Six Ways From Sunday,
Joe's SteakhouseIf I was to describe a young emo/pop-punk band from Manchester that took influence from bands like The Starting Line and Taking Back Sunday, you'd probably assume I was talking about Appease. But you'd be wrong because the newest contenders in the north west are Stockport's Joe's Steakhouse, four cheeky young scamps with an average age of just 18, crafting rough pop songs with a spikey edge. This EP, released on Plastic Fork Records, acts as a decent taster as to what we might see in the future.
With the Counsell brothers, Greg and Christian, sharing vocal duties, there is an element of Taking Back Sunday to their sound. It's not neccessarily a bad thing, they even admit to it in their bio, but it shows that JS aren't overly imaginitive in what they are influenced by. This 7-track EP, 'Six Ways From Sunday', shows enough promise to suggest that the band could possibly be ones to watch even if it isn't with this offering. Opener 'One Hundred And Eight Miles From Home' is a catchy enough song with the obligatory shouty bits, while 'Life In General (Famous Last Words)' has an interesting break down that comes complete with piano solo. Give these boys some money and a producer and this song could actually be a standout.
But the teenagers begin to show their (lack of) age with song titles like 'Princess Leia' and 'Twelve Things I Hate About You'. The former is absolutely diabolical - bad screaming, bad vocals and a terrible riff, while the latter is a stomping drum fest with a great intro, even if it does sound like it has been ripped from any Blink song from the Cheshire Cat-era. 'Thursday Through Your Window' offers some temporary calm with an introspective guitar riff but there are quite a few mistakes in the playing that would need work. The vocals also go a little weak at times but when the backing vox kick in it irons out the misdemeanours a little. The penultimate 'Digest' is better than average fare while closer 'Until Next Year' is a Dashboard-esque effort with an acoustic guitar. Talk about covering all bases...
'Six Ways From Sunday' shows enough promise for me to keep an eye on JS and I'd recommend checking them out. A tour for August is being planned and if they come round your neck of the woods go and see what the band can do live. The seven tracks on offer here are decent enough without being sparkling, but the foundations have been laid for a career on the local toilet circuit if nothing else.
www.joessteakhouse.org.uk
Paul
