Hong Kong-based Brit band, The Sleeves’ Deliverance album is a cool find

With the Sleeves' Keith Goodman (left) and Stu McCutcheon (right). Keith plays the guitar and sings while Stu plays the bass. Not in the picture are drummer Matt Coleman and guitarist Pete Gordon.

HK-based Brit band, The Sleeves’ Deliverance album is a cool find

by rick olivares

Two men walk into a record bar….

I always wanted to use and paraphrase that classic joke line. Except this chance encounter is no joke. It’s fortuitous. 

So, two men walked into a record bar – Treskul Records in Ali Mall, and I followed suit by happenstance. 

I was there to check for any new arrivals, and much to my surprise there were two foreign nationals inside lugging guitar cases and digging. I struck up a conversation with one of them – Stu McCutcheon (who plays the bass) and turns out that he and his band, The Sleeves, a British band based in Hong Kong, performed last Saturday night (May 25) somewhere along Visayas Avenue.

It was their second time in Manila with The Sleeves having performed in the first ever Summer Noise in 2018.

Stu and bandmate (lead singer and guitarist) Keith Goodman dropped by to leave a few copies of their record of their second album, Deliverance, as well as some compact discs, at Treskul. I purchased one record and asked both Stu and Keith to sign the cover. 

When I got home, I played the record and loved it instantly.

If you are a fan of 90s Brit Rock (minus any obnoxious swagger), James, The Vines, Jet, Kasabian, The Stone Roses, the Hives, or new millennium act, Hard-Fi, and other similar bands that mix garage rock and classic 70s rock and roll (that includes Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix), then The Sleeves’ Deliverance is something you should get.

Deliverance opens with the gloriously titled “(Out on the) Dance Floor (Get What You Ask For)” that kicks off with a “Born to Be Wild”-like riff. It is an indication of this band’s Classic Rock influence that sets the tone for the rest of the album. 

I like the album because it is different from any of the indie/underground releases that are out today. It reminds me when (British band) The Darkness also released their debut album, Permission to Land in August of 2003 and the album was celebrated not only for its Classic Rock feel but even their unabashed Queen influence. 

The same applies to The Sleeves (McCutcheon, Goodman, drummer Matt Coleman, and lead guitarist Pete Gordon) who literally wear their hearts on their sleeves. 

While the album drips with much of their influences, the band finds their own voice. I’ll say though… you’re going to love the guitar work on this album. No, they don’t go off on long guitar solos. They keep it tight. And yet, the arrangements allow each member to shine.

“Freedom Now” the second track has this Hendrix-like opening before it takes off. Terrific song.

I love the bass work on “Broken Key” that adds some funk to the song that has a vibe of the Strokes. 

“Never Let Me Go”, another track I like, reminds me of The Stone Roses. 

I like “I Feel Alive” ends side one in soaring fashion.

“The Menace (Parts I & II) kicks off side two and in my opinion, it is one of the best tracks on the album. It is the “Champagne Supernova” of Deliverance. 

“Rumble (Inside My Head)” finds Goodman in his full Johnny Rotten snarl with a Pistolesque number.

“Angel of the North” is another track that I like. 

I love the album. A surprise gem of a pick-up. I do wonder how Deliverance (recorded in Cambodia, mixed in Hong Kong, and mastered in London) would sound in the hands of a muscular producer like Butch Vig or even Steve Lillywhite (who is now based in Indonesia). I think the stick work of Coleman would be even more propulsive and in the end, awesome. 

The Sleeves’ Deliverance is a welcome and cool addition to my collection. And I urge you to check out the record (at Treskul Records while copies last). .