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Reviews
Punktastic
You
have to hand it to Mark Swinney of In At The Deep End Records.
Since he began the label he has managed to put out some great
releases by a very diverse range of artists. However, the label’s
fourteenth release, the debut of The Wireless Stores, is set to
blow all past accomplishments out of the water. ‘Historic
Sites of Scenic Beauty #1’ is the name of the EP and it has
to be one of the strongest debuts for many a year. The
Wireless Stores are a three-piece outfit that are based in Nottingham.
They are also lucky enough to have a very talented front man with
an already strong pedigree. Paul Yeadon was a founder member of
Bivouac, a band that enjoyed a decent amount of success before
their move to Geffen and subsequent split. The Wireless Stores,
however, are a very different musical beast. Where Bivouac was
a snarling, ferocious animal, t-w-s are more like a pet cat, lazing
around, and occasionally bursting into life to great effect. It
is very hard to categorise the sound of t-w-s. They veer around
the rock stylings of early Feeder, with a hint of the Foo Fighters
and a number of punk bands. It would be best to think of this
as a good old fashioned rock album, and one that keeps your attention
whether the band are in acoustic or electric mode. From
the very first listen of ‘Historic Sites Of Scenic Beauty
#1’ you know you are witnessing the birth of something pretty
special. The song writing of Yeadon remains consistently strong
throughout the EP, and showcases a real ability for lyrics and
song structure. ‘Sweet Serendipity’ kicks things off
to great effect with a hail of distorted guitars and an incessant
drum beat. ‘Not Going, Gone’, by complete contrast,
has the band in laid back acoustic mode. It’s a simple, yet
stunningly effective track. ‘Speed of Sound’ sees Yeadon
talking about exactly what the title implies. How refreshing it
is, to see such a broad range of subjects covered by a band. The
title track is a moody and brooding instrumental, which in turn
is followed by another acoustic master class; ‘Fabric’
is just the thing for a hot summers day. The EP closer, ‘Yer
Drivin’ has the band reproducing the energy they showed in
the first track, and is probably the pick of all the songs on
offer. With
their debut EP t-w-s have produced a faultless set of six songs.
It’s been a year since I’ve given a release top marks,
so that should speak volumes for just how good I think this is.
This hasn’t left my stereo since I first listened to it,
and I sincerely hope that everyone with a passion for good music
makes the effort to track this down. ‘Historic Sites Of Scenic
Beauty #1’ is a stunning release and I can’t wait for
more material to emerge from Mr Yeadon and co. 5/5
Status
(USA)
Remember
when screamo and emo sort of took over everything and made it
seem like everyone in the world was suddenly incapable of writing
a good rock song without being a baby about it? Well, don't worry,
The Wireless Stores are here to let us all breathe a sigh of relief
and to reassure us that there are still people out there making
good, catchy, alternative rok that would be on the radio if we
could jump back a decade. "Historic Sites Of Scenic Beauty
#1" is a 20 minute 6 song powerhouse of a CD that delivers
all goods: strong vocals, catchy riffs, and a topnotch engineering
job. Songs like "Sweet Serendpity" and "Yer Drivin"
are reminiscent of bands like Jawbreaker and Foo Fighters circa
1997. "Not Going, Gone" is a ballad driven by acoustic
guitar and incorporates some extra instrumentation including organ
and samples. By the time the title track rolls around with it's
fuzzy, building guitar parts (and are tose vibes I hear?) you
realise you're halfway through the CD and you wish it weren't
so. But regardless of it's length, the point is that "Historic..."
is constantly presenting the listener with something new and interesting
to chew on. I'd almost even call it a feel good album and that's
not to say that the lyrics are cheesy or anything like that, its
just loud and catchy and makes you hum along and you can't help
but feel good about that right?
Mass
Movement
Now where as this is far too melodic and not too my taste, I can't
help but find something intriguing about it. I wouldn't say it
was punk, but really great rock music. Very hard to put my finger
on what it is about this one as there are even acoustic songs
on here too, but there is just something about it that really
works and a good one to listen to for a quieter moment. Maybe
some of it reminds me of Bush style around the latter end of Bush
but I don't know. You get it and see what I'm talking about. (E.
Tubbs)
Reason
To Believe #10
After a long hiatus Bivouac's Paul Yeadon hits
us with his new offering The Wireless Stores. Bivouac were on
of those much underrated bands doing the rounds in the early 90's,
sorely overlooked by hardcore kids because they were deemed too
indie and sorely overlooked by the indie scene for being a bit
too brash. Well maybe this time round things might be different.
