Over the last year (well about a year but hey a year is close enough for rock ‘n’ roll) Hunter-Gatherer have released three incredibly impressive singles. Now there’s this EP – spoiler alert, I was not disappointed.

For those of you that are new to the band, I’ll get you up to speed. They play alt-rock, loud alt-rock. But, in an expect the unexpected way, they throw in loads of things – a bluesy thing there, a metal riff, more than a hint of AOR, riffs that wouldn’t feel out of place in a post-hardcore band. It might be better to say that they play rock, rock with subtlety, rock that is put together with a great deal of skill.

For this EP the band have added something new to some of the songs – something that I can only describe as heavy rock a la 70s; there’s a funky feel and, of all things, organ you see.

Appropriately enough the EP opens with ‘First Base’. I could describe this as funky alt-rock, yep let’s stick with that. All kinds of guitar riffs, heavy heavy drumming, a horribly catchy end section with outstanding harmonies. It’s heavy but with a tune, a great tune. The interplay of, what we used to call light and shade back in the day, is clever and subtle.

It’s also going to, if you’re new to the band, introduce you to the great guitar and lead vocals that are the one of the hallmarks of the band..

It’s the sort of track you could, and should, go wild to.

‘Burn It All Away’ brings that 70s’ heavy rock feel to the party. There’s that big big dense sound, a guitar over it. A huge tune. But wait a minute there, there’s big heavy bass-y riffs with organ, there’s a harmony vocal bit that wouldn’t be out of place in a pomp-rock track. And, as though that wasn’t enough, a searing guitar solo.

Sounds like an unholy mess, it isn’t. You see that’s what Hunter-Gatherer do, they take all of these things and make their own thing. Their own incredible thing.

‘Dance In The Rain’ is a funky almost bluesy alt-rock thing. That funky as fuck bassline holds it altogether while the track goes from urgent freaking out to big heavy rock and back again. Guitar that rocks hard, drums that pound. This song is a bloody joy.

‘Closing track ‘Satisfied?’ is a heavy alt-rock track. The heavy bits are way heavy and the quiet bits are incredibly melodic.They’ve added something – a certain subtlety, a hint of sophistication. The heavy bits are incredibly heavy; guitars roar, vocals scream. But it’s in the quiet bits that frankly my jaw dropped; there are hints of jazz in the drums and bass, a melody that rips your heart out. And the builds to the heavy bits – joyful. Add to this a lead vocal that is so-so strong, full of emotion. Some cleverly arranged backing vocals.

This is a band who are not afraid to add touches, the feel, of things old and new to their sound. This brings a sort of timelessness to their sound. The songs on the EP are a step up on their previous fantastic releases. Their path seems set on up and only up. This EP says ‘yep, this is where we are right now’, it’s setting a marker of where they’ve progressed to in what is a very short time.

This an EP for fans of rock – heavy rock, melodic rock, alt-rock, any sort of rock. Get to it, right now, y’hear.

Mega Happy have gone and got themselves a release on a label. Even better that label is a new Leeds based one called Mönch Records (a subdivision of Eiger Studios).

It’s been a while since I reviewed anything from Mega Happy, and their every release in the past has shown small changes in their sound; progression is good. I was excited to click play and hear where the band is now.

It is more indie than I’ve heard them play before. But it still has special touches that make it Mega Happy – that touch of melancholy you expect from them, a frankly outrageous keyboard intro, great words – that make you smile, some wonderfully creaky retro keyboards and of course Patrick’s voice – a voice that sounds as though he’s thinking and smiling about something else other than the song. It’s his voice that first drew me to the band, that’s stayed true.

So it’s different. But then again not. It’s a different style but played with that Mega Happy approach. They’ve not gone so far off their beaten track so you won’t find yourself thinking is this really Mega Happy I’m listening to.

But what it does show is a certain maturity of writing and arranging, and a band who have taken full advantage of the studio. Patrick says ‘I wrote Honey Pie quite a while ago and it really contrasted with our other previous music sonically so we really wanted to really push that to an extreme and take advantage of the studio to layer the track and make it as big as possible. We are really proud of it as it still sounds very us but has a lot of different parts that we love’.

