Posts Tagged ‘Chess Smith’

Chess Smith – Saving Lilibet

Posted: 12 October 2025 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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4th July 2025

Christopher Nosnibor

It may be coincidental that Chess Smith threw down Saving Lilibet on 4th July, but it’s certainly appropriate. This is a release that is all about fighting spirit, taking things back, and claiming a state of independence.

Her bio for this release is nothing if not direct:

Chess Smith has been a commanding presence on the Kent music scene for over a decade, both as a solo artist and a frontwoman, most recently as critically acclaimed power vocalist for Salvation Jayne… until 2020, when an abuser tried to take her power, dull her shine, and break her spirit. But they didn’t succeed.

Despite enduring a devastating nervous breakdown at the time, Chess has come back fighting in spectacular style with Saving Lilibet, her most personal, and relatable, work to date. She has made it her mission to provide a voice for those who have experienced abuse and toxicity, and to show the world that you can not only heal after these experiences – you can thrive.

As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and simply telling her story, getting up and putting this out there, with no holds barred, demonstrates phenomenal strength. And for all that, Saving Lilibet is not remotely sad or self-pitying, but a set of songs which is uplifting, and very much focused on empowerment and positivity.

The intro, ‘Saving Lilibet’ is a weirdy, atmospheric little piece, on which Smith’s voice echoes from left and right, ‘save, save’. One gets the impression that this is the voice in her head, her internal monologue speaking to her, pulling her out of her torpor. And that’s exactly what she does, with some pristine pop tunes.

Lead single, ‘Bounce Back’ in many ways speaks for itself. When I covered it back in February, I noted how it was both ‘slick and soulful’, but I don’t think I fully appreciated just how strong the production was: it’s got the groove of Thriller-era Michael Jackson backing up a really crisp pop song, propelled by a thumping retro beat and showcasing a bold vocal performance, which, paired with her heartfelt lyrics hollers ‘taking no shit’.

Second single, ‘Drama King’ is up next, and once again, it’s tight, and light, but by no means flimsy in content or delivery’, and it so happens that the singles are entirely representative of the collection as a whole. The vibe is very much 80s pop played through a post-millennium filter – something which is nowhere more apparent than on the slower ‘Alexa’, while ‘Dissociate’ blends hints of Madonna with some Hi-NRG dance pop and moments of introspection.

‘All My Love’ is a big, anthemic slower song, and clocking in at almost six and a half minutes, it’s epic in every way. And once again, it’s realised with absolute precision and try dynamic is remarkable.

Saving Lilibet is a triumph on every level, and Chess Smith proves she’s not just a survivor, but an artist – and human being – who is determined to thrive. It’s inspiring stuff.

 

Chess Smith Artwork

Chess Smith – Drama King

Posted: 27 March 2025 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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27th March 2025

Christopher Nosnibor

Chess Smith, the self-styled ‘Queen of the High Held Head Walk’ continues her return to the musical fray after four years out, having split from the band she fronted and become a parent, and follows the energetic pop statement of intent that was ‘Bounce Back’ with ‘Drama King’. Writing about it here feels a shade incongruous, given Aural Aggravation’s commitment to all things as far away from the mainstream as it’s possible to conceive, because as was the case with its predecessor, ‘Drama King’ is a tightly-packed and meticulously delivered slice of pop that’s overtly commercial and as mainstream-orientated as it gets. But Chess hasn’t broken into the mainstream consciousness yet, and having grown up and discovered music by watching Top of the Pops and listening to the Top 40 on Radio 1 in the 80s, I am never going to be snobby about pop music as a thing, and reckon I know a decent pop tune when I hear one. And this fits the bill nicely.

Time have changed since the 80s, of course, and technology and production values have evolved significantly, and his singles then would be considered demo quality now. Suffice it to say, Smith has it all absolutely nailed here.

