Unsigned Artist of the Week: Sons of Admirals –‘Here Comes My Baby’
Of all the artists one would expect to find at the cutting edge of today’s pop music scene, Cat Stevens, or Yusuf Islam (as he now prefers), would not have been a name that cropped up often. Even less likely would be his association with terms like ‘YouTube superstar’ or ‘Internet sensation’. Yet in a bizarre twist of fate this is exactly the situation which is unfolding, and it is largely thanks to a cover of Stevens’ 1967 hit, Here Comes My Baby, by the young up and coming Sons of Admirals.
The online notoriety I mentioned is the platform which saw Sons of Admirals originate as a band, each member achieving a good measure of YouTube stardom before befriending one another and forming the group. Combining their individual achievements produces some impressive statistics, with channel view numbers in the hundreds of millions and subscriber numbers more than doubling the totals of established acts like Lady Gaga! While such success is surely impressive the real question must surely be; how good is Sons of Admirals music?
Generally speaking, the answer is pretty good. The Admirals interpretation of Here Comes my Baby is a refreshing and interesting listen, which fuses numerous, interesting musical ideas while remaining accessible to casual listeners, and staying fairly faithful to the Stevens original.
The track is well produced, with a nicely balanced, modern sound, with a nice use of dynamic ebb and flow and some interesting arrangement choices which make the 3:41 duration
engaging and pleasant throughout.
Vocally the band eschews ideas of lead and backing singers, instead alternating between roles in a manner reminiscent of the Beatles, or more contemporary pop bands such as McFly. The technique proves effective with the band member’s voices, complementing each other well. In addition, a change of lead vocalist after each chorus ensures the listener remains entertained while the group backing vocals are strong throughout.
As far as weaknesses in the band’s sound go there are relatively few. As I mentioned before the instrumental aspects of the band are simple, however this is common in pop and the Admirals at least inject some interest via their instrument and arrangement choices. While all the vocals are good no individual vocalist stands out, those of you who enjoy a more flamboyant pop vocal may be disappointed, but I find the combination here to work for the song as a whole.
In conclusion I find Here Comes My Baby to be a promising start for Sons of Admirals. Their sound is similar enough to current pop trends to be accessible to more fickle listeners, but also offers just enough embellishment and impressive execution to catch the ear of more critical listeners.
8.5 /10
Review by Dave Barnett
