The Beat Poets - Post Pop War

The Beat Poets, one of the most promising rock bands to emerge from Northern Ireland for quite some time, have had the media singing their praises ever since they put out 'Staring Stars Down' as a radio-only release back in 2005. If one can get beyond a vocal swagger that can at times make Robert Plant seem demure by comparison, they play a 'modern dynamic rock' that has all the ardour of Primal Scream getting their rocks off to The Vines. A blustering style that is about as audacious as charging a Zeppelin through the NWOBHM without a guitar solo in sight, armed instead with solid T-REX rock guitar hooks that would have Dickinson's old Maiden taking a run to the hills for cover. The Beat Poets rock.

Their debut single from last year 'Turn It On', quite a direct rock song altogether more suited to the live environment didn't quite cut to the psyche with the same invasiveness as the earlier promotional material, and was perhaps an ill-advised choice for a debut single release on those grounds, but with 'Post Pop War', due to be their new single, The Beat Poets are very much on track to win a host of new admirers. Again, the vocal and lyrics twist quite high on octane in a manner that has a lot in common with the Classic Rock/Metal divide, but beyond it, the riffs and melodies are closer to pop-rock here, and outrageously so at times - whether by accident or design, a melody which grows from an interlude has a striking resemblance to the theme tune to a popular American children's television series from the 70s and 80s. I'll say no more lest to spoil it.

With interest from many of the major labels in the UK (Colombia/Sony, Gut Rec, Parlophone, Fierce Panda, Polydor), offers of an MTV licensing deal, and several endorsement deals already in the bag, the only surprise is that they are not already tied up long-term with one of the major labels. An exceptionally busy band, they are now also recording a Fly on the Wall documentary with Graham Smith and Liar films at present. Their live set has been described as blistering, frenzied and blood-stirring, and they will be touring again extensively this year, with the current batch of upcoming dates in the UK and Ireland listed on their myspace page. The Beat Poets, by all accounts, are a live act not to be missed.

Related Links:

http://www.thebeatpoets.com

http://www.myspace.com/beatpoets

http://www.sonicbids.com/thebeatpoets

http://arockpoet.vox.com

SWEET JANE

All the poets they studied rules of verse, and those ladies, they rolled their eyes...

Taking the name of the VU song, SWEET JANE formed in Dublin last Autumn as a side-project involving members from Dublin's MAINLINE and Cherrybombs DJ Lydia Des Dolles. Their material cannot be purchased as yet, but a few tracks are available to download from their myspace page, which is one well worth the visit.

As with MAINLINE, the sound is again quite psychedelic shoegaze, and again the influence of BRMC can be heard, particularly in track 'Take Me Home'. However, on the evidence so far, there seems to be quite a bit more going on with Sweet Jane, and not just due to Lydia and Danda sharing vocals from track to track. There's more of a retro rock n'roll vibe going on here as well. Track 'Black Boots Black Heart', a much softer affair, has VU style drumming driving it on, and a minimalist guitar melody to vocals which ache and ooze along rather superbly. Comparisons to some of the material to the Dream Syndicate here would not be out of place. However, a freshly uploaded track today titled 'Heartbreak', a more invigorating punk rock n'roll affair, noised up a notch not far from the sounds that the JAMC perfected over the past two decades, is pure honey to this listeners ears, and the choice track of the three. Although they've yet to start playing to the gigging public yet, their current plans are to have a launch night later this summer.

As a side-project which started out mainly as a bit of fun, they are currently not interested in selling any of the Sweet Jane material, though given all the positive feedback they are receiving at present, one would expect this to change. Meanwhile they are happily distributing EPs of their music free to those interested. Sweet.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/officialsweetjane

Ramparts

Ramparts broke onto the Dublin scene a couple of years ago playing rough and ready rock that echoed a lot of 70s punk along the lines of The Ramones, The Stooges, The Jam, and even touches of The Sex Pistols. Foo Fighters could also be heard, and one could be forgiven for believing Ramparts were capable of making considerable impact with the stance they were taking. However, they seem to have softened up a little too much for my liking on their debut EP, Cerca Trova.

Although 'Rage' stands out well with a Teenage Kicks style punk riff, the song itself pales, almost brushing into classic rock vocals at times. In 'Lost' a delicately submissive ballad "now all i can do is say i'm lost.." is a highlight, though a second ballad in 'Never Forget' takes it all a bit too far, in what is overly clichéd, and one has to cringe at lines, which quite frankly wouldn't be out of place coming from a boy band Eurovision entry. Some credibility is restored in 'Stockholm Syndrome' which charges through with echoes of The Sex Pistols, though is delivered too stilted to have anything resembling the credibility of the 70s punk icons, so overall quite a disappointing EP. Ramparts should and can sound a lot better than this. It's a shame this EP doesn't capture it.

Taking the positives, their highlight to date is undoubtedly 'Breath It In', included on the South East Rocks Vol.2 compilation released last year on Cherish Records, a track where a punk vocal delivery reminiscent of The Ramones and The Jam dominate over an instantly appealing guitar riff that isn't a million miles from early Wedding Present in parts. It seems though, overall, that the Ramparts are wimping out on us. Let's hope not. The South East Rocks compilation on which the song 'Breath It In' appears is available through Road Records.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/rampartsrock

http://rampartsrock.bebo.com

http://www.garageband.com/artist/rampartsrock