Hummingbirds - Another Day EP

Finally I got my hands on the “Another Day” EP. I’m fairly shit at turning up to gigs that I promise to attend, so I feared I’d never get hold of one, but sure as the night follows day, and by hook or crook (what a shit pair of phrases), I got it.

I’m really pleased I got it as well, because it’s smashing, in fact it’s better than smashing.

I first saw Hummingbirds at the Cluny on October the 1st 2006. The only reason I remember this, is because it was the day that I put on an all dayer for charity and nearly ran myself into the ground with stress. No miracle cure for baldness will save my hairline after that day. As far as I can think, this was the first gig for Hummingbirds. There was a fair bit of anticipation to see what they could come up with. After all, the band was made up of various members from various other popular local bands that had since disbanded for one reason or another (we’ll go into the north east rock family tree another time, folks).

Anyhow, they weren’t too tight, but there was definitely something there. The six of them piled on stage, amps and instruments all over the place, it was a bit messy and the nerves were clearly there, but the tunes were there as well. At the time I thought they were good, but I was maybe a little disheartened if I’m honest. I was expecting to be blown away. Did they rush into the first gig? Did they not get enough practice’s in? I don’t know. They were by no means shit, but they could’ve been better.

A few months later, on the 9th March 2007, I finally got to see them live again. We all squeezed into South Shields’ only indie joint, B-Side Basement Bar. I managed to make it because it was just round the corner from me and I was running out of shit excuses that people hadn’t heard before.

In all fairness, after the October gig, I wasn’t expecting much, what a fucking idiot I am.

As we all shuffled up to the front, I found myself totally mesmerised for the entire set. I realised how good a songwriter James Binless really is and what a talented bunch of scamps they are.

Right, now that I’ve set the scene, I’ll actually talk about the EP.

The first thing that always strikes me is James’ voice. It’s one of the most distinctive voices on the local scene. As the title track of the EP begins, you find yourself in a wonderful place, it’s uplifting and majestic.

The first verse says, “simple in every way” and funnily enough, that’s what I love about Hummingbirds. They do the simple things very well. There isn’t any pretence about the lyrics or the music, why should there be? Lots of bands have a million and one ideas and try and put too much bollocks and shite on top of more bollocks and shite, but Hummingbirds do the basics, keep it nice and simple, that’s why it works and that’s why they’ve got brilliant pop songs.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if they don’t know what to do with their instruments, because they do. Young Johnny Bond could almost be Johnny Marr at times (OK, maybe not, but I couldn’t have got away with James Bond), he’s certainly a million times better than me on the guitar and probably 12 years younger.

The second track see’s another Binless original of “Nothing In Your Heart”. The song had previously been made popular by local band 21gunsalute (of which Binless, drummer Marc Corby and keyboards & vocals Craig Chirnside were all part of at one time or another) and I didn’t even realise it had been penned by Binless in the first place. The song is an anthem, it goes places where the original recording by 21gunsalute wasn’t bold enough to go. The military beat has been replaced and the backing vocals from Chirnside make the song a perfect slice of pop goodness.

Finally, we have “We’ll Set Our Sights Low”, in which Chirnside takes over lead vocal duties. The song could be from the latest Hope of the States album if they were all still around. Fantastic stuff again, Peter Slowey’s guitar soars, whilst the rhythm section of Chris Ellaby (bass) and Corby keep the song together, allowing the rest of the band to force feed us melody and smiles.

The last lyrics on the EP are “onwards and upwards my love”, nothing could fit better. I’m not really into arse kissing, but in this case, I haven’t really had much of a choice.

I really can’t wait to see Hummingbirds again.

For more information you can visit the Hummingbirds Website