333maxwell - What

Hear The Track Here

Now with a name like that, regular readers will already have heard some bells ringing. It's been a while but I last came across this 'greatest faux band in the world' was the later part of 2007 when I reviewed The Leads and Lags of Elevator (November 2007) and Kiss You (December 2007). Both were jazzy kinda tracks, but very well done for all that and I remember thinking at the time that this artist needed watching. Since then, of course, Chas Holman (aka 333maxwell) seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth. Nothing, probably to do with my reviews but you just never can tell...

Strange world out there.

In my review of Kiss You I wrote 'There is a degree of sophistication evident in both the performance and production' and that was my first thought as I listened to this the first time. That impression is only reinforced with continued plays and I really recommend that you give this track enough time to sink in. It isn't - for sure - something that I would normally have said worked together but, like all this artists tracks, it has its tricks. Considering that Chas is a plank spanker (Ed: I think he means guitarist but you never know with him...) he seems not to feature it too much, although it certainly has its moments on What.

Like all of his tracks though, lots of elements are introduced and the track generally develops through those elements; t'ain' quite jazz, t'ain't quite rock it's some weird Frankenstein concoction of both. Sounds well hair raising on paper (or whatever) I know, but it's certainly a treat to listen to. What is actually a song, and a good one at that; a breath of Lou Reed, a dab of Bowie, some extremely effective brass builds and a busy piano line shout out 'quality', 'originality' 'listenabilty' It's a bit of a ballad, so be warned bu damn, it doesn't matter this is a terrific song and an good performance.

Highly Recommended. Pop rock whatever....