‘Honey Pie’ still has that Mega Happy sound that makes me want to throw myself around the room in what can only be called a silly riotous way. It’s bloody danceable to the max, with a tune that can’t be beat. Fantastic stuff.

The single will be available exclusively in physical form as a limited run cassette from the Mönch Records Bandcamp as well as all good download and streaming sites.

The info

In the spring of 2020 Mega Happy started work on their forthcoming E.P striking a depth of maturity with a cohesive sound that many artists who are albums deep into their discography only flirt with. From those sessions came this single.

York/Tadcaster based band The Threetles started life as a Beatles tribute band but soon got the urge to write their own songs. ‘The Otherside’ is the lead single release from their album due out in May this year.

So yes, I have to admit that there’s something of a Beatles’ sound in the song but it is only a hint. There are vocal harmonies aplenty that actually have me in mind of The Mamas & Papas. And it has something of The Monkees, The Beach Boys and all sorts of other 60s’ pop. So while they, let’s say lovingly channel, that 60s pop sound the mix is something very much of their own.

I have to admit I have something of a thing about 60s’ pop, so I appreciate the retro feel of the song but, and it’s a big but, it’s clear that the band have absorbed all sorts of influences. So while it may feel retro, it isn’t completely, there are hints of music from then to now. So it’s both retro and not so retro at the same time.

If you’ve been keeping up with me, and I hope you have, you’ll know that I positively love a great pop song; and this has all you need for a great pop song. An absurdly catchy tune, words that are so-so easy to song along to, a great vocal performance and a band who can play fantastically.

And the more you listen, the more you go beyond the lovely harmonies, the jangly guitar. There is some wonderful organ providing a solid musical base. And this track has some fab guitar breaks. But it keeps that pop sound and feel, and that is a really good thing.

Look I’d be the first to admit this isn’t ‘high musical art’ but it is a wonderfully crafted pop song, and that is an art all of its own. It makes you want to dance, and leaves you with a grin on your face, and a joy in your heart. And sometimes isn’t that what we need? I do and I think you do. Go to it.

The Threetlies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thethreetlesband

Archie’s EP has been a long time coming; originally due in December and delayed I assume due to Covid. The thing is that I’ve actually had access to it since August last year, and have grown rather attached to it.

Archie’s music is somewhere in that Nu-Soul/Neo-Soul area; he sometimes throws a little Afrobeat and Latin into the mix. He’s even given to putting in something that may surprise; we’ll get to that.

EP opener ‘Holiday’ was released back in August last year. I reviewed it than, here’s what I thought:

it’s a mix of soul, funk, jazz and, just to mix it up and add something, a kind of Afrobeat/Latin thing going on. It starts, as any song about a holiday should as far as I’m concerned, in a slow languid jazzy mode with Archie’s laid-back vocals before it builds into a blazing hot dance track. Sax solo, frantic beat, stabbing keyboards. The playing is great and there’s frankly gorgeous backing vocals. It sounds like a holiday – the best holiday you’ve ever had. Lazy days and fun filled nights dancing until you collapse – in fact the lyrics indicate that it’s the kind of holiday where you sleep all day.. And it’s cool, way way cool.

Jazz piano and sax opens ‘Cyclone’. It’s smooth, way smooth. Archie’s voice drifts out. There’s more frankly gorgeous sax. But as befits a song named after a storm it becomes more strident. Archie suddenly snarls out the words in what of all things sounds similar to The Clash. It is strange but at the same time wonderfully atmospheric. The contrast between that snarly voice and the oh so smooth music is compelling.

‘Part Of Me’ features Chloe Beth Rogers on lead vocal. It’s that classic Nu-Soul sound. You’ll hear Chloe doing backing vocals on the other tracks which will give you a hint of what her voice is capable of, but here she bloody flies, her voice is fantastic. And that suddenly Archie pulls out a wonderful guitar break. Beautiful.

