison hit the drums with malicious might, whilst guitarist Kris Gibbs windmilled his way through songs, and bassist Grant Knight backed with guttural growls and endless movement. The atmosphere during their set of alternative metal was colossal, leaving the crowd transfixed and gasping for more.

Finishing the night in a similar vein to the opening act, hard rock quartet Dead Empire played a set of mighty southern rock to a dedicated fan base. Vocalist Chris Bowden sung from the pits of steel lungs, emitting vocal similarities to Phil Anselmo and Chris Cornell. Like the frontman, all band members performed with solid confidence, a trait which allowed for an immersing show without the band having to reach levels of berserk and beyond. The band’s bold, chugging riffs haunted every inch of the venue and demanded that everyone threw at least a slight nod, or for the more dedicated fan, a full on rocking head bang. Dead Empire may just be the stalwarts of Brighton based hard rock.

Be sure to look out for more grand line-ups and charitable causes from Skief Promotions.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Matt Addinell ©2012

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With your genre of music being a little more obscure than most in Brighton, how do you find the reactions of the Brighton public to your material?

Greg: I think our strength is the element of surprise. If they haven’t seen us before, people aren’t expecting to see a live hip-hop band with some drum ‘n’ bass tempo tracks thrown in there, so it often works in our favour!

Rainbow: I think that audiences have got a bit bored of typical genres and want to hear something different/current and so the infusion of genres seems to be the way forward. I suppose we’re just lucky that our infusion of hip-hop and other genres is liked.

Mike: I think because of this infusion of genres we have, our sounds end up being quite unique, but still very likable. Quite a wide range of people seem to be able to find something they enjoy about what we do. We’ve been playing gigs alongside bands vastly different from us, but the audiences always seem to take to us.

How did you go into changing your sound from what it was originally to how it is now?

Astro-Physics are formed as a diverse group of six, with the common interest of old-skool hip-hop. Their unusual mix of genres including rock, rap, hip-hop etc. is what makes them stand out and differentiate themselves from other bands in the Brighton unsigned music scene. This is one band to watch out for with their strong British sound that isn’t to be missed.

How did you guys meet and form AstroPhysics?

Rainbow: A friend introduced Skilf and me and we decided to start a sick hip-hop band.

Martin: I lived with Rainbow and got recruited in about a year or so after the first initial Astro formation. I was into my big hip-hop and pop beats and I guess Rainbow could always hear me bashing away on the kit.

Greg: Rainbow, Martin and I formed the band originally and knew Rach, Jonny and Mike through gigging. We had a few jams/ writing sessions and found that it just worked creatively and everyone was on the same page. We worked on a handful of tracks bouncing ideas back and forth and it just grew from there.

What are the inspirations behind your infusion of genres?

Rainbow: I’m personally influenced by Dr. Dre, 8

Busta Rhymes, Abdominal, Jamiroquai, Daft Punk & N.E.R.D. Greg: Everyone in the band has different influences and we have all grown up listening to different types of music, I started off as a garage/drum ‘n’ bass MC and later turned my hand to hip-hop. Lyrically I have always been a fan of rappers like NAS, Common, Eminem, Sage Francis, Immortal Technique, Akala and The Streets.

Martin: I would say for me it was the idea of turning the hip-hop thing into a live band project bringing together the programmed side of music and making it live. Having a history of funk, jazz and rock has definitely helped to create a sound that we have tried to bring into the hip-hop, pop/dance crossover.

Rachel: As like most in the band, I’ve grown up listening to all kinds of music so quite a wide range of influences but vocally I’d say Lauryn Hill, India Arie and old school soul singers like Ann Peebles and Mavis Staples.

Rainbow: We started off very hip-hop/ rock but as time has gone on I think

Bass - Steve Rainbow Guitar - Mike Hawkins Keys - Jonny Coote Drums - Martin Deering MC - Skilf Vocals - Rachel Mosleh (no order)

we’re being more influenced by electronic music, with soulful vocals coming from Rach.

