The Sheffield Scenester

Press Release -
Vexihomp is the fantastical new mini album from Yorkshire band Volcanoes. Following on from last year’s superb Badchild Farsight EP the boys have done it again and produced another genius set of songs. This time around the song writing of guitarist Kevin Shirley (The Pageant / Vexihomp) has really blossomed and together with frontman Samson Bedford they have formed a formidable song writing partnership.Vexihomp is jam-packed with musical hooks, vocal harmonies and dynamite lyrics. It’s fun, heartfelt and angry at the same time. Vexihomp is testament to how hard this band work and just how far they can go. Volcanoes have belief and it’s howling out of this record. It is clear that some of the songs on Vexihomp are very different to each other. Don’t be alarmed, pour yourself a stiff drink and just go with it, this is how Volcanoes roll. It’s not that they haven’t found their sound

yet, it’s just they never wanted one in the first place. Yes they have the attention span of a flea but their music is razor sharp, witty, entertaining and bursting with ideas. Volcanoes don’t want to be a theme band that has a sound for about six months. They want to write ridiculously good songs and when one is finished they move on to the next idea whatever that may be. It would be easy to throw in the towel after six years slogging it as an unsigned band. NEVER, Volcanoes go from strength to strength. The inspirations for this record are numerous. Little Feet is a heartfelt song written by Samson for his wife after their struggle with infertility. Beat me to the Bull is a rather different affair and was written about a ceramic bull found (and then sold to someone else!) in an art shop!

A little about the band - A note from their webpage states:
‘According to reviews we sound like THE CORAL / PETE DOHERTY / THE RED HOT CHILE PEPPERS / SPARKS / ARCTIC MONKEYS / BLUR / THE STOOGES / MUDHONEY / TEST ICICLES / TALKING HEADS / DIZZY RASCAL (yikes!) / THE MUSIC / KINGS OF LEON (hopefully when they were good) / FUTUREHEADS / THE AUTOMATIC / THE ZUTONS / MAXIMO PARK / BRITISH SEA POWER / FOALS / THE STONE ROSES / THE LEMON HEADS.
But maybe it is they who sound like us…’

So I’m expecting a clash of different sounds here and a few references to bands in the indie genre along the way. It’s nice to see a band taking a leisurely approach to being likened to other bands. That is a pretty impressive list you’ve got there Volcanoes, who knows by the end of the review I may have added a few more.

Intro:
Ok so on first listen I’ve already got a few to add! They instantly reminded me of Leeds festival 2009 where the first two bands i saw were ‘Late of the pier’ and ‘Pull tiger tail’. They have a very similar style to both, that sort of very catchy modern indie with a bit of synth thrown in for good measure which just cheers you up and gets you going. You could easily see these guys first on the bill at a festival giving all they have got and gearing everyone up for what will proceed. Just to add a few more bands to that list, they also incorporate some nice ‘Bloc Party’ type licks and Indie rock ideas which prove for some very refreshing and interesting listening. The whole EP is quite provocative and cheeky ideas and vocals come at you from the start to finish. All in all It’s a bit of a music sprucer if you will. So on to the songs...

The songs:
-Vexihomp
A joyful romp of a song incorporating well written guitar lines and lyrics. This makes you smile as soon as you put it on and could see everyone at a gig jumping around and enjoying this from beginning to end. You could see this ending up backing one of those French Hot hatchback car ads. It has a really ear catching sound and if you heard this come on the radio you would turn around and ask your mate ‘who’s this?’... Va-va Voom.

-Little Feet
Cheeky lyrics again and mellow but supportive guitar and keys. The vocal line in the verses does remind me a little of the ‘bloc party’ singer in tonality. The chorus break does have a very catchy little riff going on, with the lyrics and the guitar complimenting each other excellently. The song breaks down towards the end with a very ‘kings of leon’ style backing vocal doing ‘oh’s’ over the rest of the music. It then kicks back into another chorus before finishing.

-Beat me to the bull
I’m not sure if the singer (Samson Bedford) is From London or there about? (I’m sure the web says Leeds?) but a slight southern accent does come through occasionally on this one. This one starts with a drill on the guitars and bass juxtaposed with a simple rhythm on the drums. It is another attention grabbing track with the vocals going on a tirade of clever and interesting little points throughout.

-The atheist
I’m not sure this one fits in with the other songs on the album; it is very much written in a different style and becomes a little more Indy rock and roll in feel than the earlier three songs which have a stabby in your face sound. However I do like the song and it does showcase their talents for different stylistic ideas, but I can’t help but think I could be listening to a completely different band.

-The pageant
Probably one of the strangest little songs to listen to this one; It has lots of references to rock and roll/indie styles from other bands, but I suppose this was expected. From the beginning it sounds very ‘Beatles’ on guitar which breaks to a stompy ‘The Thrills/Strokes/the kooks’ style riff with what seems to be Franz Ferdinand style vocals. The different instruments tend to pick up any one of these styles as it goes through which creates interest within the music. Don’t get me wrong using these references creates a very clever mix of some very successful styles and it works very well.

-Triceratops
Again the singer changes his vocal timbre a little from the other songs to fit with some new ideas within the music. I love the little breaks in this one which are quite reminiscent of ‘born to be wild’ or possibly ‘Ozzy Osborne’ with the organ line in the back.

For the Record:
Very clean and simple, but effective production which lets you hear everything which is going on within the music, Very much in the style of Tony Hoffer (Fratellis/Tha Kooks/The Thrills/Supergrass). You can tell this has been produced professionally and really gives the music the bright kicking sound with warmth on the vocal and velvety guitar and synth, an absolute pleasure to listen to.

The guitars provide some very proficient riffs and clever little strokes and patterns in-between some raging and memorable riffs. These are backed up by some keys/sequencing work which aids to create interest and ambient textures around the music. These synth parts are excellently controlled and never at any stage detract from the overall instruments within the band and just help everything flow.

The drums show a remarkable amount of precision and some amazing skill with (what I expect to be) click track rhythms as well as a very nice fills and shuffles to add that extra element.

The vocals and Lyrics are excellent and instantly got me wanting to prick my ears up and listen. I do feel a little put out with how the vocal tends to change on the different tracks and feel that the character in ‘Vexihomp’, ‘little feet’ and ‘beat me to the bull’ really make the vocal shine through and you instantly feel you know the band and would be able to recognise them if you heard it out and about. Comparing this to the later tracks ‘Atheist’ and ‘Triceratops’ the vocal timbre, and possibly even accent, seems to change. I can see why the vocalist has done this as it he does manipulate his vocal to suit the style and feeling of the different songs, but I feel that the bands character and soul which separates them from the rest of the bands previously mentioned is lost.

Final Thoughts:
A brilliant piece of work from what I am sure will be a very successful band in the near future. You should definitely give it a listen even if you are not an indie fan as it is quirky and a joyful to listen to.

The band will be playing Sheffield Soyo Live for The Sheffield Scenester's Halloween Special on the 31st October. But have three other gigs around the UK before that date.

You can find these out via face book or their website. Also drop by so listen to some free Mp3s or download the Ep.