Archie throws reggae into the mix on ‘If You Love Me’. The dual vocals of Archie and Chloe positively sizzle. There’s great sax, wonderful organ, a hot guitar solo. It’s wild, wild throwing yourself around the room music. Hot, hot, hot.

The EP’s closing track ‘Arrogance’ is another surprise. Think The Jam, think The Style Council. Not only does this have a great tune but some electrifying guitar. The ending is yet another surprise – a jazzy breakdown.

While different the songs on this EP have something that marks these out as Archie Baker songs. A huge grasp of song craft – he sure knows how to put a song together. The playing from the various musicians on this EP is outstanding; focusing down on the individual sounds you can hear that. But it’s the whole sound that Archie has drawn together into something very very special. It almost feels understated, you get the idea that they all could have gone much much wilder but it’s all the more impressive for being understated, there’s a power in that. And it’s compelling and never boring. However many times you listen to the songs you’ll hear something new.

This is an incredibly impressive collection of songs. A must listen.

The info

Archie Baker is a London-born, Sheffield-based alternative soul & blues musician.

Having moved to Sheffield in 2016, Archie joined a popular soul and blues function band as a guitarist. Whilst playing weddings, summer balls and parties Archie found his niche as a vocalist and began to write his own music. With help from talented musicians around the scene, he developed a style of music suitable for his distinctive vocal style.

Archie’s music can be characterised by a strong blues and rock foundation with flourishes of funk and soul dusted throughout the sound – creating an eclectic and fresh flavour of modern soul & blues.

Archie is also a member of the rock-fusion band ALSKA. The music in ALSKA differs from Archie’s own music in that it focuses on fusion and energy, but still features his distinctive guitar and vocal work scattered amongst the band’s vast soundscape.

Caroline & The Lights are new to me; I’ve been missing out big time. If you’re already on that train, I can only be somewhat jealous of you. So this review is going to be coming at the band from the point of view of a newbie.

The band describe themselves as ‘always melodramatic’, and this is no different. ‘Once Or Twice’ drips with a dark moody atmosphere, a gothic theatricality. it’s haunting, it’s powerful. Musically it’s hard to pin down but I’m going to give it a go. I get hints of early Kate Bush, Hazel O’Connor, a touch of Sparks, and something of a slow jazzy cabaret feel. And this is a very personal thing, it reminds me of ‘Angie’ by The Rolling Stones (listen you’ll see) and possibly strangely of the slower songs in Rocky Horror musically.

And it’s hugely ‘visual’ music. I can’t help visualising a moody black and white video, set in a smoky empty elegant cocktail bar, atmospheric shots of empty streets.

If you pinned me into a corner and insisted I come up with a snappy description – and that’s something I hate to do with music this good – I’d say ‘it’s an Art-Pop torch song’.

The thing that is going to hit you right between the ears is Caroline’s voice. She has a voice that’s powerful, emotional and capable of going from a whisper to a piercing note. And that voice is singing great words, that tell a story of unrequited love, words that tug at your heart.

But while her voice is up front it’s backed by music that is sophisticated and compliments Caroline’s voice and the song completely. The song is piano led with touches of guitar and violin, huge soaring swells of sound that pull you emotionally this way and then that way.

This is music of a kind that I haven’t heard in more years than I care to think about; music that is unashamedly emotional, dark and moody, that cares not for not being of a genre of now because it’s timeless. I hadn’t realised quite how much I’d missed music like this.

This is a beautiful coming together of a great song, and scarily brilliant vocals and music. I love this song, I am addicted and obsessed, this is just so good it hurts.

The info

Written and performed by Caroline & The Lights.

Guitar – Tom Caunt
Cello – Mike Andrew
Bass – Liam Hill
Drums – Joshua Steven
Piano and vocals – Caroline
Strings – Caroline
Backing vocals – Caroline
Songwriter, composer, arrangement – Caroline

Produced, mixed, and mastered by Paul Tuffs

https://www.facebook.com/carolineandthelights