Feature article: record reviews
News and reviews of recorded music, EPs, Albums and Songs by Leicester bands and artists
Roxum
Roxum are an alternative/club rock band from Barwell, Leicestershire and were formed in the fall of 2005. Since then the band have worked hard at establishing their own original and infectious club rock anthems.
The combination of club style drum beats, hard hitting bass lines, mind blowing guitar riffs and strong vocal performances have contributed to Roxum’s current success as one of the most marketable acts currently in the East Midlands.
Now in 2010, Roxum come to the UK audience with their self funded first studio album titled ‘My Money’s on the Bear’ capturing their finest work of the last 5 years, headed by their debut single ‘Around and Down’ which is set for release on iTunes, Napster, 7Digital, MySpace and Amazon MP3 on the 6th September 2010.
Alongside distributors Ditto Music the band are working hard to become one of only the seven independent bands to make it into the UK Top 40. To increase their chances the band have an extended two month Pre-Sale period in which all sales will then count to the first weeks sales figures (w/c 06/09/2010).
According to previous research Roxum require 3 – 4,000 sales to get into the Top 40 and benefit from invaluable air play and exposure.
The band currenlty have a Social Media campaign on facebook which already has almost 2,000 members!
Roxum on Myspace | Roxum on CuteTracks | Roxum's campaign on Facebook
Autohype's new song
Leicester band Autohype have released a new song "Call My Name" which can be heard on their Myspace.
The band is busy touring Germany but you can see them live at the Summer Sundae Festival on 14th August 2010.
Charlee Drew releases new single
Leicester singer Charlee Drew has released a new single.
Charlee's new single Sugar Rush will be released on 19th July 2010. The debut single is being released by Lab Records.
There will be a free launch party at The Shed in Yeoman Street to celebrate the launch on
See Charlee Drew's main web site
or see him on MySpace
The Morning Sessions
A band from Leicester releases its first album today (1st March) to acclaim from the BBC, among others. We listened to the tracks.
The Album - Ventures- contains six tracks and is a collaboration between Peter Hirst (Vocals, Guitar) and
Pete Jovetic (Guitar, Bass)
with additional contributions from
Dan Drage (Drums, Percussion). Beautfully recorded (at Stuck on a Name Studios, Nottingham), the songs are a joy to listen to. Apart from the excellent mixing and mastering, the vocals (by Pete Hirst) are crystal clear; the evocative, poetic lyrics come through really well because you can hear every word that is sung. These bluesy songs are laden with visual imagery and yearning emotions; songs of love and relationships, they are contemplative and heart-wrenching. The guitar work is intricate and recorded with great intimacy and skill, bringing the instruments alive. The arrangements of instruments and vocals are elaborate, a cleverly woven combition of acoustic and electric guitars. There are slight Eastern influences in the instrumental writing that give a distinctive sound flavour.
Ventures is a highly polished piece of work and the studio has done a great job. A short album but one that you would want to come back to again and again. Ventures is a brilliant peice of work from a set of highly talented artists.
Ventures is available from Amazon at £3.99
Signify
Signify played at the Shed on 11th October and will be appearing at the Glastonbudget Festival in May.
Reviewed by Nick Furlong on our Discovery page
Reviewed by Nick Furlong
Four top quality original songs have been pieced together to provide the Heroes latest demo. Laden with empowering vocals throughout and an equally mighty instrument section prove that they mean business with this offering. However you mustn’t be mistaken into thinking this e.p. is all about thumping drum beats and rhythmic anecdotal vocals fitting in with the cliché feel of a mainstream rock band of recent years.
Whilst tracks one and two do achieve this sound with an abundance of class and style, I can’t helping telling myself that the two later offerings, “Little Suzie” and “Flowers in Golden Times” are what really sell this whole musical package to me.
The atmosphere created by each of these two demonstrates a more sophisticated side to the band with a very classy, mature feel to them. I can certainly imagine myself kicking back after a long day and chilling out to the melodic choral singing that opens “Flowers in Golden Times”. As the track then floats along a journey of tranquillity you can’t help but feel relaxed and content. Very cleverly though this feel does not affect the sheer brilliance of the musical integrity of the piece, providing a gentle yet still gravelly vocal sound synonymous with the Heroes, coupled with a sympathetically written musical backing. TheHeroes are most definitely out to prove they are up there with the top modern indie talent at the moment.
