𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 - this week: Demon - Talked Across The Room

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly - an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 - 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢

Charles meets his alter ego…

So the legend goes, we are all apparently born with morals. So they say. The obvious, clear differentiation between good and bad. A young baby - as opposed to an old one - is as innocent as the bright blue sky. It knows what to do and what not to do. Admittedly it doesn’t really know HOW to do it, hence the green mush all down its front. But at least it TRIED to get said mush in its pie-hole. As a baby, it simply wants to be content and happy. There is no gain in doing something “wrong”. Everything is there for them. Food, warmth, fun silly colourful plastic things to poke in to anywhere they’re not supposed to go. This in itself could be construed as “doing a bad thing”, but this young bundle of joy is really just being inquisitive. Finding things out. All innocent enough. When toddlerdom comes along however, it discovers a cheeky side. It realises that doing something “wrong” can make them giggle. And who doesn’t like giggling?? Or - a wondrous phrase my girlfriend came up with - “I wasn’t laughing, I was just smiling out loud”. Inspired! Back to our toddling friend. It is only when it sees gain, and ways of gaining said gain, that things start to change. It is by now, a young child. It can reach the cupboards and the fridge. It has had dinner. It knows it is not supposed to eat something straight afterwards. Not due to an uber-trendy vegan diet, but simply because it shouldn’t turn into a fat pig too early on. This naughty young thing is still craving a certain sweetness. To get said sweetness, it is to be anything but sweet. It knows that if it asks for the sweet treat, the answer will predictably be “No”. Not because the mother is Lois from Malcolm in the Middle, but because this little person has had this treat five times within the week, and so she feels she has to lay down some rules. No one wants a spoilt chubba-bubba - as cute as it is to squeeze Sweet Cheeks’ sweet cheeks.

Years drift on. Teenagehood approaches. Adolescence is rarely a word used with a positive inflection… “What have you done, NOW?!” springs to mind. It is not a question of what they have achieved and skilfully crafted through inspired artistic technique… Nope, it’s that yet again their morals have gone to blazes. “Another £20 note has magically disappeared from your father’s wallet. What do you have to say for yourself? Hm? HM?? And what’s that smell??”. The kid has indeed let down the side, been in the wrong, and you don’t WANT to know what that smell was… As the years go on, most of us grow into good, honest individuals. Like me! But even I, in my angelic innocence have occasionally been tempted to do the wrong thing. Because I see the gain. Luckily though, my sense of morals kicks in. That, and the knowledge that I would inevitably fail in getting away with it and get caught. Plus, the guilt would eat me up inside. Hardly worth the effort.

Inside, a devil lingers. Snoring most of the time. That sound when your belly rumbles? It ain’t hunger… I believe most of us to have another side, even if predominantly dormant. Our alter ego can be a vicious, dark creature, and it is imperative that it must remain dormant or be slain by the angels that protect us. Not literal angels - unless you wish to believe, of course. To misquote Homer Simpson: “Angels are make-believe, like elves, gremlins and eskimos”. My personal demon has not been slain, as I have been informed that there are “no angels in my area at the present time”. I have tried to call the council, but the recorded message repeats that I will be contacted as soon as they are available. Until then, I will do bad things to everyone I know, and even some to people I do not. Nothing like a good old battle with the council to settle the noyves. Fighting incompetence with fire.

In my red-eyed demonic phase - mother says it’s phase. It’s always a phase with parents. “No, YOU’RE a phase!” - Ugh, I never was very good at comebacks.…… Anyway! In my red-eyed demonic phase of late, I have been searching the songs of the New Artist Spotlight, for only things relating to the satanic way of being. Surprisingly, there was quite a selection! Goodbye buttercups and daisies, hello fiery Hell!! Not in the mood for heavy rock though. Let’s see what we’ve got. Ah!! This’ll do nicely. Demon. Talked Across the Room is the group’s name. Queer name, but a name nevertheless. A fabulous, original band that for some reason I have never reviewed before. Despite this song not remotely being reggae, my mind FEELS the lilt of reggae when listening. There is an eerily exciting feeling throughout the tune, especially in the intro. A song that actually has an intro! This is pretty rare these days. And no, a short instrumental version of the verse does not count as an intro. They have taken a wonderful little motif from the song, and used it at the beginning to great effect. It sucks you in with chromatic jangles, before the beat and the spooky bells and whispers (played by Anthony Di Damaso and Jack Lecomber) fill the room. There are some Major 7ths and Diminished 5ths (Augmented 4ths, if you so choose) lurking around to keep the listener intrigued. You don’t have to know what these are, or even notice them - it is all subconscious. The good news is, Portugal-based Talked Across the Room knows what they’re doing.

Sing on, sexy singer! Tetiana Strykhar is endowed with darkness, mystery and without a doubt the sexiest of voices. It takes me back to a time when this kind of voice was allowed, without an age rating requirement (we’re not far away from that…). Think of Dawn Penn with her classic No No No (You Don’t Love Me). Think of Sheryl Crow in her leather days. Think of Portishead’s Beth Gibbons. And think of our very own NAS artist, “ya” (Anna Akopyan). Tetiana falls and rises with slow resistance. She croaks when it is necessary to croak. It is lazy in the best way. She sings of having a demon inside her. She sings of having an angel inside her. She cannot decide which to side with. And she doesn’t really care. It’s just so damned devilishly cool!

Normally I like songs to be short, but despite this tune coming in at over 4 minutes, I would actually like it to be longer. Like a soundtrack to life. Despite my own songs usually being relatively happy, I tend to opt for the darker side of sound. This suits me down to the ground. Deep down below the ground. It’s the vibe. The united CHUNK of Alejandro Lopes’ guitars, Taras Korkots’ bass and Nico Mege’s drums just send me to Hell and back, again in the best way. There is jazz and blues in this rocking head-nodder, but it succeeds in its originality. Ultimately it is cool, and it makes you wince like Lennon, (but of course) in the best way. Have a listen, and just this once, let the devil take over.

I just got a text from the council. They are expecting a shipment of angels (old and new) next week. I am to fill in a form online, and I should expect delivery within 6 months. Ugh. Bloody council. I will therefore use my evil, dishonest powers and get them on the black market, first thing tomorrow. I should be back to normal by next week.

Morally speaking though, where did I go wrong…? I blame the parents.

Listen to 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Spotify playlist HERE!

Listen to 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 on the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 Apple Music playlist HERE!

Watch the official 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 video HERE!

Follow 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢 on Instagram HERE!

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