Niven Smith Is Set For Christmas Number One!

It's around this time of year that everyone seems to want your money. Bob Geldof gets wheeled out with a cocophony of 'celebrities' warbling about how guilty we should feel for not giving more of our hard earned cash to the variety of worldwide causes that have been selected as newsworthy this year.

Of course, I'm in no way against raising money for charity, and The Amp Session favourite Niven Smith has just released a brand new track for Christmas to help raise money for a wonderful charity closer to home and doing excellent work in the community.

Niven has joined forces with Phil Haynes (collectively known as Vintage 12) to write 'Christmas In Our Town', an upbeat and ridiculously catchy rock tune which they are hoping to get to Christmas No.1. For each download of the single, a donation will be made to the Libby Maes Little Angels charity.

The charity raises money for much needed neo-natal units in West Midlands hospitals, and has already raised over £100,000 and the guys hope their single will help a great deal more to be raised for this worthwhile organisation. More information on everything they do can be found on their official website, www.libbymaeslittleangels.com

As well as being for a great cause, the song is actually a hell of a good tune! You'll be able to hear it on The Amp Session's Christmas Party show, heading your way in a few weeks time on the 23rd December.

'Christmas In Our Town' is now available for download from iTunes, or from Niven's official website www.nivensmith.com

The Unmentionables at Roadtrip & The Workshop

Firstly, I must point out that Roadtrip & The Workshop is one of the coolest venues we’ve had the pleasure of being invited along to. With a plethora of neon lighting and music-inspired decoration, it definitely works as a suitable host for some of the best upcoming bands in the business. I’d also like to take a moment to draw your attention to the decoration in the toilets. It’s not very often in a live music review I spend time talking about the facilities, but I seriously recommend you give them a visit and cast your eyes upon the walls. Whether you’re a “Sid” or “Nancy”, you’ll certainly enjoy the view. Thank me later.

But I digress, onto the music. The Workshop is the bar’s downstairs live music venue, and we kick off the evening with a set from cheeky chappy Shaun O’Reilly. The double denim clad singer/songwriter draws his listeners in with a blend of acoustic and blues, his husky tones bringing some grit and authenticity to the songs he performs. A cover of Nick Drake’s ‘Smoking Too Much’ followed by his own ‘Crooked’, written about drinking too much, are both raw performances which manage to be full of emotion and powerful in equal measures.

Shaun’s anecdotes between songs allow him to connect to those sipping their beers and tapping their feet in front of him, to the point of shouting “One more song!” when he announces he’s finished. Holding the audience’s attention throughout, despite a few “technical” problems, Shaun’s simple set up brings us a strong and memorable performance.

The first noticeable thing about our next band, The Unmentionables, is that their bassist Ed Wilson is tall. Like, really tall. So tall, he can’t stand on the stage without hitting his head on the ceiling. As soon as they start, the energy in their performance is palpable. This is proper rock music. No pretentiousness here, just 4 lads with real riffs and catchy melodies. Sure, their subject matter sometimes drifts to love and heartbreak, but there is no soppiness and angst, just solid songs and a band who truly enjoy themselves onstage.

The infectious “Sailing Away” is the highlight of the set, with the audience joining in for the hook, “I’m sailing away!” and a short moment of silence before the applause, taking in the massively impressive set that has just been witnessed. Watching The Unmentionables in such a small setting, bouncing around the stage with limitless energy, I can’t help but imagine their tunes fitting in perfectly on a much larger scale. Give these guys a few years and expect to see them packing out arenas, a definite highlight of the evening.

The Derelics swagger onto stage next. Literally. There is an air of cockiness and smugness around frontman Reno, who looks like he was born to be a frontman of a rock band. The band is down to 2 out of 3 members tonight, and similarities in lineup are immediately drawn to The White Stripes. Oh, but The White Stripes, these guys are not. Reno holds the audience in his hands as he asks “Who has the funk?” whilst drummer Rich brings the sizzling beat and a great collection of facial expressions. Take that, Meg White. The songs drift from grunge to metal to classic rock, falsetto vocals dancing over the rhythm.

However, it does seem as though regular attendees of the gigs get more from The Derelics performance than those who are new to seeing them live, as a constant exchange of “in-jokes” between band and audience gets a little grating after a while.

The final band of the evening are in the form of 3-piece Lucine Bell. The tone here settles down to become much more sombre, embracing grunge as it was back in the 90s, a sense of mourning and darkness. Moving here from the stadium-filling energy of The Unmentionables brings a massive change in atmosphere, to the point where the suddenly self-conscious band don’t seem to be enjoying the performance themselves. The riffs are there, the chugging guitars are powerful, but unfortunately the stage presence and personality of the band members is somewhat lacking. In truth, this music is maybe better enjoyed at home as the lack of a real presence or personality really lets the band down.

