Lo*Chine are a 4 piece funk band from Southhampton, England. The band are
unsigned and have released two EP's, 'That Joke Ain't Funky No More' and
'Smile For The Ladies'. They are relatively well known around the
Southhampton area, often playing gigs with bass rock trio Toupé there. I
first discovered Lo*Chine through Toupé's forum.
This EP was released in 2005. The current band members are:
Sarah Millard - Vocals.
Chris Jackson - Guitar and Backing Vocals.
Vicky Weeks - Bass.
Phil Langman- Drums.
Track Review:
1. Between Dreams
I am quite a fan of this song. Opens with a funk riff on the guitar then
developes into the pre-verse. The verse is relatively quiet in comparison to the rest of the track, with funk guitar through a wah. The bass is
particularily awesome in the verse, going off in its own little direction
that almost sounds like Les Claypool(Of primus fame)'s fretless bass sound. The breakdown has an awesome wah riff overdubbed with the rhythm section of the band playing on the beat. Sarah's vocals are amazing in this song.
4/5
2. FNUK
Vicky opens this song with a really awesome bass line, and use of a killer bass line continues throughout. Sarah's vox in this song are more of loud-soul singing than what I would describe as funk. The instruments
dominate the track rather than the vocals, and by that I don't mean that they out do the vocals in anyway, they just feature more often. The song changes pace at one point to reveal a very foot tapping rhythm and after that the guitar mimics the vocals until Sarah's big vocals note hold, which is plain awesome, then ends abruptly.
4/5
3. Squirm
This song has a more laid back funk feel to it than all the others. The bass mimics the guitar line, and stands out in this song. Sarah's vocals are relatively quiet but has some impressive octave leaps [i'm not good with lyrical termonology] in the chorus. The bass adopts an unusual 'underwater' sound for the chorus. The guitar solo is mimiced by the bass line.
4/5
4. Sea Cow And Number Boy
This track is just amazing. Opens with a really cool drum beat. Enter band. The guitar is very trebely while the bass is very bassy. The chorus is Sarah singing "Sea Cow & Number Boy" while the guitarist sings (in a remarkabely high pitched funk voice) "Number Boy, Number Boy". I love the vocals on this track, they are just beautiful, from a funk perspective. It has a great funky guitar solo which leads straight back into the chorus. The chorus is certainly my favourite part of this song. The song ends with Sarah going "well that was nasty" and here endeth the EP.
5/5
Apologies for the short review but understand, it is a short CD :)
Overall, this EP is very funky indeed. Infact its funkin' awesome. I would reccommend this to any fans of funk, hell, indeed to anyone. Here are some
details:
www.lochine.com
www.myspace.com/lochine
