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Tom Williams & The Boat – Concentrate.mp3

How do you make it in the music industry? There are several ways.

If you’ve got the basics (IE, can sing or play the opening chord from ‘Let It Be) you can enter a TV Talent Show and hope and pray or bully all you know into supporting you. You can pimp yourself to the nation and hope that some of them sit up and say “he/she is amazing” and follow it up with the tones of your 090 voting number.

Or, you can have a raw talent for writing and performing music. Record it, be good at it, get fans and sell it. Whilst one option might seem an easier way forward, choosing the easy way might mean youre an overnight hit and a flash in the pan in the same 24 hours.

Tom Williams & The Boat, steered by their singer/songwriter founder, have chosen the latter and, for them, it seems to be working. They were picked up by BBC Kent Introducing, went on to play Radio 1′s Big Weekend and then onto record a session for Hue Stephens at the legendary Maida Vale studios whilst in between being played left right and centre by Steve Lamacq – all in the last 12 months.

‘Concentrate’ is their new single and is being released tomorrow (oh, but thanks to the man himself you can get it now below) and will form part of a concept album that is due for release next year. Already, we have had ‘Doing My Best’, the grim story a young man who’s “tragic tendency to follow” led him to his departure in the straps of a rucksack loaded with explosives.

In ‘Concentrate’ the same man’s earlier story is played out against the terrifying thud of a bass drum. In the face of those who don’t believe in him he declares “I think I’m intelligent, I think I’m open minded… I think I’m the future” and shrieks “I’m a modern man”. Ignoring the story you will find that ‘Concentrate’ is a drum led track in which Tom’s vocals are reliable and his band are on fine form: easily delivering a darker track than we are used to.

myspace.com/williamstommusic

Tags: Tom Williams and The Boat