Musically this isn't a million miles from the sound Bivouac had;
imagine perhaps a more melodic, interesting version of Jawbreaker
or Seaweed mix in a little country rock add a keyboard and you
might be somewhere close. I can't recommend this enough, and I
can't wait to hear more. Spot On. (SH)
Superpunk
(USA)
Damn.
In At The Deep End has put out another fine release! This 20 minute
disc starts off with a solid fuzzed out rock number ("sweet
serendipity") that musically reminds me of the best elements
of Nirvana with a bit of later era Jawbreaker, but has a great
melodic sense to it that shines over top of the distorted blast
of noise. Things are slowed down a bit with "Not Going Gone"
which for the most part is a subdued acoustic number that slowly
builds into other instruments (slide guitar, keys, electric guitar,
drums, etc.) adding a little frosting to the music. "The
Speed of Sound" for some reason reminds me of Jawbreaker
as well...I think due to the opening guitar riff, but the rest
of the song also holds up being a strong mid paced rock number.
The Wireless Stores open things up with "Historic Site of
Scenic Beauty #1" an instrumental full of swirling guitars
and keys. They move back to the basics with an acoustic number
"Fabric" which has some strings added to it, but it
reminds me a little too much of that Green Day song "Time
of Your Life". The stand out track (on this already excellent
CD) is the last song "Yer Drivin". This song cooks!
It's a full on rock number with fuzzed out guitars, tasteful keys,
and aggressive rhythm section, as well as hot vocal and guitar
melodies. What more could you ask for? Well, a full length would
be nice, but other than that this CD offers pretty much everything
you could want. Definitely a band and a release that needs to
be heard.
Fracture
#25
I think maybe I was a little too expectant of this release. The
demo I heard earlier this year was a regular visitor to my CD
deck, and having caught two cool-as-fuck live sets (Out of Spite
weekend and supporting THE WEAKERTHANS) I was eagerly awaiting
this first release proper. Don't get me wrong, this is top-notch
stuff, driving and powerful one song, mellow and acoustic the
next, strong vocals and some strong songwriting to boot. A couple
of songs from the aforementioned demo do make an appearance and
maybe that's my one problem with this CD. With only six songs,
and a couple of them familiar already, I'm thinking this is just
a little too short of what I was hoping for. With the atmosphere
produced on some of the songs, I think a well-constructed eleven
song CD would have seen me lose myself in their sound for the
best part of an hour. As its is, it's all over too quickly and
as I'm just warming to the vibe it's over. Main man Paul Yeadon
has something very special on his hands here, I think they have
both old-school early 90s indie-rock appeal (SUGAR / MOVING TARGETS),
and a contemporary "emo" pop edge (CAPE CANAVERAL /
BEEZEWAX) that could see them garner a good fan base at a rapid
pace. If you appreciate subtle melodies, clever songwriting and
heartfelt music, then this is maybe one for you. This is quite
reserved overall, I think they can rock out more and I think they
can mellow out a lot more, have more of the female vocals that
appeared on the demo and really stretch their sound wide open,
I'd like to see that happen as this is one band with the capabilities
to produce an album that will be utterly mind-blowing. This is
good stuff, and for a first release, well I can't really complain,
I just thought the demo was better to be honest, maybe I got my
hopes up too high... tends to happen. But rest assured, this is
nothing short of superb. Oh, and I just saw them play Rocktober
and they were great with just acoustic guitar and Duncan (ANOTKTWR
and SMP) playing electric lead. A full length album from these
guys is a mouth watering prospect... hope it comes soon. (DS)
Riot
77 (Ireland)
Following on from Bivouac disappearing up it's
own arsehole after releasing some decent material on Alternative
Tentacles before going on to sign with Geffen. this is leadsinger/guitarist
Paul Yeadon's latest project and debut release from his new band
called The Wireless Stores. Based in Nottingham of all places
this band bring to mind the late eighties/early nineties sound
of American a bands like Jesus Lizard and pre Geffen Girls Against
Boys. It's weird and eerie enough not to be classed as emo and
has so much bite that you can envisage such material getting released
in the early years of Touch & Go. Not the type of CD you'd
fire away after one listen and no doubt a piece of music I will
keep returning to 'till I get a better grip of what's going on
here. They've done well with the six tracks and don't fall into
any mould for too long.
Screaming
Bloody Mess (Australia)
Besides being the last great Jawbreaker album Bivouac
was also the name of an English indie rock band that made a bit
of a splash in the late Nineties before fading off to obscurity.
