ALBUM REVIEW: NICOLAS & THE SAINTS - GOODBYE TO BRIGHTON

NICOLAS & THE SAINTS
GOODBYE TO BRIGHTON
Self Released
Singer/Songwriter, Blues Rock, Jazz Rock.
Listening Format: Digital


'Goodbye to Brighton' is the second full length album by songwriter Nick Lewis, lyrically documenting his fears about turning 30 as well as moving away from his hometown and moving onto new plains in life. Musically the album is very much a transitional phase, as his first album had more of an Electronic influence. For 'Goodbye to Brighton' he has expanded to a five piece band. The album was recorded in just two days, favouring raw and improvisational performances. Sonically, the album takes elements of Blues and Jazz, with saxophones, clean guitars and female vocals. There is a strong influence of Tom Waits, especially in Lewis' croaky vocal delivery and storytelling lyrics.

'Goodbye to Brighton' experiments with both lively, Jazz influenced cuts, as well as slow burner ballads. The album opens with 'One Year', sounding like Lewis is slumped over a guitar in the corner of a seedy jazz club, the audience only half paying attention as he pours his heart out, "I'm sitting here all alone, drinking bourbon on my birthday". The album then shifts drastically into a roaring upbeat number punctuated by screaming sax and half-rapped vocals. There are mid paced radio friendly cuts too like 'Red Wine In the Morning' and 'Call My Own' lead by sharp drumbeats and catchy hooks. 'Heroes' is a straight out Rock song lead by distorted guitars. It is obvious there is a strong sound pallet mix throughout the record with plenty of ideas on show.

Whilst Nicolas & The Saints have delivered a rather diverse album in terms of writing, the actual flow of the album suffers because of it. Having one or two curveballs is always welcome, but I feel like the lyrical concept of 'Goodbye to Brighton' is far more suited to the slow burning ballads. Single 'Molly' in particular nails the style, letting the emotion of Lewis' voice really shine through. The same can be said for 'One Year' and knockout track 'Too Young'. The more this album attempts to be ragged and wild, the more it falters. 'So It Goes' is a sonic mess, the fast shouty, rapped vocals do not sit well upon the screaming saxophones, and it sounds like Lewis is running out of breath. Too many layers in the mix lead to a sound that just doesn't gel. Other tracks like the aforementioned 'Red Wine In the Morning' and 'Call My Own' suffer from being too clean and polite. The darkness, loneliness and bitterness of the lyrics start to lose their impact with an overly ear friendly sound. The album just doesn't manage to portray the true grit and heartache that the vocalist and primary songwriter is feeling inside. 

Ultimately, Nicolas & The Saints sound like they would be a blast to see live. Musically they are accomplished, with Nick's vocals especially being a force to be reckoned with. But he doesn't always gel emotionally and sonically with his band here, especially with the female vocalist who tends to clash more than compliment his voice. 'Goodbye to Brighton' is a case of ambitious and sometimes brilliant ideas, presented awkwardly and haphazardly. 6/10.

LIVE REVIEW: MORASS OF MOLASSES + BATTALIONS, SIGIRIYA & GAUL

MORASS OF MOLASSES
BATTALIONS
SIGIRIYA
GAUL

Live at The Star & Garter Manchester. May 20th 2017. Presented by Up From Under.

GAUL

Opening a night of Stoner Rock was Manchester's own Gaul. I've seen this band already last year but they had a different vocalist, so it was interesting to hear them again with a shifted line-up. Current vocalist Chris Whitehouse stepped up to the plate with an exquisite gravelly tone in his voice and plenty of power and enthusiasm. His reverberated growls and wails were very reminiscent of Kyuss frontman John Garcia. At times though the reverb was a bit too strong and his voice occasionally disappeared into the ether. 

Unfortunately Gaul had a bit of a cock up on the second song and had to start it again. I feel like this knocked their confidence a bit during the performance, although they did get back into their stride towards the end of their set. The performance was entertaining enough, but musically it was quite by the numbers Stoner Rock, with the kind of riffs I've already heard performed similarly and bettered by many other bands that play Metal shows in Manchester. I feel like Gaul need to chuck in a few more surprises and find a unique sound in order to deliver something really memorable in the future. 6/10.

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SIGIRIYA

This was my first time seeing and hearing Sigiriya who have traveled from Swansea to play here tonight. Though they expressed a similar sound and style to openers Gaul, they took it up a level by playing with much more power, passion and urgency. Their self described "Mountain Rock" certainly livened up the crowd and the band were very tight and confident on stage. They tried out some new songs from a forthcoming release with plenty of gusto. Sigiriya ended their set with a song that is apparently adapted from Welsh folklore, but to me it sounds like a storming and stomping Stoner gem. Again, not a particularly unique or memorable set of songs, but certainly a strong performance. 7/10.

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BATTALIONS

Replacing Barbarian Hermit at the last minute was Battalions from Hull. Battalions stood out the most on tonight's bill. Whilst they did churn out some bluesy and groovy Stoner riffs like the other bands, their sound was much more diverse. Their wild frontman was fascinating to watch on stage, moving about with so much energy. He had a really extreme vocal style, belting out indecipherable shrieks reminiscent of Jacob Bannon from Converge. The way that Battalions mixed up their tempos made them really exciting and unpredictable on stage. They were able to transition slow, crushing riffs, head nodding grooves and even more unforgiving Hardcore riffs, all seamlessly. In particular, 'Shitstormtroopers' got a huge reaction from the crowd with a massive riff that kept slowing down, getting heavier and heavier each time. 8/10.

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MORASS OF MOLASSES

Tonight's headliners have just released their brand new album 'These Paths We Tread' a day beforehand so it was an exciting time to catch the trio live. MOM set the dark and moody Star & Garter stage alight with a colourful performance that oozed confidence and finesse. The trio pounded us with slow and swampy riffs that sounded huge. Self described as "Disco Doom", their songs were deceptively simple with nods to classic Stoner bands such as Sleep and Electric Wizard, but with a more cheerful and upbeat mood. Vocalist Bones' prominently clean wailing vocals were refreshing and were on pitch perfect form tonight.

For me, there was far too much yapping in between the songs, with crude stories between each song that all revolved around the male genitals, but it was cool that they got the crowd involved, and the punters certainly were enjoying themselves throughout. The banter did seem to eat into the set time quite a bit though! Regardless, MOM were very enjoyable to watch and that thick, fuzzy sound of theirs hit the sweet spot. In particular the opening track of their latest album 'My Leviathan' really enticed the crowd tonight. All the best to Morass of Molasses with their album release tour! 8/10.

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