Review: Saint Raymond – Young Blood EP

I think it would be safe to say that 2013 was a pretty immense year in the young life of Callum Burrows. Better known to music lovers as Saint Raymond, last year Burrows went from Hot Tip to Next Big Thing thanks to the success of his debut EP Escapades which saw him become a firm favourite of BBC radio presenter Zane Lowe, appear at some of the biggest festivals in the UK, support the likes of Haim and, most importantly, sign with a major label.

Clearly buyoed by the success 2013 bought him Callum has wasted no time in getting up and running in 2014, a live session with Zane Lowe already in the bag, he has followed that up with the release of his second EP Young Blood which is available to by now on iTunes.

Young Blood picks up where the excellent Escapades left off and in doing so shows how the young singer continues to develop and grow his sound.

The EP kicks off with title track Young Blood, this proves the perfect track to start the album off. Anthemic, upbeat and catchy it is the kind of sound that Callum has become so adapt at producing, this track will no doubt have crowds chanting the chorus back in his direction at gigs.

Anybody that has been following Saint Raymond will be familiar with second track Bonfires, originally released as a demo back in 2012 it was this track that woke people up to the talent that was hiding behind the microphone. A true favourite that always goes down a storm at gigs Bonfires is a real gem of a track that blends most of the things that Callum does so well, from catchy riffs to crowd pleasing woo-hoo’s.

Thread is up next and this is, possibly, Callums most developed track to date. Sounding somewhat different to the other tracks on the EP there is, it feels, more focus on the strength of the lyrics on this track,this proves to be a real toe tapper of a track, if I had to pick a stand out track from the EP I would, I think, opt for this, though probably on a photo finish.

Finally, rounding things off, is As We Are Now which proves to be a more gentler, calmer track than those that have proceeded it but, thankfully, despite the tempo drop it doesn’t lose anything proving to be a hugely enjoyable track with a beautiful guitar arrangement running in the background of the track.

All in all Young Blood is a top quality EP, building on the great work in Escapades and taking it to the next level, this only emphasises why Nottingham, and beyond, is buzzzing for Saint Raymond.

Review by Darren Patterson