Album Review

Amazing Radio – You Heard It Here First: Rock, Vol 1.

18th Sep 2015

As far as true champions of independent music at radio go these days, the folks at Amazing Radio in the UK have got to be one of the leading lights. Supporting bands from day zero of their careers right the way through to A-list success, their knowledge of specialist genres and dedication to unearthing undiscovered talent is second to none.

Through their Amazing Tunes platform, they’re also one of the only stations to be bridging the gap between royalty and airplay, with direct-to-artist payments for downloads through their own back-end system as well as options for synchronisation and publishing.

‘You Heard It Here First: Rock, Vol 1.’ is the latest in their innovative new range of compilations that promote some of the talent they’ve successfully helped to bring through at the station, in this case with Aaron Phillips’ Amazing Rock show, released via their own Amazing Record Co.

Featuring a myriad of tracks from the likes of God Damn, Tellison, Brawlers and many more, this is a collection that shows the fine fettle of the underground UK rock music scene, bristling with talent and experimental prowess as it is. A healthy cross-section of sub-genres and styles make this the perfect stepping off point for anybody who might be looking to delve into the wealth of talent currently on offer, with particular highlights coming from DIY stalwarts Tellison on the staccato riffs of ‘Tact Is Dead’, the radio-friendly rock of Boy Jumps Ship on ‘Make You Proud’ or the old-school two-tone soul punk of Glasswerk favourites Colt 45 on the melancholic ‘OK’.

As a showcase for the explosion of grass roots talent in the UK music scene, you could do a lot worse than delving into this fine collection of songs from a bunch of people who know their stuff and – more importantly – are intent on making sure it gets heard.

– Jamie Otsa
@jamieotsa