The Sheffield Scenester

Not often do you press play on the first track of a band’s debut EP and think “these guys have got it”, but when I first heard the EP’s title track ‘Cast a Critical Eye’, that is exactly what I thought. A guitar riff not dissimilar to that of The Wonder Stuff’s ‘Size of a Cow’, but with a more reserved subtlety which adds to it’s beauty starts the song and leads you up to the start of the vocal track sang by Billy Bankes who has one of the nicest sounding voices I’ve heard anywhere before. It’s a vocal with an early 80’s Manchester feel, instantly I assumed it was Morrisey-esque, but when my friends listened they felt it was more leaning towards Ian Curtis, which has obviously been mentioned before to the band as their Facebook page quotes reference to the fact that the band sound like a ‘fun Joy Division’.

In ‘Cast a Critical Eye’ the vocal part is rightly leant on as the focus of the track, with the bass of Chris Wells & the drums played by Danny Bowman cleverly playing their part by humming along in the background. There aren’t any massive contrasts in style during the song, and the constant is again a beneficial player in the quality of the overall product. The lead guitar is addictive and played perfectly to harmonise with Billy’s vox. A great opening song which instantly has me hooked.

Second song ‘Behind a Fence’ has a slower, but slightly heavier start. I personally feel that the riff is played over too slowly for the first couple of verses and your ears are wanting to get hold and pull it along, but as the song progresses the excellent use of backing vocals eventually pull the sound where you want it to go. If anything the amazing vocal track on ‘Cast a Critical Eye’ make it difficult for Billy to take on and beat what he produced before and as such this song doesn’t really pull it out of the bag for me, it’s a little repetitive and easily the worst of the four offerings on the EP, but still very listenable.

‘At Arm’s Length’ shows more of the ability of the two guitarists, Jake & Michael, whose sounds intertwine to provide the perfect backdrop for this intriguing tune. I always think the quality of a band shows through when they aren’t in any rush to crash through their songs, this style reminds me of some of Dire Straits live performances during the early 80’s, where songs could be anywhere between 5 & 15 minutes in length, but during which the listener would never get bored as there was always something new coming up from the guitarists. The control these two lads show here whilst been steadily pushed along by both bass and drums again which overall plays a vital part to allow the lead singer to do what he does best. ‘At Arm’s Length’ adds something to the slower song which ‘Behind the Fence’ fails to pick up for some reason, but two enchanting tracks from the first three songs is no mean feat.

‘Too Far’ brings the EP to a close in style. A very Arctic Monkeys/Milburn style riff sets off the tune, whilst the Morrisey sounding vocals carry us through the verse mixed in with a well sung backing vocal. The bass really comes into it’s own on this track, it takes you on a rolling journey between all of the layered guitars and vocals and you can’t help but listen out for it. This song is a fair bit heavier than the other three on offer here and I reckon this one would really stand up and be counted when the lads play live.

Throughout all 4 tracks there is a soft muffled sound, I’m not sure if this has been done intentionally or has just been picked up on the feeds whilst recording, but I feel it gives the EP an authenticity and a cool vibe, and as such this should again be classed as a positive. For a debut EP, recorded by the band at a time when their average age was 19, I would give this EP 8 out of 10. The Lion Works have a sound of their own and that’s 9/10’s of the battle won in a city which is brimming with bands that all have a similar post Monkey’s sound.

Another thing to remember when listening back to these tracks (all of which have been made available for anyone to listen to for free on the bands Facebook & MySpace pages) is that these lads only formed The Lion Works just over a year ago. Their early success has been good however, they played at The Boardwalk just before it’s demise last winter, and have also played headlining slots at the Frog & Parrot amongst others, as well as receiving airplay on BBC Radio Sheffield’s introducing show. However, their biggest accomplishment to date has to be playing as main support for The Fun Lovin Criminals at The Corporation this summer, not many bands will get such privileges over a full career together, but for The Lion Works I wouldn’t be surprised if they were soon regularly playing such gigs.

Words by James Whitworth.