Greg: It changed naturally with the new members (Rachel, Jonny and Mike) joining Astro-Physics; before it was a lot more ‘rap heavy’ and now we mix it up a lot more, focusing on the structure and dynamics of our tracks.

Rachel: Like Greg said, I think the way in which Astro-Physics has changed has just been a natural process. The band didn’t previously have a singer so I guess that brought something new to the table and as a band we enjoy experimenting with ideas and seeing where we end up.

You guys have supported quite a few wellknown bands such as Pendulum and The Futureheads - how did you get to do this and what were the best experiences from that?

Martin: Ia think some of the big gigs we’ve done have been through university gigs/balls, which are great fun. We also played with Taio Cruz too. For me one of the most

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fun nights I had was being on stage with Pendulum doing stupid dance moves and having about a thousand people copying me.

It was very funny, as I can’t dance at all.

Rainbow: Those particular gigs came from gigging on the unie circuit. I think the gigs themselves were the best experiences, although it was quite amusing watching our old guitarist run on stage with Pendulum without his shoes and then dive into the audience.

Mike: The recent gig at the O2 for Greenwich Uni Summer Ball, alongside Zane Lowe, was a highlight. It’s always nice to play at great venues like that.

Talking of gig events, what did you enjoy most and how do you think they’d compare to normal venues?

Rainbow: Brighton’s “Rising Styles” hip-hop festival on the beach was fantastic! It was great being in our hometown with our home fans and the organisers were really great and made the whole experience more enjoyable... plus we got to support Sway who was a really nice guy.

Any favourite moments of being in the band?

Martin: The Pendulum dance on stage is probably the one for me, although there was a particular gig a few years ago at the Concorde that kicked off and was epic. Loads of people got on stage and one guy started feeding me beer as I was playing. Fun times!

Rainbow: I think it’s always the little moments on tour that make the best memories. My favourite has to be Martin’s story about trying to get home from some festival and running into a badger, being chased by cows, throwing a loaf of bread at one of the cows and finally running into an electric fence.

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Greg: Stacking it on stage mid-song and falling onto Martin’s drum kit... can’t say it’s my favourite moment but definitely one of the funniest! (A video is coming soon on “You’ve Been Framed”!!) No seriously, for me the whole process of writing and recording our new EP ‘It’s A Mindstate’ was incredible, everything just clicked, so happy with the way the tracks came together and the finished product from the studio.

Mike: Listening back to the latest EP ‘It’s A Mindstate’ for the first time, I love the sense of achievement after completing a quality recording.

Rachel: Haha, seeing Greg fly into Martin’s drum kit was a great moment! I was jumping around at the other side of the stage, heard the crash and turned to see Greg collapsed in a heap; Martin’s face was priceless! Best moments for me though, are when we are performing live and the crowd are really going for it and enjoying themselves. I love it when the audience sings our songs back to us.

It’s a great feeling to get a song to that point, considering as it started as just one idea in a rehearsal room.

Download Astro-Physics unreleased track from www.astrophysicsband.com and their new EP ‘It’s a Mindstate’ which is now available to buy on iTunes.

Look out for the music video for the new single ‘Chances’, which is going live this month.

Also, Astro-Physics are headlining the next Brighton Unsigned gig on 27th July at Latest Music Bar and the Playgroup Festival on 4th August.

Bullit is a three-piece pop-rock/punk band based in Brighton and London who have racked up impressive achievements already. They have also recently played for Brighton Unsigned which brought a massive crowd; their EP ‘Get With It’ is available on iTunes now.

How did you guys get together?

Tom: We got together pretty much a year ago now. Olly and Leo had been doing the band with a different drummer before and after he left I went along to audition and got in.

How do you find the Brighton music scene compared to, say, London?

