neverlander, Rat Race Review

Rock

neverlander, Rat Race Review

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Sam Hammond is a London based producer, vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist that is known as neverlander. Hammond grew up in Lancashire and was previously one part of the Manchester five-piece Swiss Lips, as their lead singer and main songwriter. The band secured a major record deal with Sony (Epic Records) after a video for their track “U Got The Power” went viral. Two single releases, a Radio 1 playlist, UK tour (they shared stages with the likes of Ladyhawke, Bastille and Blur) and a massive Philips headphones marketing campaign followed, but a shake-up at the label meant the album (described by the Guardian as “Irresistible”) stayed in the vaults. The album was eventually self-released by the band in 2015 (along with a B-sides album). Hammond (aka neverlander) is releasing a debut single titled “Rat Race.” Neverlander describes the track as: “Rat Race is about being torn in every direction by life in a city. The exhaustion, loneliness and relentless sprint towards death. The endless pursuit for money, the struggle for success, the devil on your shoulder, the monkey on your back. The lack of time to sleep, the friendships you strive to keep, the failed dreams, the burnouts, the freak outs, doing whatever you can to get through to tomorrow, where it’ll all start again.” That’s the short of it!

Positives:

Cool beat that with a driving chorus and neverlander’s solid lyrics is a winning sound. The track flows nicely between sections and offers a nice cohesion.

Bottom Line:

Neverlander is all about catchy riffs and chorus’ to drive his well-written lyrics home. Starting with a rock beat that has popish fringes, neverlander’s voice conveys the melody. Keeping things straight-ahead form wise, neverlander builds energy by juxtaposing the intensity of the verse and chorus. Well-placed spaces and interludes keep things rolling as does subtle variations through the form. The bridge acts as the climax and followed by the recap. Nothing fancy, just a solid feel and melody that will keep you humming along for days. Solid songwriting, singing and a highly musical melody, adds up to a winning sound.

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