REVIEW: Special Brew – Somethin’ Brewin’

This is a bit of an odd review for me – Special Brew is chock full of rock classics, perfect for filling a dance floor or joyously singing along to with a crowd.

They are all songs you know well, performed with aplomb by a talented band.

They are musically faithful to the originals but Somethin’ Brewin’ manage to add their own stamp on them. Zoe’s powerful and distinctive vocals add a unique sound to these tracks, especially those you are used to having a male vocalist. (Apologies, I called Zoe, Ashley previously – I’m still new to this and easily confused!)

The covers are all genuine crowd pleasers and they are very well done. However hidden among these songs are two gems of their own composition – Rebel With a Cause and Vikings from the North.

Rebel With a Cause has been released as their first single. This is a proper classic rock number. It drives along like a classic blues rock track, with pumping bass, pounding drums, guitar working between a catchy riff and soaring into proper solo with vocals you just want to sing along to.

This song reminds me of so many classic artists like Blackfoot, UFO and Sabbath – it’s all in there, but it’s all subjective and the song stands on its own perfectly and fits in well with the rest of the album.

Viking from the North reminds me of both early Iron Maiden and Saxon. It’s heavier and faster with a more New Wave of British Heavy Metal feel to this one. There is a great guitar riff pulling the heavier sound along at a faster pace. This is my favourite track on the album and will be released as a single at the end of the month.

If you track down Somethin’ Brewin’ on Facebook they will happily sell you a copy of this album. It’s available to stream and should be on sale in HMV soon.

If you get a chance to go and see them live, they have managed to capture that energy on the album but they are playing around the county so go and have a sing along if you can.

They will be in the Carnegie Theatre and Arts Centre today, Sunday June 25, as part of a three-band line-up.

The album was recorded at The Farm and produced by Tom Tyson.