The Ratells – ‘Behind The Fire’ Single Review

The Ratells – ‘Behind The Fire’ Single Review

          They’ve played a sell-out headline UK tour, supported the likes of Kaiser Chiefs and won ‘The Best Unsigned Band’ Exposed Award in the space of a year. This is, of course, Sheffield’s own four-piece indie-rock band, The Ratells.
          Combining soft, chilled out riffs with a punchy drum beat, ‘Behind The Fire’ starts by demonstrating The Ratells’ gentle quality alongside Ashley Holland’s smooth yet powerful voice. This track showcases Holland’s vocal range and the band’s unique flair for music as ‘Behind The Fire’ drifts effortlessly from quiet, subtle tones to explosive belters of choruses with silky and playful bass riffs throughout that contribute to the track’s overall fluidity. An instrumental solo ensues, complete with upbeat and fast-paced drum patterns and catchy guitar cadences.
          With one listen, it’s easy to forget that The Ratells are an unsigned gem that have yet to record an album. ‘Behind The Fire’ is brilliant in that it makes for easy listening whilst still retaining the seemingly effortless fiery finale that wouldn’t be out of place in arenas. With a feel as timeless as The Ratells’ leather-jacket-and-cigarette image, it’s evident that the boys already know how to write killer tunes and have attracted the likes of Ross Orton, the genius behind Arctic Monkeys’ ‘AM’ and producer of ‘Behind The Fire.’
          Hailing as one of Britain’s most hard-working bands with a strong and dedicated fan base, it’s likely that The Ratells will storm the UK this year with a hefty headline tour in June and a string of singles and EP’s set for release. If they’re anything as good as ‘Behind The Fire,’ you’ll be hearing a lot more people describing them as the best band to emerge from Sheffield since Arctic Monkeys.

Lost Trends – 'Buy the World' EP Review

Lost Trends – 'Buy the World' EP Review

Tracklisting

1. La La (Lies)
2. Takedown
3. The Pop Song
4. Buy The World

     Lost Trends are a wonderfully promising indie-rock band from York, releasing their debut EP ‘Buy The World’. Combining influences from Bloc Party, Sex Pistols and Joy Division, Lost Trends are destined to be in a league of their own with their original and innovative sound that is seemingly shaped by blending punk bass lines and jazzy guitar leads with viscous rhythms and a sharp Yorkshire accent worthy of Alex Turner. 

     Opening this brilliant EP is a song that sounds solidly like a track Kasabian constructed whilst on drugs – rhythmic and repetitive guitar riffs persist throughout together with distorted vocals and dynamic drum beats but there are also traces of techno and an unexpected historical-sounding lecture on the frequency of sound. The second track ‘Takedown’ is very similar and replicates the same elements of the opening track yet ‘The Pop Song’ has clearer vocals, presenting vocalist Stephen Green with an opportunity to demonstrate his choral and lyrical talents. ‘Buy the World’ is much more unique as it edges away from the funkier sounding theme of the whole EP and the guitar riffs are less profuse which unfortunately gives the song a weaker sound and isolates it from the more powerful tracks of the EP.

     Overall this EP is creative and unusual and the band have cleverly combined several musical elements to ensure a wider variety of listeners and as a debut EP, this should be very successful.