It's been an arduously lengthy month for me. The weather has heated up just in time for my exams, and if sitting through exams in sweltering conditions isn't enough, I've grown accustomed to getting home to receive a 'Notice of Arrival' from the post office half a kilometre away. Here in Cyprus, packages are not sent to homes directly; instead, the despondent tax-payer must somehow get to the post offices -- which all close at approximately one o'clock, give or take twenty minutes -- to pick up their packages. Most irritatingly, I do not drive because I do not wish to go to the bank to ask for a loan for the ever-inflating price of fuel, so that leaves me with two options in collecting these parcels: I can cycle, or I can walk. Cycling doesn't take as long, but it's really quite sweltering outside, so it can be a nuisance. However, it is a way to get fit, and upon arriving at the post office, falling off my bike, I step inside to the cool, air-conditioned room inside (they can't deliver our packages, but air-con is no problem), and it is here where I first set my eyes on the hand writing of whichever band member has written my address on the package. Furiously cycling home, I rush inside to open the package, which usually includes at least one CD, perhaps and album and a couple of demos, although one band did send me a t*shirt, which is fabulous. Thank you, you know who you are! The bottom line is that I love CDs. I own over 300, and they're certainly the greatest things a band can send me.
On the subject of last month's article, I have noticed that the UG readers have indeed added new friends and listened to new music on myspace. However, I think we should each make it out personal mission to get these bands and artists to sign up to UG. Since last month's article was published,
Rachel Trow, husky jazz singer extraordinaire has seen her total play count on myspace augment by 5,887.
Voodoo Johnson, the classic rockers with a metal mascot to rival Eddie have seen a similar surge of plays, but because the profile is undergoing 'routine maintenance' (yes, it is inconvenient, myspace), I can't tell you the exact figure.
Matt Parsons has had slightly less of an increase in total plays at an augmentation of 3,925, coupled with
Andy Mitchell at 2,710 plays. Overall, the figures are pleasing, but it would be great if we could see a balance at around the 5,000 mark. I would also like to take the time to make a correction to last month's article, in which I noted an enigmatic, perhaps a non-existent band called
Soul Catcher. I obviously meant Soul Jacker, and I can only put my error down to some absent mindedness, ridiculous horror movies that aren't scary, and the handy culprit, George Bush. To the bands:
Await Rescue is rightfully gaining the plaudits in Boston, Massachusetts with the band's blend of alternative rock. The metal influence is somewhere here, albeit in a distilled form. I personally doubt whether metal fans will enjoy
Await Rescue, because the band obviously lacks that tangible factor that defines the music as solely metal, but go ahead and prove me wrong. To most other fans of rock 'n' roll, Await Rescue, whose members point to bands such as Black Sabbath, Metallica and Tool as prime influences, should prove to be a popular inclusion in this month's article.
Front man and vocalist,
Johnny brings a poignant sense of melody to the mix, and it cannot be doubted that his influence extends to the rest of the band members. It is my personal perspective that he is pivotal to the band's distinctive tunes. It may sound peculiar, but his interaction with
Matt, who resides behind the drums, is exceptional in that they clearly bring about the transitions from verse to chorus. The stand out track, Alright, is a song that I feel can be recognised as
Await Rescue at any point of the track. From the intertwining crescendo of Johnny's soaring cries of 'Roller coaster' and Matt's simultaneously thumping drums, to the initial bluesy guitar solo,
Await Rescue have a potential track of the month, and I haven't talked about the second guitar solo. That
Drew should calm down, or the wood on his fret board will need replacing sooner rather than later. Significantly, the bass position in the band has recently become vacated, so it shall be interesting to hear the successor. Songs with the whooshing thunder of
Salvadorian Gunslingers and
Heedless define
Await Rescue as an exciting unsigned band with plenty of potential. However, the band's self-titled album does include some lyrical cliches such as
Bombs Away, even if the delivery is excellent on the whole, in fact, I'm a big fan of the song with the exception of its title! Despite this, I for one cannot wait to hear
Await Rescue's future album. It shall be intriguing to discover whether or not the band members can hone their skills to greater heights next time round.
UG Underground Rating: 7.5
Total plays at time of writing: 23,374 |
I have reason to believe that the readers of this article will appreciate a break from the norm, and
FattyBoomBasstic offers just that. Despite the rather appalling name of the band, I can assure you that it is appropriate in that the bass playing is top notch -- I'm not sure where the fatness comes in. The band comprises of four members:
John Diver (guitar),
Peter Gibbs (bass) and
McFly (drums) -- oh, and there's
Laura too. Laura James is, if you'll excuse the cliche, a foxy vixen. She has quite the Afro, not to mention quite the voice. Her voice is tangibly the rhythmic teasing debonair that a funk band like this needs.