The main man behind Bivouac Paul Yeadon is back with the Wireless
Stores a project that showcases his considerable indie rock songwritiing
skills. This has a laid back almost Paul Westerberg quality to
the songs. Indeed ‘The Speed of Sound’ with lines
such as ‘these shoes held together with electrical tape
they could walk 6000 miles’ has a definite Jawbreaker quality
to it. One song that I keep going back to is the cool acoustic
‘Fabric’ that has an almost folky country feel to
it. I can’t totally put my finger on why but I’m definitely
a fan of this record.
Trashpit
(Winter 2003)
Finally, a British band with some real energy, emotion and power
emerges in the form of The Wireless Stores, the new project from
former Bivouac singer/guitarist/songwriter Paul Yeadon. Early
advances of the bands material last year showed the exciting promise
this new outfit were possible of and the first thing we notice
on this new six track EP is the absence of the awesome 'Super8veneer'
which was the pick of those early promos. Thankfully though it's
replaced with an equally powerful opening number in the form of
'Sweet Serendipity' which kicks things into high gear from the
outset. 'Not Going Gone' shows how Yeadon can easily switch from
powerful guitar based rock tunes to subtle acoustic mini-epics,
and I defy you to find a more touching atmospheric number than
'Fabric' on any other release around! Very much in a harder edged
REM style, The Wireless Stores could easily capture the crown
from overly predictable bands such as ColdPlay and The Stereophonics
and replace them with a band truly worth getting excited about
if the quality packed into this EP can be translated into a full
album. (Rob Lane)
ULEK
The-Wireless-Stores are another fine band, playing quality music.
The
opener, Sweet Serendipity is a pretty simple, dirty, energetic
track that eases you into this amazing CD, but it pales in comparison
to the other tracks. not
going, gone slows the record down, directly contrasting the opener.
An elegant acoustic number, that gently builds up into a wierd
mogwai style ending. the speed of sound shows yet another side
to the-wireless-stores, the songwriting is superb, it builds on
the previous track's calmness, kicking in with authority, again
showing off Paul Yeadon's voice. Slightly worried about the obsession
with physics: "speed equals distance over time" being
a prime example of how lyrics can be educational. The title track
historic site of scenic beauty #1 (taken from the korean government
who tried to boost tourism by calling all their sites this, numbered
from 1 to 100), is an instrumental, which combines all the power
and melody of the previous songs without needing vocals. Fabric
is another acoustic song, And its very happy, which is nice. The
final track yer drivin really knocks up the tempo. A powerful
distorted riff kicks in, then a synth and a commanding vocal line.
Its definitely the best track. Think Seven Storey Mountain. I
would buy this if I didn't already have it, so you must instead.
8/10
Ox
(Germany)
Kopf dieser Britischen Band ist Sänger/Gitarrist Paul Yeadon,
der früher bei BIVOUAC war, die mit ihren lauten Gitarren
und hübschen Melodien wie eine Mischung aus TEENAGE FANCLUB
und SUPERCHUNK wirkten und irgendwann bei Geffen landeten - Ende
der Geschichte. Das war irgendwann Mitte der 90er und jetzt hat
Paul Yeadon eine neue Band und eine aktuelle Platte, die mit ihren
21 Minuten und sechs Songs den ganzen Emo-Bübchen ganz schön
in den Hintern tritt, denn die WIRELESS STORES haben ihre Wurzeln
ganz klar im Dischord-Sound Ende der 80er mit Bands wie JAWBOX.
Hier gibt
es die nötige Portion glühende Gitarren, echte Emotionen
respektive nicht weinerlichen Pathos plus sehr viel Pop-Understatement.
Briten halt, so richtig rocken wollen oder können sie eben
nicht, was aber in diesem Fall voll und ganz okay ist. Den Namen
sollte man sich merken. (7/10)
Rock
sound (August 2003)
Those
who have an indepth knowledge of obscure British indie bands from
the 90s may remember The Wireless Stores singer Paul Yeadon from
the briefly celebrated Bivouac. Unremarkable though they were,
Yeadon has reassumed his role in the world of rock wannabies with
this promising six track EP. With its wall of fire-breathing guitars,
opener 'Sweet Serendipity' has traces of Therapy?, whilst the
acoustic balladry of 'Fabric' counterpoints the thumping aggression
with a moment of sweetly delivered melodicism. The contributions
of Six By Seven organist James Flower also aid the excellent 'Yer
Drivin', and although there's still some work to be done if yeadon
is planning to surpass his achievements with bivouac, 'Historic
Sites Of Scenic Beauty #1' at least proves that The Wireless Stores
have a good base to start from. 7/10 (Hardeep Phull) (N.B. That
issue of Rocksound also had Yer Drivin on the covermount, this
got voted 2nd best track on the free CD only narrowly being beaten
by The Darkness!!)
