Review: Josh Wheatley ‘Follow the Smoke’ EP Launch – Pepper Rocks – 30 January 2014

If there is one word I could choose to represent Josh Wheatley’s EP launch, it would be love. Purely because the amount of love in the room that night for Josh was incredible. Right from the start Pepper Rocks was packed, it felt like the majority of Nottingham’s acoustic music scene was there to celebrate the launch of Follow The Smoke – his fantastic debut EP. Rightly so too, as the gig was an incredible one, and the amount of talent on display from the live performers was just awesome.

Kicking off proceedings was MJ LYNCH. With a flair for gorgeous guitar technique and stunning vocals to match, MJ Lynch began the evening with Letting Me Down – a stunning number which showcased his songwriting skills perfectly. With both vocal and guitar melodies which melt your heart, and lyrics which pack a punch, it’s hard not to be instantly stunned by this young performer. His falsetto is beautiful and well executed, but a little on the quiet side.The vocal delivery was tender and gentle, much in tune with the nature of the song, and I’m not sure if it was the wine, but I was welling up a little. Then he was joined by A-jay, another member of New Communication, and together they produced a collaboration on The A-Team by Ed Sheeran which was also wonderful. The differences on guitar and vocals were creatively subtle from the original, but brought a little more funk into the mix (from the guitar) and the rap vocals also added another dimension to the cover.

MJ Lynch then decided to bring it back to reality with an original number sung on his own, after claiming he’d “never really played this song”, he launched into All I Want – a heartfelt number with a darker and sexier tone. Singing lyrics such as “your love is such a pleasant distraction, I can’t deny this attraction, there’s no light but you’re the star”, he uses exploratory melodies and gorgeous rhythms which combined with minimal guitar at the beginning brings more poignancy to the lyrics. In the falsetto sections, you can  hear his pleading and infatuation in the melodies, which really makes the song hit home. Next up, he performs two covers, one by Jonas Brothers, which although makes him laugh, he’s clearly enjoying himself and connecting to the song. The second was a John Legend cover of Tonight, in which he is joined by Mitchell from New Communication, which was really great, especially when they sang together, and the verse swapping between them was lovely.

Mitchell also joined him for the final song of the set, a cover of So Sick by Ne-Yo, which they executed superbly, with really gorgeous use of their vocals and excellent guitar technique, they really ended the set with a bang.

Next up to grace the Pepper Rocks stage was JAMIE MOON, who brought a more folk inspired set list to the event. He opens his set with a gentle and subtle number, with gorgeous vocals over the top which are free flowing and not forced in any way, which gives them an honesty and a vulnerability. In Glasshouse Kids, his guitar technique is lovely, the finger-picking style provides consistent rhythm and drive to gentle vocals, which conveys the emotions behind the lyrics well. He follows with Cold Hands, which provides a nice change of pace to the set. Playing livelier guitar contrasted really well with the deeper vocals, where the melodies seemed to reflect the bittersweet nature of the lyrics. This song in particular had some good developments from verse to chorus, with some interesting chord changes.

Bite The Wax continues down the relaxed folk road, with flawless finger style technique with twinkly harmonics adds to the delicate nature of the song. Beautiful lyrics decorate the melody further in lines such as “Each night I’m alone, is another night from home. Do you not know you’ll always find a way, trouble is I’ve always been this way”. The melodies feel pure matched with delicate vocals, and the song seems melancholic, but somehow still sprinkled with hope from the finger-picked style of playing. Following this number, Jamie decides to take off his hoodie for the big reveal… A custom made Josh Wheatley t-shirt, featuring a 15 year old josh on the front, followed by #FollowTheSmook on the back! This prompted a roar from the audience in appreciation and laughter, and as I said before, the evening was certainly a supportive one, and this is exactly how lovely Nottingham’s music scene is. But after the big reveal, Jamie plays Atoms, a soft song reminding me of the music of Laura Marling or Damien Rice. The descending melodies reiterates points made in the lyrics regarding the struggles of relationships. With lyrics like “She’ll never understand me, I’ll never underestimate your love” teamed with the gorgeous melodies, it’s hard not to fall in love with this song. The quietly performed guitar enhances the intimacy of the music and the venue, bringing the audience and Jamie closer together.

