Jelly Frog Bright is a name that brings back memories from the past - you can find our review of them from far back in the annals of time (Well, last year anyway) in the feature archives. Now, it seems, Si Cockerill and Tony Kapza have decided that it is time for a change, and Mark Bannister and Colin Rodgers (This is the spelling on the back of the CD - the website names him as Rojers) have joined the team as Bassist and Drummer respectively. Together, they have created a phoenix that has arisen from the ashes of Jelly Frog Bright to become known as... (Cue drum roll) ...Slider!
Things have obviously changed with the introduction of the new band. Jelly Frog Bright concentrated on Grunge Rock, whereas Slider covers a broader spectrum from Rock to the odd ballad. They've been around in their new incarnation for about 6 months, but have only now surfaced to display their work in the form of their brand new CD. So the question is: have they pulled it off?
Last week, a copy of Slider's demo CD "Closer than Anything" arrived in the post, after a few weeks of eager anticipation. I'm not altogether sure of the relevance of the smashed up cars on the cover, unless "Closer than Anything" refers to how close the cars must've been to a brick wall to get that way - but it's the music that counts here! Would it be up to the standards of the previous band, or just an audio disaster? I slipped the disc into the CD player, sat back and prepared to be surprised...
First point: Of the four tracks on the CD, three of them are over 4 minutes in length - and we are talking distinct verses and choruses right the way through here. Too many bands these days rely on three minutes of repetitive thumping which, although fine when it makes a valid statement, can often just be an excuse to make a ten second track last several minutes! In this respect, I have to applaud the effort that has gone into Slider's lyrics here.
Being a demo CD, I assume that Slider are attempting to showcase a broad range of talent here. We are taken on a musical roller coaster ride, from the in-yer-face Rock/Pop of "No regrets" to the ballad "Blue" which is so laid back it's almost horizontal! The quality of the music throughout is exceptional - Cockerill and Kapsza sure know how to strum those Guitars, and Rodgers seems traditionally mental on drums.
"Don't Say Tomorrow" is a lot more relaxing and melodic than the other three tracks, and the music immediately brings to mind the background music on old Spaghetti westerns. I can just see Clint Eastwood pushing up the brim of his hat with a finger and spinning his six-guns as the sun sets over an old Mexican town… This is by far my favourite track, although I can't help wishing there was also an instrumental version included on the CD as the music stands out on it's own.
I have to say that "Closer than anything" has grown on me. I enjoyed it much more the second time I played it - although, to be fair, this is probably more to do with the initial expectation of hearing Jelly Frog Bright than any fault in the music itself. There is enough diversity in style here to please most music fans except for true head bangers, so you can't go far wrong. I think we'll be seeing more of Slider in the not too distant future...
Did the name appear in a dream again, guys? (You'll have to read the Jelly Frog Bright article to make sense of that one, I'm afraid!)
