Stealth
Intro EP
(Tileyard Music/Kobalt Label Services)
Now by Stealth’s own admission he is a hard man to locate on the internet as when you type his name into a search engine you are met with web pages for a nightclub in Nottingham and a DJ but not necessarily him. If you try Stealth Music UK into your chosen search engine you will find him.
From Birmingham, United Kingdom Stealth has impressed both critics and the public with his modern soul from his debut Intro EP. The title track begins with moody vocal and subtle piano which is blended with a fast paced drum pattern and a hint of sirens. ‘Let me introduce myself, my name’s whatever you want it to be’ is an interesting lyric as it reminds me of when you go out to nightclub with your friends and one of them meets someone in said nightclub. However, what you don’t know is that they have been how do you say, economical with the truth during their initial introduction. A very clever song and my favourite on this release.
‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ has similar production qualities to Plan B’s ‘Defamation of Strickland Banks’ album with this percussive delivery. The subject matter is for one of a better term ‘a dark and emotional realisation’ with the lyric ‘it’s time we laid this down to rest’ being etched in my head.
Closing track ‘Judgement Day’ has been used on the television drama series ‘Suits’ and has been hailed as ‘2016’s Take Me To Church’. On first reading of this I was interested to hear what the reviewer meant by that statement. The track has the same subject matter and similar pacing to Hozier’s hit and it is hard not to make the connection.
In April I attended a live set by Stealth at Heaven in London as he was one of the special guests on Vaults UK Tour. His band are a tight sounding group of musicians who bring the songs to life with their neo-soul vibes and electronic tones. Personally, I preferred the live version of ‘Judgement Day’ to the studio version because it showcases Stealth’s vocals in a live environment as you are able to see and hear his vulnerability when he sings this song.
Overall, Stealth is a new guy on the scene who has already sold out his first headline London show, had his work featured on a hit TV show and continues to impress the public during a time when everyone’s musical habits have changed which is not an easy thing to do.
He is already working on his second EP and I have a feeling that there is a lot more to come from Stealth. Also, Stealth was kind enough to take part in our ’20 Questions With…’ series and you can read his set of questions here: http://bit.ly/1rDVNE5
Glenn Sargeant
Stealth’s debut EP ‘Intro’ is out now on Tileyard Music/Kobalt Label Services. For more information visit Stealth’s official website here: http://bit.ly/1rJIcLQ
(Many thanks to David Sullivan and Chris Dean at Wilful Publicity for all of their help with this review)
