Tele: James (07812) 051710, Stephen (07709) 487144
Email: rotaryten @ hotmail.com
Web: www.rotaryten.tk
Reviewer: GC (Oct 2005)
After recently giving a glowing review of their full length demo on this website,
I jumped at the opportunity to listen to another Rotary Ten demo from the in-tray. This two track demo precedes
the previous one - if that makes sense!? – thus giving an interesting chance to see how the band have progressed
over the past couple of years.
The opener on this one is an early version of All You’ve Kept Of This World Is Its Colours which also appears on
the full demo. The first impression (and this is stating the obvious) is that this is a much more DIY, lo-fi affair
without the full production that the band received on the full demo. The song itself has changed very little in
the time between the two recordings, but then it didn't really need to. This percussion-heavy version has more
of a live feel to it and only serves to heighten my belief that this is a band that is destined for big things.
Rotary Ten can definitely be classed as an intelligent band - a cross between the Radiohead/Elbow type of
'intelligent' band and the Bloc Party/Futureheads type of 'intelligent' band. Singer James Trafford's voice
again soars around the high notes whilst the band floats around a picked guitar line or chugs through a
rhythm-lead stomp. The fact that All You’ve Kept... was probably one of the weaker tracks on the more
recent demo stands as a testament to just how good this band have (and can) become.
Second track Things I Falter On is almost six minutes long and is probably guilty of the 'Mogwai with words'
template that many young bands in this genre go for but would work much better in a live situation. This track
has probably been superseded by the superior On Being Lied To as the band's slow burner yet would take pride
of place in the set of many a band. Again Trafford's vocals are a highlight and the piercing ending is the
heaviest that the band gets in either of their demos.
Many people around the Sheffield area will have known about Rotary Ten for a while now – I’m just finding out
and I’m very excited.