Product Recall – Liquor in the front, Poker round the back – Romulus records
Reviewed by Nick Furlong
A slight grunge tinge in there, some metal screams, elements of a classic mainstream rock sound, some “Helmet” influenced riffs and a very well written and produced rock album. That is what Leicester band “product recall” have given us with their latest offering, “liquor in the front, poker round the back”.
Since hitting the scene in 2005 this band have obviously gone far and created a perfected sound that has obviously won them many admirers in the process; and rightly so! In my opinion what this band can boast with most confidence about this record is that with its solid guitaring and rhythmic drumming it has managed to capture a feel that can be appreciated by all music fans, not just those rock or metal fans.
The sheer intensity of the songs throughout the album create such an atmosphere rarely found on a recording, as a listener you truly feel like you are there standing at a huge rock gig watching them live, surrounded by hundreds of passionate long-haired rock fans! That is surely a top skill that they have harnessed and should cherish throughout their obviously very promising (and already successful) music careers. This is an all round solid album that certainly carries some power, meaning and intensity and would no doubt stand up to many of the offerings in the current market.
Roxum's new releases
Roxum: quirky catchy
by Nick Furlong
Get on your dancing shoes, switch on the strobe lighting, these two tracks from alternative band “Roxum” simply make me wanna leave the day behind and dance the night away. Hailing from Leicester Dale, James, Jamie, Jack and Joe have been whipping up dance floors since 2008 with a charming flare.
The mere essence of this band seems to exude energy and passion for what they do.
“My money’s on a number one hit”, would be a more appropriate title for track number one, “my money’s on the bear” quite frankly, in an age where Kasabian, Maximo Park and the like are romping through the charts, there is certainly a huge pair of arms ready to welcome “Roxum” into the mainstream music scene to be heard by the nation.
This funky band are doing exactly what society wants to hear, at the moment and then some! This is proved further by “body for a bullet” showing these are two tracks that have taken a simple rock line-up of guitars bass and drums and spiced them up with some impressive results and an abundance of style!
Here are two very catchy, upbeat songs that I can imagine going down an absolute storm at a live gig. A very modern style of British club-like vocals have been achieved, that added to the groovy force that the guitars and bass have created, lay perfectly on top of the foot-tappingly good drumming of Jamie Bennett. The overall sound has a certain quirk to it that sets it apart from the strum heavy indie bands of late, the walking bass, bouncy drums and most notably the pounding club choruses are to blame for this work of musical genius I believe.
I am certainly very glad to have found this band that have produced a very enjoyable EP, and wish them all the best in the future.
Roxum - listen to them!
Visit our page of reviews of live rock gigs
"Etched in Blue" by Refuge.
A well produced CD with a set of enjoyable acoustic songs - good clear vocals and appealing instrumentation, makes this a quality CD. Songs are acoustic, offering a relaxed set, full of atmosphere and colour. A set of reflective songs that makes you want to grab a nice glass of wine and put your feet up.
Full of tantalising riffs and chords to bring out the poetic lyrics, it's a classy piece of work. The songs are blusey and chilled but indie rather than jazzy. The vocals are shared between Pete and Jesse (who also play guitar), backed up by Miranda on Harp and Liam on guitar with Jacob coming in on the keys and glockenspiel and in some of the songs there is some Tabla, courtesy of Manesh. The articulation is beautifully clear and you can follow the lyrics easily - always a bonus, especially for music of this kind where the singing is what it's all about.
Refuge formed in 2006 and released their first album "White Breeze" in the same year. This album was released in January this year. Refuge sources its musical roots in a diverse range of idioms including Radiohead, The Verve, Simon and Garfunkle, Fleetwood Mac and Damien Rice - among others.
I like this Album - have played it a few times and it stands up to repeated listenings - you can find something new in it each time. "Etched in Blue " is an album with a quality set of songs, fine production and a pleasing listening experience. A welcome contribution to Leicester's acoustic repertoire.
You can listen to five of the "Etched in Blue" songs on the Refuge MySpace.
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