2011 has seen In Fear Of Olive very busy in the studio and on the road.. The result is twenty songs of amazing quality, depth and soul that belies the band’s young age.
In recent support performances alongside Magazine, King Charles, Lindi Ortega, Southside Johnny, The (Beautiful) South and Alabama3, audiences have been requesting that most unusual of things for an opening act… an encore.
In Fear of Olive started out as a guitar-led trio, comprising of Jake Cope, France Lahmar and P.J.Burdett. They embarked on a musical journey taking on board influences as diverse as Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan.
Their American roots inspired sound further developed when multi-instrumentalist Arv Teeroovengadum was recruited, completing the lineup as a quartet with drums and percussion.
Their debut 4 track EP, entitled ‘All We Can Do Is Wonder’, was released on May 3rd 2011 on the Wire-Sound label and is distributed through Cargo.
In support of the release they were invited to play live in session on Clive Anderson's ‘Loose Ends’ on BBC Radio 4. Louis Theroux, who was also on the show, is now a big fan declaring, "…the band sounded terrific, kind of Doorsy".
2011 saw the band play over 60 gigs including appearances at boutique festivals nationwide and a much coveted support tour with Magazine.
In a public poll the band won 4 weeks of radio play on BBC Sheffield and this, together with plays and sessions on BBC 6 Music, BBC Leeds, BBC Humberside and radio 4, a growing legion of admirers within the music industry, and some very positive reviews of their first EP and gigs will make In Fear of Olive the band to watch this year
Their Second EP "Saluting Magpies will be released in March 2012.
Reviews:
"Really, really great songs, boss lyrics too and sympathetic arrangements played with real feeling and soul... what is there not to like?"
– Richard Hawley
"In Fear Of Olive combines the raggedy charm of roots with an urgency and insistence that’s one hundred percent contemporary"
- Subba Cultcha
"There's a distinct rawness to their music creating a haunting realism found rarely in the current charts. In Fear of Olive debut with a well formed sound and a diverse EP, possessing a rawness and maturity setting them apart from other young artists."
****
Beckie Cromie - Spark Magazine Feb '12
“In Fear Of Olive may be from Yorkshire but a distinct American rootsy vibe permeates their folk style. The quartet begin by seizing the listener with the instantly danceable I'm Sure They'll Fall, which will
send you away with "I'll bring my friends so they can see your beauty" going round your head. This is followed by three more sombre tracks, richly mature for such a young group.”
– Record of the Week :
Camden New Journal / Islington Tribune / West End Extra / May 2011
"Twanged-up skiffling rock and roll from the Deep South – deep South Yorkshire, that is. Energised by Johnny Cash, Bright Eyes and Bob Dylan, this quartet has the Richard Hawley seal of approval, and ours too."
- The Word magazine (Jul 16, 2011)
"Support on the tour comes from hotly-tipped In Fear Of Olive, who have just released their second EP Saluting Magpies. They are a young four-piece who are remarkably assured, deftly switching between various folk, rock and country styles. All four musicians contribute vocals, which add a real depth and maturity to the already beautifully crafted and executed songs. There are a number of very tasteful and expensively produced videos on YouTube where IFOO’s more reflective side is shown, but they pretty much stick to their up-tempo songs here. They’ve played in Sheffield a few times already this year and if they return to somewhere more intimate like the Greystones, they’ll be unmissable."
- Now Then Live 2011
"There’s an impressive sense of space across the EP, and often the band are reduced to a single guitar with maybe a single note on a piano or a moaning lap steel in the background, leaving the focus on the vocals and lyrics. A distant thunderstorm rumbles over a fingerpicked acoustic and a tinkling music box piano, there’s a brief interruption from massed vocals on a chorus and a shuffling snare throughout ‘Peace Of Mind’. "
- Richard Cook, Destroy Before Reading (Apr 06, 2011)
Starting off with a sub-rockabilly theme, moving through country and sort of ending up with American gothic, it would be fair to say there's a lot going on on the four tracks of "All We Can Do Is Wander", but it manages it all without losing a sense of identity. In Fear Of Olive, no I don't know who Olive is but she sounds formidible, carry something of themselves from song to song, which gives the EP a joined up feel, regardless of the different sounds that make up the release. They've constucted the ep well, riff laden start and ease you into te more subtle stuff and leave you wanting more.