Fashionline
(Issue 7)
The north of England has long been a bastion of proper punk, hardcore
and aggressive music. The Wireless Stores are based in Nottingham
and consist of a base of three members and their recording collaborators
(in punk terms this is basically their chums and people who share
the same love of music over money) including JT Flowers (Six By
Seven) and Emma Louise Nibblet (Scout Nibblet). TWS should be
seen as an outlet for Paul Yeadon's (formerly with Bivouac) relentless
song writing, with six tracks varying in style and pace from the
opener 'Sweet Serendipity' which has a good post rocky sound,
nice and melodic with a really hooky chorus. As a whole it is
a good collection of tracks from the acoustic numbers like 'Not
Going, Gone' and 'Speed Of Sound' contrasting with heavier numbers.
Each track though is pleasingly free from cliche, bucking the
current trends within guitar based bands. 'Historic Sites' acts
as an adverse reaction to Yeadon's previous band 'Bivouac' and
their time signed to Geffen, me thinks much freedom was opened
up by the move to a smaller label. 'Historic Sites...' is a smashing
example of adverse circumstances having a positive effect as a
knock on. The knock effect is an album of class which will fill
a hole you never know you had in the rock section of your record
collection, there's not a bad song on it. Another fine release
from In At The Deep End.
I
Will Be Heard
Fuelled
by the past experience and writing prowess of founder member Paul
Yeadon (ex Bivouac), this three-piece Nottingham band were formed
just a year ago and have produced a stunning debut EP - which
also chalks up another quality release from the most excellent
'In At The Deep End Records' (IATDE014).
There are certain bands that have quality written all over them
- where you know very quickly that they’re something special
- and The-Wireless-Stores are definitely one of those. They make
music that feels intelligent and sophisticated, but is actually
cunningly simplistic. They have well constructed songs that are
easy on the ears, very tuneful and it’s extremely difficult
to stop humming, singing or whistling them. These are tunes that
you'll remember, tunes that stick in your mind, containing some
great hooks and brilliantly memorable lyrics. “You’re
a coffee cup, I’m a simple mug” what a classic line
that is! Creating
a sound that’s a soulful cross between emo and indie rock,
the songs range from gentle relaxing acoustics to far more powerful
driving electric guitars, with lyrics covering subject as diverse
as x-box game adiction to deliberating an approximation for the
speed of sound (Hey, what a great way of doing revision!). Musically,
there are echoes of Pink Floyd ('Animals'-era) during the more
gentle moments and suggestions of Feeder or Idlewild when they’re
rockin’. This
is an excellent EP that offers top quality songs that nicely balance
the soothing against the vigorous and provide a handful of infectious
tracks that you’ll want to keep playing over and over again.
On top of that a good job has been done with the production and
the artwork has been kept simple yet effective and printed on
card, making this a most enjoyable package that really does leave
you with a tremendous appetite to want more from these guys. Let’s
hope we won’t have to wait too long.
Suspect
Device #41
This is another 6 track EP and contained there in is some pretty
good sounding "alternative" ROCK type tunes, rather
Foo Fighters if you will. Quite a nicely varied EP, the first
track is a loud rocking number with a bit of a droning type thing
going on, followed by a couple of quieter tunes, then an instrumental,
a lovely acoustic track and finished off with another rocker,
again sounding rather Foo. Lovely card and ink drawing packaging,
and i'm very impressed, it's rather "mature" but then
again I'm a mature guy. (SB)
Britbands
Its
not very often you come across a totally unknown band who completely
blow you away. The Wireless Stores are hardly a household name,
in fact, I'd never even vaguely heard of them until the promo
came through the letterbox. And thank god it did, it's hardly
been out of my cd player since. It's all well and good listening
to metalcore all day but from time to time you need a quiet moment,
and TWS are perfect for that occasional mellow mood. Nestling
somewhere between Idlewild, Biffy Clyro and Feeder, the band have
come from seemingly nowhere and released a stunning debut. Opening
track "Sweet Serendipity" and final track "Yer
Drivin", both reminiscent of Polythene era Feeder sandwich
the quieter tracks and add some nice variation. The six songs
on "Historic Site Of Scenic Beauty 1" show off frontman
Paul Yeadon's songwriting skills to the full, with his clever
lyrics and intelligent arrangement of songs. "The Speed Of
Sound" has to be one of the few songs around that addresses
scientific formulas (331.45 metres per second to be precise!),
while the completely instrumental title track sounds so much like
Biffy Clyro it hurts. It's hard to pick a highlight from such
a consistently good release, but 'Not Going Gone' probably stands
out most. The delicate acoustic guitars, flowing vocals and yet
more interesting lyrics make it a joy to listen to. Start to finish,
The Wireless Stores' debut release is near flawless. Do whatever
it takes to get your hands on a copy, but be warned, you may find
yourself not listening t o another band for months.
