Review written by Andy Holland

The Whereabouts are a young, Irish, high-energy four-piece who are seemingly dedicated to bringing back that rhythm and blues sound of old; think early Stones, Them, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, along with 60s garage bands and you’re at least halfway there. The band comprise of Wayne Watters Reilly on lead vocals, rhythm guitar (yes this band have a rhythm guitarist!) and blues harp , Evan Murphy on lead guitar, Joseph Adcock on bass & backing vocals and Dara Curtis on drum duty.

They look the part too. There’s no sports clobber allowed in this band – not a training shoe in sight; it’s all sharp, shiny suits and skinny ties. This is a band who look the way mod bands used to look before Paul Weller changed it for the worst. The Whereabouts dress to kill and they sound that way too.

‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ is a cover-version of The Pretty Thing’s hit from 1964 (it reached Number 10). The song resurfaced again when David Bowie recorded it in 1973 for his album ‘Pin Ups’. The Whereabouts’ version is a lot more gutsy than those two versions, at least as far as I’m concerned.

This is partly because Wayne Watters Reilly’s voice is admirably suited to this kind of material. A good front-man is absolutely essential for a band like this and despite his relative youth, there is something of the budding Lee Brilleaux about Reilly, his voice has the right kind of authority in it and he makes the song believeable. Sometimes singers who perform in kind of genre can sound forced but Reilly doesn’t, he comes across as if old-time blues are his natural environment. His blues harp playing is great too, which is an added bonus.

The rest of the band obviously know their stuff too. Dara Curtis’ drums are tight and unfussy in that Charlie Watts style, and Joseph Adcock’s bass keeps a steady pulse throughout the track, locked in with the beat. Evan Murphy’s guitar sound is excellent and powerful; it’s absolutely suited to the material and his short but effective lead guitar break is tasteful and exciting. Murphy knows his genre inside-out and is good enough to have nothing to prove with any wasteful guitar histrionics.

This is the kind of band I would love to catch live and I urge all of you to the same. Their sound reminds me of short-lived Liverpool band The Stairs, who performed in a similar style (remember ‘Weed Bus’, anybody?), but I hope The Whereabouts are lucky enough to have far more commercial success. This is a proper unpretentious 60s inspired rock ‘n’ roll.

https://www.facebook.com/TheWhereaboutsPage/info
http://www.muzu.tv/the-whereabouts/dont-bring-me-down-music-video/2176170