Ryan's Gig Guide - August 2018

www.ryansgigguide.com rgg Aug 2018 11 Terrific nine track album from alternative nautical folk band Smokin' Pilchards led by energetic frontman Johnny C with fellow members scattered between the Midlands and Cornwall.This well written blues acoustic rock release in their words highlights "starvation, mur- der and misadventure on the high seas". As you can guess it's a very fun record but filled with serious song writing genius as evident on tunes like the fantastic 'Lost At Sea'; it's impossible to not notice the spectac- ular musicianship etched onto every song. Few bands can pull off world class saxophone driven riffs and thanks to the remarkable skills of saxophonist Ted Cartwright this is one of the best. At times Smokin' Pilchards come across sounding as if early Adam And The Ants were Cornish Pirates headbutting members of 80's Madness and Dexys Midnight Runners; they've mastered that professional golden years of pop sound then coupled it with the writing decorum of the greats and finally coated it in seafaring storytelling glory. Highlights include 'Bella' and 'DoYourself A Favour' but my personal favourite is the dark epic blues of 'Church Of Storms'.A formidable debut album. www.thesmokinpilchards.bandcamp.com ALBUM of the month Into The Brine by Smokin ’ Pilchards When they're not performing Britpop era tribute songs The Carousels are busy creating original music of their own inspired by the bands that they pay homage to which is why this EP titled 'She's All I Need' is totally recommended and ideal for fans of The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and Oasis. I'm not normally one for making controversial statements but despite The Carousels producing a similar sound to their idols it could be argued that they may require legal advice be- cause the main guitar riff on their 2014 song 'Rain' which appears on this EP is identical to a 2017 tune called 'Its a beautiful world'. Now of course I'm cer- tainly totally not accusing Noel Gallagher of plagiarism at all; it's just an incredible coincidence. Spoke to my legal team before writing this next part but I can heavily imply that if I was in a parallel universe reviewing a CD by an alternative version of The Carousels whose ideas had been deliberately used by their co-existing peers then that's the highest form of song writing flattery.Anyway; let's return to our universe where Noel Gallagher sounds like The Carousels. Joking aside; this CD is the closest you can get to Oasis reforming; highlights are rock n roll opener 'Demons' and the more spiritual melodic rock title track 'She's All I Need' with it's perfect retro guitar solo. Brilliant. www.thebritpopcarousels.com DOPPELGANGER of the month She's All I Need by The Carousels