Single All The Way

Posted on 23rd Nov 07 by Liam Tyrrell | 0

Artist: Story of Hair" Suddyn" Japanese Toys
Author: Liam Tyrrell

Ah now" the reek of the season is everywhere" The hawkers and gawkers have infiltrated our major thoroughfares and the lights over the city have become nine times as bright as normal. In keeping with tradition" well" not any real tradition" more just for the sake of using a phrase that will help keep within the theme of the title I"ve chosen for this piece and also to boost my flagging word count" I hereby present 3 delectable singles for you to listen to and enjoy. Obviously you can"t actually hear the singles by reading this" but it"ll be close enough.

First up is a single that is yet to be released. "Without a Sound" is by Story of Hair" and will be released for digital download on December 1st. Featuring an opening riff that is reminiscent of The Coral in their poppier moments" "Without a Sound" is a catchy little power"pop number that will have you shaking your head" tapping your toes" and performing any other number of classically tested enjoying music body actions. The song clocks in at a radio friendly 3 minutes on the nose" and really does stick to the cerebellum. Expect yourself to be humming that devilish riff for many days to come after the first infiltration. Story of Hair launch their E.P. The Ho" Ho" Ho" Stamp at Radio City on December 13th. If you like bands with girls playing guitars who play upbeat rock/pop" I suggest you take yourself to see them.

Next up" we have "Gravity" by Suddyn" Ireland"s 4 piece cross between Arcade Fire and Ok Computer era Radiohead: if this single is to be taken as representative of their sound. With all the epicness of a Peter Jackson movie" Suddyn power their way through this delightful ballad to leave one cathartic in the realization that Gravity is indeed the force that keeps all of our feet on the ground. It"s not hard to see why this tune has been taken into prime time rotation on national radio" or why it has spent the 4 weeks since its release hanging about in the Irish Top 40. With the right amount of emotion" rockingness" singalongability" and balls"up eighties"ballad"ticity" Suddyn may well become the next big stadium"filling" anthem"churning" power"pop band to become synomonous with Ireland. Let"s hope they stick to the music and leave the humanitarian work to those who really give a fuck and aren"t just after a nice picture in the paper. Also" I would suggest that even if you"re not impressed by "Gravity"" your sister will love it.

Finally" the poptacular Japanese Toys released their single "On My Stereo" to some acclaim early this month" hitting the heights of number 6 or 7 "as always" factual accuracy is 100" guaranteed here at drop"d" in the download charts. The song itself is typical Toys" catchy" poppy" and coated in delightful sugary harmonies. According to my sources" the Toys" live show has developed some bite in recent times" the addition of some German efficiency on keys and guitars lending teeth to their honeyed lips. Even still" this throwback to their earlier days marks a telling introduction to what they"re all about: catchy guitar riffs" craftily crafted songs" and a mish"mash of vocal prowess that wouldn"t go astray in most choral societies. If you"re into girl on girl vocal action" then Japanese Toys are the Dublin group for you"

What these releases really tell us is that it"s possible to make a substantial commercial impact with an independent release. Utilising the independent download site" downloadmusic.ie" both Japanese Toys and Suddyn managed to raise their profile significantly" based on the easy availability of a product for market. It"s to be assumed that the same will hold true for Story of Hair. This can only represent good news for any independent act out there. No longer does a single release have to be seen as a massive investment in time and money" releases can now come straight from the studio to the marketplace" with no need for the costly overheads that are involved in producing a cd package. From now on" download only releases could replace the traditional 4 track EP release as the first step on the road to commercial success for any unsigned band. Long may it continue"

www.downloadmusic.ie
http://www.myspace.com/japanesetoys
http://www.myspace.com/suddyn
http://www.myspace.com/storyofhair