I never dreamed that I'd ever need to type the word "Coldplay" in any circumstance let along in a review for "Hot Music Live" but now Euan Blackman has compelled me to do so as he's decided to cover their song "Christmas Lights" for festive reasons.

I'm not sure what prompted this writer of his own fine songs to travel into this territory: possibly after the intensity of his own work in 2024, he felt like a little light relief. He's earned that as he has the right not to be closely questioned on his artistic choices.

He makes the song his own really, delivered in his trademark style vocally & strips it down in arrangement to boost any honesty factor. Personally I prefer his intimate take over the bland commercial setting of the original: he makes it sound like he's singing to directly to the listener

Christmas is (or should be) a time of goodwill & as Christmas songs often exist on a different plane to others, a suspension of over acute critical activity seems appropriate. So just enjoy.

To me, Emma McGann excels at both ends of the conceptual spectrum: she has the vision for substantial projects of both complexity (her ‘Monsterverse' EP was part  of a much wider project which included an immersive game based on the same creative plane as the songs) and of philosophical & ethical profundity (not least addressing mental health issue) yet without sacrificing the immediacy and accessibility of the songs within such frameworks. Even when not working at such elevated levels, Emma seems ever ready for a mental & musical challenge like creating a track from random items from Temu (see my article at https://hotmusiclive.co.uk/MAGAZINE/magazine/article.php?article=14001)

Now her latest release, ‘Treehouse Tapes Vol. #1' isn't as conceptual as ‘Monsterverse' in terms of the songs relating to a common thread, but there is a high level idea embedded in there: albeit less obvious to those unaware of her "Treehouse". Perhaps if you go to Emma's own video about how she set it all up, she can explain better than I can: it's at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EwJZZFtoMA Personally I find it hard to remember always that the treehouse effect is the product of much ingenuity & not actually in some jungle.

It's up in her treehouse that Emma creates all her live streams & videos as well as recording tracks so you've almost certainly spotted it over her shoulder.

The environment she has lovingly created there is in itself an immersive one for her & these  songs ("Don't Slow Down", "Homesick", "Three Dot Bubble" "With the Seasons" and "Your Last Page") were all wholly recorded there and feature none but Emma herself. This includes production and she is proud of this career milestone of a totally autonomous release. The ever faithful James Plester was her only collaborator as he mixed & mastered the EP.

She has dubbed them "demos" given her sole presence on them, but I wonder if that gives quite the right impression? To me, a classic demo was one where the writer sketched out the basis of the song with their voice and an accompanying instrument with the view towards adding more to the arrangement later, with others. The feel was innately "incomplete" & the fuller version more realised.

These are much more than sketches: you only "know" they are demos because Emma tells you so. They certainly do not sound unfinished to me: the only signifier is a lightness of production touch, which in itself is no bad thing.

Let's face it, Emma is known for playing her guitar live but she is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and perfectly capable of playing the multiple parts heard here: to me, these are not preliminaries but the real things: just solo recordings. This was good enough for classics such as "Memphis Tennessee", "Maybe I'm Amazed" and countless Prince tracks & it works for me.

Doubtless Emma could conceive of alternative arrangements with additional elements but as I often say in my reviews, strong songs manifest themselves in multiple possible arrangements, including & especially simpler ones.

That they are strong compositions is validated not just by the identity of their composer but through two other factors: firstly that they were selected from among forty or more possibles (written over a fourteen year period) and secondly, they are fan favourites: so that blows any accusations of vanity projects right out of the water.

The selection also helps the diversity aspect: with that many options, we get variety and it's interesting how the songs offer both Emma's characteristic insights and a range which is much broader than say would be possible within a ‘Monsterverse' type concept.

That variety is however consistent with the Emma McGann  brand of essentially accessible songs which appeal instantly to a pop sensibility yet listening to the words, they are always deeper & often darker. Emma does not waste a good tune on a disposable lyric: they are vehicles for her values & concerns.

