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UPDATE: the 'Cigarettes' EP is out now on Beekeeper Records! Only £3.50 delivered! Get on that shit please. Scroll down to flyer for further info.
ANOTHER UPDATE: I will no longer be actively self-promoting, recording or looking for gigs. I will play a show if you want me to though, just ask. - dave 13th Oct 2009
I began playing guitar in July 2006, originally intending only to learn three songs but I didn't stop because it's too much fun. My playing is still scruffy, but never mind. I'm from High Wycombe, Bucks, and I'm 22. I've been in a few bands over the years. If you want to hear them, email me and I'll send you some stuff. A year or so ago a nice man from Aylesbury said he'd put out a CD of my stuff, so over November and December 07 I was holed up with a 4-track in my room trying to get things to sound right. My album was officially released on May 5th 2008. It's called 'You Can't Argue With Silence' and it can be seen below. It finally sold out in February 2009, but you can get some still from the Norman Records shop. I recently finished recording the 'Cigarettes' EP for Beekeeper Records (the new version of Division Street Records). This will be four songs on a CDR with artwork by Ashley, including the Scott Walker cover "The Seventh Seal". The originals on this EP are demo/lo-fi versions of songs that will eventually be re-recorded for my second album. They may end up with full band arrangements, brass sections, techno loops, who knows? I'm joking about the techno loops of course, but they will probably end up sounding very different from the 'Cigarettes' EP version. This is the Dead Pilot Records blurb for the full-length album: "Debut album from High Wycombe singer-song writer Me With Others. A brilliant album of acoustic tracks with hints of folk-punk anger and Jandek style experiments. All of the songs on here blow me away; it's the kind of album that lives in you; after your first listen you'll be able to whistle/hum along to every song without thinking. The vocal performance on the album is so heart felt; the strain in the voice in parts is pure excellence; reminds me of Jamie Stuart from Xiu Xiu when he really goes for it. This is a brilliant album for those who love their acoustic/alt-country/folk stuff as well as those who don't." This is the (spelling, punctuation and typos corrected) review from Norman Records, an indie distributor who kindly flogs Dead Pilot's hand-crafted releases: "One of a few CDs we got from the Dead Pilot label this week was a CD by Me With Others. This is simple earnest singer songwriter folk pop with a very small edge. It's certainly passionate as the fellow really busts his balls singing at times. I mean that metaphorically.... I'd like to think that that he didn't actually damage his knackers. This sounds like a bedroom production and that's the last thing you want on your carpet. Simple songs and simple melodies all put together in a limited package with a sofa on the cover. 'You Can't Argue With Silence' is CD only in an edition of 50 copies." This is the review written by Tommy Comstock: "Me With Others is the solo project of Dave Hamilton-Smith, frontman of various notable acts, including Encarsia and Desert City Silence. Anyway, the first thing you notice about this album is the heavy influence of John Frusciante on Dave's guitar playing and singing, the second thing you notice is the fact that all of the songs sounds fairly similar. However, neither of these factors are detrimental to one's enjoyment of this fantastic little record. The fact that the songs are so equally balanced in mood and timbre is testament to how easily, quickly and competently Dave has found his own sound and style as a songwriter. This really does not sound like a debut album. I don't know many musicians that would have the audacity to make their debut release a full length album of such ambition and vast scope, but I suppose equally I don't know many musicians with the quality and talent that Dave exhibits. As one would expect, the vocals are truly fantastic showing both musicality and passion, less expectedly, the guitar playing is of equal merit, Dave's playing is funky in a melancholic way, fantastic for late night coffee drinking sessions whilst digging into a new book. One of the most interesting things about this record is the way the songs are constructed, Dave possesses a jazz player's ability to let songs ebb and flow with loose structures seemingly just following the feeling of the song, reaching for the chords that take him there rather than the ones that you logically expect to follow. Its refreshing. Despite this, the songs remain pretty damn catchy, even at their most experimental. The whole thing is recorded in a delightful lo-fi manner onto a tape deck with the voice and guitar rarely accompanied by hand claps and thigh drums but little more! If this was out on vinyl (which it should be) I'd probably play it until the grooves disappear."
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