The Landing

2008 saw the final bits of the puzzle come together to create Hamilton based rock group, Sons of Apollo. The search to form such a band began earlier in the decade when Belgian born, Bart Brichau moved to New Zealand to pursue a life long dream – which was to write and record his debut album. Several years after, locals Andrew Rowson and Matt Paterson joined Brichau in his quest, and were later followed by Sandy Schaare and finally, Greg Prebble.

Each of the members had previous experience from other bands they had been involved in, and so they brought with them older songs that they’d worked on in the past. Naturally this moved onto songwriting sessions where the lads came together to create new material under the name Sons of Apollo.

They’ve enjoyed opening for favorite locals, Opshop in the past and take inspiration from bands such as Genesis, Queen and Muse – to name a few. So it becomes obvious that these guys are keen to be up there amongst the big guns. There’s no doubt that they’ll get there with a debut album like The Landing, which is proving to be quite the hit overseas already.

The first track on the disc titled Green opens with an experimental feel that is light hearted before becoming a rockier number. It’s not hard on your ears at all, and reminds me so much of some of the tunes that feature on the soundtrack from the movie, Rock Star.

Flickers of Genesis can be found in the beginning of Supersonic Slowness, which again is a very easy listen – while still managing to break many of the boundaries that so many Hamilton acts are afraid to even get close to. It’s nice to finally see a group who isn’t afraid to do something that they truly love, and believe in without the fear of being unique.

Although most will tell you that they are striving to be so, that result is very rarely the case, making this album a refreshing treat. Brichau does a brilliant job of drawing you in with his magical skills on the keyboard while Matt Paterson’s vocals will woo even the coldest of hearts with Fading Soul.

Sick of Waiting takes on a similar feel before rolling into the pop-rock inspired Set u Free to get you up onto your feet for a jive as Easy Road feels like a jam session on a Sunday afternoon. Or one of those tunes that you might hear in the wee early hours in a smoke-filled bar – not that you can even get those anymore, but you know what I mean…it’s a classic. Like The Eagles. The entire album is, and is definitely a product that Hamilton can be proud of.

Amanda Ratcliffe