The Sheffield Scenester

 - Retro Soup

 - Ian Huddleston

Images taken from MySpace

Retro Soup, one guy and one girl, both of whom possess an abstract perspective on what constitutes a musical statement. This single is anything but mainstream alternative indie, instead it feels more like the sort of sound Ridley Scott might have used in his 1982 masterpiece ‘Blade Runner’. Primarily constructed of a looping synth track which in itself overrides a basic drum rhythm, this soon plays second fiddle to digitally enhanced vocal track – creating a ghostly futuristic effect rather than a statically charged drone, I won’t mention Lady Gaga at this point! Thrown into the mix are some strategically placed military alarms which enrich the whole experience giving it an even greater outer worldy effect. This is not so much a track you sit back and listen to, instead I found it easier to experience the mood generated by the desperation created in the various sweeping rhythms that are delivered seamlessly throughout the track. Evoking scenes of a high octane chase in an overpopulated metropolis, with both protagonist and antagonist risking life and limb to reach their ultimate goal, one to evade while the other tries to capture. Both an original and futuristic sound which ultimately hypnotises you into either loving it or hating it!
As you can see this is one seriously screwed up piece of music which having brainwashed myself with it for about half an hour I can honestly say I enjoyed it. If you think of yourself listening to Muse – (they’ve covered ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ on MySpace) - while under the influence of several mind-bending substances then you’ll get the picture. They will be playing The Boardwalk in Sheffield on April 5th if anyone fancies putting this theory to the test. As a final note; if La Roux can get away with a song like ‘In For The Kill’ then there’s no reason Retro Soup can’t turn a few heads with this vastly superior single, I’m even tempted to get my hands on their album ‘Glitch’!

Hot off the presses from Fat Elephant Studios is this solid tune from The Elephant Keys, one of Sheffield’s most popular and busiest bands. Full of their trademark driving guitar and drums, ‘Fashion Queen’ grabs you at full pelt and doesn’t let up until the final chord is wrung dry. Produced with an ear for clarity as well as raw power this certainly is a labour of love with Tommy’s delicate keyboard coming through during the odd lull in guitar focused mayhem that ensues throughout. Mike Breeze’s drums are elevated to the fore instead of just being thrown in to keep rhythm; you can practically feel every skin being beaten senseless. Of course all this plays second fiddle to Phil’s earth-shattering guitar work, making for an outstanding piece of production. As with most Elephant Keys tracks Phil’s vocal range is relentlessly challenged but as with his live performances you are never let down. It was after a live performance at The Frog And Parrot that Phil handed out this single to baying fans, even though it only has the one track, you do get the added bonus of the song lyrics printed on the sleeve. Capturing the unbridled energy of their live performances brilliantly, this is a must have addition to any collection and to make the deal sweeter, it was given away free.

Photo by Phil Swift

Ian Huddleston has in the past fronted two bands, The Solution and Viva High Rollers but during a two year sabbatical he began writing as a solo artist. After releasing two EP’s he is now in the process of completing his debut album and as a taster he sent us five tracks to appraise.

The first track, titled ‘Got A Chip On His Shoulder’ begins at a jolly romp of a pace, a tune that seems to bounce along in your head so without even trying he has hooked you already. You’d be easily forgiven at this point if you thought you’d stumbled across an undiscovered Calvin Harris track until the vocals kick in. With an almost Chris Rhea type drollness in his voice Ian relates a tale of a soulless life or at least the main character in the song is one of those average Joe’s with a ‘Glass half empty’ kind of philosophy. But due to the self-pitying style of vocal delivery you can just bop along to a playful tune and take it as a good tune and nothing more.
Following this is a slightly Tom Petty inspired track, dispensing with the buoyancy employed in ‘Chip’ we are treated to quite a solid Folk Rock based tune. Even his vocals adopt a near casual American approach to the song ‘He Said She Said’, and as such come across a lot clearer. Utilizing a heavy keyboard underneath the lyrics to emphasize the emotion portrayed in this song almost as if we are witnessing a couple at loggerheads. The rhythm and tempo are pitch perfect for my taste, it’s just a pity that it claims the prize for shortest song, coming in at just under three minutes, I could do with at least another minute and a half on top!

In the longest track of the selection – running at over five minutes – we are given the song ‘Something For My Own’, which happily drops the rock inspired argumentative approach to make way for a slightly more optimistic approach to love and happiness in a world that does it’s best to drag you down. Basically he has nothing but a girl to love and that’s all he wants from life, something to define his existence. This is carried along by a simple acoustic guitar, delicate keyboard and a light touch on the drum to keep the rhythm pulsing along, no frills just grass roots song writing at its best.

Next up is the rather self indulgent track ‘Dear Boy’ written for his son Reuben, I have heard a fair few songs in this particular vein and whilst the sentiment is well meaning, they do tend to come across as rather soppy affairs. Pre-occupied with caring and protecting the fruit of his loins, we are offered more of a lullaby than a recording worthy of album status. The only song of this genre I have enjoyed was Loudon Wainwright’s ‘Being A Dad’ but that was simply due to the fact that he took a slightly wry comical approach to the subject matter, on the other hand it will play beautifully as soundtrack material to a new baby video!

Finally we reach the ironically titled ‘Goodbye’ an acoustic number based solely around a strumming guitar. Towards the end though we given an insight into Ian’s ongoing project; string instruments are subtly introduced, a musical direction close to his heart as in May he begins rehearsals with The Endcliffe Orchestra on his songs. He is looking to put together a concert later in the year to showcase this collaboration which based on the strength of these songs should be quite an interesting affair as this is how he originally visualised his music.