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October Rising is an acoustic British duo formed in the ashes of Silversky – a rock version of The Smiths. Peter Smith, lead of Silversky was a surprising
choice of frontman considering the vocal talent the former guitarist and
bassist have.
Opening track, ‘Imagery’ sees Mike A. on lead in a laid-back acoustic effort. Seemingly
auto-biographical, it is a song about self-examination and trying to be who you
are, presumably in the face of a disapproving lover. Mike’s voice is ranged, contemporary and almost Jon Bon Jovi-like (without the growl). John chips in some nice backing here too and this is melodic, soulful and a
strong prog. rock anthem.
‘One More Reason’ sees John on lead – a voice with a slightly deeper, more country-sounding twang to it. It seems to
again be romantically-inspired tune about companionship in a southern-style
love affair. John goes slightly Alanis Morrisette on us with some nice
mouth-organ melody and it would seem that we have a very unexplored area of
music here – a creative, sensitive, country-inspired British duo – who can both sing rather well.
Things get even more southern-sounding on ‘Pray for You’ with its uptempo beat and John Mayer-like delivery. Just a short one, this but
it has many of the tricks that made its predecessor work. Mike’s back for the ending, ‘MySelf’. Focussing again on the self-critical style of ‘Imagery’, this one has a bigger emphasis on solid song structure and melodic sounds – a high point to end on.
Released - 3/2010
Label - Unsigned
Debut release
- Imagery
-MySelf
What we have here is a duo that must have been quite frustrated living in a
harder rock band. Sensitive and harmonious – John who brings an upbeat, commercial styling with Mike’s stripped-down and heart-on-his-sleeve mellow lyrics, there is certainly a gap
in the market for them.
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