DEMOS

Image: Cactusman

WORDS: TOM ASTLEY

DEMO OF THE MONTH

Cactusman – Pour Me My First Drink

Following a hiatus, Cactusman return with a perfectly realised country track, capturing that lilting melancholic melodic country sound perfectly, demonstrating a clear affinity with the genre. All the key elements are there, from close harmony choruses, bright mandolin tremolo flowering from the end of the chorus, rhythmic acoustic guitar, bass pedalling from one to five, lyrics that long for something lost, wading through regrets caused by the demon drink (another staple of the country sound). If a slice of unapologetic country sound is what you’re fixing to mix with your bourbon tonight, hoss, then this track is perfect. www.facebook.com/cactusmanliveon

Thomas Walliker – Birds & The Bees

Thomas Walliker’s track Birds & The Bees crafts a sound that is familiar and compelling, taking well-worn elements, expertly collated, to create a track that draws the listener in. Slap back reverb and a springy electric guitar, subtle electric organ, synth strings and a shuffle 6/8 rhythm immediately situate the track within a haunted 50s aesthetic. Lyrically, the vibe echoes the laconic, glottal stop lost love style of the Arctic Monkeys. Put together, and not only because of the use of the title in Walliker’s maudlin lyrics, this track also has a flavour of Joji’s Dancing In The Dark, offering a late-night end-of-the-world feel. www.linktr.ee/thomaswalliker

Mascara’s Lies – Noughts And Crosses

Two-piece rock group Mascara’s Lies have produced a really interesting and ambitious track in Noughts And Crosses, replete with enough to keep you listening multiple times. The stand out sound is the pounding fuzz bass which anchors the track through the verses, and brings to mind Muse, though the vocal delivery is more Alex Turner’s grounded everyman than Matt Bellamy’s squawked rock god. There’s an interesting array of sounds in the mix – from synth and acoustic guitar, though a little more electric guitar in the chorus mix wouldn’t go amiss in my opinion. The chorus melody is a real ear worm, and a little more punch would help to really emphasise that firework release of Muse’s better tracks. www.instagram.com/mascaraslies

Electric Circus – The Road

Electric Circus’s The Road is a driving song about driving, and comes with all the constituent elements of a hard rock headbanger, all put together in a manner that is as successful as it is loud. With a nod to bands like ZZ Top, along the road we hear frenetic pounding drums, a quasi 12 bar riff on exquisitely overdriven guitars, a bass and drum break in just the right place with some crackle of radio static (a sound that DAB radios have essentially erased), a howling (albeit curtailed) guitar solo, and a belted final chorus up the octave. The production is crisp and clear, and the whole track is in and out in under three minutes, meaning it’ll have to be on repeat for any long drive. www.linktr.ee/electric_circus_band

Silk Road – Sid Mahogany

Angular and unexpected, Sid Mahogany captures the character of the titular Sid, an enigmatic and grandiose guitarist whose disappearance from a band practice inspired the track. Silk Road intend to confound on this track, in the same way a band like Primus would, offering discordant melodies interlacing with syncopated and meandering chord progressions. Here tempo, temperament and dynamic changes catch the listener off guard – careening from a laid back jazz, to howled yelps over distortion to atonal solos. This track is anything but easy listening, but if you’re after something jarring and complex that you have to invest multiple listens into, poring over the left turns and nuances, then this track is for you. www.instagram.com/silkroad_0