Amaryllis: Amaryllis (Review)

Staying in England today with Rock/Alternative 5 piece band Amaryllis from London/Surrey.
This is their self-titled EP.

Vixen
The intro of the song first of all reminded me of You Me At Six, but as it goes on it seems to go heavier so even before the vocals I know I'm in for a great song. Sometimes in rock songs they can have these great intros and instrumentals but be let down with the vocals but that's not the case with Amaryllis. Sante's voice isn't too heavy  so you might think they'd get lost in the guitar but you'd be wrong, it's so well produced that everything to perfectly clear. The lyrics are what I'd expect from this kind of genre, they're not repetitive but tell a kind of story and I love it! At the end the guitars start in one ear and switch to both it's fantastic crash of guitars, drums and bass which is a fantastic way to end the song.
From the first time I heard Vixen I knew I was in for something special and I was right!

Little White Lies.
The intro starts playing only in my left ear (At first I thought my headphones had died) before going crashing into both. I love that Amaryllis have that long intro it gives the guitars and drums that chance to be own there own and not have to worry about over powering the vocals. I can't really fault this song it's another well produced, fantastically written, powerful rock song that I want to blast out of my speakers at the highest volume just so everyone can appreciate it's amazingness.

Between The Lies.
Is another great song, slightly slower compered to the speed of Little White Lies, still with great power, excellent production, clear vocals, great lyrics and two guitarist who obviously know what they're doing! There's not a lot else I can say, not because it's bad but because it's similar to the other songs so I'd just be repeating myself.

I really enjoyed Amaryllis EP with that mix of power and lighter vocals, it's not something I've really heard before but it really works. In fact it's probably the best rock EP I've heard in a while and I think you should totally check it out.

Listen here: http://amaryllisuk.bandcamp.com/
Check out Amaryllis Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AmaryllisUK?hc_location=stream

Em xxx

The Red: Fat Dancer (Review)

I'm back in England today but not just England Lincolnshire! It's not very often I get to review a band from the county I now live. Anyway this is The Red, 5 piece Fuck rock/Pop/Jazz and their debut single.
Fat Dancer.
This isn't normally my genre of music but when I listened to it for the first time I found myself tapping my foot and singing along!
Straight away it has one of those beats that you can't not tap your foot too, you'll find yourself dancing to it before you know it. The way Sam sings is quite unique to me, it's not just the same poppy voice that sounds the same as everyone else. In fact there's a uniqueness to the whole band which is one of the reason I started to listen to them in the first place. The lyrics are the kind that get in your head so you'll be singing them for hours after, they're simple and easy to learn as I was singing along before I listened to the whole song for the first time! The only thing is listening to it on repeat for so long (As I need to do) I found myself getting a little board. I've completely fallen in love with the guitar and I'd love someone to teach me to play like that!
I like the whole uniqueness about the song and it's so catchy despite it not being your normal thing you should totally listen, it's so worth it to hear these guys talent!

Listen to Fat Dancer here: http://thered.bandcamp.com/track/fat-dancer
Check out The Red's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRedPage?fref=ts

Em xxx

 

Stakeout: Young and Fearless tour (Birmingham date) Review

Recently I had the lovely pleasure of seeing Stakeout on their headlining Young and Fearless tour in Birmingham!

The night started with local supports were 4 piece pop-rock band The Callout. Not knowing them before hand I didn't know the words to their songs but they pulled off a really good performance as I was clapping along and enjoying myself. Their set wasn't long and it was all their own songs so the crowd didn't really sing along but The Callout started off a great night in style and I'll be checking them out in the future!
Check out The Callouts Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecalloutofficial

Next on the bill were Birmingham 5 piece alt-rockers Speaking in Shadows. I saw SIS back in February when they supported Taking Hayley and I wasn't that impressed with their performance but they've defiantly proved me wrong! They had a great stage presence that got the whole crowed moving, Adam's vocals sounded really good and clear compared to when I last saw them. In one of the songs the crowd was even given our own line to sing, which is always great. They finished their set with their single Sweet Gemini which is one of the only one of their songs I knew so I was really singing, clapping and having fun.
I really great set and I would happily see them for a third time.
Check out Speaking In Shadows Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/speakinginshadows?fref=ts

Third were new 4 piece country/rock band Paighton, only releasing their first EP about a month ago this is the first time many people have heard them live. The members of Paighton are made up of the old members of That Sunday Feeling, who'd seen live twice and was never that impressed with their live performance but coming back as Paighton has given them a new life. They did mostly covers and only two of their own songs, one of them being brand new. Some of the covers I didn't know but had a great time singing along to the ones that I did including The Summer Of 69, they finished their set with the song Somebody which I knew very well and sung very loudly along to. A very good first impression from Paighton and I would defiantly go see them again.
Check out Paightons Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaightonUK

Finally headliners 3 piece pop-rock band Stakeout. Due to Matt (Lead vocals and guitar) being ill their set was cut a little shorter and despite all that they were amazing! For the first time they played a mix of both their EP's mixing the old songs with new songs and some covers thrown in too. Going from their intro into Chelsea, Never End, Hero, Sing It Loud then into a cover of Demi Lovato's Heart Attack. Which sounded amazing, hearing it performed by a proper band made that crash on the chorus sound fantastic! They slowed in down for The Outcome Of Saying Goodbye which has a lot of personal meaning to the band and it showed as they played it, I was singing my heart out or I would have been crying my eyes out. They also played their new single Heartbreak Overdue which is probably my favourite song by them so I had a brilliant time jumping up and down to it. They closed the night with a cover of Sex On Fire in which all the bands came on stage for a bit of a stage invasion which resulted in a blow up palm tree being in the crowd and Lee (Bass and backing vocals) getting us covered in water. Despite Matt being ill and the chance of the gig not going ahead everything went amazingly, they couldn't have done a better job!
I will defiantly be going to see them again but a bit closer next time hey?
Check out Stakeouts Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/StakeOutOfficial?fref=ts

Em xxx
P.s No it's not possible to put amazing too many times in one review!