Based in Manchester, Clockwork Radio spent 2010 recording and releasing two EPs. The second of which is The Soul Harmonic which was released in November. They dabble in rock with a dash of electro for good measure and have also had airplay on BBC Radio One and 6 music.
‘Please You’ immediately fits into the current electro Manchester scene. It’s immaculately produced and has great rock drums interwoven with a fat bass and beautifully mixed vocals. The band aren’t afraid to show their prog rock side, chunks of the song are instrumental but that doesn’t take away from it. Maybe a radio edit would benefit. Definitely the best tune on the EP.
The band lean more to the rock side for the E.P. ‘Soltaire’ is a rock song with a melodic vocal line and stays true to prog rock in production and song structure as does ‘Desire’. It veers towards the blues in rhythm and some clever guitar hooks push it more towards that genre.
The title track ‘Soul Harmonic’ starts with rival guitar lines vying for your attention. There’s an airy production to this with a Spanish guitar feel and nice vocal harmonies. It’s a tad confusing though, ‘Please You’ seems to be in one genre while the rest of a Clockwork Radio’s music is definitely more prog rock.
The band are good at both but given how good ‘Please You’ is I’d love to see more of that.
(Player and Download link after the jump)