Photo by Kevin Percival
As far as local Stoke gigs go, the one I attended on Friday at The Sugermill has to have been one of the greatest I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Simply put, I feel the three bands who performed put the 'Stoke lad rock genre' to shame. It’s also a shame that the place wasn’t full from the beginning of the night, as these are the kind of nights that Stoke needs right now.
Undiscovered Soul were the first band to take to the stage and they were very much a solid act - not really what you’d usually expect from the first band of the night, and like I said before, it was a real shame that there wasn’t more people present from the start, as this band certainly have the sound to justify a bigger crowd. They had an upbeat rocky sound with some tight sounding guitar solos and this, topped with singer Sarah Cole’s vocals which really had presence, equalled a fantastic sound and a good start to the evening.
Undiscovered Soul were the first band to take to the stage and they were very much a solid act - not really what you’d usually expect from the first band of the night, and like I said before, it was a real shame that there wasn’t more people present from the start, as this band certainly have the sound to justify a bigger crowd. They had an upbeat rocky sound with some tight sounding guitar solos and this, topped with singer Sarah Cole’s vocals which really had presence, equalled a fantastic sound and a good start to the evening.
Next up were One Room House who I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of until a couple of days ago. Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to have heard of pretty much every terrible Stoke band there is to know, yet there are gems around like this that don’t get anywhere near as much attention as they should. Something, somewhere is wrong. Anyway, the first thing I noticed was how amazing the keyboarder/lead singer was. This guy is a seriously talented musician, and backed up by the other three musicians One Room House produce a distinct blast of sound. The highlight for me had to have been ‘Small Toy’ with it’s jagged guitar and fast witty lyrics. Two more things to add: a little audience participation with banana shakers went down a treat, as did the free EPs to grab at the end. How can you not love a band with fruit shaped shakers?
Now onto headliners Faux Feet, who for such a young band showed great maturity and professionalism throughout their set. Lead singer Sian Matthews was clearly, clearly built for the limelight and showed great confidence and control of the stage. Of course, we can’t forget the other boys who provided a sturdy backbone for the music, and between them create a beautiful harmonic type of sound with lots of dynamics. It’s a sound I really enjoyed and has quite obviously been worked on to get the tone just right. ‘Frame Of Mind’ had to have been the standout track of the night and left me feeling quite exhausted - a nice kind of exhaustion that is.
The thing that impressed me the most about Faux Feet was just how much they seemed to understand music. I was standing there baffled, wondering how such a young band could ever create these well crafted songs and perform them so well. It’s something you just don’t ever expect with younger bands, and it has you wondering where this band will be in a few years time. Hopefully they’ll stick together, work on creating more great songs and hey, maybe even introduce some fruit shaped shakers to their music.
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