Here’s the little I know about the band Cahoot, who’s EP dropped into my inbox this morning. Hailing from Kent, vocalist Gra, short for Graham and guitarist Ju, or Julien to his mum, spent a number of years in Rumblefish, a covers band, however, they felt the need to flex their creative muscles by forming Cahoot last year. Citing the Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon and Bon Jovi as influences, the pair holed up in the studio and recorded “Miss-Guided”, a five track EP of original material during the summer, the results of their labour is now available on most download sites.
First off I must mention that although the promotional blurb only mentions two members, the recordings on this EP features a full band of bass, drums and the odd keyboard, I don’t know who these mysterious musicians are and who backs them up at their gigs, but a little more information wouldn’t have gone amiss. Anyway moving on, as we kick off with the title track I’m immediately struck by the quality of Gra’s voice, he has a raspy set of pipes that suits the melodic rock material to a tee. The years in a covers band has also given the pair a good grounding in how to hold the listeners’ attention with well-worked arrangements throughout. A case in point is, “Miss-Guided” which moves through the verses, chorus and bridge sections effortlessly before a heavily processed guitar solo and a key change bring the song to a close, a good opener.
Next up is “Jonah”, another mid-tempo offering where Gra laments on the complications of dealing with a tricksy woman that holds him under her spell. “Try to Believe” slows the pace a smidgen, at first I wasn’t taken with this track, but after repeated listens the deceptively simple melody drew me in. “All 4 U” borrows its title from the American glam metal band Warrant but it’s no clone, I particularly like the keyboard motif during the verse which adds a sense of drama, a good track. The contradictory “No End in Sight” doesn’t do what it says on the tin as it wraps up the EP nicely with a strong beat, some excellent guitar shredding from Ju and an infectious chorus.
Band Members
To sum up, not a bad first effort, there is nothing groundbreaking here, or anything to keep Jon Bon Jovi up at night, but if you like your rock music with a bit of subtlety and melody you could do a lot worse than downloading “Miss-Guided”.
Track Listing
Miss-Guided
Jonah
Try to Believe
All 4 U
No End in Sight
Gra – Lead singer, Lyricist
Ju – Lead guitarist, Composer
Links
https://www.facebook.com/cahootband/
https://twitter.com/cahootband
Written by John Cherry.