You’ll Never Fool My Heart Again brings yet another change of pace, where the bittersweet folk melodies come through on the guitar, and these have some more momentum to them. The deep vocals painted with vibrato are heartbreaking and lovely. Ending the set with a beautiful number, asking the audience “Ever wondered why?” through the lyrics is a beautiful way to complete a gorgeous set, leaving questions lingering in their minds. Yet one question that was not left in their minds was the question of his talent – as he obviously has a bucket full of it.

Next up to be squeezed onto the stage was a slightly smaller version of NEW COMMUNICATION, a usual 8 piece group, and this time they were backed only by MJ Lynch on his guitar. The closeness of the members on the stage really promoted their intimacy as a group, and enhanced the community feeling of the entire evening. What struck me about New Communication was the wonderful contrast of all their vocal styles. The female vocals from Lucia and Alia were gorgeous and really added to the aesthetic of the music, whilst the male vocals from Mitchell provided contrast, and the rap vocals from Jordan really enhanced the delivery of the songs by pushing them that little bit further. They are obviously close as a group, as they danced and were enjoying themselves on the stage, which only helped the audience join in. The guitar grounds all the singers, providing the anchor to build the songs on, but the guitar also gave them an extra push, and added a sense of urgency at times.

Guilty Eyes is one of their more well known numbers, and they seem very comfortable with this one, even without the backing of the rest of their band. The rap lyrics really open the song well with passion and drives it forward where it is joined by clear passionate female vocals on the chorus, which bring another emotive side to the song. It is well executed, and the song structures are really good, and you can tell that consideration has been taken to the stripped back set. Never Let You Get Away was also a track that stood out in particular to me. With the gentle guitar underlying the passionate vocal deliveries, this sweet song is surprising too, with fluid vocals often stopping abruptly in the chorus which keeps the listener intrigued and adds texture to the performance. The female vocalists often sing in unison, and it would have been extra lovely to hear some more harmonies during this song and throughout the set.

A stripped back version of Lost In The Moment actually ended their set on a quieter and contemplative tone. All the vocals are gorgeous and the harmonies demonstrated between the female vocals in this one are beautiful, and are so lovely to hear. The rap section beginning the set was particularly great, and also had a gorgeous delivery. Also when the rap became layered over the female vocals it really brought out an extra dimension to the track, and was a really effective songwriting technique. Their set was superb and despite their diminished numbers, the group performed fantastically and with a big personality which I can’t wait to see in the future.

FRANKIE RUDOLF performance was beautiful and passionate, with great guitar techniques and gorgeous, natural vocal delivery. His melodic progressions are lovely and combined with the intimacy of his lyrics he delivers a fantastic performance. His songwriting is considerate with interesting chord progressions and innovative melodies which are understated and subtle, which adds to his mystique. He has strong vocals in all ranges, with an impressive falsetto which promotes a change in tonality, which is very effective. Frankie has a fantastic stage presence, having great communication with the audience and using eye contact well, he’s very engaging.

Black and White, a song from his 2013 EP is particularly impressive. The depth of his vocals is stunning and their clarity almost feels as if it penetrates your chest, this makes it highly emotive and rather stunning. The guitar begins finger-picked which follows a simple chord structure, but when he begins to strum the guitar, the change of pace is great and adds momentum and elevates the song to another level. Frankie has a talent for lyrical writing too, as they are simple and visual, which are actually very effective: “So come on tell me what happened here, everything was good, it was all fine, but the colours disappeared. It’s all black and white.” The bridge section is beautiful and leads to an instrumental build up which adds to the undercurrents of distress in the song. Frankie demonstrates excellent vocal control between his chest voice and falsetto in this one too.

Frankie Rudolf navigates his way through some more stunning tracks, each unique and well performed, until he reaches his final set of the evening. I believe this track was called Bones. This final song was another change of pace, with broad chords which were strummed more heavily on guitar. The falsetto vocals over the heavy guitar really adds a polarity and expanse to the song, and promotes a sense of freedom and intensity. Excellent songwriting can be seen in moments such as when Frankie sings “you are my cornerstone”, and then subsequently erupts into guitar movement which is just stunning and really emotive. But when the verses come into play, the guitar is more subtle and lets the vocals shine through. With lyrics like “I miss you more than anything”, it is a truly passionate performance, which even prompts the audience into clapping along, and everyone is really enjoying it. It was a great performance and I can’t wait to see him again.

