BREED77 – The Evil Inside

breed77The early releases by Gibraltarian alt-rockers Breed77 (a name they choose to pronounce with a ‘seven-seven’) are very much workman-like affairs, often derivative of many US post-grunge/alternative rock bands. Even with hints of flamenco music colouring their sound, the song writing on those records often lacks the spark needed to make them stand out from the crowd.

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ALMOST CLASSY – Almost Classy EP

almost classyAlmost Classy – a four piece outfit comprising members from all over the US – bring various elements of classic pop rock together on their debut EP.  Music fans will be about to pick out a myriad of influences throughout these five tunes and the active nature of the band’s arrangements are such that different people could well hear different things, but somehow Almost Classy blend their influences into a wholly enjoyable package that sounds like the work of a band far better than mere copyists.

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ARMCHAIR COMMITTEE – Imola EP

artworks-000041121648-cp9l00-t500x500Recorded at Oxford’s Courtyard Studios in late 2012 with Band of Skulls producer Ian Davenport at the helm, ‘Imola’ – the debut EP from Bristol trio Armchair Committee – is immense.  During its playing time of just under sixteen minutes, the band waste no time in grabbing the attention.  The riffs are laid on thickly, while other more atmosphere driven elements are often delivered with a layer of distortion for good measure.

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N.O.W. – Bohemian Kingdom

NOWUnder the creative guidance of bassist Alec Mendonca and boasting the vocal prowess of ex-Unruly Child vocalist Philip Bardowell, N.O.W.’s 2010 debut album ‘Force of Nature’ had the makings of an cult AOR classic.  It had the well arranged tunes; it had some strong choruses.  On the surface, the album had the potential to be very good, but was sadly marred a little due to demo quality recordings (parts of the album were even mastered at different volumes).

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