poppedmusic

Nomads

Released 4th March 2013

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Joe Banfi play live and watch the headline act watch him too, his eyes focused in wonder at the stage, the same as mine, in wonder with just how incredible the sounds were. One man, two microphones and a guitar, that’s all there was and it silenced the entire room. Nomads the EP packs exactly the same punch as Joe did live, and when you hear it you’ll know exactly why a noisy room went silent. To say that this EP has been well produced is one thing but to say that the production allows for the live performance to shine just as much is something I don’t often get to say.

Nomads EP showcases Joe’s very gentle yet powerfully evocative vocal and his ability to tell tales that are as heart rendering as they are comforting. Joe has a very special tone and movement to his vocal; pure, sharp like glass and soaring but then two seconds later it takes  rougher raspier route that really resonates. Olive Green, the third track on this masterful EP, is simply beautiful. I particularly love the lyric about the olive green boots by the door making him feel safe, gives me such a real image in my head.

It’s Oresmen that really comes to life the most on this EP for me. It takes the light and the dark and smashes them together eventually culminating in an explosion of whirling haunting vocals layered against that rougher passion riddled vocal. This is then thrown against a ferocious tide of harsh percussion and furious guitar before eventually coming to a soft simmer against the shore. It’s a wonderfully climactic track and I could listen to it over and over for hours.

While the cinematic title track, Nomads, has been given airplay on some of the biggest radio shows in the UK in the past few weeks it is certainly still very exciting early days for Joe Banfi. With his first headline tour coming up after his tour support slot with Bear’s Den, this EP is sure to be a big hit on merch stalls until the physical copy’s general release date of March 4th comes around. If you can’t wait that long then you can buy Nomads EP on iTunes now… but you will be sure to want this for your proper collection too, it’s a must.

Listen to Olive Green here:

Watch the video for Nomads here: