Live at The Cherry tree Walkinstown, Dublin 26thofApril 08
Thrilling and epic two words to describe the performance on the night with top class grooves and excellent stage presence Baby Jenx pulled of a great gig, even thought The cherry tree room is a more intimate gig Baby Jenks gave you a much wider feel as if you were at a big stadium with full fat sound and a very tight set while playing some class tunes from there forthcoming debut album that will be released soon this year with some melodic grooves and superb vocals on board this is one act you need to get out and see.
Gary Reddy vox/gutair playing some sweet riffs and getting into the music with some real passionate vocals
Mick Reddy on bass creating some real grooving melodies on bass
Back stage with Baby Jenx........
review by T.Halpin
GIG RANK: ****** 6 out of 6
3 TRACK DEMO REVIEW
This four piece Dublin based band is on the scene since 2003, the demo contains three tracks of mesmerizing tunes with flawless melodic rhythm.
Exhale – A very soft but lifting tune, the vocals express the lyrics very well with some nice dynamics coming from this tune with moody tones and uplifting melodies this has the feel of indie rock with a splash of pop.
Sell yourself – There is a few elements to be heard from this tune, folk rock with a bit of southern American style feel, I would have liked to hear more from the cool melody used in the intro on the keys but it still sounds sweet and very clean cut tune.
Karman line – This tune has a nice flow in the rhythm it kicks in like an early Pink Floyd number but changes in a nice way with the vocals carrying the tune very well, the piano work sounds too much like a Cold play song this tune lacks a bit of originality but sounds great.
Consists of: Peco, Dave, Phily and Johnny; who formed from fragments of bands such as Pedestrienne, After the Party and Penfold DM.
RedSky in the Morning
Was released in April last year and blazed the official Irish top 40!This world is for the Living… says it all.They have managed to collaborate their lyrics, moving from one style of music to another.One looks forward to more downloads from BLF.I will Definitely be putting these musicians in my diary to see Live.BLF have also received lots of Inde rad airplay and one looks forward to hearing them globally.
Little Bear is screaming a Daddy Bear Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
B Raymond and the Voicettes
Consists of: Scott, Joseph, Shaun Doherty and Lee Hayes.
Old Man Marley
Used with the ‘Brylcreem’ advert last September… catchy tune, stayed with me during the day!Lyrics are clear andpercussion lead this jolly track.
Angles McShambles!
60s style track, which I’m sure gets the audience in the party mood.They (or their songwriting skills) have a future in the pop world.Keyboards gives a cute edge.
Despite a pretty tongue-in-cheek. 'we're-a-bit-crap-we-are' bio, Bocs Social (no, I don't know why they're called that either) from Wicklow, flatter to deceive. Sure they won't be doing any 20 minute solos or prog-rock style concept albums anytime soon, but they're good at what they do, and, in their cheeky way they're not half bad despite the shoe-string production. The song I've slipped on is 'Whoa' which is a fantastic little ska-lite, indie sing-a-long that makes you think of The Futureheads (or early Police if your old enough to know) and the chorus of...well.. "wo oh, wo oh oh oh oh" will be sticking to you like blind stupidity to a Big Brother contestant. I am well taken with Boca's warm humour and bouncy pop. Don't go all Muse on me now lads. More of the same please.
When I was at school I really struggled with Maths. No matter how much I sweated and struggled, it was a bit of an alien language to me. I have to fess-up to the fact that Big Herk's type of gangsta/mysoginistic rap, is also an alien language to me. I try to get it, I really do, but coming as I do from the relatively "ho" , "gangsta" and "Uzi" free, South East of England I struggle with its content. These tracks may well resonate to and be soundtracks of the lives of the inhabitants of the ".. troubled streets of Detroit..." - about where these tracks were written, but to my vanilla ears its a bit... well, too surreal.
Back in the day when Death Row records was at its height and Tupac and Biggie were still duking it out, I've no doubt Big Herk's style of chest beating, gun toting machismo rap would have shipped by the container load in urban America. Even if you live in the leafy counties of the UK, if references to women being "ho's" to be used as sex toys, shootouts and every third word being an insult or heavy duty expletive then Big Herk will definitely float your boat. Sounding very much like Xhibit or a gravelly voiced Eminem (with extra street), Herk has a natural and listenable rappers voice but what you get is a full on, in your face gangsta rap lyrical experience. Now, I am a long long way from being a prude or right wing conservative but let me throw in a random line from the track 'I'm a boss' for you - "... I just want to fuck, don't kiss me, as soon as I get my dick sucked, your history". You get the idea?
I should say at this point that the production and team behind Herk, make first class, professional soundtracks as good as any in the business, but it seems wasted on that old-school, dick-grabbing macho lyric that a "Parental Advisory" sticker would barely cover. Musically, with a bit of radio friendly editing this track could easily get in the top ten in the UK or Stateside but certainly with the content as it is, not a prayer.
