In Wokingham we are blessed to have a thriving little music scene and, based so close to Reading, there is a constant cycle of great bands breaking through and showcasing their talent with their great music.
This week we will be looking at three of those local rising bands who have all recently released new music and you should be looking out for.
To start us of we have a band who although aren’t based in Reading, play a plethora of shows there and have built up a following from doing this.
The vibrant four-piece go by the name of Vinyl Staircase and hail from Dorking in Surrey. Having spent the last couple of years playing non-stop gigs they sat down in the studio at the end of last year to record an EP. They have just released the first taster: a track titled ‘Cherry’.
Sitting as a sub-three minute slice of catchy indie pop goodness you’ll find it hard not singalong with the ‘la las’ as the anthemic track bounces gleefully from start to finish.
Full of 60s jangles, hollered vocals and a fizzing mid-section designed to send any Stones fans in a tizz, ‘Cherry’ blasts the quartet straight into 2018 as one of the year’s exciting new bands. Be sure to check these boys out and look out for the EP in March.
Another exciting band emerging in the area are alt-rock four piece Mellor. Based in Reading, they have wasted no time in showcasing their music in 2018. With a constant supply of singles being released they haven’t slowed down – their first 2018 single is called Arm’s Length.
In a recent interview the band said that this track has a darker meaning to it than previous singles and listening to it that’s easy to tell.
Full of swirling guitar riffs and infectious vocals the track adds to the already very impressive collection of indie rock tunes.
Tipped by many as a band to look out for this year we encourage you to try and catch them live.
The last but by no means least exciting local band to feature in this week’s column are the new kids on the block called roves.
Based a little closer to home this fresh faced four-piece hail from Wokingham and are certainly a band for the local music scene to get excited about.
Having played together in bands from an early age roves have taken the time to work on a unique sound of their own and are now ready to showcase it to the masses with their debut single Always.
The track is a brave but colossal debut single, over five minutes long. Not many bands would take the risk with a track of that length for their debut, but for roves this was a risk worth taking as it has paid off.
The track gracefully and emotionally flows, showcasing the bands signature spacious, atmospheric and ambient sound.
With recent shows including The Boileroom and BBC Introducing shows in Reading, the bands future looks set to continue to grow.
