Demo of the week, Organ Magazine:
THE DAWN CHORUS – Town/City EP - Really fine, well crafted, very easy, inviting Americana that’ll put a home made bandage on your heart. Where are they from with their delightfully upbeat mellow American country twang? Hampshire, South Coast of little old England. Actually they do have an English heartbeat and a little bit of Bright Eyes meets The Kinks playing alt.country music with occasional trumpets and little details that could easily go by unnoticed feel. They claim to be not very fashionable of rock ‘n roll, could be they’re wrong there,sound very fashionable to me – fashionable or not they (or we) clearly couldn’t care less and what they very clearly are is very honest and very real and heartfelt. The problem with most English bands that come our way is that they almost always sound like they’re compromising and following the latest fashion or that new band they heard on the radio the other day – that kind of thinking has clearly never ever entered the brilliant uplifting mellow country rock heads of The Dawn Chorus. A fine five piece from nowhere in particular, as honest and beautiful as the day is long. Breezy, English sweethearts of the rodeo, take everything they have, I think you might need it - there’s very little left in life that hasn’t been destroyed, this is the celebration my dear. Just very fine mellow English Americana and crafted honesty from nowhere in particular.
Rockfeedback.com: http://www.rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=3833&nPage=3
From the South Coast, The Dawn Chorus are every bit as radiant and tuneful as their name suggests. Title track ‘The Man That I Held In My Arms’ is akin to a more jaunty Libertines, minus the East London cool, while the rushing acoustics of the song and subject matter worthy of a certain Stephen Morrissey makes this a compelling start to the demo that’s bursting with vivacity. ‘Winter’ reinforces their organic band name, starting with a chorus of birds before the song commences. When it does, the lilting vocals of Kyle Evans spur the song along, which slightly invokes Coldplay/Starsailor atmospherics and comparisons. Harmonies provided by bassist Keef Evans and Matt Simpson lend a powerful crescendo to the song that rides tandem with an equally explosive ending. ‘Little Pinpricks’ alters the perception of the ‘Chorus as just another melodic four piece indie/acoustic act, with some neat instrumental arrangements that sit well with their catchy, song structures. A vertiginous rise to fame is by no means beyond their capability, so what are you waiting for?
The-mag: http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=1257
The Dawn Chorus - The Man That I Held In My Arms
(Self-Released)
Promise comes in many forms. Sometimes it's a killer vocal, other times it's a particulalry outstanding song. For The Dawn Chorus, it's their sound.
Drawing on indie, folk, jazz and country (mostly the first and none of the bad bits of any) they've caught a neat individuality and they aren't about to dissapear into the arty experimentalism that this kind of invention often provokes.
This record has some very distinct Beatles moments in the title track before the excellent lament of "Winter" sheds it's wonderful tones on eager ears. This track cleverly swaps the vocal between the front-man and the drummer before combining in big harmonies for the chorus. There's also an excellent "group shout" section, which really makes the difference.
Gomez, The Ordinary Boys and Pavement are all audible on this record, especially in the relaxed sound to the recording, the mix of styles and the subtle hooks, but it's the creativity that once again shines for The Dawn Chorus.
Posted By: Saur on 09/06/2006
God is in the TV: http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=929&type=Demos
The Dawn Chorus - Something's Changed EP Mike Mantin
Four South Coast guys who bonded over a love of good old indie-pop, The Dawn Chorus' fine second EP marks them not just as an above-average unsigned band but a genuinely original, different indie-pop prospect compared to their signed contemporaries. First song 'The Man That I Held In My Arms' is their finest and probably future signature track, its country twang and upbeat Shins-esque melody is instantly loveable. It's topped off by some character-based storytelling rarely seen in the UK but currently mastered in the states by The Decemberists and Two Gallants. "My husband he beat me so terribly," sings frontman Keith in a pleasing drone, "it felt like a had no choice, but the man that I held in my arms was a boy". It's a rousing story set to a pretty country stomp that Colin Meloy would be proud of.
For a band with the word 'chorus' in their name, you'd expect a perfect grasp of how to write a great lighters-aloft one, and next track 'Winter' acts as further proof. Set up by the almost melodramatic croon of the verses, the chorus of "winter came and winter went/and took away my oldest friend" may be a little clichéd, but the shouted harmonies and crashing drums rescue it from the box marked 'pretentious' and drop it just the right side of 'epic'. Finally, 'Little Pinpricks' boats another fine, country-tinged backing, but its tune is the least memorable, with less of the touches of brilliance which made the first two tracks so wonderful. It is still, however, far more tight and focused than the average unsigned band, and if this is the weakest we're going to hear from The Dawn Chorus, I'm looking forward to a solid album. The accessible yet engaging songwriting of this EP should soon make The Dawn Chorus a hit with both tastemakers and radio listeners.
