By Megan Hughes
Joe Kane a born and bred Glaswegian is quite literally a one man band. His stage name, which you are more likely to know him by, is The Poppermost and his music sounds like that of a band with any number of musicians. Kane plays bass, lead guitar, harmonica, rhythm guitar – he is a man that does it all.
His EP ‘A Piece of the Poppermost’ is out now and definitely worth a listen. If you liked The Beatles and you liked the 60’s then you’ll love this. Everything about this EP is a dedication to both of them with Kane going above and beyond someone simply ‘copying’ Paul McCartney but embodying him; becoming someone you could imagine McCartney working with in a studio because ‘he can do it all’. Even the EP art is 60’s-esque with monochrome being the main descriptor.
Admittedly some of what Kane has done will most likely be lost on me and many of his listeners. I like The Beatles, I grew up listening to them – I still listen to them; I even performed in musical as a child which was built around music by The Beatles (yes I knew the words to the songs prior to joining the cast) so it is pretty safe to say I have a good grasp on The Beatles. However, I have listened to this EP a good few times now and I am still picking up on things which are an ode to The Beatles and their era. To put it bluntly: Kane is too good for us.
Sound patterns, references, style of playing, song composition – all of it. If something in this EP has you reminiscing about what once was then know that it was intentional. The Poppermost knew exactly what he was doing with this EP, every element of it is premeditated.
A four song EP gives listeners just enough time to enjoy the sound; connect with the artist and then want more. Everything released on the EP could have been released by The Beatles which, again, is a nod to the commitment by Kane to the sound and his ‘pernickety’ eye for detail. Especially when you listen to ‘Well I Will’ – I encourage you to sit back with your eyes closed and really listen to this. Why? Because even a good ear could be fooled into thinking that Ringo Starr had made an appearance on this track.
All but one of the tracks on this EP is upbeat and jovial . ‘Get it Down’ goes in a different direction to the rest, it slows down and provides the release with a ballad. It is a soft and quiet, and makes you feel all the things an adventure on a sweet summers day would. The understated delivery of the song really makes it all the more beautiful.
This EP is out now and is one giant love letter to the era of The Beatles.
To keep up with The Peppermost you can follow him at the below:
The Music Files 