(There they go) is Big Herk guesting with Eminem on a track made by Obie Trice (I'm guessing that this is probably stretching the definition of 'Unsigned' a bit thin). Where the 'I'm a boss' track extolls the virtues of easy sex, drugs and power. 'There they go,' is 4 minutes of shout-out samples, gun violence and gang reference. Don't be pursuaded that this stuff is simply a reflection of the 'mean streets,' these three clearly love this violence and gun stuff. For example Eminem cuts loose from his chart friendly persona and pops up with this kind of thing - "... cut her from the waist - what a waste - of a pretty face", and If you think its being 'ironic', try listening when the track finishes with Herk bellowing "we've got something for yo ass" followed by the sound of gun fire and a manic laugh. Frankly, with over 30 teenagers in the UK last year killed by weapons and gang violence, tracks like this just sticks in my throat. The only irony is that most of the rappers who made their money from tales of the street and 'thug life' are currently living in big piles in Beverley Hills, leaving it a LONG way behind.
With his contacts, if Big Herk took a leaf out of 50 Cent, Xhibit or Ice T's book and moved away from all the ego posturing and gun-love and wrote more intelligent raps (he certainly has the lyrical skill) he would be massive in his field but as it is, in 2007 do we need to keep doing this?
Bendicion comes from DC. USA with his high stylized lyrics and fusion of rap with the birth of his own creativity called Mezclado; Latin Explosion has eight tracks of deep and passionate statements coming straight from his heart with some Latin beats and hip hop rhythm feel, the album takes you on a journey of real American urban music.
Latin explosion - The use of both Spanish and English language can be heard through out this tune, this is really impressive even when it’s merged with some catchy rap lyrics, a nice upbeat melody cuts the mix giving a real laid back feel but in your face thrill.
Roosters – This tune is the more dark side to the album with its poetic feel to the vocals and its political statements, the electronic melody used has a cool futuristic feel to it and is merged well with a slow grooving beat.
Enciende – The Latin feel coming from the rhythm in this tune has a great feel and mixed well with some spooky melodies, the vocals takes over the tune a little too much not allowing its melody to breath but still is a nice little spinner.
That’s the way – The lyrics in this song a very forward and political but yet again Bendicion sings this tune with a poetic jazzy tone to a back beat hip hop melody.
Sanctuary – The guitar in this track streams with flamenco and beautiful Latin jazz feel, the vocals sounds perfect with a real sweet sounding chorus in the mix.
Rapido – The commercial potential in this tune is huge, Bendicion teams up with Milky Bad Boy on this track its got a great catchy Latin melody and the use of the word Rapido will have you singing this one over and over again superb stuff.
Everything – This tune has more straight forward theme to it with the change in the style of Bendicion’s vocals to a more funky R n B tone to them, this song really suits his voice, the tune is moving with a cool laid back melody.
Crash landing – Here we have a short minute and a half of Latin fusion the mix is very busy with streams of sampled vocals and a dream like experience to the sound, the vocals have a more visual aspect to the tune more like a statement than a song.
We awarded this four piece group from Dublin band of the month in June and this was the first time to see the guys live, I waited with anticipation till the lead singer Arron took the mic into his hand as the rest of the band kicked in with a upbeat intro, you could feel the adrenaline rush coming from the lads very relaxed but rearing to go, I like the style of Borndays they have a nice rock hard edge to them with catchy pop melodies to smooth the sound into your ears, even there stage presence was on top form. With thumping crash and ride cymbals and electric guitars strumming in perfect time Borndays have a style of playing very upbeat and raw. They gave a super show on the night for a band that is on the ladder to future success.
Borndays have music running in there veins full of energetic rock.
TURN IT OFF - This is a real good upbeat tune, gutair bass and drums play a great part in this song holding down a strong groove vocals works great between the melody a great rock song with foot tapping potential.
MIRACLE - Good solid beat thrown into the mix in this tune very energetic groove drives the melody, vocals sound great with a good catchy chorus, good stuff!
Brian came on the the stage with his full band and the crowd did not know what hit them he played all of his songs from his album THE ROCHFORD FILES Brian opened with TAKING ITS TOLL starts off with a intro with lyrics and guitar and kicks in with the drums has a real indie rock feel to it great gutair solo from brian you can see he is in his element on this tune!!! Brian ended the night with ON LOVE 60s funkie theme blended with a rock element great lyrics and vocls and Brian plays a fantastic solo in this one!Brian will be back here on the 15th of sep 2006.
Balance are from the United Kingdom the ep has a very deep and passionate feel with some real catchy tunes. "Little angel" this tune has a real soft Bowie approach to the song with some very moving lyrics and nice melodies to back them up. "Who's gonna save the world? The Monkey's influence is heard through out this tune yet Balance put a touch to it with some great vocals from the front man. "So much distance" there is a soft feel from the guitars in this tune with a nice melodic tone coming from the vocals, a real folk acoustic number. "At the end of a very big room"this is a very flowing folk indie tune the lyrics are a real harmonic early Lennon feel maybe a piano would be nice but sounds great.
