Stapleton have been on the go for what seems like an eternity. Now in 2008 they release a fourth album from the blue, where it seemed like another may never come. If you’ve followed the Scottish music scene at all over the last ten years, chances are you’ll have heard their warm tones and perhaps caught one of their live shows. If they’ve been to your fancy, you’ll be pleased to hear ‘Rest And Be Thankful’ manages to continue the high production values of ‘Hug The Coast’ and make it best friends with some classic Stapleton of earlier efforts.
If the numbers 9 and 11 are pushed at you, whats the first thoughts in your head?
Conspiracies? Osama Bin Laden? War in Iraq? George Bush?
How many people thought, the story of the people inside the buildings hit, and those who put their lives on the line to rescue them?
There are certain parts of your past you can’t outrun, certain ghosts that will forever haunt you. For Alamos frontman Chris Keiller it’s the spectre of Kurt Cobain that hangs around him like a plaid clad spook. Chris (or ‘Kris’ as their biography has it) used to play in a band called Yardstick that sounded exactly like Nirvana, actually so did bassist Fraser Stewart and drummer Mark Keiller….Alamos is, basically, Yardstick with former bassist Alan no longer involved. Yardstick were not very good, almost laughable in their worshipping of Mr Cobain, and a lengthy talking to by a fellow Dundee musician led to them completely reinventing themselves….almost. Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t know what you would class the band as but to me they are a folk band, which means that so far this is the first folk E.P I’ve received to review this year, and I’ve been looking forward to it. Hailing from Manchester the Dukes of Portland are an energetic foursome and this is their third E.P release in 6 years. Coming from a city that has so much musical heritage you’d be forgiven for thinking that they weren’t actually from Manchester. Going their own way in terms of sounds they’ve delivered a fairly sedate, relaxed E.P. The vocals are good, apart from the unnecessary deliberate(?) distortion at times on some of the tracks. They’ve been criticized for a lack of vocal direction in the past but they seemed to have gotten this sorted.
Instrumentally they are tight, apart from one track that kept messing with my head and that was Snapped. You always get one track where you think, why the fuck did they have that annoying instrument in the background, and this track is one of them. What is up with the string instrument, I think it might be a cello or violin, it’s a total distraction.
The band have stated that they have removed themselves from their previous country sound and turned up the energy levels a notch or two. The folk / country sounds are still evident, but perhaps not as strong as the previous E.P. There is a slight resemblance to Pearl Jam in terms of overall delivery. I tried not to say it, or even suggest it, but it’s true.
For more information or to get in touch with the band check out their MySpace or their home page.