Smalllife - Need To Buy A Woman

Hear The Track Here

Although I'd encountered Jaymz Lee Shaw before, the first time I came across his Smalllife band was with All The Things You Said (July 2006) and - being the rock animal I am - I lapped it up. In that review I likened them to an early Aerosmith, and that is a compliment indeed. Almost everything in that track screamed rock - if looked at another way - mosh pit mayhem!!. The same is true of Need To Buy A Woman showing that Smalllife have a marked penchant for the genre. Smalllife call it melodic rock but to my ears it has all the hallmarks of classic rock, red in tooth and claw. One of the standouts of All The Things You Said was the lead vocal, and the same power and versatility of that voice is brought to bear on Need to Buy A Woman.

Which, btw, is top of my fantasy shopping list :D

It's the vocal that is the most outstanding feature of this track too, dominating the proceedings with an authority and power that provides a great many fekk me (as in fuuuuuccckkkk meeeee) moments for aspiring rock vocalists. The very best rock needs a focal point and all the best bands have that, as indeed does Smalllife. Think of any great rock vocalist and you will find a bit of that magic in either of the band's tracks I have heard so far. Commercial? Absolutely, and I defy you to take a quick listen and not agree with me. In rock music, only one thing counts; the ability to make jaws drop. This track, as a consequence, will flip your head right off your shoulders...

leaving your ears conveniently in place so you can marvel and gawp.

All of the above makes light, of course, of the engine powering this fantastical beast, the music and the production thereof. It took me forever to get past the voice enough so I could suss out what was actually going on musically, and again the only reference I can can find is classic rock: big drums, walking basslines and crunchy, chordy guitars. No matter how hard I tried to find some fault in this track, I couldn't find anything at all I would want done in any other way. I gave their last track a Must Have rating and I just know I'm going to get me arm bent again because of the subject matter this track deals with but hey, I'm here for the music. Impressed? Not many, Bennny.

Vocal of the year, unquestionably, and a blistering MUST HAVE track.