- FATEA magazine 2011
"Magazine have impressive support tonight from In Fear of Olive, who fuse a modern folk revival sound with the Nashville sound of the 1950’s, and whose set includes an excellent cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’."
- Wolverhampton Students Union magazine
Before Magazine, openers In Fear Of Olive warmed up the crowd nicely with some fine blues rock, Americana and a little bit of good ol' country twang. Not sure of the name of the first track they played but it was a belter, with an extended blues jam threatening to go on all night. I wouldn’t have minded to be honest, I do love a good jam. Elsewhere they made the best use of the fact that all four band members can more than carry a tune with some lush four part harmonies. A spirited cover of Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues won over some of the aging punks in the audience and the set ended with the cries of “more”, a rarity for any opening act eh?
- The Hearing Aid, Birmingham.
In Fear Of Olive’s a collection of blithely, waifish scamps from Doncaster who have a penchant for gritty stripped-to-the-bone acoustic compositions that wilfully spiral out of control. They also meld into the pot a heady base of harmonies, erudite lyrics with folk origins and flecked with rootsy Americana. Singer/guitarist Jake Cope’s towering vocals are the fulcrum of In Fear Of Olive’s sound; he spins yarns like ‘we should take more pictures because my memory won’t hold’ at the beginning of ‘Led Me Astray’ – it’s immediately apparent that there’s an inborn lyricist with a dexterity for a line in this band. ‘Led Astray’ crescendos quite beautifully into the meandering watery guitars of ‘Peace Of Mind’. ‘The Only Way Is Down’, Cope holds onto every syllable with all his being in this closing epic. And overall, In Fear Of Olive come across as a shuddering prospect. In fact, with songs like the rip-roaring, barn-storming opener ‘I’m Sure They’ll Fall’ and the said ‘Led Astray’, even these pseudo-miserabilists would ignite much vigour amongst their disciples on a live platform. If the new songs are written in the same ilk, they’d be no need to create a press hyperbole – everyone would begin to flock, however terrifying Olive is."
-Shout 4 Music.com
Releases:
"All We Can Do Is Wonder" EP (WIRED 15)
Format : 4 track CD and 5 track download
"Saluting Magpies" EP (WIRED27)
Format : 4 track CD and 5 track download
http://www.wire-sound.com/shop/in-fear-of-olive/
In recent support performances alongside Magazine, King Charles, Lindi Ortega, Southside Johnny, The (Beautiful) South and Alabama3, audiences have been requesting that most unusual of things for an opening act… an encore.
In Fear of Olive started out as a guitar-led trio, comprising of Jake Cope, France Lahmar and P.J.Burdett. They embarked on a musical journey taking on board influences as diverse as Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan.
Their American roots inspired sound further developed when multi-instrumentalist Arv Teeroovengadum was recruited, completing the lineup as a quartet with drums and percussion.
Their debut 4 track EP, entitled ‘All We Can Do Is Wonder’, was released on May 3rd 2011 on the Wire-Sound label and is distributed through Cargo.
In support of the release they were invited to play live in session on Clive Anderson's ‘Loose Ends’ on BBC Radio 4. Louis Theroux, who was also on the show, is now a big fan declaring, "…the band sounded terrific, kind of Doorsy".
2011 saw the band play over 60 gigs including appearances at boutique festivals nationwide and a much coveted support tour with Magazine.
In a public poll the band won 4 weeks of radio play on BBC Sheffield and this, together with plays and sessions on BBC 6 Music, BBC Leeds, BBC Humberside and radio 4, a growing legion of admirers within the music industry, and some very positive reviews of their first EP and gigs will make In Fear of Olive the band to watch this year
Their Second EP "Saluting Magpies will be released in March 2012.
Reviews:
"Really, really great songs, boss lyrics too and sympathetic arrangements played with real feeling and soul... what is there not to like?"
– Richard Hawley
"In Fear Of Olive combines the raggedy charm of roots with an urgency and insistence that’s one hundred percent contemporary"
- Subba Cultcha
"There's a distinct rawness to their music creating a haunting realism found rarely in the current charts. In Fear of Olive debut with a well formed sound and a diverse EP, possessing a rawness and maturity setting them apart from other young artists."
****
Beckie Cromie - Spark Magazine Feb '12
“In Fear Of Olive may be from Yorkshire but a distinct American rootsy vibe permeates their folk style. The quartet begin by seizing the listener with the instantly danceable I'm Sure They'll Fall, which will
send you away with "I'll bring my friends so they can see your beauty" going round your head. This is followed by three more sombre tracks, richly mature for such a young group.”
