By Alex Pearson
Battle Of The Bands The Final last night was one of the most important nights of the year for these young and inspiring bands because they have literally battled their way past hundreds of bands to reach the final for a chance to win that all important £750 prize money and a slot on the main stage at Wilkestock Festival.
First on stage was London five-piece, The Innocent consisting of Sam Gifford (Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar), George Carter (Lead Guitar), Danny Wright (Rhythm Guitar), James Creighton (Bass) and Jamie Steenbergen (Drums). Gifford’s vocals sounded like a blend of Ben Howard and Mumford & Sons had a good, strong voice but was let down by the backing vocals. Their debut EP titled track ‘Take Me To Eden’ was their best track with jingly guitars like Aussie band San Cisco
Next up, we had something a bit fresher and a bit crazier. Beyond Trepidation are a four piece rock band hailing from Hertfordshire. The four guys definitely brought a bit of edge and stage presence to their set, getting a bit dirty with the crowd and even getting the 30+ year old members of the audience in the mood. These guys are a bit of an odd one. Imagine RHCP making love with The Darkness in some absolutely disgusting sort of musical orgy and that’s pretty much Beyond Trepidation. Lead singer Dave definitely gave the strongest all round vocal performance of the evening and certainly had the most charisma.
Fuzzwalker have been on our radar for a while. We met the guys at a Music Industry Meet and Greet earlier on this year and they were so keen to hand out their EP and take on board any advice we could give. The four piece Inide-britpopers are a self described Raw, Rousing, Riff-driven group with a roaring presence and a penchant for gripping and magnetic tunes. If anything, Fuzzwalker win the award for ‘Coolest Fucking Instruments Ever’. The bass players fret board lit up every time he played a different note. If any advice could be given to these guys, is that sometimes, less is more. Great tracks, great band, less talking.
Last but not least, we had Elswhere. The unsigned Alternative Rock band from North London impressed the crowd with their more traditional alternative vibes stemming from the Likes of Don Broco and Linkin Park. What impressed the crowd more was that these guys actually formed this year in January and have only played a few number of shows love together. The band themselves definitely had a structured and played out which told of story of heartache, the struggles of mental health and life itself; which in fairness, are difficult subjects for any young artists to really connect an audience with. To end their set, Elswhere handed out a number of glowsticks to the crowd and got absolutely everyone in the 200 cap venue dancing and singing along.
It was clear that after that performance, there was only one winner. The crowd were chanting their name, some of the judges even joined in too. Elswhere smashed it and they rightfully took home the cash prize and the slot at Wilkestock Festival.
We’d like to personally thank The Horn and JuiceBox Live for inviting us down for the second year running. We take immense pride in working alongside our local music community in the three counties and will continue to be an advocate and promoter for live and local music for as long as there is a venue to go to and a band to play.
And for fuck sake Ashley. It’s IndieCENTRALMusic. You melon.
