Nic handed me this demo to review. Thanks Nic, more work for Soph – I just came by for a cup of tea! (I got one of these as well). Andrew Keese and The Associates from Melbourne. I popped the CD into the player and was met with a very hooky and well written song ‘Little Possessions’. The melody in the verse of this song almost serves as a chorus it is so strong. A clever choice as opening track, it gets your attention straightaway. I guess it sounds a little like Elvis Costello with very strong lyrics and instrumentation. Things get a bit heavier with the next track ‘Transmission’, which reminds this gal a bit of The Jam. Some great guitar work in this song, I think it would go crazy live.
The next two songs ‘The Burden of Proof’ and ‘The Shadows’ tell dark tales of longing, love and self-doubt. ‘The Burden of Proof’ has a particularly lovely bridge section. As well as some fantastic romantic piano playing, Andrew’s lyrics are really the focal point in all of the songs here.
Perhaps the best track on this DOTW is the closer ‘Singapore’, which is a great tearjerker of a ballad. The chorus states “Tonight I got lonely/over you” and it manages to hit you in the spot where it needs to, hard. It is a great tale of someone missing their love. In lesser hands this subject could come across a little corny but it is handled really well here and is anything but (corny).
What remains true throughout the demo is Andrew Keese’s strong ability to fill his songs with memorable characters and stories. His songs are really well written and feature really tight arrangements (which seem to be done pretty much just by him, as the bio lists Andrew Cowie as the drummer leaving Andrew Keese on everything else. That is vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, etc.) He even recorded it too! A check of their (or maybe his?) website reveals they are looking for a new bass player. There are 100 copies of the demo that are going to be made available for sale, a recommended purchase.
Hey Nic – demo of the week is here! Time for a cup of tea. - SH
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