The Mease started life as a duo but has now grown to a five-piece. They’re based in Derby and consist of Tristan Cooper (singer-songwriter &rhythm guitars), Guy Smith (lead guitar) Adam Goulding (bass & keys), and Jon Wright (drums).
Tonight they will be playing with the mighty Marseille for the good people at Happy Daze tonight. Click the image at the bottom of the page for tickets.
Image and artwork courtesy of the band.
Today marks the release of their double a-side ‘This Town’ and ‘Shades of Blue’. We review both and ‘Postcards’ which we fell in love with in 2021.
This Town
Written by the bass player Adam Goulding, it slots into the Skinner Brothers withdrawn but menacing style of rock ‘n’ roll. Goulding’s bass perpetuates everything here, grooving like Chris Edwards before accelerating like Andy Bell’s days in Oasis like a destructive funk Prince.
Goulding’s bass, Tristian Cooper’s chilling vocals, and the glam stomp of the drums all serve Guy Smith to serve up a great solo. It flows like Santana but is satanic in spirit like Peter Green. The wah wah guitars and Rob Collins-esque keys that supersede allow for the band to ride out the ending like a jam session that you will not want to end.
Shades of Blue
Frontman flits between Tom & Serge and Richard Ashcroft has the psychedelia spirals behind him. Serge’s songwriting influence shines bright here but, they’ve drawn in the hazy stoner era of Nick McCabe and essence of the Beatles’ middle eastern trips to conjure bugged-out glory!
When hits top gear it’s hard not to imagine Andrew Innes in the studio with them pushing and probing the boundaries of what rock ‘n’ roll can be. Cooper’s vocals switch to faint heavenly whispers to build the mysticism even further!
Postcards
The guitars and drums spark into life a la Shame’s classic ‘One Rizla’ but with far more introspection than the punk counterparts. Indebted to the melancholic genius of The Stills and The National, it sets off for more harrowing landscapes. Cooper’s vocals delve into the shoegaze of cult hero Daniel Land as he unleashes a serious amount of emotive power.
What begins with Coldplay’s early guitar licks and the raw indie power of Electric Soft Parade’s debut intensifies with Smith’s ability to channel Tim Fletcher’s (The Stills) visceral melodies and thoughtful vigour of Jez Williams (Doves).
The spoken word section is a touch of real class. It stacks up alongside ‘Outta Time’, ‘Future Tense’ and ‘In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction’.
Click the image below for tickets to tonight’s show.
