Reviews of Concrete and Street Lamps

JAKE SEARSON - CONCRETE AND STREET LAMPS - TIDELINES
“With a singer who sounds like he could’ve fronted Agnostic Front, Guitars that pound away at riffs with subtle melodic passages that take the song into different dimensions and stop start rhythms that send shivers of excitement down your spine at every turn… Indie-Hardcore anyone? Whether it has a name or not, all you need to know is that it’s fucking fantastic! End of!”

Jake Searson's debut single is a chaotic mixture of punk, hardcore, metal and prog rock. Blending screaming vocal diatribes with speed metal riffs, gonzo punk powerchords, melodic undercurrents and shifting time signatures - CONCRETE AND STREET LAMPS is a song to keep you on your toes at the very least. Sounding at times like about three separate songs squeezed into one, Jake Searson creates a mini rock opera, a song that tells a story and rocks like a drunken Motorhead obsessive. Something akin to The Who being updated by Finch or one of the lengthier songs on the latest Green Day album being condensed and covered by Avenged Sevenfold.
The classical acoustic guitar work of WHEN BUTTERFLIES COLLIDE, take Jake Searson in a more epic rock direction - still retaining hints of screaming rage but overshadowed by sweeping choruses and stadium friendly melodicism.
An arresting and affecting debut, CONCRETE AND STREET LAMPS is never anything less than interesting and in-your-face. At times brutal and intense, at times sweeping and majestic - Jake Searson is going to be an artist to watch with fascination and interest.

: "Concrete And Street Lamps" into a melodic punk tinged number chock full of hard guitars more Ruts meets Iron Maiden than anything else.  ... Jake could be one to look out for in 2006"

: "ferocious lyrics and rampant guitars, reminiscent of latter day Finch, pulsate to a disturbing climax intensified by casualty-like voiceovers and sound effects ... Bold and ambitious debut,.."

: "You would probably be forgiven for expecting some drab singer-songwriter a la Jack Johnson or James Blunt when you listen to this but what you actually get is some frantic punk in which Jake Searson recounts the tale of a near-fatal car accident based on real-life events. It's the perfect mixture of hardcore bluntness and melodic punk subtlety."

IReallyLoveMusic.co.uk: a surprise this one ! from the name and cover i expected a laid back singer/songwriter type of track. and so when the fury of the guitars and scream-vocals hit the speakers, i literally jumped out of my skin. jake is angry. very. and he wants the world to know (though its not easy to hear what exactly is pissing him off with all the noise). still a fabulous track to clear out the crimbo induced cobwebs. i particularly liked the break at 2 minutes, where the vocals are pulled back and the sound of an police radio intercom provide some kind of narrative to the track - hang on, is this a conceptual track?

ok, i've read the pr, and the answer is yes. the track is basically the soundtrack to a full on car crash, that jake was involved in a while ago - hence the intense build up at the start with the pedal-to-the-metal guitars and then the subsequent abrupt halt to the fury.

i'm sure there are a lot of kerrang readers who will love this.

Reviews of the band Appropriate Agent, fronted by Jake Searson:

 : Bringing the Pacific Edge alldayer into full swing, AA are a band capable of bringing the house down. What they have is a very old school approach to rock n' roll but there's no reservations, no cliche's, no spandex but now hiding their intent, AA are a balls out classic rock band that lets the performance do the talking. Seasoned players play hard with no let up, while the exuberant frontman jumps and throws shapes all the way through their set. Some fancy guitar work and big atmosphere provided by their tuneage that sees the band also bringing in elements of punk attitude, metal grit and emotive catharsis, above all else its a big big rock show from five guys without the glitz and glamour, just being honest and with great results.

 : "Appropriate Agent were brilliant.....got the crowd going a bit and were full of energy. Played a new song called When Butterflies Collide, and it was one of the best songs I've heard in ages. So f****** powerful, so much f****** energy....absolutely brilliant.”