Remarkably, having only formed during the last few months in their hometown of Birmingham, this power rock trio have been incredibly assiduous in their already impressive output. Regular gigs, photo shoots, ep release, music video & more recently, a residency at Camden Town's Hawley Arms.
The line up is Ash Sheehan, centre (vox/drums) Brothers Jimi, left (bass) & Nick Crutchley (guitar)
The 'Fortune Favours The Brave' ep is an explosion of punk rock power pop, conjuring up lost melodies reminiscent of bands like The Replacements, The Exploding Hearts, Superchunk, The Lemonheads & more recently Incubus, Kings Of Leon, The Strokes, Foo Fighters & 30 Seconds To Mars.
Opening track 'Absent Ones' comes in at a lean 2.30 seconds. All Nick Valensi style monster staccato riffage, woven together with an anthemic sing-along chorus. 'Nowhere I Belong' & 'Giving All I've Got' have a *dirt under the fingernail* Incubus Morning View era groove, crossed with the power and radio friendly choruses of 30 Seconds To Mars arena pleasers. 'Come Round Again' & personal live favourite 'Riding High' completes the rest of the impressive debut ep. All of the tracks have hallmarks of well crafted songwriting, earworm choruses, funky backline grooves & flat out switchblade vocals. Riding High's Scott Holiday riffage and Jay Buchananesque bluesy vocals in particular wouldn't be out of place on Rival Son's Head Down album.
Live this band are a visual powerhouse. They might hail from the West Midlands but they have the image and attitude that spilled out of CBGB's in late 70s New York. Ash, centre stage, playing the drums (standing up) with such venom, ferocity & precision, you wonder how he manages to deliver such quality vocals as he pounds the drums to within an inch of their life. Jimi's solid, melodic funk bass grooves lock tight with the backbeat while brother Nick's tight, inventive riff's float effortlessly around Ash's impressive vocals. You forget this gloriously layered sound comes from only three players.
You should be hearing a lot more about Dead Sea Skulls. As their hashtag on twitter ominously reads #DeadSeaIsComing
Dead Sea Skulls Live at Birmingham O2 Academy September 2013
Dead Sea Skulls Live at Hawley Arms London September 2013
Dead Sea Skulls Live at Fixxion warehouse Wolverhampton October 2013
Debut EP "Fortune Favours The Brave" was produced by Andy Hawkins (Kaiser Chiefs/The Damned/Ginger/Pigeon Detectives) and is available on Broken Banjo Records via iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Spotify.
Upcoming dates:
10th Oct - Fixxion Warehouse Wolverhampton
24th Oct - Hawley Arms Camden London
9th Nov - "Cherry Cola" @ Purple Turtle, Camden
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