.Sub

"For decades Britain has been a source for many
modern-day legends in the music industry. It's my
pleasure to introduce the newest one to you now."

As many of you know, I am extremely
picky when it comes to my taste in music. I dislike
about twenty artists for every one that I do like.
This next band I'm about to introduce is one of those
"chosen ones" that brings to the table everything a
rock band should bring, and then some. I'm talking
about the extremely talented, and much underrated rock
band from Britain called .Sub. Now here is a band that
truly redefines music. They put so much effort and
thought into each song it's incredible they don't take
years to complete a record. Every time I listen to
their EP, I find something new I missed before. This
band is the Hitchcock of the music world. Talk about
perfectionists!

.Sub is made up of three members, Adam
Chamberlain (lead vocals, lead guitar, and piano),
Matt Osborne (drums) and Chris Bright (bass guitar).
These three guys together create something so great
I'm amazed they have not been discovered by a major
label yet. Their newest record is an EP titled
"Oxytocin," and it consists of four songs so carefully
pieced together that they don't even sound like songs,
but rather the work of artists; artists who know how
to add fury and rage with sorrow and despair to create
a truly wonderful piece of work. It's a great thing
when a band comes out of nowhere and surprises
listeners with its sound as .Sub did with me when I
first heard them a few months back. This band is a
major find, and after a few minutes of listening to
their newest EP, there is no doubt in my mind you'll
feel the same way. .Sub brings a new meaning to the
phrase "diamond in the ruff."

The EP opens up with "Geistlos," which
kicks off the beginning of a rollercoaster ride of
imagery and darkness. "Geistlos" is a song that uses
everyday instruments along with guitars to create a
very smooth, but fast-paced beat that is sure to win
over any listener to keep moving deeper into the
record. Next is "Oxytocin," and this is without a
doubt the strongest, most unnerving track on the EP.
From the very first note of what sounds like a rod
hitting a pipe, this song grabs you and continues to
pull you in using front man Chamberlain's repeating
"huh huh" backup vocals. Chamberlain sings about the
pain of loving someone, and not getting love in
return. The music reflects the hardships of despair
and regret, making "Oxytocin" not only the strongest
song musically, but lyrically as well. The bass is
sharp; the vocals are terrific, and the result is a
masterpiece wrapped up in four minutes and ten seconds
of solid music.

The third track is a bit lighter than the
previous two tracks before it. The soft melody is
carried by a fantastic bass and the vocals match the
speed of the music. I love it when a singer speeds up
and slows down their pace to match the pace of the
melody. Bravo Mr. Chamberlain! The fourth and final
track called "Idolaters," is the darkest, fastest, and
most destructive song of the album. The band shows us
how to use the weirdest, most edgy noises to their
advantage along with not drowning their vocals with
synthesizers. I hate it when a band does that. .Sub
exemplifies everything a dark, unique rock band should
be. Move over Radiohead!

One might think that having three members
would take away from the production of quality music,
but like Muse, this band has no Achilles heel,
everyone is solid and the music is pure gold; there is
no need for a fourth member. .Sub should attract many
David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Radiohead, and Echo and the
Bunnymen fans over with their energetic melodies,
strong vocals, and sensational sound, while ultimately
maintaining their own distinct style. This band has a
terrific future ahead of them. You can check them out
at either www.sub-band.com or www.myspace.com/subband.
The band will have an EP sampler on their Myspace
page, so stop by and give that a listen to. (I really,
really think I have stumbled onto something great
here).

This is the fresh, spectacular new band
I've been wanting to find for months. Or years it
seems.
- Bay Area backstage

INFLUENCED by everything from David Bowie to experimental German music to fellow Norwich noise-makers, .Sub are a band that wants to be known for creating some interesting and challenging music.

Here, they explain all in their Band Profile.

Band name:

.Sub

Member's names and ages:

Adam Chamberlain, 26

Matt Osborne, 26

Chris Bright, 26

Where are you all from/where did you meet?

Adam and Matt were born in Norwich, with Chris being born in Weston-Super-Mare. Adam and Matt are old school friends who decided to form the band during their A-Levels. We were searching for other members for about two years, but nobody could fit in with the ambitions of the band. Finally, we met Chris through a mutual friend and he decided to join after hearing some early demos. We arranged a practice, started playing, and we just knew that Chris was right for the band.

Instruments played:

Adam - guitar, piano, synths, bass.

Matt - drums, guitar, bass, production.

Chris - bass, guitar, synths, sampler.

Sounds like?

We have been described as alternative, but I guess that doesn't say anything really. The term “rocktronica” has been thrown at us, and it's stuck, but I think we are still trying to find our sound. The end product is usually the result of a fight between the three of us trying to get the song sounding how each of us would like it. The compromise between the three is what remains.

