Slam Cartel
Artist: Slam Cartel
Album: Handful Of Dreams
Personnel:
Giles Van Lane - Vocals
Terence Warville - Guitar
Tom Hendriksen - Guitar
Adam Lee – Keyboards/Guitars
Marc Neudeck – Bass
Steve Campkin - Drums
Track Listing:
01 - Wishing Eye
02 - Handful Of Dreams
03 - Once In A Lifetime
04 - Breathe
05 - Shine
06 - Hold Me
07 - Free Again
08 - Missmatched Ties
09 - Goldenstream
10 - Powerstorm
11 - Maybe Sometimes
12 - Sundown
13 - Walk A Mile
Stand Out Track: Walk A Mile
Review:
London based hard rockers Slam Cartel have produced a damn good debut album with ‘Handful Of Dreams’. It may be eclectic, it may occasionally lean heavily on the bands influences, it may even include a few lines of rap....But by God it Rocks.
The first track, ‘Wishing Eye’ is a storming opener that completely engulfs you in its heavy grooves, raw riffs, strong vocals and catchiness. It sets the standard for the rest of the album and on a whole, the album achieves it.
The eponymous title track owes a huge debt to Nirvana, with its pounding drums into the chorus and basic raw guitar riff. Yet it still comes across as uniquely Slam Cartel with its addictive nature.
So..Track three. A cover version of Talking Heads ‘Once In A Lifetime’. You may ask yourself ‘Why did they attempt this?’ The simple answer is, because they wanted to. And because they knew they’d produce a bloody superb version. I can’t recommend this track enough. Immense vocals along with superlative guitar work make this a great homage to the original without sounding anything like a karaoke version.
The album then slows down a pace with the obligatory rock ballad ‘Breathe’. A beautiful song with both haunting guitar and honey jewelled vocals. ‘Shine’ then hits you full on with its loud guitars, thunderous drums and commanding vocals, which include a bit of rap-singing (which to be honest, the album could do without!) Slow in parts, brutal in others. It certainly gets rid of the ballad calm feeling you had.
‘Hold Me’ is an atmospheric song that raises the tempo during the chorus, yet brings a calm slow build up during the verses.
‘Free Again’ mixes piano and raw guitars with a dash of Hendrix, a slither of Red Hot Chili Peppers and just a glimpse of Zeppelin. This song is trying to be anthemic, but doesn’t quite pull it off. Great guitar work though.
‘Mismatched Ties’ has an extremely catchy feel about it. The chorus will no doubt be screamed back at the band during live performances.
‘Goldenstream’ is not quite a rock song, not quite a rock ballad. It’s somewhere inbetween and works very well. I found myself nodding my head during the chorus.
Musically ‘Powerstorm’ is the heaviest on the album. You almost expect growling vocals to come in, but thank hell they don’t. Once again a good vocal performance over very accomplished, even great, guitar/drum/bass work.
‘Maybe Sometimes’ is an even softer ballad than ‘Breathe’. With its Paul McCartney and Wings guitar and piano and Pink Floyd vocal feel, it almost feels out of place when listening to the album as a whole, but don’t take that as meaning the song isn’t any good, because it is very good. It just doesn’t fit into the whole scheme of things. I’m sure though that the Zippos will be in the air when this is played live.
If Billy Idol, Mike Peters and The Edge sat down and wrote a song, it would be ‘Sundown’. It’s almost punk, almost rock and almost pop! A combination of all three of these, that doesn’t really work for this reviewer.
‘Walk A Mile’ ends the album with a slow piano based intro that builds and builds into a beautiful rock song. If Slam Cartel never write another song, then this will be their legacy. A beautiful ballad that is written to perfection, played with outstanding restraint and produced stylishly.
Slam Cartel certainly have the knack of writing a catchy Rock song as ‘Handful Of Dreams’ testifies. The songs are well written and played and the production is top notch. ‘Handful Of Dreams’ is a good rock album and a very impressive debut. I will certainly be playing it again and will try and catch the band play live.
