Keep your ears open for rising London-based, BISCAY, who have just released their debut recording, a six-track EP titled ‘Burnt Mementos.’ Fronted by the alluring vocals of French-born chanteuse, Eléa May (whose cool style is reminiscent of Isabelle Antena, another French singer who recorded in London during the late-’80s), the sextet led by songwriter/guitarist Phil Danter make music that is an unclassifiable amalgam of jazz, pop, blues, and soul flavours.
The EP’s highlights include its lead-off track, which juxtaposes a sweet, infectious melody with sardonic lyrics that berate the vacuous selfie generation – “pretty people are vile” blithely coos singer, May. Her vocals are underpinned by a crisp, simmering, guitar-driven backbeat, and augmented by mellow Rhodes piano, and horns, whose jazz-infused arrangement betrays shades of Steely Dan. Even the guitar solo reverberates with echoes of Larry Carlton. The slower ‘Space Dust’ is cast from a similar mould while the sultry ‘Arromanches’ evinces a blues-drenched shuffle groove. More upbeat, and peppered with staccato horn charts (courtesy of saxophonist Mikey Davis), is ‘Good Odds, Odd Goods,’ which rides on a breezy smooth-jazz rhythm track and features some deft electric guitar work from Phil Danter as well as some tasty synth warbles from Kris Chase-Byrne.
BISCAY’S ‘Burnt Mementos’ is out now
For more info go to www.Biscay.co.uk
https://biscay.bandcamp.com/album/burnt-mementos
Watch the video for ‘Pretty People’ here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFhnOkA849c
