http://a300.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/18/l_c44238d7e3475379ee0f247537ed8bab.jpgTHE CARTER AFFAIRThe Carter Affair are a band born of desire and frustration. Desire to be the best we possibly can be, to reach people and to make a difference. And frustration at not hearing music that is relevant, frustration at the Ill take second-best attitudes everywhere and frustration at still hearing the same old tired excuses.
We operate a form of musical escapism. Bored of the small town we call home, with its miles of fresh concrete, shiny plastic and smoked glass, we write songs that take us away from sterile malls and monotonous nine-to-fives.
Each song is a statement of intent: Witch Hunt and Watch Em All Come Running are both a call to arms things can be better, we can change and evolve if we can just raise our voices loud enough. Ghosts Of 78 is a song written in anger about peoples happiness to accept reheated old as brand new, and This City is frustration at small town mentality.
Obviously every song has personal themes: some were written during bad times, others while surfing the crest of the wave. But those feelings are exactly that personal and you can read whatever subtext you will into the lyrics of each song.
SLEEPSHOWFormed mid 2004, Sleepshow were brought together by the founding members of skyfalls, Tom R and Joe C. With new songs written, Tom and Joe recruited old members Matt E an Ben T to fill the void of vocals an bass. After demo recordings were finished Mark joined the band on drums and the line up was complete. Sleepshow recorded their debut e.p, "Oh! How I loathe those little slices of death" in April 2005
Sadly, turbulent times lay ahead, and after only a few months it was clear that things weren't working out with Ben and so Joe moved from guitar onto bass. Shortly after, in early 2005, Joe left the band himself to fully concentrate on his second project and friends of ours, The Forgiving. Matt F, a member of Mark's previous band was then called upon to fill the gap that joe left and so the current line up was created.
SEVEN YEARS ONAttempting to sum up a band like Seven Years On in a few catchy paragraphs is much like trying to nail jelly to a wall (admittedly I've never tried the jelly thing, but I would imagine it to be quite difficult). It's even harder when it's a band that manages to twist their vastly different musical backgrounds into compelling rock music that manages to be dark, pretty and melodic. Rest assured that there's a little bit of scuffed up pop goodness in the mix, fighting it out with noisy guitars and taut rhythms. Three members of the band used to play in Latitude Blue, who played lots of gigs and were lucky enough to work with Deep Elm and some other nice label people.
After the demise of Latitude Blue, Gareth, Neil and Phil embarked on a few wilderness months of playing with new bands and becoming session whores. This didn't work out so well for the intrepid threesome, so after a slurred drinking session it was decided that a new project was the way forward. This still seemed like a good idea the next day, so Seven Years On was born. For as long as we can remember Gareth (vocals/guitar) had been stockpiling songs and ideas, maybe due to his secret desire to become the new Linda Perry and write anthems for the likes of Christina and Pink.
Either way, Neil (guitar/vocals) and Phil (bass) had signed up to add their deft touch to this batch of addictive, yet stylistically diverse tunes. Taking cues from everyone from Pavement to The Who, things were starting to get interesting, but they needed a beat. Fortunately their good friend Andy (drums) jumped on board to make things that little bit more special.
SCORE ONE FOR SAFETYWhat you cant help but admire about Barnets Score One For Safety is their braveness; to stand before a crowd of rabid punk fans and spend five minutes building up a thoughtful, somewhat surreal blend of chiming, rippling guitars takes a lot of front. And their experimental sound almost works as they build to a dense soundscape punctuated by a cappella singing before dissolving into screams. As with Public Relations Exercise, each member seems completely absorbed in their own terrifying world of sound as (backs to the audience) they unleash a barrage of screams, pounding drums and more sonic guitars Yet in the same vein as bands like Devil Sold His Soul, theres also something strangely soothing about Score One For Safety, and if you close your eyes and let the sound envelope you its almost like being underwater. But as quickly as they can be gentle they can just as soon be feverish and abrasive, as the singer contorts and screams like a child having a tantrum.
