DEMOS

Image: Sophie Davis

WORDS: LUKE WALLER

DEMO OF THE MONTH

Sophie Davis – In My Head

Though only 16, Sophie Davis’ In My Head is an intimate, candid telling of the innermost emotions of a teenager, and shows off her ample talents as a songwriter. With its isolated acoustic guitar, honest and unaffected voice and lilting rhythm giving the song a balladic quality, the track seems like a conversation, which its lyrics reflect. It’s a stream of consciousness about feelings of loneliness and rejection, taking twists and turns through daily life and contemplations, building and crescendoing before landing deftly on the title line. Sophie has played numerous shows, but aspires to perform and release more of her self-penned music, some of which is available on Spotify, including the powerful Marla, which showcases the stirring strength of her voice. www.instagram.com/sophiedavis.music

DeadRelations – The Line Is Dead

Brand new Newcastle rock duo DeadRelations’ track opens with a morose descending pattern – almost where an unanswered phone’s tone might meet a hymnal organ. Considering the song’s title, it’s most appropriate. Indie guitar lines accompanied by passionately heavy drums and rhythmic riffs provide the atmosphere of a perhaps hopeless situation; ambiguous phrases that stick in the mind, such as “You often seem so motionless”, invite the listener to create a story in the scene the track sets. The Line Is Dead is one of four pieces recorded at home by the duo, who plan to begin gigging as soon as possible.

Gulliver – Off Guard

Gulliver, a 21-year-old student at Newcastle University, describes himself as a visual person whose imagination runs wild when hearing music. Though having longed to explore music and experiment with its power since the age of 15, Off Guard is one of his first ‘proper’ attempts at doing so. In line with his aim of creating music which allows his audience to break free and escape the confines of their minds, this new track has an inherently dreamlike vibe about it. Although just over 90 seconds long, its combination of tonally intriguing electric guitar arpeggios, distorted tunes, trappy rhythms and reverb-drenched vocals conveys the artist’s conceptualisation with ease. As short as it is sweet, Off Guard lays fertile ground for hazy daydreams. www.instagram.com/gulgulgulliver

SMUJ – In The Middle

Frantic, hectic and chaotic, but vibrant all the same, In The Middle is the latest release from self-proclaimed “skatty no wave/post-punk quartet” SMUJ. Brass-infused post-punk – perhaps taking a leaf from the book of X-Ray Spex – the track even uses a xylophone amongst the staccato electric guitar intro (if I heard rightly). Unrelenting and intricate basslines are reminiscent of Joy Division in parts, with similarly boggling drum patterns leading the track’s knotty feel amid the maniacal shouts of singer and guitarist Cameron Cutts. In The Middle is an eruptive burst of everything jarring and discordant. Some would call it an acquired taste; not for the meek is more deserving. www.linktr.ee/SMUJ

The Vessel – Closing Doors

Concrete-solid, heavy as lead: Newcastle drum and bass duo The Vessel drop their latest track, Closing Doors. Fronted by barrages of dynamite riffs interspaced with head-on strong drum lines and fury-fuelled vocals, this two-and-a-half-minute endurance exercise is the perfect catharsis for anyone who may need it. The Vessel were formed during the pandemic to fend off boredom by former members of other groups, including Tooms, Blunt Wound Trauma and Nails of Christ, with both members having been in various local bands since the late ‘90s. But this new project is as fiery as it is explosive; the fuse has just been lit as they begin playing their first gigs at venues such as Ouseburn’s Little Buildings and Bandito’s Kitchen at Gateshead’s Downcast Studios. www.facebook.com/thevesselrocks