But where would you be in the middle of the night with no bells and your knickers ringing? Or more to the point, where would you be without the new Hot Press/Heineken link up with Tower Records on Sundays?
Demo Parade is back with a new face and a new twist! As of Sunday 21st November, Tower Records will be hosting one up and coming band a week in their Dublin store, in collaboration with Hot Press and Heineken. From now until Christmas, Hot Press will nominate a different band to play and to get the ball rolling, we will be presenting the Van Winkles, Tower Records, this Sunday. The gigs will, of course, be free.
All pleasantries aside, first off this issue is a very well presented and produced five track tape from The Wilde Oscars. It begins with ‘Strange Days’ which wraps you in the warmth of a very celtic sound, mixed with a reggae-influenced rhythm section, and some fine backing vocals. An interesting outro elevates ‘Time Will Tell’ from being a merely good workman-like song to something slightly more interesting.
Unfortunately, though, the third song, ‘Breathe’ slips passed you with no great impact. The harmonies, helped along by the acoustic guitar work, give ‘In God We Trust’ an almost folky feel. The final song ‘The Way I Feel’ – and to my mind the pick of the bunch – comes across like early Prefab Sprout and Crowded House. The addition of electric guitar broadens the sound here and gives an altogether more satisfying finish to the song. Overall, this is well played, written and produced but I feel that extra musical textures would help to realise the band‘s song-writing ambitions.
Next up, The Screech Owls, who have been around for a while, present us with two original pieces, ‘Desert’ and ‘Hey Toreador’ and a cover version of a Stan Erraught song, ‘Poison River’ from the forthcoming Stars of Heaven tribute album South of Heaven. The Screech Owls’ songwriters Debbie Schow, and Richard Evans (he of Virgin Prunes and mildly well-known brother fame), have a distinctly American sound due, in the main, to Schow’s voice. Evans’ guitar work is never less than interesting throughout and they do a fine job of breathing new life into a well worn musical format.
Onto LDS, whose tape came complete with photo and funny blurb. The first track, ‘Beaches’, comes storming in on a great bass riff, aided and abetted by a group of musicians who are as tight as a gnat’s arse (if we’ll forgive the phrase – Ed). My only quibble is that the vocal is mixed a little too far back and therefore loses some of its punch. The next track, ‘Ma McCready’s Backroom Intro’, is a raucous almost-céile style preface to ‘Eye of the Storm’.
‘Eye of the Storm’ itself could certainly cast LDS as a contemporary Horslips, with a hint of Thin Lizzy in the twin guitar assault. An Irish sound that could perhaps go further . . .
And so to Core, a group who seem to know where they fit in the scheme of things. I would imagine that Faith No More, Therapy? and Megadeth would figure strongly in the collective Core household. As you might expect, Core are a guitar-led, not quite metal group. The use of guitar synthesiser is interesting and augurs well for the future. Tracks one and two, ‘Tears No More’ and ‘Who Cares’, find Core with a contemporary sound akin to early Faith No More, whilst ‘Dangerous Life’ is cast in a much more traditional rock mould. The final track, ‘Indian Summer’, is a short instrumental which stays true to the title. It has a menacing feel and shows, again, Kenneth McHugh’s grasp of the dynamics of the genre.
Keeping the best, in my opinion, for last ar, Slack, who I know very little about, receiving only a cassette, without even song titles. What I do know is that they’re from Waterford and I was greatly impressed by their demo. The first song, which may or may not be called ‘Star’ sets the scene here. Slack have a truly wonderful lead singer in their line-up, who is as passionate as he is tuneful. The band lay down solid rock, with an edge and a groove.
Slack, at times, call to mind The Manic Street Preachers and indeed the singer possesses even more power and depth than James Dean Bradfield. On the negative side, however, I would have to say that the lead guitar is a little heavy handed and inappropriate in places. But this certainly does not take away from the fact that I would most definitely like to see Slack nominated for the Hot Press, Heineken Tower Records gig on Sunday 28th November.
Please keep sending in your demo tapes. Until next time . . .
• Kathryn M Kinney

• For further information concerning the Hot Press, Heineken and Tower Records gig, please contact Tower Records on Wicklow Street.