Turning Days have been around for 2 years now, and the five piece rock band from the area are made up off Alex Yousri on vocals, Chris Stagg on lead guitar, Callum Ferguson on rhythm guitar, James King on bass and Blair Ferguson on drums. The band were finalists in the first ‘Rocket From the East’ competition, and have already released an EP titled ‘Made For This’, which has been played on BBC Suffolk Introducing, receiving positive reviews as well as having a feature on the band. Not only that, but the band have made an astonishing impression at Music in the Park 2012 in Ipswich playing just before Polar Collective.
The alluring drum intro for the first song on their EP titled ‘Walk on Stones’ draws in the attention of your ears, and as the song continues, it gives off a catchy Oasis feel, and you’ve got to ask yourself, are you sure this wasn’t an unreleased song from Oasis before they got big?
The upbeat vibe from the chorus of ‘Walk on Stones’ followed by the short bass riff shows that this band really worked hard on this EP. This whole first song has brilliant, classic indie influences, but I do love how Turning Days mix it all up with the rock element. With band influences such as The Ramones, Kasabian and Stereophonics, it’s clear how they mixed that in with this first song.
‘Take Me To the Sun’ came next, and the first 30 seconds gave off subtle Coldplay and Vampire Weekend hints, yet thrown together in a completely individual way. It’s something you’d hear on an NME CD. A clear holiday track, the lyrics talk about a girl and wanting to go somewhere ‘sunny’ and ‘warm’, which could very easily be seen as being with her so things will be happy. It’s a very sweet, happy and lively song.
Strong punk tunes came from third song on the list ‘Bring The Liquor’. The intro sparks a certain ‘The Offspring’ type feel to it, and as the chorus nears, you can hear clear Arctic Monkeys influences with an ever-so small grunge edge to it. The sleazy vocals bring something of a Kasabian vibe to it, which I think is one of the best aspects of this song. So far, this is my favourite track by the guys in Turning Days. Proper tune; I can see this one easily getting great feedback.
The penultimate song on the EP titled ‘You Got Me’ got me thinking of the song Just in Time To See The Sun by Santana, mixed with a similar bassline from Love Cats by The Cure, as well as modern, alternative parts to the song. The catchy lyrics are also a great bonus on top of the brilliant tune; towards the end of the song I was reminded slightly of British indie-pop band Canterbury.
The fifth and final song from the EP named ‘Heart In My Hand’ sounded like The Verve with mellow, flowing vocals, however I wouldn’t say the lyrics are the best I’ve heard. The chorus, again, boasts Kasabian influences, as well as hints of Coldplay, but also parts that sounded like Muse, which threw aside my uncertainty of the first verse. The bridge of the song resembled a similar style to London alternative rock band Brigade’s song “Camouflet”. Good decision to put this song at the end of the EP as it sends it off on a really positive note.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this EP. The whole indie/alternative mixed with hints of rock kind of style really pulled me in, and I also liked the theme of the lyrics on some of the songs, most especially “Bring The Liquor”, as I mentioned earlier, it is by far my favourite song from the EP entitled ‘All In The Mind’. The fusion of different styles worked well and really brought their songs to life and gives a matured outlook on the band compared to their earlier, more experimental material. High hopes for this band in the near future.
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