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Here are some reviews written about the band. If there are any missing:- email us and let us know
Demo Review by Richard Cheetham - High Voltage - Aug 05 A year on since High Voltage first heard The Second Floors spiralling shoe-gazer rock, the band return with another vibrant and energetic demo. Recalling their Jesus & the Mary Chain and Spacemen 3 influences once again, the band are able to shape these sounds and ideas into something fresh and exciting. Night Vision is multi-layered and filled with interesting breakdowns, all of which excite the listener. The tepid beginnings soon implode into a lush outro which sees the band tie together the tracks loose sounds into a shimmering grand finale. Summer Girl sounds more like a track off Primal Screams Give Out But Dont Give Up album, such is the brooding vocals and gentile guitar work which team together. The track may end on a spacey, simple note, but this is in keeping with the bands strengths as they can peddle hard-rocking beat infused indie-rock just as well as they can write lush guitar-pop. The band are coming closer to bringing these two differing sounds together, and well be talking about one hell of a band when they do. Demo Review by Andy Harrison - Angryape.com - Aug 05 After their scorching demo CD last year, Manchester unsigned band The Second Floor release their latest EP Tremelo Heart. Formed around three years ago, the band have spent their time performing numerous (well recieved) live shows, which have seen the group build up a steady fanbase. This single manages to capture not only the fine-tuned song-writing skills of The Second Floor, but captures the raw energy of their gritty gigs.
It’s no secret The Second Floor are fans of past drone masters such as Spacemen 3 and The Velvet Underground, as the band produce raw garage and 60’s psychedelia with feedback delivered with ear-piercing intentions and a busted organ sound Clinic would be proud of. Like Spacemen 3’s Perfect Prescription era, EP opener and title track Tremelo Heart is a modern take on the blues, with classic R & B riffs, harmonica and honky tonk pianos. Night Vision is a pounding number, forced and driven by a swirling mass of guitars two chord riffs, yet closer Summer Girl recalls the heavenly qualities of early Spiritualized. Everything of course, is drenched suitably in reverb and delay.
The only problem The Second Floor will encounter, is they are far too heavy to be considered part of the nu-gazing scene and not shamefully derivative enough to be tarred with the same brush as The Datsuns et al. Still, they are in a league of their own and seem to be heading in a direction ignored by others. Someone please give these guys a major record deal. Live Review by Designer Magazine - Big Hands Aug 05 The Second Floor owe little to Manchester's musical heritage and instead dip into the likes of Spacemen 3 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club for their influence. Sonic purveyors of noise they layer each track up into a hypnotic drone as the strobe lights draw you into a trance with the vocals of Noel Watkinson ticking things over to the next musical passage (the Second Floor don't deal in verses and choruses). "Night Vision" is full on crunching power chords and hammond stabs until it builds to a crescendo of swirling white noise and pounding beats. "Tremolo Heart" is the closest they get to a conventional structure with it's alt-country lite meets Mark E Smith-isms. "Summer Girl" is a waltz on the darkside with a repetitive hammond refrain which should nag, but gets under the skin and doesn't let go. The Second Floor are a band making their own movement rather than trying desperately to fit into the zeitgeist. Demo Review by JA - www.manchestermusic.co.uk Aug 05 A much anticipated set of new recordings from The Second Floor further cements them as one of Manchester’s leading exponents of the alternative underground. With the current band facsimile handbook crammed with shaky retro pop punk and Britpop references, it’s refreshing to hear the efficiently simple chords of “Tremelo Heart”. There’s the pop sensibility of JAMC peaking at “Honey’s Dead”, co-joined to Jonathan Richmans new wave era opening “Roadrunner”. There’s a bigger, but clearer tone to this hypnotic, mesmerising shake down, which doesn’t break sweat, but still adds critically accurate doses of angst to the lightly whipped, but slightly snarling melody. The dense sonics of “Night Vision” are intersected with guitar jangle and the thunderous ring out of chords and bass notes. Nolan Watkinsons vocals layer in perfect harmonics, leading the almost monotone sure footed tunes to their wall crumbling climax. The Addition of the guitar, keys and effects of Mat Hirst, ensure that the bass and drums nail the whole thing down against a relentless, rollercoaster bedrock of subsonic rumbles and battering beats. “Summer Girl” is maybe a gothic ballad, if such a thing exists. Again Watkinsons voice keeps the proceedings as light footed as possible against the atmospheric distant single strikes of a floor tom and some neatly effected, sharp guitar sounds.
