OutBound find themselves winners of Heat Three of BurySOUND 2023 which celebrates its 25th Anniversary.
Outbound kicked off the night with their indie rock. A four-piece with three guitars which blended together to make a cool indie sound. After the first two upbeat tracks they took the tone down to play a softer track where the singers voice was clearer and pretty decent, plus as lead guitar he could show his skills with some very cool playing, which had a hint of blues. These guys were able to throw surprises in their tracks which kept you engaged and showed their versatility within their guitar-based sound. They clearly had brought a following with them as they had the crowd pumped.
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Luke Askew and his band brought a soulful vibe to the next slot. There were plenty of influences coming through including 80s rock ballad, jazz café, Gary Moore blues. The band created a chilled, relaxed vibe and Luke’s guitar playing was exceptionally good, however there were times it felt he was trying to put too much into each track to showcase his ability. Luke has good song writing skills with lovely lyrics and storytelling and he treated to us to a track yet to be released.
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Loome – a three-piece creating some cracking sounding songs reminiscent of early 80s clean pop. To give them depth they added effects and electronic sounds, but delicately done so not becoming electro-pop and still retaining their alt-pop-ness. The coherence of their voices when singing together was nice and strong and this is what added the depth for me.
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Ronan – what a brave young man to come out with his backing tracks and sing to a crowd in a heat of full sounding bands. At 16 years old, Ronan did a hero’s job with his solid, strong voice. Original tracks were included in his set which showed off his song writing skills. He sang a well-constructed ballad which demonstrated his voice control and the cool more upbeat, soulful tracks delighted the crowd. Great potential and a cracking voice.
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Slughouse – a trio with an enormous noise. With their Math rock this group delighted the crowd with their high energy, loud, drum-lead sound. An excellent drummer leading their heavy sound as the two up front were pounding on their instruments and singing, yelling and screaming in synch into the microphones as the audience rocked their heads in admiration. These three were a very tight band playing very technical atypical rhythmic structures and making it look easy. They also looked like they were having a lot of fun.
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Closing the show was Huntar who won BurySOUND back in 2011 before breaking into the Top 10 on a completely DIY basis and being whisked off on a decade-long Worldwide musical adventure – this was a rare chance to catch him at a hometown show.
Outbound join Bluefeed and Ev in the Grand Final
There are two more heats to go at The Hunter Club in Bury St Edmunds before the Grand Final at The Apex on 14th April. Buy tickers here
For photos of all heats by Tony @SixtyTwoThings click here
This review appeared on GrapevineLIVE