Famoüs Jameson is a young Swedish band. Formed in the summer of 2010, the band have already played plenty of gigs in Sweden and will be playing on the Rockbitch cruise later this year.
The band list influences including Mötley Crüe, Aerosmith, Guns’n Roses, Metallica, Skid Row & Accept – all 80’s bands with a bias towards glam/sleaze. Judging by their influences and the publicity photograph then I’m expecting an 80’s sleaze sound to be apparent in the music, but the only way to know is to listen to the songs as appearances can sometimes be deceptive. A listen to the three tracks here confirm the 80’s sleaze influences.
”Twelve steps to insanity” starts off with some good guitar work – with it starting as guitar in one speaker before it comes in on the other speaker too. Personally I’d have preferred them to get rid of the vinyl-style crackle at the start though. A good song.
”Without you” gives Cazie Star more chance to show off her voice and is another strong song. This is probably my favourite track of the three.
”Appetite for self destruction” is the weakest track here – not from the songwriting point of view, but more from the production viewpoint – it just feels slightly muted. The song was recorded before Cazie Star joined the band and Tommy Heete took over on drums, and Cazie’s vocals were then recorded separately and added to the music. I’m sure that once it is re-recorded with the bands current drummer and with better production then this track will sound a lot better and fit in well with the other tracks.
The vocal style is traditional rock/metal style, along the lines of Benedictum, Girlschool or Femme Fatale rather than the more operatic style favoured by many female fronted bands these days e.g. Nightwish. This traditional style works well with the music though so is definitely the right choice.
Judging by the songs here then Famous Jameson have a lot of potential – the vocals are well suited to the music, the songs are well written and played well. ”Without you” and ”Twelve steps to insanity” were originally planned to be released as a single, but the band’s busy schedule means this hasn’t happened, but hopefully they will find time to release the single soon, otherwise fans might have to wait till August next year when Famoüs Jameson will hopefully have their debut album ready for release.
I certainly look forwards to hearing more from Famoüs Jameson.
Famoüs Jameson are:
Cazie Star – Vocals
Oscar Whylde – Guitars
Sikk Roxx – Bass
Tommy Heete – Drums
Track listing:
1. Twelve steps to insanity
2. Without you
3. Appetite for self destruction