Instead of providing another dose of wallstripping action, The Second Floor have produced a recording that proves their combination of melody and genuine influences, shine out as something that’s comfortably recognisable, yet so undeniably relevant. Review by CM - www.manchestermusic.co.uk May 05 - Electric Blues - Dry Bar - Manchester Electric Blues is caught somewhere between a dirty rock and roll shenanigan and the often chav like club environment of a Dry Bar club night, it’s refreshing to see everyone who is in attendance appreciates the Second Floor. A band formed for just less than three years ago have grown into something bigger and more confident than anything they may have seemed in the past. There’s a dark sentimental heart to their performance tonight, that sounds not dissimilar to Jesus and The Mary having a party with BRMC at times; it’s debauched but honest and fundamentally intense. In between flashing lights and smoke the perfect atmosphere is created in which to close your eyes and lend yourself to something that feels dirty, raspy and quintessentially a performance that is undeniably filled with the kind of tunes that drip with tension.
The band can loose their way and find themselves back in the driving seat effortlessly, so breaking strings, vocal quivers or anything that most bands would fear The Second Floor just get on with; so long as the crowd come along for the ride. With an attitude and guts a plenty, people are waiting for the killer noise pop shoegazing anthem people can sense arriving before the end of the year.
Review by Dalty - www.glasswerk.co.uk Jan 05 Like many new bands, The Second Floor go into 2005 hoping this could be their breakthrough year. Unlike their contemporaries however, The Second Floor start the year not as some work in progress or a band of mere promise, but as the finished article, the real deal. The band play songs with the depth and assuredness of a band at their peak, but with all the edge and impetus you’d expect of a fledgling act.
Formed as a trio three years ago in the overlooked void between Manchester and Merseyside, the band have since built up an adoring following with a series of rapturously received local gigs, augmented by successful dates around the country. All this time the band have been constantly expanding their sound, adding a keyboardist/guitarist around a year ago and honing a body of songwriting that would put many established acts to shame.
“Dynamic, atmospheric rock n’ roll” is how the band describe themselves, but that only tells part of the story of a band weaned on everything from 60’s psychedelia to epic dissonant post-punk, old-school rap to northern soul. These influences reflect in the band’s music, forming a focussed, unique and modern sound. Lyrically, the band don’t ask you to feel their pain, they write songs that resonate with anyone living life’s journey of peaks and troughs. These are songs of passion that are inspirational and intoxicating, with an immediacy to captivate instantly. Catch them live and prepare to fall in love. Demo review by JA - www.manchestermusic.co.uk Oct 04
The Second Floor get dirtier and meld in late 80's / early 90's psychedelic new wave indie, into a modern world of popular retrospection. 'Dangerous Analysis' is grittier, dirtier than their earlier demo suggests, dragging in keyboard sounds and the rusty wire twangs of distorted guitars and hypnotic swirling sonics. 'Ode To Those' is a fractured collection of high frequency sonics and mesmerizing eddies of barely distinguishable guitars, almost battered into submission by the persuasive vocal lines, which themselves echo the JAMC and BRMC in terms of their throbbing but almost low key presence.. 'Cats & Taxis' is a brilliant, very long, dreamy number that occupies half it's time as a spaced out instrumental, eventually building into a floating-in-space opus. It's less direct than the other tracks, but utilises some easily accessible hooks. Three great tracks point The Second Floor in a firm direction and even by their standards it's early days, which opens the door to some exciting and mind expanding possibilities. Demo review by AS - www.manchestermusic.co.uk Oct 04
We have two demos from The Second Floor and this sounds suspiciously like the earlier one. 'The Full Recovery' is sweeping, atmospheric guitars and well recalled Bunnymen drumming. All set up against Storm-In-Heaven landscapes with the hollow, windswept reverb on the guitar line and monotone, the epic vocals have the timbre of a tenor, full of gothic power and providing a stability against the crescendo fuelled ending. The main track is the most ambitious, with the remaining three tracks treading a much firmer indie line, resulting in a less adventurous conclusion. 'Sound Escape' does really capture some psychedelic moments with manically effected guitars, dropping into restrained grumbling bass lines and gently chopping phrases, again the Bunnymen effect is here, but the whole slow churn of dark indie verses sonic bursts is excellent, although the fade out is rather brutal. It's damn good all the same. Live review In The City 18th Sept 04 Dry Bar Manchester
By Cath Aubergine for www.manchestermusic.co.uk
The Second Floor are descendants of the Sound Of Confusion era 3. Guitar distortion's turned up as far as it will go, the set starts with a few minutes of white noise and only when ears are on the point of overload do they gradually introduce tune and rhythm, raw, 13th Floor Elevators via Warlocks sonic assault. There's the odd Kevin Shields moment but mostly it's uncomplicated yet intense three chord distortion. The best way to enjoy a band like The Second Floor is to completely lose yourself in it, let the noise run through you as each track builds to a feedback-blasted ending, a feat easily achieved by a small group of Lycasleep fans from various points of Europe down the front who've clearly had some of what they have. Demo review by Dave R - www.angryape.com Aug 04
The Second Floor follow a long line of dirty garage-drone rockers that include Clinic, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Spacemen 3 before them, sharing a love of early shambolic Velvet Underground, distorted vocals and pure feedback headaches.
