EP Review - Violet Deep / Debut EP

Violet Deep – Violet Deep EP.
Written by Nathan Douthwaite
  

Violet Deep are the rock n’ roll newcomers from the North East. They have given support to big indie acts such as Catfish & The Bottlemen, Superfood and Cast and now they are releasing their own debut EP in hope to one day become a big rock name themselves. 

I was lucky enough to see Violet Deep recently as they supported Heyrocco at the Westgarth Social Club in Middlesbrough and I was very impressed. The band consists of lead singer Jack Brooks, rhythm guitarist Sebastian Alexander-Sowa, lead guitarist Austin Tweddle, bassist Mathew Lipthorpe and “The Dud” on drums.  

The five piece have recorded a five track EP which is titled “Violet Deep” and it will be released on June 9th. I’ve been lucky enough to get a chance to listen to it.  

The EP opens with massive “Tears from a Bottle” the raunchy melodies and sweet vocals all blend in to create this indie rock track. Immediately you can hear influences of the Rolling Stones with their upbeat rock and roll vibe.  

The EP flows into Witchcraft, a tonally magnificent guitar reaches out in the intro, the riff is clear and crisp and draws you in as a listener straight away, the drums, bass and rhythm guitar join the stand out riff and create a mix of musical pleasure. The opening lyrics “I was seduced by witchcraft last night” make you want to find out more about the song, it’s telling the listener a story. It doesn’t take long before the crispy clean guitar returns with a short guitar solo returning back to that tonally beautiful riff.  

Moving into “I Wanna Know” you can hear the Rolling Stones influence again, with an upbeat excitable jive running through. This was captured when they played this song live, the full band brimming with stage confidence. The sleazy “oh oh oh’s” in the track, just add to the slick coolness of Violet Deep.  

“Sound It Out” brings the diversity, its slower, softer intro shows that the band can produce more than just jangly rock and roll tracks. It has emotion flow through it, the vocals being softer, complimented by higher pitched vocals. It gives good feeling. 

“I’m Asking You for more” ends the EP. Again the track shows diversity. It’s heavier, with a nirvana-esque riff and bassline. Brooks’ vocals are haunting and slightly distorted adding to the effect. It isn’t long till we hear the familiar tonal quality of Austin Tweddle’s lead guitar piercing through the ears perfectly. “The Dud’s” drums burst into a flurry on the chorus, keeping the whole track in time together.  

Violet Deep’s debut EP is stunning, it’s a culmination of all of the hard work the boys have put into the band. It’s recorded beautifully and each song takes you on a journey of your own. 

If you haven’t had time to listen to them yet now would be a good time to check them out.

PRE ORDER THE EP - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/violet-deep-ep/id992968274

Single Review - George Ezra / Did You Hear The Rain?

Single Review 
Written by Hannah Peebles

A voice beyond their years. A statement that describes what George Ezra has; without being patronising or cliche. Sometimes it takes a while to realise what an artists' unique points are but that is certainly not the case with Ezra - listening for only a few seconds is enough to let you know he is a force to be reckoned with.

Equipped with a voice so soulful and energetic, he has been on people's radar for a few years - from studying at BIMM in Bristol, playing open mic nights around Bristol which lead onto support slots and ultimately to where he is now.

When his debut EP 'Did You Hear The Rain?' was released, it peaked at number 6 in the iTunes chart and since then the nineteen year old Bristolian has had a whirlwind of a few years, with constant touring and the release of massive singles such as Budapest.

Did You Hear The Rain? was actually the track that introduced the world to George with his debut EP. Now, on a slightly different context of a number one album. Wanted On Voyage, the singer-songwriter has managed to stick around since it debuted. Long-term fans of George would have recognised a collection of songs on his debut album such as, Budapest, Cassy O and of course Did You Hear The Rain?

Did You Hear The Rain? is a track that is layered with dark, vengeful lyrics that name-checks Lucifer himself with Ezra's deep bluesy voice showing how much depth he has. The stunning cappella introduction paired with the dark, delta blues atmosphere makes for an incredibly special listen.

There is no denying that Ezra brings something different to the table, albeit with his authentically gassy sound, booming out of his youthful chest with no disputing the passion in every performance he does.

Ezra is currently still touring the UK, with his next gig 23rd May at the O2 Oxford Academy.

Since Did You Hear The Rain? is an older single that has been re-released and the video filmed a few years ago, watch a live performance at Glastonbury where Ezra creates a euphoric rendition of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dd37vHMaN8

Gig Review - Sunday Live + Ku Bar / Storytellers

Sunday 3rd May

Violet Deep – 

As we walked in, Violet Deep had already started their set. Last time we saw these boys they were performing in The Vault at Stockton Calling and were having some stressful and unfortunate technical difficulties. This time they took full advantage of the performance being perfectly set up for them and by our opinion, more than made up for what troubles they had last time. With Jack’s (lead singer) tambourine in hand and some major hair whipping going on, everyone that had turned up to this gig was tapping their foot and moving to the beat of each song especially the more known ‘I Can’t Wait’. If you ever get the chance to go see these guys, don’t think twice about it as you won’t be disappointed! Yet another great performance from Violet Deep. 

Corey Bowen and the Midnight Dolphins –  

We stayed in Storytellers for a drink or two while waiting for a band that we had never seen or heard of before, Corey Bowen and the Midnight Dolphins. As people finally started to arrive to the event, this band had a slightly bigger audience than the previous. The four piece had people bopping their heads by the second song ‘If The Birds Wish To Fly, Let Them Fly’ which reminded us of a futuristic sounding old beach song. With the lead singer getting the audience involved and giving a shout out to Violet Deep’s guitarist for ‘shredding’, Storytellers started to fill. Explaining that they had been in the studio both Monday and Tuesday, this gave us some social networking posts to look forwards to in the months to come. Although we had never seen this band before, we would recommend them to anyone with a relaxed yet upbeat music taste as it certainly made us feel in a happy place, ready to head to KU bar for the next band. 

Abel Raise The Cain – 

When we got to KU, another new band for us to see were already set up and on the stage. We were very surprised to see in the middle of all the guitars and drums, there was a violinist. On first thought, you wouldn’t pair a violin with this band; however we were very pleased to hear the two mesh extremely well together. Mid set, the lead singer announced that he was actually struggling from staying up to watch the ‘Mayweather vs P..’ fight in the early hours of the morning. We wouldn’t have even suspected this if he hadn’t told us. Great, meaningful and heartfelt songs from this band who went out with a memorable ending to their set. Big round of applause from us! 

Rat Boy – 

By the chorus of the first song, this band’s music and the lead singer’s vocals already reminded us of a young Jamie T. With their joyful dancing beats in their songs, this was the first band we saw that had the crowd moving around the dancefloor. To add to that, towards the end of the set the boys invited a big group of excited fans onto the stage with them while they played their last few songs. Having seen this band briefly before when supporting Circa Waves at Riverside, we were already looking forwards to these guys and we weren’t wrong in doing so. Throughout the full set, these guys were true crowd pleasers with their music and by handing out their beers to lucky members of the crowd. Overall a great performance from Rat Boy, another recommendation from us – Get listening to them! 

Lisbon –  

As we made our last trip to Storytellers, we were excited to be seeing one of the acts we had been looking forwards to ever since Stockton Calling, where we only managed to catch their first few songs. Kick starting their set with one of our favourites ‘Rio’, we immediately had our hips shaking to this ultimate dancefloor filler. Interacting with the crowd and explaining the theory behind their songs, they moved onto a song about Khaleesi from Game of Thrones. Suddenly it clicked in our minds that these boys reminded us of the well-known ‘Scouting for Girls’ and that is what we loved about them so much. That along with the charisma of this band meant that there was not a static soul in the room. In our Top 3 of favourite performances from this Stockton event, we hope these guys do well in years to come! 

Pretty Vicious –  

Topping off another great event in Stockton, Pretty Vicious stole the KU Bar stage with their unique and loud sounds. Playing songs such as ‘Fury’ and ‘It’s Always There’, it was certainly something different to what we had been to see earlier in the night. The crowd were slightly static throughout the first few songs, but they soon adjusted the heavier type of music as the set went on. They also performed a song which has been played many times on BBC Radio 1, which also happens to be one of our favourites – ‘Cave Song’ (which we recommend you to listen to). This got the crowd going and got more movement in the room than there was before.  

Overall we had a great night and to say everyone got all this entertainment for £8 was certainly a steal, we definitely got more than what we were expecting. An outstanding range of music and a spot on group of bands, Stockton are doing well on the music front and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping there.