TRACK REVIEW: THE AMERICAS ‘SOMETHING’S GONNA HAPPEN’

I started taking notice of The Americas when I saw them live for the first time at Tramlines festival this summer. They had an instant attraction that the Frog and Parrot responded to; the whole pub was rammed with pleasantly pleased onlookers as the boys delivered their hip-shaking, shoulder-swaying take on rock ‘n’ roll.

The Americas were formed in late 2015 by Harry Payne (vocals/guitar/bass) and Aaron Whittaker (vocals/guitar/keys) who had a mutual appreciation of singer/songwriter greats like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen, to name a few. They then went onto recruit the talent of Alex Bradshaw (drums), and so The Americas were born.

The band describe ‘Something’s Gonna Happen’ as a ‘song about dreaming boldly and having the hard-nosed tenacity to stay on course regardless of which way the river flows’. Bringing classic song writing into the 21st century via the ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll vehicle is something that The Americas do with a certain musical finesse. ‘Something’s Gonna Happen’, the third offering from their debut EP (which is set for release in January 2018), is rhythmic, bluesy and reveals how heavily the group are influenced by greats – most audibly, the Rolling Stones. They emulate the sunny, feel-good honky tonk that The Stones delivered effortlessly.

‘Something’s Gonna Happen’ grinds into gears with a meaty bass groove that instantly pricks the ears. Then, ‘chicka-boom, 2,3,4…’ and we’re sent shimmying off into a hooking riff that intermingles with the sultry eyewink of a vocal. Perhaps the line that links them seamlessly to the ‘70s revivalist sound is ‘Did you stay on King’s Street, baby?’ – King’s Street, the famous road running through Chelsea in West London, home to the infamous ‘Chelsea Drug Store’ that The Stones immortalised in ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’. I respect The Americas more than most bands whom oh so obviously get pulled into the magnetism of this era; they avoid creating some sort of neo-psychedelic monster in the process. Instead, they retain that irresistibly honey-sweet sound of which The Stones would be proud. I mean, come on, that harmonica solo at the end!

Live though, The Americas are anything but Stonesy. In fact, they have a different kind of energy that stems from something less glamorous, and something a little more homegrown. Frontman Number 1, Harry, slides and dips into his guitar like he’s surfing the shores, while Aaron, Frontman Number 2 slams the keyboards in a fearless frenzy. This combines into a theatrical, recognisable and thoroughly exciting live performance.

It looks like something’s definitely gonna happen for these guys someday from the hype surrounding The Americas, and that day seems very soon indeed.

Words by Alicia Carpenter

Originally published on Rank Zine - http://www.rankzine.co.uk/track-review-the-americas-somethings-gonna-happen/