The Black WatersideBest-suited to the underground dive bars of New York or overground blues/rockabilly Nashville backdrops, this gritty Kent-based revival of rock ‘n’ roll is an interesting one.
The Black Waterside is a five-piece band hailing, surprisingly, from the ‘Garden of England’, yet their sound is something unexpected. The band are tight, the instrumentation and the vibe is great. Riffs to tap your feet to and drums to throw your friend around to abound; it’s a big sound.
The only thing that stops me in my praising tracks are the vocals. It’s a different sound, one which no doubt would whip a crowd into a frenzy, but on record they just don’t feel right, falling somewhere between rock, blues, punk, grit – bands like July Talk spring to mind.
‘Cold Night, Dark Ground’ is good but I don’t think this genre is particularly demanded this side of the Atlantic. The vocals are harsh and grinding, half singing half screaming out the lyrics. This genre certainly doesn’t need a polished vocal but it needs to be lead by the right voice. Although some of the harmonies, courtesy of the only woman in the band, do ease up the listening experience a bit, I think this band will be best witnessed live for now.
6 out of 11
Release Date 06/06/2013 (Anchor Baby Recordings)
The Black Waterside Official | Facebook | Twitter
Liz Ahye

Post By Liz Ahye (23 Posts)

I have always had a passion for music. Growing up I spent many a Friday night glued to TOTP and many a Sunday attempting to record the Top 40 to tape. In secondary school I learnt the guitar and drums as well as being in every choir, sound crew and production I could. Finally, It was at University in Chester where I began to start writing reviews. Until then I didn't really think anyone would want to know my opinion. We had a guest lecturer come in and he had us do a minute task where we listened to a song and them had to write a descriptive one liner about it. I realised from this point that I could combine creative writing, music knowledge and opinion into something productive and interesting. That's when I signed up to Silent Radio. It was the perfect thing for me to get involved with, I could voice my opinion on the student airwaves and then write it for the website.Now I am a Music Production and Radio graduate, living in London and working my first industry job. I spend my days working at Metropolis Studios and my nights attempting to write well educated, witty and interesting reviews.When it comes to my taste in music I guess it's rather varied. I will pretty much give anything a listen. The genres closet to my heart would probably be rock, soul, funk and dance but thankfully my job is broadening my listening horizons even further. As a reviewer I would say I have a fan type approach and sometimes I am a little to generous when turning that dial but they are always honest and I hope to some degree, relevant. My hopes are to continue writing for SR, growing as a reviewer and expanding my music knowledge.