Review of Maryanne EP by Sweet City Fire

Sweet City Fire
"Maryanne" EP
Tide Music
EP Review

Sweet City Fire Maryanne EP

As the success of the Arctic Monkeys has proved, the Myspace website is a fabulous tool for bands to get their music heard on a global scale. London quartet Sweet City Fire are just one of many bands to capitalise on the technology, but their growing popularity is also due to a huge performance at last year's Wireless Festival, and support slots with Fightstar and The Bluetones.

The opening seconds of "Maryanne" are something of a red herring, selling the idea that what is to follow will be a gentle acoustic number. A thunderous bass line and crunching chords soon dispel this, and they naturally back the classic rock'n'roll voice of Dean Sharp, resulting in a very enjoyable anthem. Second track "Sweet City Fire" brims with a similar confidence, and proves the band have a knack for smart hooks and a killer chorus, while Jamie Taylor also impresses with his guitar licks. The mellower tone of "You Really Should Know" is just as sweet on the ears, in no small part down to Sharp's convincing emotional crooning, and the hard-hitting attitude returns for "Take It Back". Another energetic anthem, it leaves you in no doubt that these lads are both sweet and on fire

Alex Lai
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