For a band who describe themselves as making ‘raw, honest alt-rock’ ‘Slip Away’ is surprisingly smooth. Yes, it has that loud guitar thing going on, but the quiet bits are almost pop smooth. So taken by this when I first listened to it I coined the genre ‘pop alt-rock’ to describe it to myself. It’s that contrast that makes this track, that conveys the emotion and meaning of the song.

Isaac – the band’s vocalist – says, ’I feel like the song kind of encapsulates about 3 months of feelings in 3 minutes (and it is exactly 3 minutes long). It almost takes you through the relationship breaking up from start to finish. In the first verse it seems like it hasn’t happened yet, then by the time the chorus hits with the songs hook ‘slip away’ it’s obvious where we are. Then by verse two it almost becomes an apology post break up’.

It’s that musical contrast, and the fact that this track has a great tune that lifts it above a lot of alt-rock songs I hear. And somewhere in there is the sound of a big rock ballad, it kinda has that feel to it. It does that raw angsty thing that big rock ballads do. That’s another edge that makes this song great.

OK so it’s time for that ‘serious music reviewer bit’. The playing on this is fantastic. There is some great guitar on this that soars, there’s some gentle what sounds like acoustic going on in the quiet bits – that’s all part of the lovely contrasts in this track. The drumming is just right. But it’s the vocals that really stand out – it’s a simple thing but you can really hear the words and those are important, and there’s great emotion and feeling in them. There’s also some rather lovely backing vocals at one point, I’ve rather fallen in love with that moment.

This is a fantastic song. Word to the wise, the louder you play it, the better it sounds. And I defy you not to be singing along by the second chorus. It does that to you.

The single is released on 1st November.

For You The Moon are playing a single release show at the Lending Room in Leeds on October 31st (the day before the single drops) supporting Gentleman’s Brawl.

The info

For You The Moon are a Leeds based band who cut through the noise of the local music scene with their raw, honest alt-rock delivery.

Band Members:

Isaac Cooter – Vocalist/ Guitar
Jordan Balla – Guitarist
Tim Drucker – Bassist
Michael Evans – Drums

The Losing Touch are one of those ‘I’ve seen the name but never heard anything by them’ bands. I’m kind of sorry I waited until I got an email asking whether I wanted to review this EP to check out what they do to be honest, it’s great stuff.

The Losing Touch do big songs, big lush songs with great tunes and words. There’s something of that rich and layered Elbow sound in what they do, but it’s just a hint OK. The songs on this EP are layered in strings, keyboards and piano. But there’s a guitar that sings, it dances through the tracks, it’s a joy. And the vocals are just lovely, I love a great vocal.

EP opener ‘There Must Be More’ has something, just a little something vaguely British 60s’ psych (I’m thinking ‘Sargent Pepper’ here OK) layered into that rich rich sound. It’s in the organ that sounds out in the track. It also has something of a Divine Comedy feel to it. But I’m getting carried away with the ‘sounds like’ thing here. It’s just this huge song with dense dense layers of sound, but at it’s heart it’s a simple song with a great tune.

And to something sparser – ‘That Age’ has that voice up front singing great words. It’s a touching song about, I think growing old. And yes, there are strings but they add to the song rather than overwhelm it. There are backing vocals that bring, along with some of the arrangement, something of an Everley Brothers’ vibe to it, or on second thoughts something of a Scott Walker feel to it.

‘Save The Last One’ has, and I swear this is what I actually thought, something of a Robbie Williams ‘Angels’ thing in the opening to it. But on second thoughts as it progressed I started to think of it of being way more in an Elbow thing. And this song started to crystalise in my head a vague thought I’d had during the first two tracks, there is something rather both retro and new about these songs. They sound rather like big early 60s’ ballads but with new sounds layered onto them. This sounds like a criticism, it isn’t.

‘Change’ is actually less dense than the songs that proceed it. OK so there’s guitar and organ as the song builds but it starts with piano and guitar. And what in the hell is going on with the vocal on this, it’s a big totured sounding thing. I started off disliking it, but as it went on I began to rather adore that big music and rather mannered vocal. It’s dramatic.

The EP closer – and title track – ‘Midnight Again’ starts with just voice and strummed guitar but gradually there’s piano, strings, drums. But this track has loads of space. The vocal is right up there. This is something of what we might call an epic. And there is some frankly astonding guitar.

What The Losing Touch do is something that isn’t trendy, they clearly set out out to make classic songs, rich in sounds and meaning. And what they’ve made with this EP is a set of songs that are brilliant. Songs that you can listen to again and again without getting bored, songs that deserve a serious listen. This is impressive, I’m going to be looking out for further releases from the band. I suggest, I suggest strongly, that you do too.

The info

The Losing Touch are a six piece band from South Yorkshire that formed in 2019.

