Summer Drive Home/Why Everyone Left/Sinners Never Sleep/Soulcreek

The Anvil, Bournemouth

The Anvil is once again home for tonight’s Lifeboat Promotions showcase which features four completely different, original bands. The first of these is Soulcreek, an acoustic duo from Bournemouth who are making their debut here at the Anvil tonight. Ben and Jack have been performing a wide variety of shows across the region, impressing each audience they play in front of. They kick off with a cover, one of Slash’s finest “Back from Cali” and from the start you can see these guys have a real natural talent. There are no huge ego’s or any showing off, they just get on with the task in hand. Jack’s voice is something really worth checking out, he has an incredible vocal delivery that works well on a wide range of tunes. This includes nicely re-worked versions of ‘Ace of Spades’ and an excellent original tune called “Rise Again”, which hopefully is just the beginning of a beautiful songwriting partnership. These guys have a real chemistry; with the guitar work just naturally flowing between them, making for one perfect sound. They end with a version of the Ed Sheeran classic “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” with some neatly executed guitar work, along with an excellent fast-paced vocal that earned them huge respect from the impressed audience.

Soul Creek 1–2–3

Next up are a new young band also from Bournemouth called “Sinners Never Sleep”, who take to the stage rather nervously. The four-piece fronted by vocalist Sophie seem to be struggling right from the start, it is hard to tell if it’s technical problems or lack of rehearsal as they shoegaze their way through a largely uneventful and lacklustre set. At times Dan on guitar is really struggling to produce a sound he is happy with. They play a mixture of covers including Blink 182’s “All the Small Things” and a few originals that with some injected energy could be interesting. The band sadly struggle to make any real impact with no great effort to inject any energy or get the crowd involved. Sophie has a decent voice but she has not yet discovered how to get the best out of it. I feel that lots more rehearsals are needed to tighten things up.

Sinners Never Sleep 1–2–3–4

In complete contrast “Why Everyone Left” from Italy explode onto the stage with masses of energy. They address the audience both welcoming and humbly thanking them for their attendance. Vocalist Lorenzo stalks the dancefloor with microphone in hand singing right in the faces of the front row, while bassist Luca leaps about the stage whilst strumming huge riffs. The band from Modena have a very dominating stage presence and as they play each song you cannot take your eyes off of them for one minute. Their tunes show influences from many post/hardcore UK and American bands, however these guys have engineered their own very original sound using electronics and guitar effects. The tunes include the epic “Battlefield” , a radically reworked Counting Crows cover “Accidentally in Love” and a massive tune “It’s Not Me, That’s Hopeless” which features a great guitar intro. This is their first time in the UK and after this short tour they have paved the way for future larger shows. A very impressive debut from these young Italians; who not only sing in English, they also deliver an incredibly entertaining show.

Why Everyone Left 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

Summer Drive Home 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

The last band of the evening “Summer Drive Home” from Weymouth have a difficult job following those energetic Italians. The three piece with no introduction just start to play; drawing the audience to them from the sound of their powerful opening number “This is Purgatory”, which is from their debut “Forget Everything and Run” EP. With passionate vocals; a huge drum sound and creative guitar effects these guys not only have an impressive sound, they have the songs to go with the music. “Little Hollywood” is a huge tune that opens with a cascade of drums and the emotional cry of “She Can’t Hurt you Now” over the massive guitar parts. The set ended on a high with a tune from the band’s new EP “The Departed”, the audience called for a well-deserved encore but the cryís were ignored. Chris, Jamiee and Ricky have created a band here that I am sure are capable of so much more, and this show was just the tip of the preverbal iceberg and I’m sure there’s more to come.

Set-list
Summer Drive Home
This is Purgatory
Bloodstream
Abandoned Cars
Anywhere But Here
Little Hollywood
Survive the Atlantic
Is This The End
The Departed

Why Everyone Left
Pack Your Shit
The Only Promise
Battlefield
Accidentally in Love (Counting Crows)
Anxiety
Do it Again
The Shot
It’s Not Me, That’s Hopeless

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