However derivative this may all suggest (you'd nearly be forgiven after seeing the Clinic style photocopied sleeve), the band aren't another cheap imitation of the aforementioned, or bare the same trademarks of fellow feedback enthusiasts, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Instead The Second Floor possess the gritty, raw and ballsy attitude of their influences, but present the sound in a forward thinking contemporary way and in 'Dangerous Analysis', you soon realise The Second Floor are how the motorised, electro-punk carnage of Suicide would sound in guitar form.
'Ode To Those' is the sound of Pierce and Kember during Spacemen 3's 'Perfect Prescription' era, with the images of a youthful smack-induced group recording on fucked up amps and creating some of the most dark, but beautiful music to be put down on tape. One of the most exciting and most certainly, inspiring demo CD's of the year, performed with a genuine rock 'n' roll attitude to instantly dismiss their peers.
9/10 Live Review by Cath Aubergine - www.manchestermusic.co.uk
Aug 04 Jabez Clegg Manchester.
The Second Floor opened the evening with a wall of echo and delay that reached every beam of the cavernous room. As Spiritualized edge towards a more sedate middle age, this local band take their cue from the Spacemen 3 end of their blissed-out drone rock more recently popularised by the likes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Heavy on the bass and drums and Velvets distortion they do it well. Demo review by Richard Cheetham - www.highvoltage.org.uk July 04.
The Second Floor - Dangerous Analysis EP
Manchester based indie-rockers The Second Floor are amassing a fervent following in the city, as their epic and intoxicating music is reaching some very interested ears.Opening track 'Dangerous Analysis' sounds like Spacemen 3 covering 'Get Back' by The Beatles, the song is elongated and dirty but retains a poppy edge, possibly thanks to the use of an acoustic guitar. The Hammond organ and the virtuoso guitar solos give the track real depth, though something is lacking to take the track completly off the hook. Despite this minor complaint it remains a great listen. There's a strong shoegazer influence on the group, and combined with regional influences The Second Floor have an interesting sound they can call their own. Live Review by Dalty - www.glasswerk.co.uk
June 04 Jabez Clegg Manchester.
Blood Valley/The Permissive Society/The Second Floor/For Tomorrows.
Next up are The Second Floor who draw the biggest crowd of the evening. The band sound good, though a bit ragged, and there is a sense they need to break out of the Manchester scene if they are to avoid preaching to the converted. Still with strong, passionate tunes they are comfortably the best band of the evening. Live Review by Craig Mather - www.manchestermusic.co.uk
June 04 Jabez Clegg Manchester.
The Second Floor carrying slightly more intelligence slide into promising wistful songs. With more wit & zeal The Second Floor force the most coherent solid sounding set of the night hitting all the right buttons at all the right times. Demo review by aKouStiK AnaRKhY panel - www.akoustikanarkhy.co.uk
City Life issue529 31-8mar 04.
This is the second demo that we've heard by Manchester's Second Floor. This is the Sound of a band that have found their feet and are confident enought to run into the distance. They sound like three or four of our favourite bands stuck in a musical blender and served up by Jason Pierce, while Kevin Shields tries to figure out how to switch on the strobe light. Demo Review by In The City head honcho Mark Hart
Issue 522 11-19 Feb 04 of City Life.
With 'The Full Recovery', The Second Floor have done nothing less than created an 'Albatross' for the noughties. An evocative harmonica swirls around 'Cats and Taxis' like forest leaves caught in a mini-whirlwind. You get the feeling that kids at the moment would prefer to run around in skinny ties than give themselves up to the likes of this, but fashion is fickle and The Second Floor's work rate and growing confidence could see them converting Academy-sized audiences. Live Review by Mark Hasselholdt - Platform Magazine
May 03 Life Cafe Manchester.