Band Members

James Gilroy – Vocal
Nevyn Stevenson – Guitar
Tom Laffey – Guitar
Callan Mellor – Bass
Ben Scarff – Drums
Liam Brown – Keys

I reviewed Concrete Armbands’ EP ‘Anti-Therapy’ some time ago and it left me feeling hugely impressed, although completely unable to put the band into any niche. This, by the way, ‘is not a bad thing’, I love a band that just do what they want and feel like doing.

This, the latest single, has left me in a similar state of confusion – I was hugely impressed – I loved the track – but I have no idea how to describe it in genre terms. It kinda appears to me that Concrete Armbands are mining sounds from ‘way back when’ as influences. I say ‘way back when’ but it’s not ‘way back when’ for me, I remember this when it actually happened.

So, and I’m going to attempt this, it sounds either like a heavier Sensational Alex Harvey Band kind of thing, or even like a really heavy Sparks (if you can imagine that), or both, or possibly neither of these. It even has a slight, a very slight, Queen thing going on. But it does have a feel of that 70s’ art-rock (and I mean rock) going on but it also has way heavy guitar riffing sections. It has organ, it has piano, it even has a radio voice section (a bit bit like the bit in that Meatloaf song). And the vocals are kinda very SAHB, they’re very arch. And the words are very SAHB too. It is, as you can see, very hard to say well it’s XXX genre.

But the thing is that this song has a horribly earwormy tune, a tune that’s strangely rather bouncy. You could throw yourself around a room to this quite easily. What you’d do during the riffing bits, I have no idea, throw yourself around a bit harder I guess. Hang on, let me try that… Yep, you can just throw yourself around harder during those riffing bits.

The band rather intriguingly asked me for ‘an honest review’, whether they expected me to say that I was unsure about it, or that my rather gushing review of their EP wasn’t honestly what I thought I have no idea. So here goes. This isn’t going to be for everyone, you need to have an open mind and possibly rather eclectic musical tastes to fully appreciate what the band are doing here. What it is for sure is brilliantly played and put together, Concrete Armbands are a band who know how to put music together. It’s clever and original. I love it.

You may think this release from MMIV isn’t the sort of thing I’d like, it having something of an old-style indie feel (think Libertines I guess) to it, but you’d be wrong, you’d be horribly wrong. Actually I really like this song, which rather surprised me to be honest. I’m going to be honest and admit that on my first listen I got to around 50 seconds in, and decided that it wasn’t for me at all. But I like to give bands a fair crack of the whip and decided to at least listen all the way through once. By the end of that first listen, I had this irresistible urge to play it again.

What I liked, really liked, was that it’s lo-fi, it’s so lo-fi and ragged, it sounds as though it was recorded in a somewhat echo-y room by a band who either just don’t give a shit what it sounds like or are suitably refreshed, or quite possibly both. While it’s obvious to anyone that it wasn’t, it’s a carefully put together thing, it’s just that it sounds like that. And I really like music that isn’t polished until any spark of originality is removed completely. And although it may sound ragged and lo-fi, closer listening rewards you with guitar that is fantastic in a lovely restrained way.

I have also developed quite a thing about the vocal stylings of Max. he sings in a way that is kinda reminding me of punk pathetique vocals, it’s casual and kinda drawled, and employs an accent I can’t identify. Although in the choruses he suddenly decides to sing, let’s say, properly. It’s the contrast I love.

And crucially this track has a tune that is quite quite earwormy in the slower verses. And the faster sections rush by in the most wonderful way. And the other thing is the words, they kinda remind me of the song writing of another band I really like – Mega Happy – the words deserve your ears giving them a closer listen, OK.

What this all adds up to is something I really like, I didn’t think I would, but I do. It’s the sort of thing you have to give a chance, I did, and I’m really happy I did. This is joyful and a blast, go to it.

The info

MMIV are Max Rawdon, Charlie Adshead and Jasper Exley.

The band started in mid 2018 when bassist Charlie Adshead (formerly of Turnstones) noticed the lo-fi material that singer/songwriter Max Rawdon had been posting online, and offered to lend a helping hand. The two hit it off immediately, making acoustic demos together, and performing as a duo at open mics around Leeds. The choice of single was a song the two worked on and finished on their first meeting and both felt excited about. Gigs were performed with a stand in drummer – Rawdon’s childhood friend Matt Hooper – until the summer of 2019, and the single was recorded with this drummer, before the band eventually recruited Jasper Exley (who you may know as the keyboard player from Everyday People).

After playing their first gig at the Lending Room MMIV were approached by producer Danny Blackburn who saw the performance and wanted to work with us, and ‘Room For Requirement’ is the result. Charlie, Jasper and I plan on releasing lots more tracks with catchy melodies, pop structures, strange rhythms and a bit of attitude, and while ‘Room For Requirement’ may not be our best song, it is a good introduction to the band as we plan further releases and gigs.