The RPMs
Playing in Brighton at The Hope and Ruin 07/12 – The RPMs revealed a BRAND NEW SINGLE ‘YOUR GHOST’ and an expanded line up. They are on a string of dates on a Autumn/Winter tour with loads of live gigs across the UK!
The RPMS Live
Straight off the back of a string of summer gigs and festivals up and down the country, The RPMs are back and all revved up with a bigger sound than before. Their new single ‘Your Ghost” is an upbeat keyboard driven number that fuses widescreen melancholia against a classic backdrop of modern indie pop, to create a song that has all the promise of a future indie pop classic in waiting. Make no mistake these guys know how to write a damn good song.
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- The RPMs
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- The RPMs – Jack
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- The RPMs – Callum
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- The RPMs – Miguel
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- The RPMs – Ollie
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- The RPMs – Chris
The RPMs are:
Jack De Valero – guitar, vocals
Miguel Cosme – bass guitar, vocals
Callum James – drums, vocals
Ollie Summers – lead guitar
Chris Bowden – keyboards
A Catch up
Great to get a quick catch up with Jack before the gig. Its been a while since we last met up. He laughed and said “yep, its been a while. We have been pretty busy – touring the length of the UK over the summer”. It became clear that Jack and the guys had been having a great time. When we last met The RPMs had just released the “Agents of Change” EP. “Jack said they had just released a new single “Your Ghost”. He asked if I had heard it and I said of course! “A fuller RPMs sound, we all love it and now with added members of the band we have a wider sound and with those keyboards just giving an extra dimension and that also carries across to the live shows”. The RPMs always give a great show, so whats new? Jack explained “Well to start we have 5 members now, and the added guitar has let me free up on stage, not so much guitar playing for me allowing me to deliver the vocals and pull off a few moves. The show is still exciting, and we still play the older material and then we do some newer material showcasing our new fuller sound”. I asked how Callum and Miguel were doing, “the guys are all good and we are all looking forward to getting back on the road delivering our new material – see you there!”
They have had a busy summer with a run of shows, including supports with We Are Scientists. Alongside this they also played Camden Rocks, Isle of Wight Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Butefest,110 Above, Big Feastival (run by Jamie Oliver and Alex James from Blur) and RivFest in honour of the memory of River Reeves and the members of Viola Beach.
THE RPMS at The Great Escape – looking back at the last time we met for a chat and a pint on a hot afternoon in Brighton
Fuelled by the support they have received from national radio on recent singles ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Things I Forgot To Do’, the band is continuing to evolve their sound. They have always been about writing very hooky pop songs wrapped up in an indie package, but they are more and more about making hooky songs you can dance to as well. They’ve never been afraid to embrace their empathy for pop music, hence their earlier tag line ‘rock band, not afraid of a good pop tune’. They wanted to create a sound that was the sum of all their influences, old and contemporary, mixing electronic music with live instruments.
With that they decided to bring keyboards and lead guitar in to liberate the songwriting and brought Gethin Pearson (Mallory Knox / Charli XCX / JAWS), a talented and creative producer from Wales, on-board to open up new possibilities with the aim to create something with a polished production and huge melodies and choruses. With a fresh single in the pipeline the band are gearing up to hit the road running with new tour dates, so keep your eyes and ears peeled as the band road test new material at a venue near you…
As previously mentioned The RPMs are always evolving. First they went to two guitars making the trio a four piece and now they are up to five. The addition of Ollie and Chris seems to be the latest incarnation. And what a sound. Callum, always great to catch up with was visited by gremlins as the set started up and his new drum pad wasn’t working. This technical hitch didn’t throw him off, he delivered his always powerful percussion. And then the faulty lead was replaced he looked happier as he was now able to deliver the fuller sound we had talked about. Miguel on bass and his hair always on point. He makes it look so easy and he supplied his backing vocal skills and played keyboards! Jack, the top performer he is gave a stunning performance. He lost his guitar mid point through the set and pulled off some of the moves we talked about. Nicely done.
The Set
As they say in football “this was a game of two halves”, well tonight this was a set of two halves. The first part of the set was made up of their older material from their earlier EP’s “Agents of Change” and “Digital Disobedience”, and “Oh My God” had the place jumping and I hadn’t heard it with the new RPMs additional members. Stunning rendition. Jack unbuckled his guitar and planted himself in front of the mic. We were introduced to the new members of the band as we were then treated to new material. This is totally different to what I had heard before. Two of the new songs included Gotta let it Go and When I Run. The set ended with The RPMs latest release “Your Ghost” (physical versions of this and more coming soon). I had been lucky to hear this pre-release. Ok its different but it still has the same infectious melodies, words and now keyboard driven hooks. The song was stunning live and a signpost of more great things to come from this Brighton based group.
These guys are special, they are destined to push that music out further and reach and make even more fans. It was a great set, however there was no “I Don’t Like It” or “I Wanna Work In Abercrombie and Fitch”. Make no mistake these guys write great songs but these two songs are stalwarts of previous live sets and live shows. In my opinion it would have been great to see Jack put the guitar back and finish the set on one of these two stadium pleaser songs – or maybe both! People, like me, love those songs live, and with the added band members it maybe would have given the songs another twist. But this was a serous set, well played and well received – just keep doing it guys!
The Set
Hard to choose, Oh My God Things, I Forgot to do, Help me Start the Day, Some Kinda Lovin, Never thought it through, An Uneducated Guess, When I Run, Gotta let it Go, and finally the new single Your Ghost.
CAPTURE
I have seen these guys a few times now, and considering how little notice the guys got for the gig, they delivered! The band a four piece and are local to Brighton and have been playing a few live gigs recently.
CAPTURE
A top set from Sam and the guys. They have a back pocket filled with great tunes – we got to hear their up and coming single release “Around Town”. Great guys and always enjoy seeing them live – make sure you do!
Capture’s performances make an impact with consistency throughout their seductive set. An infusion of energy, complex and stylish with that timeless sound you like to call rock ’n’ roll. Lose yourself to music filled with lucidity and love; a free formed alliance of musical expression packing a punch with a sound full of spirit. With a charismatic lead singer, scuzzy guitar tones and high octane performances Capture have been ripping it up through the South coast region leaving nothing but devoted fans in their wake.
They seem to have a vision of what they want to do and achieve. If the set I witnessed is anything to go by, then these guys will do it! They were great fun to watch,and Sam was superb on his vocals and guitar playing. The energy just crackled between him and the rest of this talented young band. They may be young, but their style and professionalism would give you the idea they had been playing for years. I loved this set and will definitely keep an eye out for future gigs in and around Brighton or Hove.
Keep music live and go out, see a band and support the venues.
The RPMs are on Facebook
The RPMs are on the web
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