Deepdive (label)
28 August 2015 (released)
15 August 2015
12 songs, 12 stories and all chronicling the dark and scuzzy sides that make London vibrant and alive.
The band consist of Billy Barratt & David Vincent (Vocals, Guitars), Joseph Kinsey (Bass, Harmonica, Vocals), Adam Roylance (Guitar), Dave Rowlands (Drums) and Alex Leith (Keys) and musically they have touches of Americana but an awful lot more sass and vinegar than that.
All the band are fine players and the songs by Billy Barratt & David Vincent (Billy Vincent) range from jangly numbers like the album opener ‘Across My Street’ or the heartbreaker ‘Sleep When You’re Dead’ or ‘Learning To Drink’ (which is more about the degradation that leads to drink) are melodic, emotive and have the touch of truth about them.
The band say that “We thought it important to choose a title that represents the bigger part of the songs on the record, and ‘Stand On Me’ is one of those reassuring statements that if you’re lucky, someone close to you might say to you when you feel like you’re out of options, letting you know you can lean on them and it’s all going to be alright.
A lot of these songs are about that, not letting people you care about crumble and disappear with the rain, it’s a positive thing and we wanted to embrace it”
You definitely get the feeling of keen observation but also an understanding of the feelings of their subjects and it is more through this that the album title is borne out.
As a relatively new band they have space to make their visions work, they aren’t trapped into any genre or subject, and the album brims over with good songs and ideas.
Billy Vincent are definitely ones to watch.