As her career progresses & life offers her more experiences, both sad & happy (and she's had both of these recently), the level of expression deepens and becomes heart warming & heart rending at turn.

Incidentally, in a recent review, I expressed the notion that hiding a good song behind a dull title wasn't perhaps a great invitation to the listener and I went straight to "Three Dot Bubble" on ‘Treehouse Tapes Vol. #1' since I was intrigued by what a song of that name would sound like: I wasn't disappointed. That kind of backs up my theory I think.

I'm assuming that "Volume One" is a sign of more to come (sounds like she has plenty to choose from). If you like contemporary pop wrought by someone who's extremely adept at it, you'll enjoy the EP. If you are a caring, thoughtful person, you'll get even more. If you rejoice in hearing someone fulfil herself and move up the self-actualisation mountain, then you'll delight for Emma McGann as well.

When I reviewed the third instalment of the gradually building Monastery EP, it was December 2023. I expressed sentiments regarding the pleasure of hearing a narrative build and the anticipation of the next chapter, but I think I'd have been pretty daunted if I realised then that nearly a year would elapse before Part Four, named "Reckoning" emerged. It is ironic that the most recent single was called "2124" as it has felt like that might be a sign of when its successor would come out.

Anyway, we're promised it on  6^th December & we can see how it fits with "2124" plus "Devil's Call" and "The Shore" which we already know from last year's releases (and the latter too from 'Hot Music Live Presents Volume Ten').

Psychologically, Monastery have played a long, brave & ultimately, I think successful game. I can't quibble at gaps between releases (these happen all too frequently for all sorts of understandable reasons) but one of this length between episodes of a narrative must be something of a record. Yet of course we like cliffhangers & being kept on tenterhooks don't we? The tension not to say anticipation only builds with the length of suspense & so popular are Monastery that I don't know that they ran any risks of goodwill eloping. They presumably have spent many months responding to questions of the "when will the next one be coming out" variety but they seem relaxed about that: it shows they have a good level of interest & demand. Personally, I've been one posing that question to them.

Well if you've been following the story, you could be expecting a climax approaching & the title is a decent sort of signal. Given the tale of Dark Ages violence & the innate sound of the band, Götterdämmerung must be on the cards as far as the narrative goes and if you are a "prog-doom-thrash heavy metal" band then you have the tools to reproduce this on record.

I gather that part of the delay was down to perfecting what was going out: they clearly have built up to "Reckoning" and so needed to ensure that it was a cumulation of the tension & excitement built up over the sequence of releases. The result is, you'll not be surprised to hear, pretty spectacular.

Harking back to the first chapter, something or someone demonic ushers the music in: if it's not Beelzebub guesting on vocals then someone has a most impressive guttural.

All this is an open invitation for bombast & plenty of it, but Monastery have too much class & deftness of touch: the blasts of instruments are each pretty heavy but tend to keep out of each other's way in respect so you get to hear them too (and once again the production is superb at enabling this while at the same time keeping the tracks together sufficiently to add up to an overall wall of satanic sound). This is commendable because each player sticks to service of the song & if your idea of a metal song is drums & guitars trying to outdo each other with a singer desperately attempting to clamber on top of the racket, you don't get it here. It may be conjuring up violence & Hades but Monastery are terribly respectful towards each other. Consequently when Liv does step into the song vocally, she is able to maintain that calm & narrative level which tells a story rather than demonstrating irrelevant acrobatics. Don't underestimate either the value of the rhythm section of Lewis & Kyle in underpinning the steady but unstoppable pace of the track: theirs is the long game too.

In fact, playing all four songs back to back, what strikes one is the consistency of the calmness: this is a story being told from a perspective of clarity & comprehension. If people are reaping what was coming to them, then she regards it as just and inevitable.

Stepping a little outside the boundaries of their preferred genres, this music is Wagnerian: the steady remorselessness of the songs contributes to this (and Josh's lead guitar on "Reckoning" is most orchestral) , as does the subject matter. Thus one can see each single as part of an epic & this also explains why the tone never reaches hysteria: Monastery sing of things fated & ordained.

That said, I'm no nearer nailing the precise story than I have been throughout: and maybe that doesn't matter. Too much specificity would rob us of our use of imagination & since they've spent so much time & ingenuity stimulating that, it would be a shame if we couldn't exercise it.

The narrator certainly seems ordained to meet her master & I'm reasonably sure that's the Devil: what's more with that sense of acceptance of fate, she certainly seems reconciled to this: a lot more confident & assertive than I'd be if I met him. But then it sounds like the protagonists of the saga have been serving him all along so presumably expect a reasonable deal under the circumstances. Though there definitely seems like a price will be paid of some sort.

I just hope we hear more from Monastery before December 2025. Rarity adds value but it can be a bit frustrating too.

And so, inexorably, we have come to the third & final element in Man Made Moon's late-2024 singles bonanza: as promised "Tell Me When I'm Dead" comes out on Friday to complete the troika after the very well received "McNultys Bar" and "Brass Knuckles".

Following these two which saw the band step way outside the expectations of their admirers in terms of style, for a third time they've ventured into new pastures.

Possibly the group  (Ben Taylor (rhythm guitar and vocals), Gary Ryan (bass), Simon Gough (lead guitar), Stuart Sheppard (keyboards) and on drums Chris Samworth) have accessed the sort of time machine which goes back to the sixties on default (judging by film & TV, that's the most popular type) or maybe they've simply decided to explore the feel & arrangements of that time, since what you get this time is neither a salute to the Men They Couldn't Hang nor funk-rock but that sort of luscious 60's pop where languid melodicism delivered a surprisingly dark story: you might think perhaps of the Kinks in their less combative moments: there is even a little eastern style lick or two to add to the flavour. Reflective and mature in its sentiments & musings, the feeling is less sombre than the title, refrain or spooky artwork courtesy of Greengaia suggest: that's skilful writing for you.

It's not too surprising that this comes out third given the apparent downbeat subject matter, but it's no lesser a number. Perfectly crafted & delivered instrumentally & vocally with the delicacy that the subtlety of the song demands, it's a third example of roads the band could plausibly take musically from this point onwards. Maybe the three were conscious explorations to branch out: possibly they felt that their trademark sound had gone as far as they wanted to take it & that repetition would devalue what went before. Quite possibly the evolving lineup played a part too. Hopefully they can find ways to take all three new roads on their journey from this point (though I'm not sure how much sense that analogy actually makes): at the very least an album of songs like any single one of these would be a fine one indeed. I look ahead to what they decide