The-mag: http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=1179
The Dawn Chorus - Live
Headliners, The Dawn Chorus, kicked off a stunning collection of folk-indie-rock songs with a gutsy Zutons-style swagger and gradually got better and better with each tune accompanied by some natural lighting, courtesy of an electrical storm.
Some of the lyrics verged on country - "the bath tub's full up with blood - if it's not your fault it's mine" being a good example. Lyrics like this need a good delivery and the screwed-up-eye expression of the emotional lines demonstrated that sufficient effort was being ploughed into the performance.
Each song was a very individual composition, fitting into their general style without stretching any particular idea too thin. However, two songs in particular deserve special mention.
The first, "Something's Changed" popped up just four songs into the set, combining The Ordinary Boys and Gomez. The second, and my absolute favourite, was "Act of God", a massive song with an unusual melody and absolutely huge chorus.
The Dawn Chorus put in a heart-burstingly good performance and I'm utterly convinced that I'll be seeing them again very soon.
Reviewed Live By: Steve on 26/07/2006 at Unit 22, Southampton
Hampshire Chronicle: http://www.nqsouthern.com/digitalpublication/digitalpublications/index.cfm?dpid=109§ion_id=741&article_id=4997
It was an evening of brilliant music, with an air of expectancy and a relaxed and fun atmosphere.Four bands played their hearts out at the final of the Winchester Massive Battle of the Bands at the Guildhall Tavern in the city last Thursday night.The Dawn Chorus were the eventual winners, but the quality of the talent on offer made it almost impossible for the judges to make a decision.The foursome, from Stubbington, near Fareham, said they entered the competition after hearing about it at another of their gigs. The band enchanted the audience with their upbeat, melodic and catchy songs.Kyle’s steady, rich vocals were clear and carried well, revealing depth in the song writing beyond the band’s years.They showed versatility with their toe-tapping faster tunes and their softer acoustic songs.
Vanity Project:
The Dawn Chorus are a more upbeat affair, bouncy indie rock in the vein of a more direct The Coral with some nice quirky twists and turns that delight the dedicated fans they have brought along with them; enough so to encourage one young lady to shout out "I want your babies!", now there's dedication for you! They are a confident young group who produce very tuneful material and I found myself tapping my foot along during many of their songs and you can't knock a band who has a bass player wearing a Brian Jonestown Massacre t-shirt can you? It could be argued that the local population took little notice at first but I think The Dawn Chorus won over a fair few new fans as the set progressed and those that like decent tunes would be well advised to keep an eye for them as their is plenty here to indicate that they will produce even better material in the future.
The-mag: http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=1058
The Dawn Chorus - In The Early Hours EP
(Self-Released)
Ah, the dawn chorus. Birds chirping. The sun drifting gently above the horizon. A new day breathes life into the world and then, the drums come in...
Hold on - they weren't there yesterday morning! I'm kidding of course. The Dawn Chorus are actually a rather appealing indie band and anyway, it's 11pm so there's no likelihood of the other sort for at least another seven hours.
"Michael" is a good song to start off with. It introduces the indie-founded but richly diverse sound with solid rhythms and dual-guitar approach. The vocals in the chorus play off against each other like a Lennon / Harrison combination. There's something odd in the initial mix, but once the whole band is in full swing whatever the problem was seems to evaporate under the glorious rays of a cracking tune.
"Footprints" suddenly kicks up a sound like The Coral might have done after one too many whiskeys. The best bit of the track is the break at the two minute mark, which adds a crucial additional dimension to the song as does the drunken brawl of shouty backing vocals.
Sparkly guitars lead us gently into the indie anthem, "Act of God", undoubtedly my favourite song of them all. The vocal drawls nonchantly the words that will one day be chanted by a thousand fans at some massive gig at their home-coming Guildhall show.
Crossing between an early Placebo acoustic b-side, The Beatles and something by Steve Malkmus, The Dawn Chorus mix acoustic indie and summery britpop with a fluency that suggests their musical passport is well stamped. Encore!
Thursday, 22 February 2007
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