Stone Run
Sheffield five piece rock outfit Stone Run kick off their new self-titled EP with the catchy, hard rocking ‘Open Air’; the vocals of Tommy R Jones bellowing over the twin guitars and tight rhythm section. There’s a nice lead break and a few variations in tempo which add to the overall appeal of the track.
Track two is ‘Scissor Choice’. After a restrained start with some slightly wah-wah’d guitar, the song develops nicely with some funky chords, reminiscent of that great Liverpool band Face For Radio. The track seems to follow the same pattern as the first having lots of vocals and some good backing.
‘Innocence’ has a quiet start and is almost Inxs-like. It builds well to a more heavy sound and results in being quite a good song. ‘This Is Real’ follows. Stone Run certainly like their quiet intros and track build ups; this one completes the set of four following this formula. Again, a good track played well.
Overall the EP is quite a good rock sound with the occasional dip into the more commercial or funky side. I did find that there was a bit too much vocal on a couple of the tracks and I feel that more expression wouldn’t go amiss. The songs are pretty good but would benefit from more dynamic structuring to keep the listeners’ attention. They may be struggling with finding an individual sound and identity but they shouldn’t worry as they have a good, solid foundation and hopefully can build on this.