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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>
If you put together Dave Stewart from the Eurhythmics and Siobhan Fahey, leader of Shakespeare’s Sister, what do you get? Well, their son: the curiously named Django James, front man of the Los Angeles Based band Django James and The Midnight Squires.
The band are currently signed to the little known Once Upon a Time Music record label, but after hearing a song from their forthcoming album, Hurricane, you start to wonder if these guys are set for bigger and brighter things. Lou Reed has described Django as having “an amazing voice”, the ultimate compliment for an upcoming band. His voice is distinctive, but its not knock you back brilliant.
Hurricane could either be perceived as a well crafted catchy rocky/indie song that you cant get out of your
head, or a song that kinda lingers in your head because of the almost annoying verse. But the problem with this view is the fact that there’s a richness to this band, little features in the song like the occasional organ, a belting guitar solo, and well placed harmonies keep the whole song fresh, it almost reinvents itself as it progresses.
Django does stand out as the main distinguishing feature of this band, but the composition of music is certainly not to be frowned upon. Everything is neat and tidy, clean and crisp, yet at the same time impromptu licks of the guitar and jazzy scales on the organ give the song a slightly more organic dimension. It’s hard to describe what these guys sound like, kind of a rocked up, gritty Razorlight, although any attempt to figure out who they sound similar to is somewhat insulting to the band, their style is one which should be praised as they have put their own stamp on a genre which is so popular at the moment.
The top and bottom of it is: if these guys get a really good chance to breakthrough, they will undoubtedly be a success. Being too sure am I? Well, sometimes when you hear a band for the first time you get the feeling you have stumbled across something in the early stages of potential greatness, and this is exactly how I felt.
These guys are headed for big things, when they have finished touring around the US, I hope they are planning on heading over to the UK, I sense they might just be quite popular.