Influenced by?

Adam: Musically, David Bowie and Brian Eno have heavily influenced me. Their approach to music is inspiring - an attitude and approach that I try to take to the studio when we record.

Chris: The experimental scene in Germany from the late 60s and 70s has become more and more of an influence on me in recent years. The way bands like Kraftwerk, Can and Neu! combined electronic elements and synths with live instrumentation is really inspiring.

Matt: Quite a mix up of old and new bands really, it would range from The Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival to Queens Of The Stone Age and Depeche Mode. These have all influenced the way I look at playing and producing music.

Best-known song?

Feeding Time has had the most hits on our MySpace, so statistically that could be our “best-known”. However, we have also received a lot of positive feedback on the track Nausea. Both tracks are available on our debut EP.

Any famous fans?

Solarcade, an LA-based band who have opened for The Killers in the US, are fans. Paul Baskerville (best described as the German John Peel) is a fan and has played us his German radio show. Most bands that we have played with like our music - something that is reciprocated. These include local bands like My Visor, The Elephant Dress, Cortez, Michael Bailey, Vanilla Kick and most recently, Fitzwilliam and The Spitfires.

Where can I listen to you?

We have been played on BBC Radio Norfolk, Future Radio and German Public Radio Norddeutscher Rundfunk. You can also hear mp3s on our website www.sub-band.com, our MySpace page www.myspace.com/subband, our CD Baby, www.NME.com, Popworld Promotes and Purevolume.com

Where can I see you live?

The best place to find out where we will be playing is our MySpace page (myspace.com/subband).

Do any band members play in other bands?

Adam is solely focused on writing for .Sub. Matt does the occasional production work for other bands. Chris regularly DJs around Norwich as Chem7 and is also setting up his own record label with his friend Phil Cooper.

What's your favourite song of all time?

Adam: I have an obsession with Bowie's Five Years. The first track off The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is lyrically stunning. I love the 'epicness' of the track, and as so often with Bowie, his vocal take is perfect.

Matt: There are so many really, but I would have to say the one that has stuck with me most recently is Song For The Dead by Queens Of The Stone Age, musically it's amazing, great playing and production.

Chris: It varies from day to day. I've been listening to a lot of Elliott Smith recently, so anything by him.

What is your favourite song by your own band?

Adam: I don't really have a favourite song, but if I was forced to choose I would have to say Gotterdammerung, the first track from our debut EP. It was written the day after we headlined the White Noise Festival. I decided to stop playing live and to write again. The next morning I sat at the piano and Gotterdammerung was written. It was a landmark track during the recording stage, as this was when we started to incorporate more samples and experiment with our sound.

Matt: Probably Gotterdammerung, as it was a turning point within the band - with our approach to recording and utilising technology further. It was a challenge to incorporate in the live set and technically a big shift for us to undergo. And also the fact that I think it sounds amazing.

Chris: Feeding Time is a favourite to play live, but I think the tracks we are currently recording are a real step-on for us and one of those will probably become my favourite.

Who writes your songs?

Adam comes up with the chords, lyrics and melody, but the shape and sound of the finished song comes form all three members.

First gig?

Our first gig was at Norwich's Ferry Boat which has sadly closed. It was the largest crowd the venue had seen, and some people were turned away as they couldn't fit into the venue. It's been an inspiring journey ever since.

Best ever gig?

It's amazing as the gigs are getting better and better, with new faces each time. Headlining the Dublin Castle in London was an honour, knowing the other bands that had played there (Blur debuted The Great Escape at the venue), but the last few gigs at B2 were my favourite since we were supported by amazing bands (My Visor, The Elephant Dress, Fitzwilliam and The Spitfires and Michael Bailey).

What do you want to achieve?

All we've ever wanted to achieve is to write good music that both interests and challenges us. Having other people like what we do has always been a bonus. We would be lying if we said we didn't care what people thought of our music, but the bottom line has always been pushing ourselves as artists and I genuinely believe that this can be seen on our EP.
- Advertiser24

Norwich prog-rock three-piece .Sub have been making waves in the music world recently; they are currently in the top 20 of the NME unsigned bands competition and are attracting major label interest.

Their debut E. P. 'Gotterdammerung' is a four-track band manifesto. Although easy to liken them to Muse (a proggy three piece) .Sub are too complex to pigeonhole. Imagine if Ian Curtis fronted Radiohead and Brian Eno produced it and you're coming somewhere close to their sound.

The highlight of the E.P. is 'Feeding Time', an electro-melancholy gem that would sit comfortably alongside the works of their heroes.