Finally, JOSH WHEATLEY, the star of the show arrived on stage to serenade us sweetly. Josh’s set was superb, opening with an older classic of his Sail Away, but with a new twist as New Communication joined him on stage and came in on the second verse. This collaboration created a really close and community feel to the set, and was a lovely demonstration of the sheer love in the room that evening. Lucia and Alia from joined Josh on the “sail away” lyric, which worked beautifully and was utterly lovely. The addition of Alia’s trumpet playing during the song is great, and added contrast to the acoustic style. Also, Jordan’s rap vocals mixed up this well known Nottingham classic and brought another edge to it, which worked really well.

Following this, Josh takes the limelight for himself now playing solo. We were all there to big up the love for Josh, and so it is so good to see him performing on his own. Josh sang a sweet song about hair smelling like chocolate, while he sings with a voice as smooth as chocolate, he is truly stunning. The melodies have good developments, and the fast moving sections create momentum which combined with gorgeous guitar techniques is awesome. Josh then moves on to play I’ll Set Her Free, the final track on his debut EP “Follow The Smoke”. The song is slow, quiet, honest and intimate. The gentle finger-picked guitar stirs underneath beautifully sung vocals. The audience falls into complete silence, as they just seem desperate to hear every word.

Next on Josh’s setlist is a Biffy Clyro cover of Folding Stars, which is completely different from the original, with Josh putting his unique stamp of tender acoustic onto the rock original. Here he also pushes his falsetto to the limits, and showcases the versatility of his voice, and these delicately delivered vocals have the audience still captivated, and clinging to every word he sings. He follows this with another original from his EP called Give Up The Ghosts. This song is tender and sweet in it’s lyrics and the simple melodic lines speak honestly and powerfully; “give up the ghosts from the deeds you sow, lost your faith a long time ago. Crashed a silence in the rise, demons in those midnight eyes”. It’s gorgeous and tinted with pain and slight desperation which make it even more powerful. He follows this with From The Wild, another track from his EP, and this picks up the pace completely, as it is much more lively and upbeat. The strummed rhythmic guitar is strong and firm under the gentle vocal melodies. Anwyn Williams joined Josh for this performance, offering her lovely voice for harmonies, which worked wonderfully, and especially with the melodic guitar. It was very well received by the audience, who enjoyed the change of pace and the other side of Josh’s sound.

The next song on Josh’s setlist in an unnamed number, but one in which he was encouraged by the audience to “call it Lisa!”. This song had some great chord structures and a beautiful falsetto delivery. This song seemed to have more angst than his others, but I think Josh really pulls off angst well, and I enjoyed this new colour to his music. The lyrics such as “I lost my hurricane” also help nurture the distressed undertones to this song. He follows this with Best Of Me, singing in a similar falsetto style, he continues engaging the audience so much so that they join in at times. This song has tones of Eva Cassidy which really suits Josh’s style. Somehow listening to this performance feels almost intrusive, as if listening in on an intimate conversation.

He ‘ends’ the set with Follow The Smoke, the title track from his debut EP, and one of his most favourite songs. The vocal melodies are almost pleading at times, with a hint of desperation, and the truth in the song brings its honesty to the surface which is so raw it’s heartbreaking at times. The audience of course participates and sings along in the chorus of “follow the smoke”. While everyone sang along in that moment, it just felt really emotional in that room, as we were all there to support Josh Wheatley, but by extension, the entire local music scene, and it was a powerful coming together of everybody through something so honest as music. It was truly special.

Of course though, that wasn’t the end of Josh’s set, as he brings out an encore of Bury My Heart, which is a lively contrast to Follow The Smoke. Josh plays some beautiful harmonics on the guitar during this number, which I can’t help but feel adds to the specialness of the gig as a whole. The song is subtle and sweet, and the lively bridge is a great change of pace. This even prompts some very cheesy dancing from the audience members! But this still wasn’t enough for the audience, who demanded a second encore, to which Josh played a slightly adapted version of Follow The Smoke, entitled Follow The Smook as a homage to the custom shirts seen throughout the evening. Josh mentions that the songs meaning feels slightly compromised due to this new lyric, but actually the laughter and enjoyment brought through this joking around actually enhanced its meaning for me, as I will never forget that performance and the atmosphere of Pepper Rocks that night. A big shout out to Katey Dawson for organising a superb event, and a huge round of applause for all the amazing performers, and an extra special mention of Josh Wheatley for his amazing talent and fabulous new EP, which you can buy off iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, or in person. I seriously suggest you do.

Review and Pictures by Cassia Helme