The Gandhis

The Gandhis

You Are My Friend

Angela Macari O’Looney

Hailing from Lucan, Co. Dublin, members of this charming outfit are Niall Cullen - Bass/Vocals, Conor Deasy - Lead Guitar/Vocals, Aidan McKelvey - Guitars/Vocals and Bazz O’Reilly – Drums.
Described as Pop/Rock/Alternative, their music really has a little of every genre and style thrown into it. However it comes out pretty catchy and is performed with enthusiasm that is quite magnetic. They seem to have a penchant for choppy beats, harmonies as precise as the most well rehearsed Barber shop quartet and snazzy riffs and hooks featuring throughout each song!

This debut album showcases each band member’s musical ability to great advantage, especially Conor, who can flex his vocals to be sweet for the more romantic songs, or gritty for the rockier numbers. Also you can feel the enjoyment the lads themselves are getting as they perform and this to me would be the reason that every song has uniqueness and there’s no fear of predictability.

You have a lovely combination of Beatles, The View and 80s bands such as The Clash, all blended into these memorable songs.

Opening the album a song, which is to be released as a single this year, You are my friend has a choppy guitar intro, followed by an arpeggio style vocal. Chords are sweet, as is the baseline. Harmony in splashes is effective and further into the song, brass joining in to create a big sound. Written by Aidan (Mac), this was inspired by three of his friends and has cheerful lyrics ;You are my friend and you can rest your hand on mine, I won’t let you down this time.

A cross between 80’s Ska music and sixties Rock’n’Roll, Don’t you want to be loved by Me? has a choppy reggae beat. Simple, but catchy is the chorus with divine harmony. A short sweet guitar solo features in this number. It’s a love song and has a real sing-along quality.

Motown Lowdown is a complete contrast to the previous number. It begins with a beat tapped out on stix, building up to a funky, flanger packed verse. This has a sexy tempo reflecting its name. With female backing vocals coming in for the chorus and soulful ‘oohs’ you are surrounded by a crescendo of instruments. Guitars are fantastic here, with some memorable riffs and bass lending to the cool, seductive melody line.

Written as a kind of homage to The Specials and The Clash and with an intro styled like ‘Mr. Sandman’, The Rudy Show involves a reggae beat, brass and gorgeous harmony. It changes pace, with delightful hooks on Sax adding to its charm.

Mr. Data

Choppy and fun, this number describes the boring, predictable programmes on T.V. Mr. Data from the Star trek series is the hero. Electric guitar chords are divine. Backing ‘oohs’ are sweet. The chorus is sung in unison by the entire band. Conor has a powerful voice and can go from gravelly rock, to crystal clear and in this number he adapts from one to the other seamlessly!

A solemn but extremely sweet number, Goodbye Cruel Appendix is a slow trickling song, with close harmony, bass featuring big and a beautiful chorus. Lyrics are poignant and seem to be about residents in a home ;number thirteen he just stares into space, he keeps his old head fixed in the same place all day. Don’t know how long he’s been lying in bed, he gets up just to shave and to brush his hair. Although sad, the melody, vocals and guitars in this song are rich.

Elephant Man

This is a crazy, energetic ditty involving a fusion of Ska/Punk with a fast pace, scat type vocals and a tricky melody line which involves a key change and fun riffs on keyboards. It’s hard to get the gist of the lyrics since it’s so fast, but it sounds like an enjoyable song to perform. Lead vocals are cheeky and sharp, haunting ‘oohs’ lending a bit of drama where necessary. Feel good party music at its best!

Twenty 2 has a three four time arrangement at the beginning with piano, guitars and a pretty clarinet adding to the mood. Then there’s a tempo change. Harmony is excellent, chords lovely when it speeds up and a short guitar solo features too. The chorus is catchy but this wouldn’t be my favourite track on the album.

Primrose Lane

For me this number is The Gandhi’s piece de resistance and my absolute favourite track on the album.
It has a totally perfect chorus, a jazzy beat and with just the acoustic guitar accompanying, it involves harmony that is candy sweet, excellent scat and has funny/nostalgic lyrics about lost youth and old friends smoking spliffs in the sun at the bottom of Primrose Lane. As in all their songs, I get the feeling the lads are having a ball singing this song. Chords and arrangement are outstanding and I love the line I miss you so much when I’m drunk and want to talk sh*te!

Zaza was the band’s first single and has wonderful jazzy discords in the harmony for the chorus, which is delectable. Guitar chords and the fast beat give this number an exotic feel. The lads do this lovely harmonic Choochoo that I adore. It’s yet another brilliant creation, with vocals being the outstanding feature.

Guy like me is a very Beatle style number, with a key change for the chorus and a cute banjo adding to its charm. Conor does scat and the lads sing a catchy refrain with a harmonic La la. Bass and drums frame things beautifully. This song was released as a single in ’09 and following its release, the band were guests on R.T.E.’s ‘Saturday Night with Miriam’.

The album art is interesting, with the band kitted out in army uniforms. It has a dramatic scene where three of them are trying to rescue the fourth in a Battlefield. But when you look closely, he’s giving them a rude hand gesture. It reflects the Gandhis music; Upbeat, but with a touch of sadness and sarcasm always present.

The Gandhis were founded by Aidan (Mac) and Niall (Cullo) who previously played in bands Hoochie Mama and The Emperors of Funk. They were later joined by Conor and Baz.

They take Jazz, Funk, Reggae and blues and add a twist of Ska and punk for mischief. It’s a cocktail that’s working!

Having played support to such acts as Republic of Loose and Fight like Apes, the lads are building up quite a following and if they continue creating melodies and harmonies of this calibre, they can’t go wrong!