Welcome to our new regular feature, where we shine the spotlight on the bands and artists emerging from the ever-fertile grounds of the West Midlands. With so much good music coming out of the area of late, it’s high time to pay attention that to the bands that live, work and play just round the corner.
First to embrace the warm lights of stardom is:
Uncle Tim
Who: Matt (drums), James (bass) and Tim (guitar/vocals)
What: Gruff and grunge-y blues rock and roll. Big, bassy and ballsy.
Where: Facebook / Soundcloud / Website
The chain smoking, rum guzzling uncle at the Leamington family dinner table, Uncle Tim are unapologetically cool and unrepentantly loud.
Thick, heavy riff-slabs, pounding drums, free wheeling solos and gravel throated guttural vocals make up their signature sound, one that’s been blasting holes in Leamington since the tail end of 2011. A stalwart of the scene, Uncle Tim have played in pretty much every venue possible, alongside The Antics, Sharks, The Bonnevilles and many more, and in the process have built up a passionate following on the back of their intense live performances.
New E.P. Elephant House showcases the best of their blisteringly exciting rock and roll noise, ranging from Hendrix-esque feedback freakouts on ‘9BAR’ and ‘DiRT’ to Pixies style loud-quiet-loud shenanigans on ‘Mother of Tears’. It’s frenetic stuff, full of the sounds and passion that made rock and roll so exciting to begin with. It’s not all noise, however, as the final track ‘Holy Child’ proves they are equally adept at slower acoustic based songs, but still tinged with an air of menace and detached cool.
You can see what all the fuss is about for yourself when they play live at Zephyr Lounge on the 12th June – they’re on first, so get down nice and early!
If you are in, or know of, a Midlands based band that should be featured on here, drop us a line at growyoung1@gmail.com
Grow Young 