Hailing from that not-exactly musical mecca of Swadlincote in Derbyshire, THE STROLLERS are yet another example of the talent accruing quietly out in the sticks right now.
A quartet led by singer Leigh Greenwood, the band have been picking up, profile-wise in recent months thanks to celebrated supports with the likes of The Ordinary Boys, Eastern Lane and Snow Patrol and recently received hero worship from a large crowd at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms.
Perhaps most crucially, they've piqued the interest of 'Duke Of Analogue' Liam Watson, who recorded The Strollers' 3-track "A Short Demonstration" at his fast-becoming-legendary Toe Rag Studios down in deepest East London. Quite an achievement for a relatively unknown, unsigned band, but one which shows real insight on Mr.Watson's behalf.
Because The Strollers certainly have something going for them and it's not that obvious to pinpoint: a factor which immediately shoves them ahead of a fair bit of the game. Though the three songs here do get caught up in the analogue fuzz of Toe Rag, they're not as obviously in thrall to the past as some of Watson's clients. Opening track "Modern Man's Son" features slightly Strokes-y minor chord nagging and an attractively dirty, amphetamined-up sound, with Leigh's slightly sneery voice cutting through. In itself, Leigh's voice fascinates, sounding here like an odd cross between (if you can swallow this) Julian Casablancas and Howard Devoto. Yeah, I know, I had difficulty myself, but they're both in there.
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Good stuff, and the two other tracks do the biz as well. "She's Inside You" is semi-acoustic, but still has a grubby electric hum about it. It's a tad anaemic and sounds like it might collapse any second, though that only adds to the appeal, along with several other attractive features like distant backing vocals and a heroic tambourine. Arguably the best track is the closing "If You See Me", which is far slower, with scrubbed acoustic guitars and nagging vocals from Leigh; this time sounding unnervingly like a junior Liam G, though the lyrics (sample: "Friends say I'm a pacifist, but violence is high on my list") are both curiously ominous and oddly affecting.
"A Short Demonstration", then, is a good place to get acquainted with The Strollers. Do yourself a favour and take a little walk to www.thestrollers.co.uk and find out more.
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