Tom: It’s great because you’ve got so many different bands and venues. Once you’ve got your first couple of gigs and pulled a crowd then it’s easier to get on the bills. We’ve found in Brighton it may be hard to stand out but if you’re liked then people really back you. In London, it’s always fun because they want a real show. We pride ourselves on having such a varied set of songs for each gig and give as much energy as we can. So, after 45 minutes of playing your arse off and giving it your all, when you’re at the bar afterwards and people come up to you and say they thought it was great, it’s just a brilliant feeling.

What’s your style and story behind your EP ‘Get With It’?

Olly: This song (‘Get With It’) was written ironically after a meeting with a top music industry bod. All that kept going through my mind was “you’re self-obsessed and patronizing”.

This is a song dedicated to all underdogs.

You say that your tracks are being played on college and commercial radio all over the USA, how did you manage that?

Olly: We were approached after some of our tracks hit the web and they wanted to promote us… we were the only act to hit play lists as an unmanaged and unsigned band!!

I was astounded.

What else do you have coming up for Bullit?

Tom: We’ve got a new tour being booked up that’s going to be split across the UK, Belgium, Holland and Germany. It’s going to be great and we’ve got some new marketing ideas to test out along the way.

Just can’t wait to see what happens, some shows could end up being big deals for us.

We’re back on getting some more radio play in America for a few new tracks and videos.

Once that’s under the way.

America will be the next big challenge. Also we’ve just got some live videos sorted, which have had some great feedback so far and make getting bookings in new cities a hell of a lot easier because whoever makes the decision can see us in action and see that we have support.

Olly: More American promo and new songs coming so watch this space!

www.facebook.com/Bullituk

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MUSIC VIDEO REVIEWS BIRDEATSBABY - Anchor

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFBicIjgEGU

Birdeatsbaby are no strangers to making music videos with a number of them under their belt and one, ‘The Trouble’, racking over 100,000 views. Their third video of their latest album (Feast of Hammers) plays ‘Anchor’, which also stars their new drummer, Katharina Rothe. The video doesn’t play on their usual macabre theme of other videos from the album (think psychiatric wards, doctors with instruments, band members getting their heads mashed in the woods by masked people… you get the idea), however it works as a change to chill out. But in no way does it mean that the video has lost the dark side. With Mishkin (front woman) changing from her recognizable orange hair to black, she walks along the seafront with washed up people around her, almost begging for help. The song also gives a chilling edge that is unmistakably Birdeatsbaby..

JIPSY MAGIC - Girls in the City www.youtube.com/watch?v=lICMSIj3K6E Their first music video under the management company, Overhead Wires, shows a rather professional quality to their catchy song, ‘Girls in the City’.With the video concept created by the band members themselves, it shows their big boy personalities of, well, nicking stuff from people on the streets of Brighton, including a girl dressed as a banana… hmmmm! It is entertaining to watch and no doubt a good sing-a-long. This is the kind of genre that has been missing from the mainstream music for a while so it is a treat to see that this kind of thing is well and truly alive.

TRIP TO DOVER - Be Juliet

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRhQVf99O7A

Anyone who has seen Trip to Dover live will understand the awesome vibrancy of the band’s performance, which gives others a chance to see the official video of one of the tracks from the latest EP (Vegas & Berlin) performed live at OneRock 2012 in Germany. It really does show what you’d be missing out on if you miss a performance of the band: watch the audience rock out and be entertained by the talented members. The track itself may as well get you listening to it over and over again....

EDITOR - JORDAN THOMAS

ALL MONEY RAISED GOES TOWARDS PRINTING THE NEXT ISSUE - PLEASE SUPPORT US!

GUY LLOYD’S..

I SHOULD BE ON A FARM RIGHT NOW There’s a big gaping hole in my soul this weekend. I should be on a farm frolicking in the mud. I should be at Glastonbury. It was cancelled this year because apparently athletes go to the toilet, just like us and the dreaded portaloo toilets were needed for some sports day in London. Alongside that, cows like grass and Glastonbury is, lest we forget, still a working farm.

