South-You Are One

Release: May 14 2007 (download only)

Genre: Indie/Rock
Format: Single
Our Rating: 3/5

Without sounding like a Indie stooge with clasping one-liners, I deeply believe South is one band in the vicious indie/rock circle that truly deserves the limelight.In fact, so bright that it could generate a high-powered solar panel. I digress. Salutations to this trio as they confirm the stamina and zest that I witness in 2002 at their live gig. Preserving their rooted melodic sound whilst mish mashing with an ambiguous 70s disco vibe, You Are One is fuzzy-duzz minus the afro.
Review By Priya, MyVillage

Press Release

South will be releasing a new download only single, You Are One, on Monday 14th May.  Taken from their recently released third album, Adventures In The Underground Journey To The Stars, the track kicks off with driving guitars before slipping into a neo disco groove that Franz Ferdinand would be proud of!   To coincide with the release the band will be doing a one-off gig at Cargo, London on Thursday 10th May.  Tickets price and box office details are still tbc.

South will also be doing a monthly podcast from their London studios, South Studio 2.   The first show, features a new version of Same Old Story, an exclusive new acoustic track, album tracks, remixes, general wisdom from the boys, plus much more, and is available to download at http://www.south.uk.net/main/pods.php

‘Adventures in the Underground Journey To The Stars’ is a more upbeat affair than their previous work, as the call to action drums and feel good bass line of opener ‘Shallow’ attest.  ‘Safety in Numbers’ and ‘A Place in Displacement’ demonstrate the band’s skilful use of electronics and beats while the aptly titled ‘Pieces of a dream’ starts off like a soundtrack to the unconscious mind – and then reaches a climatic finale with a stirring crescendo of strings.  Along with material such as ‘Meant to Mean’, it recalls some of South’s evocative early work.  ‘Flesh and Bone’ is a confessional lullaby that begins with a plaintive, late-night guitar strum; slowly, more and more instruments are brought into the mix and the track morphs into a beautiful sing-a-long.  The album also features a bonus track - a cover of the New Order classic ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ but also has strong influence on the bands own material. When asked, Peter Hook said he thought the cover version ”sounds like an electronic Stockholm Monsters…interesting!  But it’s no wonder they’re called South ‘cause they’re a bunch of Jessie’s for keeping the bass off!”

The London-based trio were first signed to James Lavelle’s Mo Wax label in 1999.  After the chaotic excitement surrounding their first album ‘From Here on In’, they produced a tighter and richer sound on their follow-up album ‘With the Tides’ on Kinetic Records, which was produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild, Ash) who has also been involved in the production of the new album. Their original and emotive style has not gone unnoticed by the film and television industries and the band have had their records featured as soundtracks for the Oscar-nominated film Sexy Beast, a montage on Premiership Soccer TV round-up and US TV dramas The OC and Six Feet Under.  They recently toured the States with The Strokes. 

Over the years, South who are comprised of Joel Cadbury (lead vocals, bass and guitar), Jamie McDonald (lead guitar, vocals and drums) and Brett Shaw (drums and guitars), have been compared to artists as disparate as the Stone Roses, Elbow, Radiohead, Oasis, the Verve, Queen, Mercury Rev and the Small Faces.  But they wear their myriad influences lightly to create a sound, a melodic melancholy that is uniquely South.

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