#71: Top 5 Unsigned - 27/03/13

Deadbeat Echoes

Hailing from Winsford, North West, Deadbeat Echoes draw on a multiplicity of influences from across the decades. Their blend of indie sensibility and garage rock mentality is something seriously special and will appeal to both fans of bands such as Kasabian or Arctic Monkeys whilst still managing to keep their sound autonomous. Most recent single 'No Bones' features a bass and guitar combo that's surprisingly evocative of Dead Kennedys whilst singer Jack Fearon signature drawl is timeless. Definitely a band worth keeping an eye on.

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Lowline

Manchester-based Lowline are a band who have been doing the rounds for quite some time. Choosing to "to furrow an altogether grittier, darker path" through the city's toilet circuit, the band have developed a loyal and devout following over the course of their career. It's easy to see why the band have received praise from such esteemed publications as NME, The Guardian and of course, the ever-reputable Sun. Their music is dark and gritty with a slight degree of understated vocal polish. Worth catching before their undoubtable breakthrough happens.

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Those Makeshift Heroes

Those Makeshift Heroes are a band with a "sound as big as their personalities". Purporting themselves as a Biffy Clyro-esque band isn't strictly true. The big sounding choruses are there, as is the frenetic drumming, but TMH are very much their own band. Driving guitars crunch and slide in to accessible pop-rock choruses that shine and gleam, just waiting for the Kerrang! audience to pick up on them.




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The Nankeens

Salford's The Nankeens are making the kind of music that puts them head and shoulders above their contemporaries. Singer Adam Darby sounds like an English Caleb Followill particularly on 'Reaper', a breathe of fresh air in a city saturated with Gallagher imitations. There music is an eclectic blend of understated aesthetic, chunky bass and driving guitars. Darby's vocals are fraught and loaded at all times, suggesting serious passion for what the band are doing.



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Blind Drivers

Sheffield's Blind Drivers are a band who are guaranteed to make you dance. The evocative vocals and feel-good choruses make for an ultimate Summer party band. With most bands from Sheff, there seems to be an unwritten rule for reviewers to compare them to the city's patron saint Alex Turner. Thankfully that isn't the case here, and vocalist Matt Thompson really sets himself apart from any unwarranted comparisons by means of an ultimately superior vocal range.



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Check out last week's Top 5 Unsigned!