I went to Glastonbury in the early nineties and then lived abroad for the latter part of the decade, so I lost touch with it really. On my return to England in 1998, I’d watch it on TV and find myself pining to be there again. Not enough to buy a ticket but an admiration for it, from afar. I think I was scared that it had changed too much and that I was growing out of it. How wrong could I be?

..BLOG ABOUT STUFF AND NONSENSE wire. Marc Bolan rocked up in a car ‘covered in purple velvet’ and told people very firmly that no one was allowed to touch it. He also found Heather Mills very rude, when Macca headlined the Pyramid. The stories poured out.

A few days after that meeting, a friend encouraged me to go for Glastonbury Radio, a temporary station set up for the week of the festival (Worthy FM). I went for the kill.

I tracked down Michael’s number, called his farmhouse and spoke to him personally. He then recommended me to Worthy FM and was invited to work for them that year. I’ve been working for them every year, ever since.

It’s an amazing job. You get nice toilets for a start. And my job, alongside presenting a show there, was to hang around backstage and get interviews. I’ve met everyone from Bono to Russell Grant, Damon Albarn to Andrew Marr.

I’ve had the highlights of my professional career at that festival.

But it’s not that which I will miss. I’ll miss the people, the smiles, the love and the whole spirit of the place. It is without a doubt a very special place and I can’t wait to go back.

This weekend, I’m going camping (in Pevensey).

I’ll sit by a fire, I’ll think of Stevie Wonder performing on the main stage and I’ll raise a glass or five to the Greatest Show on Earth.

“It’s excellent for the skin!”

A chance meeting with Glastonbury farmer/ legend Michael Eavis changed all that five years ago. He was doing a Q &A in Brighton and after the event I invited him on the radio show. He was a delightful guest, recalling stories of the first ever Glastonbury, when the main stage was a few planks of wood, held together by chicken 12

Catch Guy’s blog at: guylloyd.co.uk Twitter: twitter.com/guy_lloyd 13

MUSIC REVIEWS Genre: Indie / Rock Not technically from Brighton but at around 11 miles away in Worthing, they’re close enough to qualify – and good enough to take note of. Not to be put off by their age and youthful appearance, this is the perfect example of how much potential a young band can hold. They throw onto the table a freshness and a raw and brave in-your-face, undaunted attitude that is commendable.

Two Door Cinema Club-esque ‘Spill the Beans’ is cheeky and angsty, with laddish confrontational shouts of ‘stop talking bullshit’ and is incredibly catchy and upbeat. ‘Show Your Colours’ is where the boys unleash their feelings, letting them run lose to craft their charged and engaging track. The snippet of the lo-fi, argumentative outburst on top of the music towards the end, creates personality and a storytelling to the song. This deliberately

MUSIC REVIEWS fuzzy, gym-sock-over-the-mic sound makes a lively crescendo with the gradual erratic-ness and urgency of the instruments and vocal. ‘High Tide’ maintains the spirit and is another striking number, showing off the Fred Perry-clad band’s consistency and ability to please with their churning-out of indie-rock anthems.

Normanton Street’s new self-titled EP is as refreshing as it is familiar. It is refreshing because the band is not trying to be like anyone else; I have no idea who their influences are, and I like it that way! I do however have my suspicions around its origins; I suspect the band is the lovechild of a sordid orgy of genres of which I’m sure hip-hop, soul and R&B were participants. The product of this orgy was then adopted by blues and funk parents with jazz as an influential uncle and spoken-word as a good friend.

This concoction of genres formed a uniquely pleasing sound that is mature beyond its years. The familiar aspect of the music comes in its lyrical content, from the all too familiar everyday scenario of ‘Is He Better Than Me’ to the harsh social-realism of ‘Trudy’. Five unique voices bring these easily relatable lyrics to life.

Four of these are human voices that range from the baritone to the honey sweet, and the fifth voice is that of the soulful alto-saxophone. Not every voice

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Verses

Genre: Indie

Genre: Rock

Sounding a little messy at times and a bit on the crashy and loud side with the drums, there is room for the band to grow. But their presence on the unsigned music scene is to be seen with optimism and greeted with an approving nod to the youth of today; acting on their musical passions and sparky, creative tendencies. - CC

www.facebook.com/wearehightyde

partakes in each track; it as if each voice was a unique spice and only Normanton Street know the right combination to create a delicious dish that is not too spicy yet not too bland.