The Life Cafe is a peculiar live music venue, a mix of an underground cocktail bar with a Later with Jools Holland-style ambience. I arrive with high hopes, having heard great things by friends who've seen them live and listened to the promise of their debut EP. At 9pm the band take to the stage unannounced and the primal whirr of a synth leads into The Car Ride, an insistent stormer of a track and great intro tune, the best thing they've done to date. Before the synth fades, the crunching chords of Sound Escape ring out, as if the band doesn't want to lose momentum. Like all top bands they bring to mind legendary bands (Spiritualized, The Velvets, The Verve) without merely aping them, creating a fresh sound of their own. Again there is no respite as the band kicks straight into EP lead track Man Made Souls, a crowd favorite which, though shed of its horn part, out-rocks the studio version. Finally the band pause before launching into The Thing About The Dawn, their most pop song to date and a potential future hit. The Undead Son follows, an epic wig-out of a song that illustrates the band's strengths and which draws the set to a close. It's refreshing to find a new band with a soul, a band that doesn't conform to current trends just to get noticed. "This is the truth, this is what I'm talking about" sings frontman Nolan, only fools wouldn't listen Interview with Cassia Baldock - BBCi Manchester Dec 03
"Dynamic, atmospheric rock n' roll." This is lead singer Nolan Watkinson's pithy response when asked how he would describe The Second Floors' sound.The band came together about two years ago when Nolan and drummer Mark finally got their man - bass player Crosby. They have now expanded their line up and added Mat who brings an extra dimension to their live performance with his keyboards. Following regular gigs at the Life Cafe and the Roadhouse, the band released the Man Made Souls EP which is available in HMV and other music shops in Manchester. Man Made Souls is a funky romper stomper of a song with an irrisitible hook that you will find yourself humming Beavis and Butthead style after you hear it. The band aims to follow this up with another release in the new year, and the hot favourite is 'The Thing About The Dawn' Nolan says "The song is about the fact that whatever happens in life, wheather it's good or bad, the sun always comes up in the morning. It's about how beautiful the dawn is and how it never lets you down."
The Second Floor are also looking to set up a gig in London, and of course many more gigs in Manchester, including the possibility of a club night with other local bands and DJ's. Their influences are too many to mention but The Doors, Bob Dylan, The Verve, Primal Scream, Spiritualized, John martin, Public Enemy, plus Northern Soul and Funk gives a good cross section of what flicks their switch. Live review by Cassia Baldock - BBCi Manchester
Oct 03 Life Cafe Manchester Rating 7/10.
Another new guitar band from Manchester? This is not exactly a new fangled concept but when the empty half-moon in front of the stage gets one highly entertaining livewire doing 'the snake' across it, and they still manage to keep our attention, they might just be worth listening to.The Second Floor grabbed our attention with a stadium rock-style intro - the type Oasis would use as an outro to milk the adoration. But this trio has little else in common with the other, more famous mancs. The intro slipped seamlessly into Car Ride. After the classic ass-shaking tune of Sound Escape came stand-out track Man Made Souls, taking us into some serious head-bobbing and was awarded the biggest cheer. They completed the set with the harmonica-laced The Thing About The Dawn, enticing dancing boy to take to the floor again. Singer/guitarist Nolan Watkinson's voice is getting more raw and powerful, drummer Mark Cody provided a funky foundation and bass player Jonathan Crosby stood there and looked pretty. The Second Floor performed simple, no-frills rock which they delivered with no pretentions. If they build on catchy tunes like Man Made Souls and The Thing About The Dawn, they could realise the potential of being embraced by indie and more mainstream fans alike. The Second Floor: Better than a drunken scouser doing 'the snake'. And they may have just found the new Bez. Demo Review by In The City's Mark Hart
Issue 494 16-23 City Life July 03
The rousing horn blasted intro to 'Man Made Souls' heralds a pumped up, beered up and 'avin it indie soul stomper, the lead track on this four song demo. Overlong at six minutes, it spreads a simle idea a little to thinly. The four track demo tells you pretty much what you can expect live from The Second Floor. There's little recourse to studio trickery throughout other than the clumsily reverberated final track, the eight minute swelling epic, 'The Full Recovery'.
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