– Record of the Week :
Camden New Journal / Islington Tribune / West End Extra / May 2011
"Twanged-up skiffling rock and roll from the Deep South – deep South Yorkshire, that is. Energised by Johnny Cash, Bright Eyes and Bob Dylan, this quartet has the Richard Hawley seal of approval, and ours too."
- The Word magazine (Jul 16, 2011)
"Support on the tour comes from hotly-tipped In Fear Of Olive, who have just released their second EP Saluting Magpies. They are a young four-piece who are remarkably assured, deftly switching between various folk, rock and country styles. All four musicians contribute vocals, which add a real depth and maturity to the already beautifully crafted and executed songs. There are a number of very tasteful and expensively produced videos on YouTube where IFOO’s more reflective side is shown, but they pretty much stick to their up-tempo songs here. They’ve played in Sheffield a few times already this year and if they return to somewhere more intimate like the Greystones, they’ll be unmissable."
- Now Then Live 2011
"There’s an impressive sense of space across the EP, and often the band are reduced to a single guitar with maybe a single note on a piano or a moaning lap steel in the background, leaving the focus on the vocals and lyrics. A distant thunderstorm rumbles over a fingerpicked acoustic and a tinkling music box piano, there’s a brief interruption from massed vocals on a chorus and a shuffling snare throughout ‘Peace Of Mind’. "
- Richard Cook, Destroy Before Reading (Apr 06, 2011)
Starting off with a sub-rockabilly theme, moving through country and sort of ending up with American gothic, it would be fair to say there's a lot going on on the four tracks of "All We Can Do Is Wander", but it manages it all without losing a sense of identity. In Fear Of Olive, no I don't know who Olive is but she sounds formidible, carry something of themselves from song to song, which gives the EP a joined up feel, regardless of the different sounds that make up the release. They've constucted the ep well, riff laden start and ease you into te more subtle stuff and leave you wanting more.
- FATEA magazine 2011
"Magazine have impressive support tonight from In Fear of Olive, who fuse a modern folk revival sound with the Nashville sound of the 1950’s, and whose set includes an excellent cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’."
- Wolverhampton Students Union magazine
Before Magazine, openers In Fear Of Olive warmed up the crowd nicely with some fine blues rock, Americana and a little bit of good ol' country twang. Not sure of the name of the first track they played but it was a belter, with an extended blues jam threatening to go on all night. I wouldn’t have minded to be honest, I do love a good jam. Elsewhere they made the best use of the fact that all four band members can more than carry a tune with some lush four part harmonies. A spirited cover of Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues won over some of the aging punks in the audience and the set ended with the cries of “more”, a rarity for any opening act eh?
- The Hearing Aid, Birmingham.
In Fear Of Olive’s a collection of blithely, waifish scamps from Doncaster who have a penchant for gritty stripped-to-the-bone acoustic compositions that wilfully spiral out of control. They also meld into the pot a heady base of harmonies, erudite lyrics with folk origins and flecked with rootsy Americana. Singer/guitarist Jake Cope’s towering vocals are the fulcrum of In Fear Of Olive’s sound; he spins yarns like ‘we should take more pictures because my memory won’t hold’ at the beginning of ‘Led Me Astray’ – it’s immediately apparent that there’s an inborn lyricist with a dexterity for a line in this band. ‘Led Astray’ crescendos quite beautifully into the meandering watery guitars of ‘Peace Of Mind’. ‘The Only Way Is Down’, Cope holds onto every syllable with all his being in this closing epic. And overall, In Fear Of Olive come across as a shuddering prospect. In fact, with songs like the rip-roaring, barn-storming opener ‘I’m Sure They’ll Fall’ and the said ‘Led Astray’, even these pseudo-miserabilists would ignite much vigour amongst their disciples on a live platform. If the new songs are written in the same ilk, they’d be no need to create a press hyperbole – everyone would begin to flock, however terrifying Olive is."
-Shout 4 Music.com
Releases:
"All We Can Do Is Wonder" EP (WIRED 15)
Format : 4 track CD and 5 track download
"Saluting Magpies" EP (WIRED27)
Format : 4 track CD and 5 track download
http://www.wire-sound.com/shop/in-fear-of-olive/