Reviewed by: Andy
Gigs:
Nov 12 Ashford Rocks - Ashford
Nov 18 The Rhythm Factory - London
Dec 16 The view & The bar below - Folkestone
Mar 16 (2012) Hammerfest - Prestatyn
WebSite:
http://www.facebook.com/slamcartel
http://www.slamcartel.com
http://www.myspace.com/slamcartelofficial
http://www.twitter.com/slamcartel
http://www.reverbnation.com/slamcartel
http://www.youtube.com/SLAMCARTEL
http://www.soundcloud.com/slamcartel
Album: Handful Of Dreams
Personnel:
Giles Van Lane - Vocals
Terence Warville - Guitar
Tom Hendriksen - Guitar
Adam Lee – Keyboards/Guitars
Marc Neudeck – Bass
Steve Campkin - Drums
Track Listing:
01 - Wishing Eye
02 - Handful Of Dreams
03 - Once In A Lifetime
04 - Breathe
05 - Shine
06 - Hold Me
07 - Free Again
08 - Missmatched Ties
09 - Goldenstream
10 - Powerstorm
11 - Maybe Sometimes
12 - Sundown
13 - Walk A Mile
Stand Out Track: Walk A Mile
Review:
London based hard rockers Slam Cartel have produced a damn good debut album with ‘Handful Of Dreams’. It may be eclectic, it may occasionally lean heavily on the bands influences, it may even include a few lines of rap....But by God it Rocks.
The first track, ‘Wishing Eye’ is a storming opener that completely engulfs you in its heavy grooves, raw riffs, strong vocals and catchiness. It sets the standard for the rest of the album and on a whole, the album achieves it.
The eponymous title track owes a huge debt to Nirvana, with its pounding drums into the chorus and basic raw guitar riff. Yet it still comes across as uniquely Slam Cartel with its addictive nature.
So..Track three. A cover version of Talking Heads ‘Once In A Lifetime’. You may ask yourself ‘Why did they attempt this?’ The simple answer is, because they wanted to. And because they knew they’d produce a bloody superb version. I can’t recommend this track enough. Immense vocals along with superlative guitar work make this a great homage to the original without sounding anything like a karaoke version.
The album then slows down a pace with the obligatory rock ballad ‘Breathe’. A beautiful song with both haunting guitar and honey jewelled vocals. ‘Shine’ then hits you full on with its loud guitars, thunderous drums and commanding vocals, which include a bit of rap-singing (which to be honest, the album could do without!) Slow in parts, brutal in others. It certainly gets rid of the ballad calm feeling you had.
‘Hold Me’ is an atmospheric song that raises the tempo during the chorus, yet brings a calm slow build up during the verses.
‘Free Again’ mixes piano and raw guitars with a dash of Hendrix, a slither of Red Hot Chili Peppers and just a glimpse of Zeppelin. This song is trying to be anthemic, but doesn’t quite pull it off. Great guitar work though.
‘Mismatched Ties’ has an extremely catchy feel about it. The chorus will no doubt be screamed back at the band during live performances.
‘Goldenstream’ is not quite a rock song, not quite a rock ballad. It’s somewhere inbetween and works very well. I found myself nodding my head during the chorus.
Musically ‘Powerstorm’ is the heaviest on the album. You almost expect growling vocals to come in, but thank hell they don’t. Once again a good vocal performance over very accomplished, even great, guitar/drum/bass work.
‘Maybe Sometimes’ is an even softer ballad than ‘Breathe’. With its Paul McCartney and Wings guitar and piano and Pink Floyd vocal feel, it almost feels out of place when listening to the album as a whole, but don’t take that as meaning the song isn’t any good, because it is very good. It just doesn’t fit into the whole scheme of things. I’m sure though that the Zippos will be in the air when this is played live.
If Billy Idol, Mike Peters and The Edge sat down and wrote a song, it would be ‘Sundown’. It’s almost punk, almost rock and almost pop! A combination of all three of these, that doesn’t really work for this reviewer.
‘Walk A Mile’ ends the album with a slow piano based intro that builds and builds into a beautiful rock song. If Slam Cartel never write another song, then this will be their legacy. A beautiful ballad that is written to perfection, played with outstanding restraint and produced stylishly.
Slam Cartel certainly have the knack of writing a catchy Rock song as ‘Handful Of Dreams’ testifies. The songs are well written and played and the production is top notch. ‘Handful Of Dreams’ is a good rock album and a very impressive debut. I will certainly be playing it again and will try and catch the band play live.
Reviewed by: Andy
Gigs:
Nov 12 Ashford Rocks - Ashford
Nov 18 The Rhythm Factory - London
Dec 16 The view & The bar below - Folkestone
Mar 16 (2012) Hammerfest - Prestatyn
WebSite:
http://www.facebook.com/slamcartel
http://www.slamcartel.com
http://www.myspace.com/slamcartelofficial
http://www.twitter.com/slamcartel
http://www.reverbnation.com/slamcartel
http://www.youtube.com/SLAMCARTEL
http://www.soundcloud.com/slamcartel
