Brown Eye Superfly
A Little Soul

Email: logcaramelle@hotmail.com
Website: http://come.to/browneyesuperfly

The first thing I thought of when I heard this demo was Incubus, and seeing as I’m an Incubus fan, that was not a bad thing.

BES are stalwarts of the Glasgow music scene, and can regularly be seen gigging in Strathclyde Union, among other places. They have already had several positive reviews from Attitude, and this is another - SO TAKE NOTE!

I was impressed by Brown Eye’s musical style; they haven’t fallen onto the trendy "make everything as heavy and as loud as possible so as people’s ears bleed" bandwagon. Their music is filled with funky basslines, catchy guitar riffs, drumming that would put our Malky to shame (just kidding pet 8-), and a good range of vocal styles.

This is a demo with four tracks, the first being a little soul. This song is very catchy, so be warned!!! It’s the sort of song that makes you wiggle about, even if you don’t really want to 8-). Track 2 just one thing is a bit more subtle than track 1, but still very likeable. Track 3 throw caution has an abundance of wah-wah bits (I’m really good at this technical stuff…) on it, which is very groovy 8-) and it seems to be a bit more mellow than the first two tracks. The last track lost and found again is a little slower than the others and makes optimal use of the wah-wah thing, but it’s interspersed with slightly heavier, rockier bits.

For those of you who like funky metal, and a singer as opposed to a growler, this is definitely a band to keep your (Brown) eye on (boom boom!!! I’ve gotta try and get out more….)

Suggested rating: **********

Witch Mountain

Email: witch_mountain@hotmail.com

Witch Mountain sent in this two track CD for the now aborted burieddreams compilation. I was eager to hear their music, because I had heard them described as stoner doom - something which particularly interested me at the time.

Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. Production is not great, with the vocals very high in the mix and a very rough guitar. The vocal style is quite sharp, which to be honest got on my nerves a bit. There are some other bands using that style successfully, but their names escape me.

The overall feeling is very doomy and miserable, though it doesn't sound very bass heavy like most doomy bands. Taking the songs on their merits, I have to say that both tracks, A Power Greater and Victim Of Chord Changes, could probably be great - but not the way they are here. Some changes definitely need to be made.

Verdict: Needs a bit more money and time

The Pond Dwellers
Life's A Beach

No contact info

Turkish Delight is full of eastern promise. No, really - Turkish Delight is the name of the first track, and it is. The Pond Dwellers make extensive use of keyboards to fill out their sound (so they said), but more often than not it just sound like it's playing tinny horror cheeze, and on the first track they completely rip off the main ditty from The Exorcist.

So, are they a scary death or black metal band? Well as you've probably figured out from their name, no. They seem to be based in late 70s and early 80s heavy rock, with tinges of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin creeping in from time to time. I Should Have Told You has a solo which sounds so Lynyrd Skynyrd it's ridiculous, and vocals like Mike Patton at times.

So, are they just total rip of merchants? Well, again no. To me they sound pretty original, despite having some sections which are just totally not. They almost have the Rainbow thing going on at times, though with tinny keyboards and no Dio.

Not that their vocals aren't good. In fact lead singer Clive Little is actually very good. Especially in a live setting. I say them play live in Crewe back in August and I liked them quite a lot. They were all nice guys and nicely professional, unlike the dire Casino, a young joke death metal band playing their first gig. Clive is a bit bizarre and liked to walk around the room dancing erratically, and reminds me of how my brother Stephen would be if he was a frontman. I don't know if he was on anything, but it certainly looked like it! Clive if you get to read this, hi, how are you?

Anyway this is quite long enough I think. If you're ever in the Liverpool area (not that they're from Liverpool, as they corrected us, but they do stay somewhere near) then check if they're playing. They will probably appeal to slightly older people, and in fact are themselves not entirely youthful - sorry lads!

Verdict: Good clean fun

Divide

Address: somewhere in Newton Mearns!
If you want to contact them email me, and I'll try to find their address.

Here we go, finally something nice and heavy. This is another CD sent in for the burieddreams compilation. I liked their Losing Ground demo from back in 97 (reviewed in issue 3), so I was glad to hear some new stuff from them.

Overall this demo is very well produced and could easily be a commercial release - in fact I think these tracks were supposed to be used on a split CD with another band. I don't know if that ever happened. As I've said many times, I'm not a hardcore fan. There are however some bands which shine through as being more than just shouty music. The HC scene has become far too diluted, though there are still some good bands out there - Divide are one of them.

They write good songs, have talent, and are nice guys (my band used to see them in our old practice studio). The only thing I dislike about them is they rarely seem to play in Glasgow (their home city). I can understand why, but all the same I think they should play here now and again.

The best tracks are definitely Both Ways and Stay In Voice. They are both very solid and powerful. Unfortunately I don't know enough about the HC scent to really liken them to anyone. Give them a listen.

Verdict: If you like hardcore, you could do far worse