Weekly > Features
Ones to Watch 2004
Every year we are told that guitar music is on a downward spiral and that we have nothing to get excited about anymore. Is this really true? Well in a word no, below you will find enough reasons to believe that the future of guitar music is in very good hands, be it new and up and coming acts, or some slightly older hands that have played the pub toilet circuit for a number of years and are now ready to make the step up to the next level.
While we can’t guarantee that all these bands will be competing in the charts with the TV created synthetic pop outfits that seem to rule the roost, we can guarantee that you’ll be hearing some great new music or catching some very good live shows from these bands, which let’s be honest is far more important than being marketed to number 1.
Now you may want to accuse me of local bias here, but please hear me out. I’m going to start this run down of bands with a look at two bands from Leeds. Leeds hasn’t produced much in the way of good bands since it’s flirtation with Goth music in the 80’s, generally living in the shadow of Manchester. This looks about to change with a clutch of very promising bands springing up in recent months.
First up are The Cribs, signed to Witchita Recordings in 2003. Musically they veer between meandering lo-fi sensibilities, through to the chugging guitar style of The Strokes, they release their second single towards the end of February, the superb ‘You Were Always The One’.
The Blueskins burst out of Leeds last year with two singles for Domino Records, the punky ‘User Friendly’ and the five-track ‘Magic Rd EP’. Both singles were critically acclaimed and have started to get the band a devoted fan base within the industry and are without doubt one of this years buzz bands. The NME recently described them as “Bob Marley playing the blues in a garage”, this fails to do them justice though, a number of live shows last year showcased the energy and the versatility within both the song writing and musical style. A headline tour through January and February to coincide with the release of the single ‘Change My Mind’ and an album already in the can for release in the summer, should see their fan base grow across the UK.
The Open have just completed the recording of their debut album and if it’s half as good as the three track, epic sounding ‘Never Enough’ debut EP released last year, then we are in for a real treat. Steven Bayley is the lead singer with a voice that sounds like the finer recorded moments of Ian Brown, with the musical backing from the four other members of the band sitting in the middle ground between the early glorious EP’s released by Ride and the melodies of the La’s. Despite these comparisons though The Open bring their own personalities style to everything they do. Second single ‘Close My Eyes’ (released 1st March) will have people swooning on first listen, this band really could go on to do very great things, ignore them at your peril.
Is it possible for a hyped band to be under-hyped? Franz Ferdinand look set to prove that it is possible. The Scottish four piece were hotly tipped in the more knowledgeable areas of the music press throughout last year, spiky, new wave influenced debut single ‘Darts Of Pleasure’ did little to dampen the hype. Things were still fairly underground until the release three weeks ago of ‘Take Me Out’. Crossing their trademark guitar sound with an electro, dance floor friendly beat, the band came out of nowhere to chart at number 3. The self titled debut album is out on the 16th February and bets are already off on Franz Ferdinand being the band of 2004.
Razorlight are a strange mixture of nationalities (English, Swedish and American), but this hasn’t stopped them from creating three of the finest and freshest singles released in the last year. ‘Rip It Up’, ‘Rock And Roll Lies’ and recent single ‘Stumble And Fall’ are dynamic hybrids of the cool epitomised by The Libertines and the ability of The Clash. Signed to Mercury Records, label owner and famed producer Steve Lillywhite has taken time out to produce the debut album himself which gives you some indication of the type of talent we are looking at here.
Signed to Sony offshoot Double Dragon last year, Ludes are attempting to bring a traditional mix of rock n’ roll and blues, not dissimilar to the early Rolling Stones and combine it with a modern musical outlook. The limited edition debut double a-side single, ‘Luckiest Theatre/ Walkin’ The Black Dog’ somehow managed to capture the live swagger and energy from their near legendary live shows. Talking of live shows the band are rumoured to be the support act for Franz Ferdinand on their coming tour, don’t expect this London five piece to be overawed by the experience.
Feeling any better about this year now? As always we’ll keep you up to date with how these bands progress through the year with news and reviews of any releases.
Have your say...
Comment Guidlines
You must be logged in to post a comment. Go Login or Register first.
We waffle on enough without letting you lot do it too. Comments are limited to 300 characters.
Try and keep on topic if you can and no insulting the contributors. All hate mail can be addressed to Kev.