If you are a fan of Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles or The Beatles, then you’ll find some ear-candy in Tillerman’s new EP Gathering. Hailing from Leeds, the indie-rock four-piece have slowly been building a following in the Leeds music scene. A unique trait of Tillerman is that the Tillerman we know now was several years in the making – over a decade, in fact. Going through different incarnations as a band, Jon Kulczycki (vocals), Tom Kulczyki (drums), Shaun Mallia (guitar) and Iain Moyser (bass) finally defined their sound as an indie-rock band in the latest two years. The result of the musical maturation (and one hiatus) is Tillerman’s five-track EP Gathering.
In an interview with Turtle Tempo, vocalist Jon Kulczycki described Gathering as an EP where “everyone gets to express themselves and translate the song in their own way on their own instrument.” As such, the diverse style of the EP demonstrates a confident congruence in the way the tracks are placed.
Opener ‘For Eden’ is a tribute to The Beatles with its balance of pop and melodic rock. This is definitely one of the softer tracks, but it has a smooth transition to ‘Chasing Shadows’ which is more rock ‘n’ roll. The lyrics remain introspective but ‘Chasing Shadows’ is slightly heavier with a steady drumbeat and guitar riffs. ‘Hold Me, Haunt Me’ is potentially the most disarming of the five tracks. Jon’s heartfelt vocals are supported by simple instrumentation making it a beautiful love song. ‘Real’ and ‘Via Dolorosa’ are the more progressive tracks on Gathering showing a likeness to Rush and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
What I love about this EP is the different styles of the individual tracks and how they work together. A mish-mash of soft rock, hard rock, Britpop and folk, Gathering is an EP suited to anyone and their best friend. I can’t wait to see what else this courageous quintet have for us!
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