The Sheffield Scenester

Local lads Chatfield sent across a load of new songs to us here at The Sheffield Scenester and asked us to have a listen. These 4 chaps have only been together for three years this month...but have already had huge success around our city. Last July they played to over 5000 people on the Tramlines main stage, which was a huge plus for their CV, now a year on they have an exciting bunch of songs that will hopefully be available as a demo or EP soon:

Hibernate

A sharp introduction to the world of Chatfield! Straight away it is noticeable that these lads are talented, as the tempo changes three or four times inside the first ten seconds. The sign of quality on a track is the tightness of the sound and all four of these lads are perfectly in time as lead singer Chris Davis Smith goes straight into his vocal. Chris seems more than comfortable, showing a good range and ability to hold his own with the track. This track has a punchy feel throughout and straight away has the listener’s interest.

Erase

The intro to the song bares a fair resemblance to the Eagle Eye Cherry track ‘Save Tonight’ which again gives you some idea about the pace of the song. ‘Fall into my arms tonight/erase the past give up the fight’, nicely sung once again, although the instant repeating of the vocal to provide a delayed echo effect could have the ability to be a little grating after a while. This shouldn’t be construed as negativity though; ‘Erase’ is a good tune, with a solid drum foundation provided by stick man Josh O’Brien. This could possibly be the one out of the bunch to stick in your head.

Masquerade

The bass and lead guitar combine excellently at the start of the track to lead into another quality tune. Chris’s style reminds me of Anthony Kedis from the Chilli’s, none more so than in this tune which does seem quite influenced by the American rockers. A really nice tone on the guitar grabs the ear as you listen to the bass pinging away all over the place. These lads are talented beyond their years and all compliment each other very well.

Had To Leave

Despite the lyrical meaning of the song been about someone walking out of a relationship, this song still manages to create a positive vibe. The timing of everyone is evident again, with the music regularly stopping and restarting flawlessly. ‘Had To Leave’ is a little meatier than the first few songs I listened to, and unsurprisingly it is a favourite on the band’s Myspace page, with over four thousand hits. I assume they played this track at Tramlines last year and I bet it went down a storm out there.

Welcome Company

Another slick bass line provided by Stefan Rankine takes you on a musical journey right through the core of this song. This has my vote for their best song out of the collection I got to review, again the addictive bass intermingles with clever guitar work and another set of solid drums. The lead vocal on this track also manages to get it spot on, as it’s not overpowering to the detriment of the music. One of the hardest things when songwriting is showing control and not over egging the custard, on this track Chatfield do it perfectly.

Puzzle

A resentment of an ex partner again forms the basis of the lyrics, I assume that the boys take their influence from things that have already happened to them in life and having the background knowledge of a subject always makes for a better story. This song is like ‘Eton Rifles’ crashing into the Arctic Monkey’s when at their early career best, another tune which you would not turn off until it was finished, ‘Puzzle’ sounds to me as though it would be a solid part of any live set, and I’m sure it would get everyone moving down at the front of the stage.

Solitary Aspiration

I was very disappointed when I heard the intro to this song as for me it just borrows too much from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers song ‘Zephyr Song’ it is almost identical. Regardless of that I listened on and a great song lies behind this early fault. Great use of backing vocals combining with the lead vocal and a heavy guitar sound make ‘Solitary Aspiration’ another of the better tracks in the bunch. Chatfield have a frontman with a very good voice, and likewise I feel that he is able to set himself free as he has complete trust in the other three musicians. I wouldn’t patronise these lads by saying they’re going somewhere, as they’ve had relatively huge success on the local scene already, but I would say change the intro!!

Overall, I found all seven tracks very enjoyable to listen to and I’m sure these lads will be out and about gigging around Sheffield again soon with this new material, and they are well worth checking out.

Words by James Whitworth