Sungover
Demo EP
Sungover are a five-piece South London band playing a blend of pop, rock, disco, funk, and lounge.
‘Mr President’ opens the six track demo with a sound like the lovechild of Six Pence None the Richer and The Beautiful South. There is plenty going on in this song with some nice use of stereo vocal effects, and the sound is so relaxing you’ll find your feet on your desk and your hands behind your head in no time.
‘All Blow Over’ has a great piano introduction and a flowing bass line that does just enough to balance the rhythm of the song. The chorus shows off a little of what Sarah French’s vocal can do with a hooky melody to really lift a song at the right moment.
The disco side of Sungover is evident in ‘Playmaker’ and it has to be said that it isn’t as strong as their other material and sounds a little out of place among these other tracks.
‘Love Bomb’ starts with an ambient guitar solo over warm keys before moving in to a guitar-based indie tune that has elements of the US route march chant in the verse. The chorus is a different matter with a classy sound and more of French’s great vocal.
Sounding like a 70’s pop track the likes of which Blondie might have produced, ‘Shake Me’ has it’s best moment during the break down that occurs on the two minute mark. It has a jazzy guitar progression building up with synths and strings in a race to the last chorus.
‘Wanting More’ has the best vocal on the CD and, perhaps, the most commercial sound. The verses are the strong point with a moody depth that lifts in to the carefree chorus with it’s crunchy guitar run.
There is such a huge amount of potential in this band with both ability and songwriting, that it’s a crime that they aren’t being moulded into shape by a producer who can give them a clear direction to head in.
Throughout the record there are a couple of elements that are incredibly consistent. The vocals are crystal clear and are good enough to be compared to the likes of Natalie Imbruglia and Jacqueline Abbott while the lyrics are, on the whole, a fairly throwaway sugary affair.
In short, there is a lot of potential here from a band doing something apart from the norm and doing it very well indeed, but a little bit of tweaking is needed to give them that famous and elusive je ne sais quoi!
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