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Unsigned Band

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  • 05-03-2009 10:41pm
    #1
    tmango
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14 ✭


    THE WHATMANS

    Follow me EP review

    Dublin's indie rock outfit The Whatmans have crafted this three track stunner yeah.. you might say" well hell yeah let your hair down and get ready to be rocked, the first track "Follow me" has all the ingredients of indie pop culture right to the bone, I love the second track "Guns of Dublin" its nice to hear some Thin Lizzy still lives on in upcoming acts today and this track hits you in the face with its melodic bass groves and thumping drums. the third track I am rock and roll has a high end rock beat but has just a hint of merseyside beat! class.

    Review by T.Halpin
    taken from my site over at Musicreview Unsigned i have lots more reviews and if you like this one i can post more up,
    Thanks.
    ps. if there are bands on here want me to review i would love to help you out on the boards.ie


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    #2
    FOGOFUNK
    Closed Accounts Posts: 332 ✭✭FOGOFUNK


    Not with that shocking review, If your going to review music, really break it down and review it, dont just sell the band.


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    #3
    tmango
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14 ✭tmango


    like i said go to the site to read more...lol but if you like long reviews here is one..

    BIG HERK


    When I was at school I really struggled with Maths. No matter how much I sweated and struggled, it was a bit of an alien language to me. I have to fess-up to the fact that Big Herk's type of gangsta/mysoginistic rap, is also an alien language to me. I try to get it, I really do, but coming as I do from the relatively "ho" , "gangsta" and "Uzi" free, South East of England I struggle with its content. These tracks may well resonate to and be soundtracks of the lives of the inhabitants of the ".. troubled streets of Detroit..." - about where these tracks were written, but to my vanilla ears its a bit... well, too surreal.

    Back in the day when Death Row records was at its height and Tupac and Biggie were still duking it out, I've no doubt Big Herk's style of chest beating, gun toting machismo rap would have shipped by the container load in urban America. Even if you live in the leafy counties of the UK, if references to women being "ho's" to be used as sex toys, shootouts and every third word being an insult or heavy duty expletive then Big Herk will definitely float your boat. Sounding very much like Xhibit or a gravelly voiced Eminem (with extra street), Herk has a natural and listenable rappers voice but what you get is a full on, in your face gangsta rap lyrical experience. Now, I am a long long way from being a prude or right wing conservative but let me throw in a random line from the track 'I'm a boss' for you - "... I just want to ****, don't kiss me, as soon as I get my dick sucked, your history". You get the idea?

    I should say at this point that the production and team behind Herk, make first class, professional soundtracks as good as any in the business, but it seems wasted on that old-school, dick-grabbing macho lyric that a "Parental Advisory" sticker would barely cover. Musically, with a bit of radio friendly editing this track could easily get in the top ten in the UK or Stateside but certainly with the content as it is, not a prayer.

    (There they go) is Big Herk guesting with Eminem on a track made by Obie Trice (I'm guessing that this is probably stretching the definition of 'Unsigned' a bit thin). Where the 'I'm a boss' track extolls the virtues of easy sex, drugs and power. 'There they go,' is 4 minutes of shout-out samples, gun violence and gang reference. Don't be pursuaded that this stuff is simply a reflection of the 'mean streets,' these three clearly love this violence and gun stuff. For example Eminem cuts loose from his chart friendly persona and pops up with this kind of thing - "... cut her from the waist - what a waste - of a pretty face", and If you think its being 'ironic', try listening when the track finishes with Herk bellowing "we've got something for yo ass" followed by the sound of gun fire and a manic laugh. Frankly, with over 30 teenagers in the UK last year killed by weapons and gang violence, tracks like this just sticks in my throat. The only irony is that most of the rappers who made their money from tales of the street and 'thug life' are currently living in big piles in Beverley Hills, leaving it a LONG way behind.

    With his contacts, if Big Herk took a leaf out of 50 Cent, Xhibit or Ice T's book and moved away from all the ego posturing and gun-love and wrote more intelligent raps (he certainly has the lyrical skill) he would be massive in his field but as it is, in 2007 do we need to keep doing this?


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