For our merry Thursday night on the town, the performance of Lucine Bell as headliners is a bit of a let-down,  but fortunately The Unmentionables and Shaun O'Reilly's performances earlier in the evening certainly made the trip worthwhile. I'd highly recommend going and seeing them if you get the chance.

The Landed - "The Landed" EP

We are super excited to have a chance to review the debut EP from 4 piece The Landed, now it has…well…’landed’.

 

The lads from Essex; David, Dan and both the Pauls, have a had a fantastic 18 months or so, with plays on Radio 1 and completing a hefty tour of universities, and have now completed their self-titled debut EP, “The Landed”.

 

The album incorporates blues and acoustic sounds, with wide ranging vocals that fans have loved for so long.

 

Each track is beautifully and carefully crafted, with its own unique feel and rhythm yet still achieves the same end result, a joyous and uplifting experience you could come back to again and again. I defy anyone to not feel happy and summery after listening to this record.

 

“Stone Man” opens the album and straight away The Landed's familiar sound comes through, a gentle, rising and falling tempo with a relaxed feeling to it. It eases you into the album, and leaves you with desire for more.

 

“Snakes and Ladders” follows and is perhaps my personal favourite track, with the feeling of a social divide that's been created and unhappiness at this. The feeling that the current establishment does not serve its purpose. I've heard songs with this message before, we all have, there are loads of them, but this is different. Like every other track on the album, it's not thrown in your face. It has a message, but it's a powerful enough message to be carried with soul and subtlety, which to me speaks louder than someone preaching.

 

Following up is “Things to Talk About”, which is smooth and melodic, with heartfelt lyrics. You get the feeling that these are not just lyrics to a song for The Landed, but the deeper thoughts and feelings which are being portrayed.

 

"Taking You Out” and “Amazing Suzie” both follow a similar pattern, with a wonderful, smooth blues sound that invites you just to tap along to with a massive smile on your face.

 

The final tack “Fly” rounds the album off superbly. It continues with the same vibe and feeling of the previous tracks. It has that enticing smoothness that's just such a joy to listen to.

 

The Landed have put together a fine debut album, which I know I will be listening to again, it's 22 minutes of rhythm and blues that you can come back to over and over. Great job guys! Just one thing... Don't leave it long until you record another one!

 

We're certainly looking forward to seeing these guys live on our first live show, coming up next month, you can find out more about this by heading over to theampsession.co.uk and if you want to find out more about The Landed, check out their website for information on the EP and tour dates.

 

- Chris

THE AMP SESSION LIVE!

The Amp Session is heading out on the road for the first time, delivering some of the best in new, unsigned talent to The Good Ship in Kilburn on 15th November.

 

We are an online radio show, which promotes unsigned bands and artists across a range of genres, and we can confirm the show will be headlined by Peerless Pirates and will also feature performances from The Landed and Rival Empires.

 

Founder of The Amp Session, and presenter of our regular show, Shell Thomas said: “We can't wait to hit the road with some of the best new acts around.

 

“There is so much talent out there, and for us to be able to support some of these artist and bring them to the attention of a new audience is fantastic and we hope it will lead to more acts coming through in the next few years, who otherwise might get left behind.”

 

Earlybird tickets are available online for £4 or £5 on the door.

 

Remember to like The Amp Session on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more updates and announcements.

 

Tune in to www.theampsession.co.uk for the best in new, unsigned music.

Kerrie Masters - "One" EP

A few weeks ago, we had a lovely evening at the launch of Kerrie Master's debut EP “One”, and since then we've been spinning it pretty regularly here at Amp Session Towers, so we thought we'd let you know what we think!

It's been quite some 12 months or so for Kerrie, the singer/songwriter from Colchester, winning a talent show in Essex and even performing at Wembley Arena, but it's debut EP “One” which is the chocolate sprinkles on the icing on the cake.

Kerrie's acoustic, laid back sound resonates through each track and creates a real toe tapping vibe, trust me, the big toe on my right foot aches from tapping along to every single track.

Songs like “That's What You Said” and “Justified” have the feeling of a break up, but not of sorrow, just of disappointment. We've all experienced that feeling of “That's it?” but walking away thinking, “Thank God that's over”, a message which shines through on these tracks.

However, it's "Poppyfields" that stands out as a very personal track. You get the feeling Kerrie's speaking from the heart here about her breaking through and getting out of the nine to five job and the daily, even weekly routine, that lacks the excitement that only comes with performing. 

“One” is easy listening at it's best, this is an EP that you can throw on and just chill out to, it's the sort of thing you can listen to with a date, and even the sort of thing you can put on at Sunday lunch with your mum. Trust me, I did!

I'm a big fan of the EP, it's a collection of well put together tracks, that come together to create one fantastic EP. We love it here at The Amp Session and recommend you pick up a copy, or if you fancy seeing Kerrie Masters live, you can check out her tour dates on her website.

- Chris