11

Scottish Scamps Delight with Two-Track Demo

Edinburgh's indie four-piece Chutes have been friends since their schooldays and played together since their teenage years. It comes as no surprise then, that even as an unsigned band, musically they are very tight indeed. Taking influence from their hometown as well as other local heroes Idlewild and Biffy Clyro, Chutes are certainly an excellent listen and an exciting prospect.

This two track demo opens with the excellent 'It's You in Support of Me', a foot-tapping jaunt through a fusion of indie-rock and funk that really gets under the skin after a couple of listens. Steady drums, in particular a very catchy tom-tom rhythm, and funky bass combined with a heavily reverberant guitar riff really kick things off in style. The melodic guitar riff continues to control the verse with the addition of the vocals, the clarity of which completes the musical texture eloquently. In contrast, the chorus has a bit more bite with the guitar assuming a more distorted identity. The middle breakdown passage is possibly the most exciting part of the track, with the bass using electro distortion effects to really cut through the mix, pushing towards the climax of the track.

'Night Vision' then, has a lot to live up to. It opens in a similar fashion to 'It's You...' with drums and bass dictating the proceedings. The similarities don't end here either; chiming guitar carries the verse with a higher vocal range, culminating in more fuzzy chord work during the chorus, much like the first track. This isn't to say both tracks sound the same however, as they are indeed very different, they just share the same compositional style. A good b-side then, but it lacks the edge of its predecessor.

Based on this demo, I believe it's only a matter of time before these lads are snapped up by a record label. Definitely worth keeping an eye on and destined for big things in the very near future, I would highly recommend Chutes to every indie fan out there. They've certainly won me over.