The Damien Cullen Band
We were recently put onto the Damien Cullen Band, a band formed by Damien Cullen (well that makes sense I guess…) in Helsinki, Finland, back in 2009 after Damien felt disenchanted by state of music in London. Working since that day to get their music out there and their name around, the band have toured, worked, managed themselves and remained unsigned, but this hasn’t changed their desire to take over the world with their music. Having released Paved With Good Intentions on September 26th this year, we figured we’d check out their music for ourselves, to see what was going on with things.
Please note: The order of the tracks in the review does not represent the order of the tracks on the record, but instead the order of the tracks as they downloaded here.
Getting things moving with I Don’t Wanna Play House there’s one thing immediately clear, this is a band that know what they’re doing. Fast, melodic and firmly rooted in dirty rock n roll, this track is an immediate kick in the face with a real sense of rock n roll, not metal – proper rock! Catchy and melodic throughout, this track introduces us to the band and immediately suggests that there’s a hell of a lot to come, showing that they can craft a track which is full of catchy hooks, guitar lines which get those air guitars going, vocals which you want to sing along to, and bass lines which will get you moving from the word go. It’s Cold Outside continues this approach, once again launching us into a rock fuelled melee of guitar lines, soft yet effective vocals, pounding drum lines, rumbling bass rhythms and a sense of good fun. I think that’s half of the appeal on offer here, it’s the sort of music which is good fun, the sort of thing you want to listen to as you’re going to enjoy it, have a good time to it, and remember for a long time to come. Upbeat, melodic and packing enough punch to keep anyone satisfied, it’s hard to put into words exactly how this sounds, so suffice to say it works damned well!
Story Of My Life continues things further, this time launching us into another catchy track which will have you singing along after a couple of listens. What was really striking about this track was how the vocals tell the story of the track, yet the music seems to do a different thing, almost contrasting itself throughout. The resulting style is a combination of rock n roll with punk, a sound which is melodic and accessible yet hard hitting and powerful, somehow offering up a sound which sounds well founded yet mainstream enough to be really quite popular – it’s a clever mix and one which is going to stand these guys in damned good stead moving forwards. Closing with Wonderland there’s one final rock fuelled, catchy and fun track. Upbeat, melodic and catchy as you like, this final track from the selection is one of my favourites, the sort of thing which you want to dance to, drink beer to, sing along to, and listen to at an obscene volume just to ensure you share it with the world.
What can I say about the Damien Cullen Band other than awesome, it’s amazing to see proper rock music coming back, and a band doing it damned well. This is real music and a band that can do it damned well, the sort of thing which is going to accompany those beer fuelled nights with aplomb whilst leaving you knowing you had one hell of a good time, definitely a band you should be listening to if you’re not yet!
To find out more about the Damien Cullen Band, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Please note: The order of the tracks in the review does not represent the order of the tracks on the record, but instead the order of the tracks as they downloaded here.
Getting things moving with I Don’t Wanna Play House there’s one thing immediately clear, this is a band that know what they’re doing. Fast, melodic and firmly rooted in dirty rock n roll, this track is an immediate kick in the face with a real sense of rock n roll, not metal – proper rock! Catchy and melodic throughout, this track introduces us to the band and immediately suggests that there’s a hell of a lot to come, showing that they can craft a track which is full of catchy hooks, guitar lines which get those air guitars going, vocals which you want to sing along to, and bass lines which will get you moving from the word go. It’s Cold Outside continues this approach, once again launching us into a rock fuelled melee of guitar lines, soft yet effective vocals, pounding drum lines, rumbling bass rhythms and a sense of good fun. I think that’s half of the appeal on offer here, it’s the sort of music which is good fun, the sort of thing you want to listen to as you’re going to enjoy it, have a good time to it, and remember for a long time to come. Upbeat, melodic and packing enough punch to keep anyone satisfied, it’s hard to put into words exactly how this sounds, so suffice to say it works damned well!
Story Of My Life continues things further, this time launching us into another catchy track which will have you singing along after a couple of listens. What was really striking about this track was how the vocals tell the story of the track, yet the music seems to do a different thing, almost contrasting itself throughout. The resulting style is a combination of rock n roll with punk, a sound which is melodic and accessible yet hard hitting and powerful, somehow offering up a sound which sounds well founded yet mainstream enough to be really quite popular – it’s a clever mix and one which is going to stand these guys in damned good stead moving forwards. Closing with Wonderland there’s one final rock fuelled, catchy and fun track. Upbeat, melodic and catchy as you like, this final track from the selection is one of my favourites, the sort of thing which you want to dance to, drink beer to, sing along to, and listen to at an obscene volume just to ensure you share it with the world.
What can I say about the Damien Cullen Band other than awesome, it’s amazing to see proper rock music coming back, and a band doing it damned well. This is real music and a band that can do it damned well, the sort of thing which is going to accompany those beer fuelled nights with aplomb whilst leaving you knowing you had one hell of a good time, definitely a band you should be listening to if you’re not yet!
To find out more about the Damien Cullen Band, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls