Ryan's Gig Guide - May 2019

THE VERDICT BY NICK J. TOWNSEND THE ROZ BRUCE INFUSION Shelf Indulgence This is the fourth record by TRBI and it’s ten packed tunes about ten classic novels. If I was an avid book reader then I’d definitely appreciate the tremendous respectfully executed theme for the album as it ar- tistically salutes some top works of literature; most of which I’ve either never read or watched unless it’s been on Netflix but despite my ignorance this is solid. Highlights include the technical punk rock lash- ings of ‘Catch 22’, ‘Metamorphosis’ which has a bril- liant chromatic and catchy blues rock riff that shows off the signature guitar goodness Roz Bruce likes to mark on songs along with her gentle nod to theatre and rock opera as demonstrated on the epics ‘1984’ (featuring a truly wonderful and beautifully played guitar solo) and ‘Nausea’. Roz Bruce has crafted her own style and sound which arguably fuses influences such as Blondie, Jimi Hendrix and TheWhite Stripes. A very competent and imaginative album and if you enjoy best selling paperbacks then there’s plenty of Easter eggs for you here too I’m sure.  www. facebook.com/TheRozBruceInfusion OMAR ANTHONY Deceived By The Lights Highly recommended for fans of Beck. Dudley based musi- cian Omar Anthony releases this clever indie-tronic drum n bass-pop experiment titled ‘Deceived By The Lights’; despite the euphoric exuberating and uplifting dance pop overtones throughout the song there’s the contradictory bleak sounding line “There’s Nothing In The City” which is what in my mind makes this song so appealing.The promo we received had three versions of the same tune and you know what? Each one works incredibly well for different reasons; normally I wouldn’t make a big deal but the sheer versatility of each rendition of the song just magnifies the excellent writing.The second mix has a darker more indus- trial sound and the third one is as if R.E.M. or Crowded House covered the song but then towards the end it trails off in another direction with a more rock and blues ap- proach and it’s really inspiring as hell.You could either argue (a) he couldn’t decide which was his favourite so he said “sod it” and just fired them all out or (b) and this is what I think, he’s a bloody talented songwriter and composer. All three versions are delightful and technically are radi- cally different songs but lets just call this bundle of tricks the ‘Deceived By The Lights’ single; the first one is actually the main release. Now even though the third rock-esque type mix is my personal favourite it doesn’t really matter because this is such a robust and accessible song that you’ll likely enjoy whichever version you hear. Single of the month hands down.The guy is brilliant.  www. facebook.com/OmarAnthonyMusic ALBUM OF THE MONTH SINGLE OF THE MONTH www.ryansgigguide.com 8 rgg May 2019

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