Our latest single, 'Step Up' will be out on 12th, March.
*** Our 7th single in little more than 9 months will be released on 12th March, 2021.
Another song built on yet another Kevin England guitar riff and underpinned by a solid-but-still-melodic Jason Dixon bass line, 'Step Up' has the faint whiff of being influenced by Crowded House. The song was written in 1996, at a time when, having just recorded their first EP, the band was looking to move forward, but also at a time when, in their mid-20s, the individual band members were settling down into long-term relationships and 'real life'. Keiron Metcalfe's lyric speaks to the unacknowledged - and DENIED! - reluctance to fully commit to 'the cause' because of the pressures and obligations of 'real life'. The narrator of the lyric is something of an inner demon who is trying to persuade 'the subject' that, if they have enough belief, they can achieve whatever they desire and that failure to commit to 'chasing the dream' will lead to something of a hellish existence. Although it might not have been obvious at the time, Metcalfe is, of course, speaking to himself and his bandmates.
'Step Up' (or, as it was titled then, 'Impossibly Possible') was performed on stage just once, at a roof-raising headline show at Harlow's The Square in April, 1997 - a gig which turned out to be the band's penultimate live performance before their reunion in 2015. For this 2021 version, Metcalfe took the multi-tracks of a recording from 2001 and added new keyboards, new drums and all new vocals. This song, because of its riff and strong chorus, always had potential; but, before now, Kevin England had described it as a lacklustre 'album-filler'. Now, though, Metcalfe's mix and production (along with Pete Maher's mastering) has released the song's full potential, transforming into a tight, punchy and energetic obvious-single. ***
Founded in 1987 in Harlow, Essex (25 miles north of London), the three original members of ToB have crafted a style of classic-sounding Rock which is truly their own, formed over 30+ years from a wide and varied range of influences, including Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen, Gary Moore, Spin Doctors, Pearl Jam, Boston, Simple Minds, Jeff Lynne, Train, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and many more.
With guitarist, Kevin England being hugely influenced by the likes of Knopfler, Clapton, Buckingham, Gilmore and Moore, it is his own bluesy and country style that gives the band it's classic, Roots Rock sound. But a style of composing which is hugely influenced by Keiron Metcalfe's pursuit of catchy and memorable choruses and hooks gives the band a definite tilt towards the 'POP' side of things. Add in the melodic bass playing of Jason Dixon and the wispy, universally reflective lyrics of former long-term singer, Darren Bardoe or Keiron Metcalfe's own slightly more pointed and straightforward words and the result is solid Rock songs which can range from melodic and moody to foot-tapping and sing-along to rollicking and raucous; but all are sprinkled with a smattering of populism which, as is the case with ALL good Pop songs, provides the listener with a comforting, deja-vu-like sense of familiarity.
