RAVENEYE

RavenEye mainman Oli Brown has already made his mark in the blues rock scene during the last few years. Impressively, at just 25 years old, he's already released three solo albums, won prestigious accolades from the British Blues Awards, and opened for the likes of virtuoso fretboard luminaries Joe Satriani and Buddy Guy. Now, it seems he's shifted dynamic to exercise his guitar/vocal talents within a band context, hence RavenEye was formed. Alongside sticksman Kev Hickman and bassist Aaron Spiers, the three men are best described as something of a power trio, as their sound is a rather hard-hitting and expansive one. Expansive, that is, in terms of emotional significance, rather than genre defining, and this is largely due to Brown's expressive voice (which sounds like someone who's been practicing his art for years rather than a man in his mid-20s). His fretboard work, while delimited by genre-based pastiche, is wide-ranging within the parameters he's working. Songs' blues rock underpinnings are infused with a hard-hitting impetus where heavy riffage and infectious grooves are balanced out neatly with strong melodies that've been crafted both by voice and sporadic bursts of skilfully executed leads and licks. At just five tracks that total little more than eighteen minutes in length, 'Breaking Out' serves as nothing more than a taster of just what RavenEye are capable of, although it's enough to whet the appetite and excite the senses. Certainly an act to keep an eye on in the coming months. And with a support slot on Slash's forthcoming European tour, more eyes and ears will soon be exposed to this most promising of acts.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Rook Recordings

EP

BREAKING OUT

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

18:16

RELEASE DATE:

11th May 2015

TRACK LISTING

1) Breaking Out
2) Get it Started
3) Hey Hey Yeah
4) Run Away
5) You Got It

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"Songs' blues rock underpinnings are infused with a hard-hitting impetus where heavy riffage and infectious grooves are balanced out neatly with strong melodies..."