On the musical side of things, John Diver seems to have a certain mutation that is a certain sign of evolution: his foot seems to have an extendable wah pedal mechanism, and when plugged into his Fender Telecaster, he delivers some funk riffs and solos that a certain John Frusciante would be pleased with. Pete Gibbs is a slapping rioter of a bassist, and his groove on tracks like Supersexyfunkotronic is a joy to behold. I don't even like dancing in private, but it is fortunate that the walls of the house I live in don't have a surveillance system to them... I'm not a very good dancer. Drawing from Jamiroquai, funk rock out of the '70s, and of course, some rather salacious allusions to alternative sex live,
FattyBoomBasstic deserves to arise from the depths of McFly's basement where they record. I think they will 'wake up the clouds', being far more worthwhile than the pop rock angst-ridden guitar bands that
FBBT claims to be an antidote to. By the way,
FattyBoomBasstic is a funk band.
UG Underground Rating: 8
Total plays at time of writing: 4,344 |
Silent Border, one of the bands that has contacted me from a country other than the UK or the USA, hail from Sweden. I personally respect the Swedes, because
Henrik Larsson, formerly of
Celtic, is a Swedish national, and one of my friends at school is Swedish too. She's cool as a cucumber, and
Silent Border is too. Drawing from such bands as Pink Floyd and Muse,
Silent Border is definitely Sweden's aquatic answer to them. I say aquatic, because
Silent Border offers the sort of emotion that one feels when looking at that National Geographic video footage of the bottom of the sea. Just picture the great reefs of Australia (assuming my memory serves correctly), and simultaneously play Riptide by
Silent Border. The feeling is enigmatically pleasurable, soothing to the strained mind.
There are plenty of professional bands that don't quite manage to achieve the intensity of
Silent Border, and much in the band's favour is the immense achievement of being able to sound intensely vivacious despite playing mellow, non-distorted music. The philosophy of art and music is difficult to contrive, because it is so otherworldly and peculiar.
Silent Border's great talent as a band is that I cannot possibly single out any one of Jonas, Anders, Peter or Sebastian as the highlight. Silent Border is a paragon of excellence. When writing to me, Jonas used the word 'constellation' in a sentence. I don't recall the context at this moment of time, but
Silent Border can be thought of as a constellation, and I believe the band might just warrant a place in the stars, record deal or no record deal.
UG Underground Rating: 8
Total plays at time of writing: 7,226 |
Cellar 170 lists Shinedown as an influence. Having had to put up with Shinedown for the past couple of years, I really didn't think I would enjoy
Cellar 1700 at all when we came into contact. Shinedown is a band that knows exactly how to pen the sort of song that I like to call an appeal to emotion in that much of the band's music is centred on a typically catchy chorus that just invades the mind, no matter the resilience of the host.
Whilst bands like Shinedown irritate me, bands like
Cellar 170 manage to embrace a welcome approach to recording their songs.
Lauren Diamon certainly warrants her sparkling name, with a voice that acts as a pacemaker. Yet despite her obvious aesthetic appeal, Lauren refuses to dress like a cheerleader—just listen to End of the Road until the end.
Adam Bicker and
Matt Crooks manage to capture their dynamics poignantly as guitarists, but I'd personally like to see some more lead play that could propel
Cellar 170 to the next level. Such levels are met when one of them does decide to go a little mad, but whilst
Cellar 170 is an unsigned artist of the month, there is room for improvement. I have witnessed such improvements as I have monitored the band for a few months now, but I would like to hear more spontaneity, as is the case on a recent track,
Romeo Juliet. It's a track on which the recording quality is absolutely excellent, and Lauren rises to the occasion, with Dan Atkinson sounding a lot like a pro behind the drums, while Matt and Adam are to be found at their productive best. Lyrically emotive and certainly mature, it is a direction in which I hope to see
Cellar 170 go. If you live in Kent, London and South East, I do implore you to watch
Cellar 170 live, but don't go because I'm telling you to. My confessional response is that the music speaks for itself.
UG Underground Rating: 7.5
Total plays at time of writing: 3,398 |
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this month's artists of the month. I have a pretty rough picture of two bands that shall feature next month, but until the final decision is made, the places are very much subject to change. If you wish to suggest a band, either your own or somebody else's you can contact me through
myspace, my
email address, or closest to home, through Ultimate Guitar. You're a click away from my username at the top of the page. I'm welcoming of any feedback on the article, negative or positive; just be polite please.
/ my profile 
