Archive for Stillroom

MYSPACE REVIEW – STILLROOM

Posted in Music, MySpace Review with tags , , on July 1, 2009 by Tickets There

myspacereview_stillroom

Well it’s Monday. The worst day of the week and a time when music heads need a good, hard fucking dose if Rock N Roll!. I don’t know about you guys how there, but sub-par indie just inst enough this early in the day and hopefully Dublin act, Stillroom, can knock the depression of these reviews. As the Ramones would say, Hey Ho, LETS GO!

As usual, I haven’t seen the band live or heard their album.

Well, well, well. A decent rock band from Ireland, isn’t that nice. The whole sleaze scene is currently buzzing with a handful of hopefuls from the UK who are proving that Rock certainly isn’t dead and Stillroom are definitely a candidate for Irish competition/ First song Alright, oozes with AC/DC influence, something that can only stand to the band due to the Auzzie lads revival in popular culture. It opens with a Let there be Rock style riff. Pounding drum and shreds clanging together in the back ground while the pace picks up before bursting into hard guitar riffs and hooks, the likes Damien Rice will never see. Nothing hugely powerful but pretty strong, will more than likely improve with some stage time. Musically the song is everything a Les Paul can promise ad the only let down are the Bryan McFadden style vocals. Imagine one of the Your A Star males singing AC/DC and you’ve got it. Maybe he’ll work out after a few more Bourbons under his belt. The chorus is catchy and the shredding guitar solo is fantastic. Then things start to slow down before blowing back up with a foot stomping chorus. Really good hard pop rock. (it’s not quite hard rock and it definitely aint pop rock).

Second and final track, Addicted to Sin has more of a Guns N Roses/Aerosmith feel…without the blues. The verse starts off a little quiet before the band all rumble in with pedals on full. Another catchy chorus (and a pretty good title to boot). The bass also stands out more in this song and another ripping solo from the guitar seals the deal. Those vocals though, having a little problem with how clean they are. He’s good on the chorus’s but just sounds too fresh or something and you defiantly can believe a guy with a fresh voice is addicted to anything, especially Sin.

Overall I have to say that it’s a shame they only have two songs up. It’s great to know there’s a decent rock band playing a shit load of shows around the city. Stay tuned for a live review in the coming weeks.

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MYSPACE REVIEW – THE ANSWER

Posted in Music, MySpace Review with tags , , , , on July 1, 2009 by Tickets There

myspacereview_theanswer

I’ve got the horn Ryan. After a successful find in Stillroom I decided to finally go and listen to a band many, many people are talking about. The Answer are being hailed as Irelands best Rock export since Thin Lizzy and Tickets There has been surprisingly lax in it’s efforts to find out more. I just haven’t been in the mood until now. More than likely I overdid things back in the Chinese Democracy days. Anyways, let’s move on.

I’ve never seen the band or heard their album.

Fucking Great. First song On and On is a superb example of how rock bands should sound. Real great mix of blues laden guitars, harmony driven vocals and first-class crashing drums. Lets see what second song, Demon Eye’s has in store. Intro’s a little slower than the first track…until about thirty seconds in and the band comes back (didn’t I just say something similar in the last review?). Good rumbling guitars and brilliant bursting bridge before a full on, over the top- riff fuelled chorus tears the song in half. Title’s a bit silly but pretty savage. The drum beat during the verse stands out much better here than the last song and the bass belts a fantastic line over everything. Another standing ovation guitar solo filled with bends, slides and all sorts of treats brings us to the first tame moment before the chorus comes ripping back in. The singer Cormac Neeson really pulls everything together and the gaps in Stillroom’s sound seem a little larger.

Never Too Late opens with an excellent lead intro before the band kicks into a 70’s style psychedelic prelude. The Answer are actually living up to every inch of the hype associated with them and I’m suddenly very glad I didn’t see them supporting AC/DC or they mightn’t have had the same punch. Just as you settle into the seventies buzz, another spiralling solo tears the whole things to pieces as the band display their talents at writing perfect little rock tracks. Defiantly a must for any Chris Cornell fans out there. Walkin; Mat brings us past the half way mark (god, normally the good bands only have one or two track up and shit ones cant fit enough on their page). For some reason, Walkin’ Mat keeps cutting off on me. This stupid, poxy Irish Broadband piece of shit. Have tried restarting three times but just can’t get it going so let’s hop along to the best named track on their playlist, Highwater or Hell. Good, same tone as the other songs with a much rockier chorus and good heavy guitars. There isn’t much more I can say about this sound, it’s just great. While Tickets There prefers abit more aggression and profanity in its tunes, there’s no flawing this kind of rock n roll craftsmanship. A slowed down bridge supported by a pounding drum leads the way for a brief solo before….the fucking internet kicks out again. Fucking pile of shit.

The final song on the playlist is Memphis Water and it’s a live recording from Japan. Again, the band returns to the 70’s style of Never Too Late but it’s got more a blues feel this time. Surprisingly authentic for a northern Irish band writing a song like this is the new millennium. I was pretty sure it had been done but The Answer do it well, not to mention the fact that the Japanese seem to be enjoying themselves. There’s yet another savage guitar solo just a minute in which send the recorded audience into a frenzy.

Well, one of the best I’ve found since starting the reviews. My only criticism would be the lack of a seal the deal style song here. They haven’t got a Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child O’Mine or a Paradise City so the albums probably no Appetite. Saying this, it’s important to remember they have everything else. Hopefully things will only improve and The Answer will become the stadium rock

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