“Echo Raptors” are an alternative psychedelic, folk infused rock band from Belfast whose catchy, breezy and sentimental songs set the standard high for all the unsigned bands out there. An impressive four piece, “Echo Raptors”, consists of Philip Rainey on vocals/guitar, Vince Caddell on lead guitar, Owen Duffy on bass and Emmett Stewart on drums. Notably it’s the rich vocals of Rainey which really define and enhance the band’s soundscape. Sounding a cross between The Troubadours’ Mark Firth, The Las’/ Cast’s John Power and The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft, Rainey has one of those distinctive voices which glides and swaggers with an effortless cool, whist providing a polished veneer.
Having just released their second EP “ She’s So Free”, “Echo Raptors” are one of those bands which you instantly take a shine too, a sort of missing link between the Merseybeat sounds of yesteryear and today’s neo-psychedelia. They will also be supporting both the Happy Mondays and the Charlatans at this year’s Feile Festival on the 4th August 2013. They are also a band who I strongly recommend and whose featured track “Change My Way”, has been selected as my “Single of The Week”.
“Change My Way is an infectious, heartfelt song, whose rich vocals resonate against the reverberating riffs likened to The Troubadours, The Coral, Cast and The Verve. It’s also a song whose opening rumbling drums, irregular bass and bee-stung riffs, flirts with the new wave sound reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Psychedelic Furs. It’s a brilliant song, which essentially captures the sunny spirit of the 60s and whose rich vocals cements the vintage feel of the song.