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Review Archive STU Click on letter for required review section.A
B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z S Saltmarsh (Demo)3 Track Demo: 1. Sunburn 2. Shame. 3 Intravenous. 'Sunburn' opens with a great rolling lump hammer of a guitar riff, spoilt only by an overly
electronic and clean sounding phaser going full whack over it. This is good stuff here, with plenty of interesting changes and diversions. The first half rolls along with some ease, before breaking into some great Rage
against the Bizkit metal rap and heavy instrumental histrionics. These are done without the cheesy 'right on dude/power to the people' lyrics typical of the mass of American funk rockers. A hit! 'Shame' sets its feet
firmly in the Rage camp, once again without the self righteous lyrics, and a lot more interesting. Not quite as varied as 'Sunburn', but it manages to be the perfect middle track on an EP, not as good as the top, but
short, memorable and quirky. 'Intravenous' is the sparkler here, perky and sing along. Traces of the New York Dolls in the singing, which is great by me. Brilliant, grinding chorus which lifts the ante and makes this a
little gem, and is quite probably there most commercially viable track, as it would appeal to the heavy fraternity as well as the more indie orientated out there.Overall this is an excellent demo, with fairly high
production values. My only qualms with the sound is that its is too clean! A bit more grunge and noise would really lift this, along with a bit less compression. These are but minor qualms though. Verdict:
Saltmarsh will need to come round my house armed with baseball bats if they want their CD back! Tidy stuff lads! (7/10) (DL) E mail them at saltmarsh@ic24.net
Streetcrab, Shannon, Ireland. Track: Between the Lies. (MP3) Get Them Here This track has its moments, but it goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. Bits of it have some lovely grinding guitars, but then some of this song stinks of Fish (of the
Marillion variety, not the salty kind.) Musically competent and polished, but unfortunately, some of the lyrics and vocal phrasing turns me off. (4/10) DL.Sunday Poet (Demo)
1. Here Today 2 Whoever 3. You Were The Last Initially concerned due to the shoddiness of the packaging, very uninspired! The first tune wades in with a healthy cross genre lilt, fusing the unique vocals
with highly poppy catches, hooks and rhythm changes. American college rock traces flit across this, with jumps to stomping pop breaks, and the odd Beatlesesque orchestration. Lovely stuff, top track. Whoever, more
rocking movement, and more of those great vocals, the singer has one of those great Scandinavian English singing voices that bring the wannadies to mind. Lots of changes are the order of the day again. Kinda familiar
sounding, but with its own unique twist.The final track has that lovely (and purposeful?) lo fi condenser mic sound, which suits it down to the ground. A mellow piece of acoustic lo fi indie pop, brings the band Deus to
mind and passes off in its understated and tasty manner. Pleading and sweet. Verdict: Some good stuff here, not the most original, but affecting none the less. (6/10) DL. E Mail them @: sundaypoet@yahoo.comSunflower Trip, Kilbride, Scotland. Track: Like a Moth to a Candle. (MP3)
Get Them HereThese guys need to be
commended for their willingness to abuse a phaser to the extreme, and topped off with some strong riffing a la John Squires. This one suffers from the singers obvious ability (it would be nice not to be so full on), and
a weak chorus. Otherwise, there is a lot to commend them on, and hopefully they will develop with time. (5/10) DL.Supercoolwater, London, England Track: Caged and Sold. (MP3)
Get Them Here Kicking sample leads into scratchy art school guitars. These guys sound more like Sonic Youth than Sonic Youth. Not that its a
problem, they have enough of their own style in there to keep it from being merely plagiarism. I'll be E mailing this one too my friends. (8/10) DL.
Swurveland, Indiana, USA. Track: Flicker and Fade. (MP3) Get Them Here Simple and lovely, nice. Slacker music with a strong soul,
builds up in intensity, and is cooled off with a lovely sax solo. Out of left field comes a strange vocal sample to finish it of. Sounds warm and familiar, and then sticks with you till your mind hurts from singing it
over and over to yourself. Recommended. (7/10) DL.System400, Lincoln, England. Track: Get Down 2000. (MP3) Get Them HereStarts of like a dirgeful NIN sound alike, and then mercilessly kicks in with some funky guitar, professional production, great lyrics, strange samples and a rhythm that is
guaranteed to make your foot tap. Mechanical, pumping and punctuated by many sniping sounds and background metallic rhythmns. I like this 'un. (7/10) DL. T Talisman (Demo)3 Track Demo: 1. All the Same to Me. 2. Patient Three. 3. Close the Door. Polished and competent sounding, well mixed and crisp. Completely free of the usual 'done on a shoestring' Demo sound. Would work well as a single, if they didn't rely on the opening track as the selling
point.'All the Same to Me' is the least interesting and commanding track on the demo. Instantly throw awayable, glib and unoriginal. Imagine the Stereophonics doing a Small Faces chirpy chappie song (as opposed to the
Rod Steward stuff of late!) Nothing lifts this song beyond the mundane, and really they should consider making this the last track as opposed to the opener (if not discarding it altogether). Things improve drastically
with the other two tracks. 'Patient Three' is a rolling, lollaping track with clipped 60's sounding space vocals. A bit more fuzz on this and they would be on to a real winner. A lot more catchy and memorable. You could
see this going down a storm on a Friday night in Metros (given a bit more of an edge). Melodic and well structured to boot, this is the stand out track on the demo. 'Close the Door'is your archetypal Brit pop ballard.
Noel and Liam would struggle to do anything as delicate. Talisman have hidden their inspirations a lot less blatantly than the Oasis gruesome twosome, and thrown a few others in for good measure. Pleasant and full of
intrigue, like guessing what's on your chips after a good Saturday night, padding home from Caroline Street. Verdict: Hmmm, I will write in their report, 'could do well , given a little time and experience' (5/10) (DL)
Tambourine Rules, Aberystwyth, Wales. Track: Run. (MP3) Get Them HereI am certain that under the tinny sounding acoustic guitar
there is a strong song waiting to get out. This one sounds like it was recorded in the bathroom with a matsui portable tape deck. Its well crafted, but sounds like it could do with a lot of development to bring it to
its true potential. (5/10) DL.Texas Radio Band, The. Carmarthen, Wales. Track: Stuff U & Rack Off (Bobsleigh). (MP3) Get Them Here This review is going to be difficult without going for the obvious comparisons to the Super Furry Animals, but hell I like the SFA's and The Texas Radio Band have done 'em
proud. Off the wall keyboards and brass mix well in this quirky little track, but you will find it hard not to sing 'we don't give a f*** about anybody else' along with it. (6/10) DL.
Things in Herds, Brighton, England. Track: Soon. (MP3) Get Them HereWispish pop track with a stonking heavy drum pattern, lots
of strange electronic noises and lilting lead line. Almost a perfect pop track, marred by some Morrisseyesque cooing and la-la-ing. Kinda passes pleasantly by without to much effort, and before you know it burrows into
your head and makes itself at home. (6/10) DL.3 Minute Warning (Machynlleth)(Demo) 1. Insanity 2. In My mind. 3. No Petrol 4. Change My Ways. 5. F.O.N.P. Five
fizzing tracks which whizz past with an unfaltering brillance, the longest is only 2 mins and 50 secs, so you can tell we are talking sharp, snappy power pop here. The comparisons are easy, and don't really do the band
justice. Flaps of Greenday, Blink and all that so called alternative American crap which the kids seem to love but leaves a taste on the tongue like a synthetic Big Mac (bit of a rant there David.... F*** Off, its my
website, I will write what I want....) 3MW go beyond the mainstream, throw away, fake arse, dumbed down American skate/ska/emo/power punk influences with Intelligent lyrics and production. The vocals are great, and
determined to have you singing out like a mad man as you sit at the back of the no 61 too Fairwater, listening to them on your headphones. Crisp production, interesting musical undertones and sounds, this is a winning
demo, impressing me from the first hearing. On the downside, its a bit one paced, and although each song has its own identity it would be interesting to see if 3MW had any other sides to their repetoire. Failing that,
great tunes, great sound and refreshing like an ice cream cone to the nads. Verdict: Much to shout about here! (8/10) DL E mail: Here Tommy and the Chauffeur (Single)1-Having and wanting. 2-Sneaking suspicion A proficient first double A-side on Boobytrap singles club. Its a quirky idiosyncratic tune but
with a certain radio friendly sensibility! 'Having and wanting' provides the more elevating melody whilst other A side 'sneaking suspicions' is a maudlin contemplation on the veracity of life. Nice! 9/10 (AB) Chauffeur65@hotmail.com Transposer (Demo)
1.Where will you go? 2.Fun and games 3.Genes and trousers 4.Breathe your name Mellow, laid back and totally chilled is what is on offer by Cardiff's transposer aka Nathaniel Shelley. A decent amount of
material and the effects are somewhat striking. The only critiscm has to be the song length. Some tracks seem to be endless the phrase 'quality not quantity' is definitely an all too true cliché. This demo has to be
likened to those cute furry creatures the subject of 80's throw back film 'gremlins'. One you feed them they grow into huge monsters and begin to take over the world. With the right catalyst the world may not be so far
out of reach for transposer. (AB) Transposer –c/o Louise Evans 16 Victoria Square, penarth Cardiff CF64 3EJ transposer@email.com Web Site 12 Horse, Philadelphia, USA. Track: Monster (MP3)
Get Them Here Stealth metal with some of the throatiest male vocals heard since Lemmy had a sore throat after gargling razors. Creeping, heavy fuzz blues guitar kicks in half way through and
adds just the right edge to make this the good side of memorable. Makes a strong presence and a commanding mark without resorting to the histrionics of many rock bands. Like it. (6/10) DL.
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Umbah, Inverness, Scotland. Track: Ice Flowers. (MP3)
Get Them Here Was there ever a genre known as dub acid Goth? This would be a prime contender should there ever have
been or ever will be. Strange, spacey, compelling, dark and sinister. Sounds like a creeping sore, repulsive, but ultimately fascinating and worth a good pick. Top stuff (8/10) DL.
United World Underground (sampler CD) Hmmmm, my initial thoughts on receiving this were worried to say the least. Cover reminiscent of a dodgy Ozric Tentacles album, not inspiring to say the least!
As a confirmed musical snob I was expecting the worst. Several listens in, I was happy to be dumbfounded! Alright, so one or two of the tracks are on the bad side of mediocre, but there are also some complete gems on
this 'un! Covering as many bases as possible, Mock Magics Music has a sack of eclectic music here to be proud off. Happy Hard-core, Grebo, Trip Hop, Drum and Bass, Psychodelia, Emo, Country and Folk. I
enjoyed this sampler immensely, once I had acclimatised to the varying raft of styles on it. You can buy it from Spillers (Cardiff) for £8, which, lets face it, is just 4 pints of the Amber from the City Arms (would you
prefer a hangover or musical expansion?) Special shout goes out to New Welsh Music's Steve Andrews (last on the CD, but very far from least, in a late and great, Kim Foley 'Midnight Tradegy' esuqe opus
called 'Love and Comunication', for alerting us to this little beaut of a collection. (7/10) DL Contact: Mick Magic, United World underground, 6 Farm Court, Frimley, Surrey, GU16 8TJ.
E Mail: magic@uwunderground.fsnet.co.uk Websites: music-elsewhere.hypermart.net
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