My second gig of the day had a hard act to follow after the Paris Adams set at the Old post office this afternoon but this matched it in some style.
This was a celebration of the music of Neil Young with a complete performance of his famous and hugely popular Harvest album and other numbers performed by Orange River Remedy & Dan Sealey.
The staging was amazing with hay bales, pumpkins, candles and autumn leaves and more all setting the scene and the venue itself (previously known as the Civic Hall) was magnificent, with tables and chairs on the floor and tiered seating further back, sound and lighting fab throughout and the latter really set the mood for the music also how good to see so many people came out for this as it was just about a sellout.
Support was by singer/songwriter Amit Dattani with his roots guitar work and folky vocals, lyrically clever original numbers and plenty of funny stories and good humour throughout he soon had the audience on his side, my standout of his set was ‘Hummingbird' a show case for his guitar prowess throwing plenty of tricks and styles into the mix.
I have seen Orange River Remedy play as a 3 piece at a few Leamington Spa festivals but their ranks were boosted by the excellent ex Ocean Colour Scene's  Dan Sealey on vocals, guitar and keyboards, and Rikki's wife the so talented Rebecca Hallworth on flute, guitar and keys, swapping the keyboards with Dan several times during the evening while the other played different instruments.
Their show was so well performed that you could see the hours of rehearsal that the guys must have put in for this show, onto the stage they came the ORR brothers as colourful as ever with Tyron wearing a magnificent long blue coat inlayed with various symbols, and Rikki going the full Neil Young with hat, blue and white checked shirt and blue jeans while at the back amazing drummer Lottie was high up on a drum riser bathed in light, while on the opposite side of the stage Dan and Rebecca were ready to add their magic to the mix.
The stage looked even better filled up with the band who began by playing a few Neal Young non Harvest album tracks to warm up the audience including a simply beautiful version of his evergreen track ‘Harvest Moon', upping the tempo for ‘Down by the River' with wonderful harmonies, and a chilled ‘Helpless'.
Time for the album playback and highlights included ‘A Man Needs a Maid' with Dan Sealy on vocals and keys, Rebecca with exquisite flute and Tyron on the glockenspiel (thats right!) and the overall sound was glorious followed by another evergreen classic wonderfully performed ‘Heart of Gold', and they closed the first half with a driving ‘Are You Ready For the Country'.
Set 2 highlights from Harvest (vinyl side 2) included a tranquil ‘Old Man' a beautiful but also so sad ‘The Needle and the Damage Done', and a grungy ‘Words' which finished the album playback part of the show, but as Rikki said from the stage not the end of the music.
Rikki also mentioned the band would do this again this time adding the whole of the After the Gold Rush album to the show and as a teaser they performed ‘Southern Man' (a controversial tune according to Lynyrd Skynyrd who retorted with Sweet Home Alabama)
They closed with Mr Young showing his political side with ‘Ohio' originally recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young about the shooting of students by national guardsmen at a university in 1970, followed by the gentle, emotional words of ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart'.
After a huge ovation by the audience they of course had to return and this was for a rocking! ‘Rockin' In The Free World' full Tyron's pumping bass, crashing drum work and including the extended guitar solos we all love performed by Rikki and Dan and the interplay between them was electric.
What a performance venue, staging, sound, lighting, musicianship, atmosphere, everything just clicked on this absolutely amazing night.

Andrew Lock

Leading folk acts A Winter Union and The Albion Band dust down their Christmas songbooks for two concerts at Warwick Arts Centre this month.

A Winter Union (Thursday 12 December 2024) sees The Willows' Jade Rhiannon reunite with Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts (aka Gilmore and Roberts) and fellow duo Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage.

Borne out of a regular festive meet-up between friends in a Cambridge pub, the five-piece have been an annual musical prospect since 2015.

After 2023's acclaimed Transatlantic-feeling Sooner After Solstice ('spellbinding' said KLOF), A Winter Union have just released a limited edition live album, Live Before Solstice, which is only presently available at gigs.

Ben describes the band as "a month-long office Christmas party for the folk scene" and perform "a big range" of songs.

Says Ben: "Some carols (well-loved and lesser known), some self-penned (we're lucky to have five songwriters in the band so a big variety here), and some carefully chosen covers. I guess stylistically we like to take in folk traditions from both sides of the Atlantic."

Meanwhile, the very next day sees The Albion Christmas Band (Friday 13 December 2024) appear at the same venue.

Celebrating their 25th anniversary, the esteemed band is the festive spin-off from one of the great acts from the early-70s folk-rock explosion, The Albion Band.

Expect a mix of traditional, and lesser known, Christmas tunes from Albion Band found Ashley Hutchings, Fairport Convention's Simon Nicol, Kellie While and Edward II's Simon Care.

For tickets and more information, see:

A Winter Union (12 Dec 2024, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry)

The Albion Christmas Band (13 Dec 2024, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry) - tickets limited

