I seem to receive an unusually high percentage of CD's that are in reality just E.P's from talented young indie bands from Britain. Of course it could be the fact I am a Limey myself, that doesn't explain why they are often fronted by talented and attractive young female singers, but if that is the price I have to pay for editing Indie Monkey then so be it.
Addiction Lane are a five piece from Manchester, England. A town that in the last decade produced the 'Madchester' scene, which really didn't effect the U.S, but back in Blighty we were all wandering about muttering 'Twisting my melon, man'. Manchester also brought us Oasis of course, a band propelled to stellar stardom based purely on a decent 'magpie' of a songwriter, a general rebellion against the boy bands of the era and the fact the two brothers bickered like annoying fourteen year olds. To think people were proclaiming Noel as the songwriter of the 90's before the body of Kurt Cobain was even cold, also does anyone remember the drummer from Metallica and Evan Dando both trailing after Oasis like lovesick puppies? Sad, sad, sad.
Anyway back to the band in question, 'Addiction Lane'. The four track, fourteen-minute debut 'Quod Erat Demonstrandum' is really little more than a demo, but with the exception of some genuinely poor production in places this is a very promising effort. Singer Gina Raymond has a voice that hints at desolate streets and shattered memories of better times. Unfortunately at times it is a voice misplaced among weak production, the opener 'Addiction Lane' sounds like the demos I used to record live in a friends spare bedroom when I was fourteen. The pacing of the song, along with the thread bare musical tapestry that should be wrapping themselves around a song set of lyrics, makes for a potentially good song, that needs to be re-recorded when 'Addiction Lane' have a little more money available. The ending of the song in particular is handled in an amateurish manner.
Now I may seem to be a little bit harsh here, after all this is a demo. The point is that this in an excellent track in terms of the voice, lyrics and basic musical idea, I just hate the fact the end result doesn't do it justice. Thankfully the remaining three tracks are much more polished. Track two is 'So much to do', a simple pop tune based around the voice of Gina and some fine piano playing, a song that proves that often less is more. It's not often I use the word pretty in a review, but it is. The kind of track that could win over a lot of people.
Next up is the wonderfully catchy 'You ain't taking me down', where rhythm guitarist Rick Burton provides some interesting backing vocals, and lead guitarist David G. Morgan weaves some guitar magic over an excellent little rock/pop ditty. Rounding of the band are Frank Hancock on drums and Dean West on Bass. All get at least some time to prove they are talented and capable on this E.P, but it is undeniably Gina who is the star. Check out their website, the only picture I could find of the fair Ms. Raymond features her sprawled at an angle that displays her in a, well PG-13 kind of way. Record contracts have been signed on less.
Rounding of the E.P is 'The Maze', a more introspective, slower tune. Nice, but a little anti-climatic after the stronger two tracks that proceeded it.
So where does 'Addiction Lane' stand in the universe of unsigned bands, what future do they have? Well they can certainly write, and to a lesser extent deliver a strong modern pop song. Their singer has an excellent voice and their lead guitarists pulls out some interesting tricks from his bag. Whether this will be enough in such a hostile and competitive world is up to them. If they keep working and polishing then they could go far because there is a definite diamond at the core.

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