'Gotterdammerung' is available from .Sub's website (www.sub-band.com) and from Revolution in the city centre from the 20th October. Rumour has it that at least two major labels have asked for copies of Gotterdammerung, I suggest you join them.
- Concrete

"...atmospheric guitar trio .sub (www.myspace.com/subband) sound like Joy Division and Mogwai scrapping over who can sound the most epic. As we said at the start, there’s lots to love.” - NME

.Sub are an intriguing unsigned act with a unique blend of rock and electronica. Making understated, industrial pulsations, this is the first E.P. by the Norwich based 3 piece. Along the course of the 4 songs, the band impress; opener “Gotterdammerung” is a layered, textured piece of electronic gloom which builds into a guitar heavy belter, and it’s “all about control” centrepiece is repeated creating a sense of importance and grandeur, almost. The song is wonderfully wicked.

Following the title track are “Radio Broadcast”, a high tempo, rhythmic song recalling Black Market Music-era Placebo; “Feeding Time”, a twitchy piece of programmed paranoia; and the closing “Nausea”, a synth-led song with dark lyrics, in The Eraser mould.

With a second E.P. expected shortly, and surely an L.P. in the not too distant future, a bit more tweaking and .Sub could be a band to shout about. This sample heavy, well produced E.P. is a good introduction by an inventive band
- Godisinthetv.com

The third in a four night extravaganza to raise funds for Norwich Arts Centre’s auditorium appeal offers a pretty eclectic line-up. WombatWombat nights are well known for combining the hottest new music from around the world with some of the region’s best-loved bands. Tonight is probably one of the strangest line-ups for a while, seeing manic Japanese punk-pop sandwiched between established local rock bands.

I’m a .Sub virgin, so was pleased to discover that the Norwich three piece had no trouble warming up the crowd with their massive sounding guitars and meandering melodies. Their tendency to digress into Explosions in the sky style guitar sound-scapes are only bettered by poignant Thom Yorke-esque vocals. Their ability to switch seamlessly between crunching rock riffs and fragile piano-led ballads is admirable, and musically they’re incredibly sound.


Next up are Yumi Yumi, all the way from Japans Kumamoto City, via London, where Kaori, Yumi, and bob took an extended holiday and decided to form a band. They work their way through new album Alchemy barely stopping to breath between songs. Standout tracks include the incredibly catchy I am Right. It’s hard to liken Yumi Yumi to a specific band as influences seem broad. While they have the cutesy appeal of bands like Norwich’s own Japanese legends Hyperkinako, they’re certainly graduates of the school of rrrrrrock and arent afraid of Green Day-esque guitar rock outs. The orange-boiler suited girls leap around the stage in excitement, only pausing to tell us how much they like Norwich. The punk-pop charming but scary fairies leave the stage almost as quickly as they magically appeared and the show’s quickly over.

Now what you need after all this excitement probably isn’t the Lee Gordon Trio. Established local singer-songwriter Lee Gordon has been playing around the region for years. Along with his backing band he plays a mixture of poignant ballads and more upbeat MOR, which reminds of bands like Crowded House and Hootie and the Blowfish. Whilst I admit this is not my cup of tea, the band play a musically very tight set, and aren’t short of a tune or two. It’s a shame really that a lot of the crowd leave the auditorium before their set but I guess they just have hard acts to follow. Overall, another great Wombat Wombat extravaganza.
- Play Magazine

Slowly reining in the sum of their parts, Norwich three-piece .SUB unveil a 4-track EP that sounds a bit like Kid A rubbing up against the possibility of iffy sex. The EP opens up with the title track "Gotterdammerung" and starts us off with the march of a static-charged irregular heartbeat. It moves into the mercy of troubled times and unexpected atmospheric guitars and keyboard tactics that generate the energy of cognitive shoegaze. "Radio Broadcast" picks up with a beautiful tension that falls into a peculiar vocal tone and is propelled by semi-melodic and semi-blistering guitar-work. Repeating, "Don't back out now…" singer Chamberlain captures the dark and sobering hope for a more epic tomorrow. Barely into the third track "Feeding time", .SUB have already managed to shift us into their withdrawn and existential circuit with collages of electronica bits and ethereal rock... not to mention the unavoidable Yorke-esque vocals, all of which breathes heavily through each track. The last song, "Nausea" bewitches while it unnerves by harboring weary vocals, mechanized beats and blurbs, and a drony piano that fades. Leaving us with an appropriately furrowed brow, .SUB have harnessed simple beauty into the epic sentiment behind their pensive guitar parts and frenetic beats. Gotterdammerung suggests that perhaps it really is 'all about control'. - The loudest guffaw