This was a rare double-header of gigs for me and both were absolutely wonderful performances, starting at The Old Post Office in Warwick for a delightful, afternoon country set by the amazing Paris Adams.
Paris is such a busy lady she has been touring recently in the Nashville At Heart show, is involved in rehearsal for the Paradise Found theatre show that performs the music of Meatloaf that starts in January and hits the Leamington Spa Centre on 7th February 2025, yet still finds time to entertain us in a pub  (great pub though!) on a Sat afternoon.
Her voice has beautiful, angelic country tones and this along with her excellent acoustic guitar work and her easy going, friendly manner made this a  fab afternoon.
She wowed the pub with her covers of country classics including Lady A's ‘Need You Now', Chris Stapleton's ‘Tennessee Whiskey' and her sublime version of Shania Twain's ‘You're Still The One'.
Elsewhere in the set she included clever country tinged vesions of numbers by the likes of Michael Jackson, Guns N' Roses, Extreme and Fleetwood Mac with my personal favourite of the afternoon her take on Taylor Swift's ‘Love Story' one of my favourites (total Swiftie me)
Such a talent and so lucky to see her perform her music in this wonderful pub on a Saturday afternoon, hope she returns soon if not we have Paradise Found in Feb to look forward to.

Andrew Lock

"One More For Dessert"

Luddington Village Hall

23 November 2024

The excitement and passion around this gig were palpable from the start, and why not?  It's not every week that 26 talented artists from across the country join together in common cause for a very special one-off night of great music.

The scene was set earlier in the week with the announcement that the show was a sellout, and despite the ravages of "Storm Bert", the hall filled up well before the start time and it was obvious an unprecedented event was going to happen.

The first half of the show was a celebration featuring the music of the legendary Kris Kristofferson. It started with some of his acoustic numbers played beautifully by the likes of Chessi O'Dowd, Jack Blackman, Jono Wright, Geoff Carr and Jon Benyon. Under the direction of musical directors Jack and Jono, the house band were then joined by a host of artists including Debbie Robinson, Mia Rose and Trisha Gow.

Rock and pop royalty joined in with lead vocals being taken by Nigel Clark (Dodgy), Dan Sealey (formerly OCS) and Steve Steinhaus (Upton Blues Festival).

By the end of the first half, the roof was being raised by music, not by the storm raging outside!

The former Birmingham Poet Laureate, Spoz, performed three "edgy" poems which were lapped up by the audience who couldn't quite believe the hour of total entertainment they had just witnessed!

The focus of the second half was a massive musical "Thankyou" to one of the most influential characters of music promotion and support for musicians in the area, Doug Armstrong.

Katherine Abbott, Tom Forbes and Ellie Kelly opened the set with a stunning acoustic rendition of "Helplessly Hoping" before the band kicked in again. The next hour or so raced through some of the greatest songs in the rock canon delivered faultlessly by some of the most talented musicians an audience could ever see. Drummers Chris Quirk, Bo Davies and Ben Haines, with bassist James Maguire provided a solid rhythm. Guitarists Euan Blackman, Renny Badham, Dom James, Greg Brice, Jono and Jack competed for the greatest riffs and solos and Jen Waghorn added soaring electric violin.

The hall erupted as Nigel Clark backed by the house band performed a stunning version of one of his hits from 1994, "Staying Out for The Summer", which was followed by a spirited rendition of "Fog on The Tyne" led by Geoff Carr and Jon Benyon.

 The night drew to a close with Jon Bird leading the house band in the classic song "For What It's Worth".  Then the whole ensemble came back on-stage to power through The Band masterpiece, "The Weight" led by Jack and Jono, and seemingly in a flash the show was over!

Aside from the artists, some of the many other heroes of the night were the Luddington Hall Committee who gave of their time, always smiling. George Adams of Canetis Audio, the sound engineer whose decibels superbly filled the hall and Anne Blackman who did a great job on the fund-raising raffle.

The audience reaction was incredible with so much positive feedback including; "Better than Live Aid" and "I feel privileged to have been here!"

In addition to a fantastic night, the total of £1355.00 was raised to be split equally between Macmillan Cancer Support and Crisis.

Good news fans of Wes Finch, Katherine Abbott, Jack Blackman & Jono Wright: their debut single under the collective name of WLDFLWRS, "Best Company", a trail blazer for their EP, is out on 6^th December. The EP itself drops on 22^nd December and comes in a limited edition green vinyl form in addition to the digital one. (The pre-order link is thus: https://wldflwrs1.bandcamp.com/album/wildflowers-ep).