Genre: Hip-hop / Soul / Blues

Run Young Lovers

My personal favourite, ‘Paris’, demonstrates this crafty blending perfectly. The pleasing rhythm of the song makes me want to nod my head to the beat while the lyrics make me want to nod my head in agreement. The carefully selected mix of songs on the EP provides the perfect mix of upbeat and chilled.

The more relaxed sounds of ‘Romantic Comedy’ contain some of the most clever lyrics and wellconstructed rhymes on the EP, which paint a picture of some equally hilarious and tragic scenarios. A final piece of praise for this EP, and this band in general, is directed towards their accents. My hat is raised up from my head in celebration to them resisting the temptation to sing with ridiculous American affectation, but instead have held on to their northern twang. The blatantly audible northern pronunciation only adds to the authenticity of their music. So, to sum up: familiar yet refreshing! - JOL

www.facebook.com/normantonstreet

‘Haven’t You Heard’ is a two-track E.P. from the Brighton-based indie band and they are offering it out for free on their website so there is no reason to not check it out. This band is going to put a smile on everyone’s faces. They’re catchy and their tracks are full to the brim with enchanting twiddly guitar and shouty cheery harmonies.

The first track ‘Haven’t You Heard’ has a catchy chorus and prominent toe-tapping drumbeat and the voice of Jack Betteridge is melodic and nice on the ears but somehow rough around the edges. If you’re looking for a few great songs to accompany you and your friends with a bonfire on the beach and a few beers then this band is perfect for you. I can imagine, the infectious second track, ‘Moonshine’, being a timeless sing-a-long song… it’s definitely a crowd- pleaser.

This band knows what they are doing, their website looks professionally fresh and their music is produced to an extremely high standard. They’ve sold out two Brighton gigs already and I have a feeling they’re going to sell-out more. Join the fan base of this talented band because Run Young Lovers are not going to disappoint you. - LD

www.facebook.com/RunYoungLovers

This band led me on the nostalgic journey into my early teens when my clothes were defiantly black or embellished with skulls and a pair of black, beaten Converse boots a permanent fixture to my feet. I proceeded to YouTube the entire back catalogue of Lostprophets and my then all-time-favourite band, The Used, and was submerged in the emotion of their music, re-living those memory-filled days. I was left smiling fondly, pleasantly surprised that I still remembered a lot of the lyrics. So I owe this band for that.

www.facebook.com/thisisverses Bringing this to the present day, this accomplished-sounding band would fit comfortably with the likes of more current bands of the pop punk/rock genre such as You Me At Six and Young Guns. I was immediately impressed with ‘Stand and Stare’, grabbing my attention with the opening line, bearing emotive vocals that left the hairs on my arms standing on end in anticipation for the rest. ‘Wait Forever’ is beautifully composed and boasts a fist-pumping chorus alluding to those of Funeral For A Friend, begging for a passionate sing-along echo from an energetic crowd. ‘For A Lifetime’ contains an awesome guitar intro that makes me pull a silly face full of admiration while my fingers imitate the sixstring playing on an imaginary air-guitar.

This self-described “big anthemic rock” band with “heart and balls” do not disappoint and with two EPs under their belt – Shield Your Eyes, See the Future and No World For Us respectively – the band is now working on new material. As we take in this exciting prospect, I’m once again putting The Used back onto my iPod, whilst also finding a home for Verses on it. - CC

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FITSROY PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON BRICE

PAPERFACES ROTAIT

ROTAIT

SIMONNE AND THE DARKSTARS

RED Emperor

RED Emperor THE WATERMELONS

SIMONNE AND THE DARKSTARS

THE WATERMELONS

TOM STANIFORD

FITSROY

ELK