First cuts: Velvetron, The Dogboy Conspiracy, John Finn, The Riff

First into the garage for servicing this week are Velvetron, a band based in the salubrious Dublin suburb of Killiney and who mostly consist of the work of Paul Chaney plus assorted mates and machines. ‘Tech Noir’ and ‘Melora Creager’, with their hyperactive buzzsaw guitar and swirly soundscapes, suggest Tin Machine doing a cover of a Pink Floyd song. But don’t let that put you off, because I didn’t. ‘Neptune’s Cry’ is subtler, with Chaney’s vocal thankfully more prominent in the mix. It builds up admirably and confirms Velvetron as a fluid collective trying something fresh and exciting, following their own path to fame, fortune and true enlightenment.

Although they’ve only been together for about three months and played few gigs, Ballina-based The Dogboy Conspiracy have turned in an impressively tight debut recording. ‘Hissifit’ opens the door with Stephen Dwane’s tasty guitar before the band storms in and mugs you. The track merrily thrashes along, driven by Momme Reibisch’s forceful vocals. ‘No Hope’ almost repeats the same quiet-loud formula but with lots of naughty words which sound more contrived than expressive. ‘The Punk Rock Adventure Plan’ is a much more interesting and less formulaic track on which Reibisch sings more often than he roars and it’s all the better for it. The track has more of Dwane’s fine guitar as well as excellent interplay between bass and drums. All in all, a very good foundation to build on.

Although he’s done time in bands like Otherside and Skinflint, John Finn from New Ross is now more interested in pursuing a more solo route. His song ‘Dragging Me Down’ fits in somewhere between Travis and Billy Corgan, but it’s a bit too long given its musical premise. Try recording this again, John, with a different vocalist and a stop-watch.

The Riff (without the raff) come from Cork and have been together almost 13 years. They recently flew to England to record in a studio in Manchester near where Coronation Street is filmed. Wow! (Could they not have found an Irish studio to record in?). ‘Research Shows I Still Love You’ suggests they’ve heard too many ’60s Merseybeat records and, although it’s tastefully sung and performed, it’s as boring as a North Sea oil rig. ‘The Gardener Of Eden’ is more of the same and is ridiculously long, and ‘Thinking Sideways’ sounds as if the vocalist is singing a love song to himself. This stuff is so middle of the road it’s a traffic hazard. Where are AA Roadwatch when you need them?

PICK OF THE FORTNIGHT:
Velvetron
Tracks from our Demo Of The Fortnight will be featured on John Walsh’s Going Underground programme on FM 104 (Sunday nights, 11 pm) and by Colm O’Sullivan on his Green On Red programme on Red FM – Cork. (Sundays 7-10 pm). The featured band will also be in line for special Garage gigs (Isaac Butt/Eamon Dorans/Mono)

SONG OF THE FORTNIGHT:
‘The Girl In The Car Behind’
by Bob Gibson
Song of the Fortnight wins 11 hours studio
time, mixing, mastering and production at Dublin Sound Training Centre (phone 01 670993 for bookings) and CD single artwork by David Bohen of brazendesign.com

Submissions should be clearly marked either Demo or Song of the Fortnight and be sent to A&R Brief, 13 Trinity St., Dublin 2. Please include photo. For more information go to hotpress.com