For latecomers, although all four are well known in their own rights (and have all previously featured in this magazine & on "Hot Music Live Presents" in a variety of guises), they have also long been the supportive musical foundation for Stratford's Street Arts Project (founded and organised by Doug Armstrong & Jackie Lines), providing mentoring and support for members of the project to express themselves through original compositions.

This led them to work together as the core of a large ensemble for a charity  concert, re-enacting The Band's "The Last Waltz" to raise funds for the project, leading in turn to touring that show & finally to writing brand new material together.

However before we proceed further, these four artists were far from the only ones facilitating the project sessions, far from the only ones performing "The Last Waltz" and several of the other musicians are on the EP helping out such as Adam Barry and Chris Quirk who play keyboards & drums respectively on "Best Company"

They have gone for a song which could very fairly be filed under "Americana" (though that is a really broad definition these days) and which Jack produced and George Shilling mixed & mastered.

An ode to the small, intimate pleasures of one's own space, the song offers a delicious counterpoint to its mode of creation which owes so much to likeminded yet mutually respectful musicians working collectively: irony, paradox or creative dynamic? As it happens, the seed for the song was a chorus Jono had, the first verse developed lyrically collectively & then he completed those while the group again collaborated on the remaining part of the music. We know of great solo songwriters, great partnerships and we've heard also "a camel is a horse designed by committee" but in this instance with that element of respect & capacity to pool ideas & produce something greater than the sum of the constituent parts, the quartet proved that some committees can work.

Although all of them have considerable experience with vocal harmonies (either with others or themselves), stepping up to four parts and making good use of each must represent an artistic development. I wonder if the genesis of the band & working up those Band arrangements helped them explore the possibilities?

Equally (and I don't know at the time of writing if the other EP tracks "WILDFLOWERS",  "MXD MSSGE", "Waiting On You", "Heavy Weather" and "Sky/Ground" fit the same style or not) it's plausible that the Americana approach comes from the same inspiration (you can hear banjo in there as well as a prominent slide guitar solo). The overall feel too is akin to some of Robbie Robertson's work: less of the mythological & more of the exploration of the timeless philosophies of life.

As with the composition, WLDFLWRS neatly evade the performance traps inherent when groups like this combine. Audiences who know the work of each will understandably have expectations of hearing each showcased within the track: this is the Achilles Heel of all supergroups and although jazz collectives might find the space for a series of solo spots, in other genres it just produces bloated tracks stretched out artificially, too often with participants working competitively rather than sacrificing their ego to the unfortunate song itself. You know what I'm going to say next don't you? These musicians serve the song not themselves. Their voices work together and although there are the succinct instrumental solos, thankfully they fit the track & we don't get everyone gratuitously providing one regardless of need.

It's unusual for traditional wildflowers to bloom at this time of the year, but WLDFLWRS are bucking that convention and seems will be thriving through even the midwinter.

A selection of photos from Ace Ambrose's "Balcony Session" at the HMV Empire yesterday afternoon

This was my first live look at When Rivers Meet and boy was it worth the wait, and I am now completely sold on this band, tonight at Temperance was the last night of their "Red Rum Duo" Tour (it was originally scheduled to be the first date but had to be rearranged due to illness) featuring the husband and wife duo of Grace and Aaron (they also tour When Rivers Meet with larger line-ups up to a six piece)
Before the show I had a little chat with Grace and mentioning I was hoping to write a review jokingly asked if she could bribe me with a couple of beers, as I have been listening to their music for a couple of years I replied I really don't think you need to do that!
Very much a blues rock band they covered a lot of ground from that genre from the foot stomping riff laden rockers to the beautiful slower numbers and during these you could really feel the love between them with plenty of interplay, lingering looks, humorous banter along with drop dead gorgeous harmonies with their voices combining perfectly.
A vast array of instruments used during the set Aaron played several different guitars including his new baby Raven (what a beauty) made for him by the sound guy after he looked at Aaron's box guitar and thought he could do better, and he did that, also the kick drum beefed up the sound when it needed to go to 11!, he also has fine bluesy/soulful vocals.
Grace also pulled out all the stops instrument wise alongside her amazing vocal prowess she played wonderful guitar, mandolin, tambourine, violin and even her newly acquired harmonica skills at one point.
Standouts all over the shop ‘Battleground' heavy and pounding, ‘Free Man' with it's country rock touch and ZZ Top vibe, ‘Did I Break the Law' with its gritty riff and singalong chorus is a real rebel rouser, and loved the story about the police re: the shooting of the video of the latter, "the train track incident!"
Changes of pace included a sublime version of country standard ‘Ring of Fire' which included a chat by Grace about a dream she had that she was a cowgirl and then went in to the duo joking about chaps (then time for that impressive burst of harmonica) this segued into a clever reworking of Sony & Cher's ‘A Cowboy's Work is Never Done'.
The version of ‘Barton Hollow' by the The Civil Wars they played was amazing and they dealt with the vocals of this classic piece perfectly, while ‘Bury My Body' was sad yet so beautiful and the same can be said about the moving ‘Tomorrow' only the second song they wrote together.

They also talked about meeting some of their musical heroes Seasick Steve and Thunder with humorous results (now you know how we feel when we meet you guys!) and gave us a little of the history of the band, but the best story of the night was Grace mixing up the band Blue Oyster Cult with the Blue Oyster Bar that had me and many others in stitches those who remembered a certain movie that is!, not the last movie touch of the evening with it also being The "Red Rum" tour they had of course had a murder section of the set a clever certain famous horror movie reference!
Another knockout evening of live music at Temperance, loved every moment of this one and they were such a joy to meet and hope they will consider returning to the venue sometime.

Andrew Lock

Out today is their 'Act One' EP by Everything We Do.

As the title makes so clear, part of the purpose surely is to document this initial stage of their career since it contains two of their three single releases to date: "Every Night in Vegas" and "Eyes Off U". Missing only is their debut "Real Love, to Roommates": however since they describe this as a demo (and in all honesty I missed it at the time), one can see why it might fall into a slightly different category in their minds.

As is the vogue these days, their EP mixes tracks their fans already know in the form of these songs with the addition of new ones for value. In this case, we are introduced to "Need To Know" and "Interlude (as Long as You Love Me)".

Like much of Joe's solo work (and don't forget how many more recent tracks of his were co-writes with Kaity), the focus of attention is on romance and relationships yet in this very crowded arena, they are trying their best to elbow their collective way through the throng & try to both find new aspects uncovered by other writers & to express themselves in original ways.

"Every Night in Vegas", as my review hopefully explained, pulled this off with some aplomb & gave them a chance to stand apart. "Need To Know" also works well along those lines and would, as a song, be just as effective a single I think. Where I feel they've missed a trick though is in the title: it hasn't the power of the distinctiveness of its predecessor and it doesn't really signal how good the song inside is: you'll need my word until you play it, but for general streaming surfers, it could stand out a bit more.

"Interlude (as Long as You Love Me)" on the other hand does grab the immediate attention before even being played with its name and stands out too in its musicality. An achingly beautiful, simple piano led ballad, I can detect absolutely no other elements on the recording other than the one instrument & Kaity's voice. As a duo, maybe they've reached the point where they can risk one of them standing aside on a given track (though I can appreciate why this one, however much I like it, would not be a wise choice as a single this early in their career), but the other factor is that hitherto they have been working with a pool of talented musicians & offering a much fuller & lusher set of arrangements. Serving up this contrast is a bold & I think great idea: it has produced a splendid song (and the production is just as good despite the pared down lineup) and not only broadens what they have to offer, but strengthens the other arrangements by bringing us diversity instead of a formulaic homogeneity.

At the time of writing, the band will have literally just completed a national tour alongside Remember Monday so I can't offer you specific opportunities to catch them live just yet, but I'd be astounded if dates for 2025 didn't become publicised in due course.