Darlington's Dedicated Live Music Venue & Studios
We’re excited to welcome lead singer of The Rifles, Joel Stoker to The Forum Music Studios.
Forget everything you think you know about Joel Stoker. Set aside the five consecutive Top 50 albums with The Rifles and the riotous sell-out tours where every tune is transformed into a rousing communal singalong. Erase from your mind support slots with The Who, The Stones, Madness and The Specials.
Because his solo debut, The Undertow, sees Joel raising the artistic bar to a whole new level. Both effortlessly melodic and unflinchingly honest — more of which shortly — its 11 tracks see him entering completely new sonic territory, the ’70s funk-flecked grooves, festival bangers and fiddle-assisted stomps reflecting touchstones ranging from Bob Marley to Arcade Fire.
“I’ve always just written songs, and a lot of them aren’t Rifles songs,” explains Joel of his creative process. “They’re usually written on an acoustic guitar, and they’re usually quite slow.. it was nice to do it all myself.
The result is The Undertow. Stunning opener ‘Walls Fall’ establishes the pensive, soulful mood. It’s when the album reaches its mid-point, however, that The Undertow reveals even greater depths, with the singer digging deep into his psyche.
Keep calm and carry on, people. Because in an age of say-nothing pop and corporate rock, The Undertow does what all great music should — lift the spirits and stir the soul. There won’t be a better album released this year. Come on in — the water’s lovely.
With support from Turncoat Billy:
Turncoat Billy was born in a brewery in Tottenham in 2022 before making E17 their spiritual home. Blending a 60s hypnotic guitar sound with a sharp wit and melody, the band recorded their first single in Walthamstow in January 2023. Influences are far and wide from: Blur, The Byrds, Chas n Dave, T. Rex, The Wave Pictures, Little Barrie, Warren Zevon and everything in between. The band returned to the studio in July 2023 with new single ‘Hand Me Downs’ and embarked on a UK tour supporting Joel Stoker.