5 out of 5
Big
Cheese (August 2003)
Over
the space of 6 tracks, The Wireless Stores reveal themselves to
be very much a band of two halves. While the opering and closing
tracks see the band rock out in an impressively driving, discordant
manner, what comes between is largely acoustic, the likes of 'Not
Going, Gone' sounds almost like the Foo Fighters at their most
introspective. 'Sweet Serendipity' & 'Yer Drivin' rock out
suffiently to suggest The Wireless Stores could develop into something
very interesting indeed.
Punknews
I won’t pretend that I know who Bivouac are. My
only knowledge of that apparently first-rate mid-nineties indie
rock band is that David Geffen’s major label meat grinder
minced them, tragically, just as they seemed on the verge of something
special. Now
frontman Paul Yeadon is back with his first material since Bivouac’s
disintegration as alpha male in Nottingham three-piece The Wireless
Stores. And it’s yet another superlative In At the Deep
End Records release: Mark Swinney’s acute ear for talent
has unearthed a sparkling set of folky indie-rock gems here. There’s
a cosy, grown at home feel to these seven songs that’s almost
definite, an air fostered by Yeadon’s mottled arrangements
and keen, sage lyrics. I’d go as far to say it lends ‘Historic
site of Scenic Beauty’ a rough shod, singer-songwriter timbre
almost Springteenian in nature. Opener ‘Sweet Serendipity’
is far and away my least favourite track on the EP: a banal, grungey
Dinosaur Jr-y effort. ‘Not Going, Gone’ is much better
fare reminiscent of Chamberlain at their widescreen, meditative
best. ‘The Speed of Sound’ is somewhat backward lyrically,
but after dabbling along in the verse explodes into a gratifying
pop chorus. ‘Fabric’ is more folky acoustic stuff,
but with an upbeat, rueful edge while ‘Yer Drivin’
is the Wireless Stores at their most cacophonic, and boasts an
anchor-like hook. This is a fine collection of songs demonstrating
a diversity of influences, able song writing and some erudite
pop nous. Nevertheless, ‘Historic site of Scenic Beauty’
is never encroaching into Top 40 singles territory and TWS seldom
go for the obvious hook or naff lyrical carrot. Such a promising
EP that ‘Historic site of Scenic Beauty’ is vying
with Beecher and Steel Rules Die for my favourite In at the Deep
End release so far.
Kerrang
KKK
Ex-bivouac
frontman returns with a new indie-rock trio. As far as mid-'90s
indie-rock went, Bivouac were one of the finest prospects in Britain,
so it's odd to see ex-frontman Paul Yeadon rubbishing the later
work done with his old band on the press release for his new project
The Wireless Stores. it's even odder once you realise that this
six-track EP doesn't even stray too far from the old Bivouac formula.
Yeadon's vocals are still a joy smooth, distinctive and resonant
and his guitar work still weaves and jabs to great effect, especially
on the storming 'Yer Drivin'. while 'Historic Sites...' is a little
unfocused in places and lacks the immediacy of Yeadon's previous
project - the instrumental title track here particularly fails
to move - this is a quality release that will be adored by old
fans, and those who miss the likes of sugar.
(Rae Alexandra)
Rancid
News
This wasn't
what I was expecting at all! Whereas I thought this was going to be some kind
of post-whatever gubbins, it is nothing of the sort. It's just a really great
EP of rock, with a regular nod to the punk scene. This is just a very classy EP,
and it's helped to this end by the inlay card being printed on thick card! If
you wnat me to try and pigeon hole this band they kind of lie somewhere between
Bad Astronaut and early Placebo. It'd be well worth the effort to track this down!
4/5 |
£5
€9
$12
£8