Press

If you are a blogger, music reviewer, or music fan we would appreciate a post/review about our music or simply a share. Please get in touch..

Dublin Gazette, Interview, July 2019

From the archives – Music/News: 22 Feb 1995 

Kathryn McKinney    Demo Parade

Bead.. So he’s back with a slightly extended line up (Homeboy on lead guitar and Bead on vocals/guitar), and four new songs. The sound is a lot different however, with Dave McCune supplying bass, percussion and additional guitar.

‘Superman’ has a shuffly dance rhythm, grungey guitars, a great urban alienation lyric and the brilliant “I don’t know what you’re talking about” sample. Quirky and very interesting. ‘Fall Apart’ has a more conventional rocky ballad feel to it but its warm melody, fine lead guitar work and Bead’s voice lift it higher. Mariah Carey may not be looking over her shoulder but Bead has a great, emotive voice. ‘My World is Black’ is a beautifully manic-depressive ode until it leaps about 10 beats and heads off in manic country rock style, into the sunset. ‘You Don’t Have to Worry’ is a reggae tinged dollop of sweet but confused optimism. It’s a wonderful song which actually mutates into Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’ and just about gets away with it. No mean feat I would say!

Bead’s songwriting is coming along in leaps and bounds and the new fuller sound shows this well. It can’t be long now, eh?

“Monkey with the bloodshot eyes” comes in with a gentle surfing wah-wah guitar. Then comes the piano, followed by Bead’s lovely, plummy, deep voice. The housey piano on the chorus is perfect. “Blues Singer” has a warm country feel and features some excellent lead guitar from Shades with a Stonesy circa Jimmy Miller piano sound rolling along. Rarely has melancholy sounded so good!All that’s left for me to say about Bead is I would love to hear a series of albums from them next! –

Kathryn McKinney HOTPRESS

Bead is a singer songwriter who has a pleasant voice and knows how to put a song together so you can’t see the joins. “Outta My Mind” is soft folk-rock with a good chorus but it needs some work in order to lift it above the parapet. “Love Don’t Get Me High” follows much the same pattern, and the second guitar helps to freshen it. Bead avoids introspective singer-songwriter hell and ploughs a furrow that keeps him on the right side of the commercial track. –

Jackie Hayden HOTPRESS