Here comes your guy, walking down the street Look how he walks to the dancing beat Thick wavy hair, a little too long All day long he’s a-singing his song So if you see him in the street Let your heart take a leap and skip a beat You’re gonna walk right up to him And give him a great big kiss X Tell him that you love him, tell him that you care Tell him that you’ll always be there. CALENDAR E.P.
A year in the life of a stalker’s doomed and deluded love affair packed into 3 notes; A shuffle beat, battle of wills face-off between Sporting Hero and the black dog’; A no holds barred, one-sided put-down wrapped up in a big, country blues grin; A menacing instrumental prequel to the title track, tripping over its own sly excitement.
SPORTING
HERO: Calendar epIf the idea of a band who combine the Coral, The Zutons and (whisper this one!) Space, fill you with unmitigated dread, then Sporting Hero are quite possibly not for you. However given that I f*cking loathe all but one of that trio and I quite enjoyed the 'Calendar EP', it's maybe not wise to react on first impressions… Possibly bearing a closer affinity to a mongrel cross-breed of the Coral, The White Stripes and even the Moldy Peaches, Sporting hero touch upon Twisted Nerve acoustica, jaunty Wirral-pop and multi-instrumental blues within the mayfly duration of the four pieces swirled onto this vinyl. Good game, good game
| Calendar
| Everything
Begins, Everything Ends
| Running
and Reeling
| Last
Years Calendar
The wonderfully eccentric and highly unproductive Switch Flicker imprint
six years in existence, with only their sixth 7", a cute guitar
based effort from Sporting Hero. "Calendar" counts off the
months, backed by winding guitars and ageing cymbalic percussion.
"Everything Begins, Everything Ends" is a resigned number,
with unhappy organ business, fast moving acoustic guitars and vocals
stung by realisation. "Running And Reeling" is a pleasant
stretching guitar number, whilst the highlight, "Last Year's Calendar"
is an introspective guitar number with industrious piano playing.
Jon Freer
LIVE REVIEWS
T IN THE PARK
“A lone minstrel, accomplished musician Sporting Hero takes to the stage
bringing to mind the stranger moments of Ed Harcourt, as he employs
everything from keyboard to ukulele. While the songs often sound too
big for his one man band to contain, he carries them off beautifully
nonetheless”
The Sunday Herald
LIQUID ROOMS, EDINBURGH
“What the short-staffed Sporting Hero lacks in backing he makes up for
in charm, as he belts his little heart out on his guitar. He gives it
the works, facial expressions, vocal tones, the lot, to make his show
amazingly entertaining.”
Laura Oakley, T Break
“Secretive weirdly bearded chap whose one-man band set up includes the
moothie”
The List