‘Drama King’ three-and-a-half minutes of stirring, soulful and incredibly slick pop. The production is smooth, clean, crisp, and everything is ironed to wrinkle-free perfection on this uplifting, buoyant tune. But she balances style with substance, as she navigates the difficult terrain of narcissism and abuse:

You chase

Manipulate

Create

participate

Erase

And if word escapes

You retaliate

Interrogate

Deny ever to participate

Proof overtakes

And It escalates

It may be easy on the ear, but this is strong stuff. That she’s drawing on experience and processing through art is powerful. That she speaks for so many is a grim reality. Calling this shit out is really only the start, but a start it is. Chess is back, alright, and her voice needs to be heard.

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Chess Smith - Artwork

Lori – Deeper / Chess Smith – Bounce Back

Posted: 7 February 2025 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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Christopher Nosnibor

For the past few years, labels and PR people have been complaining that it’s become incredibly difficult to score reviews, especially for new or lesser-known acts, and that the issue is only getting worse. I have a lot of sympathy. They have a job to do, and bands want to be heard and to reach an audience. Not that I expect any sympathy, but receive more email submissions than I can even read, let alone listen to.

It does seem that we’ve gone beyond saturation point when it comes to new music. As was recently reported, there was more new music released in any single given day in 2024 than during the entirety of 1989. This means that now, more than ever, it’s hard to make it as an artist, or to simply be heard.

Some dates are conspicuously and overwhelmingly choc-full of new releases: Fridays are always packed, but some more than others, and releases for today – Friday 7th February – have pretty much broken my inbox – so, while it’s not something I tend to make a habit of, I’m going for a twofer here.

There are clear parallels in the careers of Lori and Chess – both hailing from Kent, and both breaking out in the mid-2010s fronting rock bands (Weekend Recovery and Salvation Jayne respectively) with accessible leanings and substantial audience potential, and both having suffered – and spoken on – the difficulties facing women in rock, and now both pursuing solo careers, albeit under quite different circumstances. And both are now showcasing very different, and more electronic-led pop sounds.

Lori – Deeper

Criminal Records – 7th February 2025

‘Deeper’ is pitched as a ‘hyperpop’ song, and it really is incredibly Hi-NRG, its trilling synths and thumping beat harking back to turn of the millennium dance, but overlayed with heavily processed, autotuned vocals and a shedloads of strong-like layers and sampled segments for good measure. But for all of its uptempo bounce and ‘woah-oah-oah-oooh’ hooks, it’s lyrically pretty dark:

You lie about me, cry wolf about me

Making shit up to fill your thrill.

Say it’s all in my head that you wished I was dead

But you did, over again

It’s certainly become more ‘acceptable’ to touch on dark topics in pop music again – listen to the lyrics of a lot of 70s and 80s hits, and they’re pretty bleak: Hot Chocolate’s ‘Emma’ is about a failed actress who commits suicide, while ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police is about stalking, from the stalker’s perspective, no less. We seemed to then have a spell where commercial pop was rarely dark, and much of it lacked much lyrical substance at all. Of course, there were always exceptions, and always things interesting happening on the fringes.

Lori is clearly not a household name, but pitched as being for fans of Charli XCX, Slayyyter, and Sabrina Carpenter this is equally clearly a stab at the commercial end of the market.

Deeper

(Click image to link to audio)

Chess Smith – Bounce Back

7th February 2025

Chess gave us an early taste of her work as a solo artist back in 2017 with ‘Queen of the High Held Head Walk’, which was very much a pop song, so in this context, ‘Bounce Back’ isn’t a complete surprise, and in context, nor is the fact that this is explicitly self-referential, as much a statement that we should listen up and note that she’s BACK! as it is simply a new single after some time away. I mean, the title speaks for itself. ‘Bounce Back’ is slick and soulful, it’s immaculately produced and absolutely ready for radio, TV trailers, commercials, you name it. It sounds like a hit.

Chess Smith Artwork

(Click image to link to audio)

Both singles, in a previous time – and, one assumes, major-label backing – would be guaranteed to be huge. Now – again, with major-label backing and R1 airplay every hour or so – they still probably would be. But herein lies a multifaceted problem: while the majors are pumping all the promotion into their flavours of the month, it’s hard for other acts to make so much as a ripple in that mainstream market. But equally, by making music which is competing in an already overcrowded market, where there are so many similar offerings – so many to the point that everything starts to sound alike whether it really does or not, with its slick production, processed vocals, etc., etc., it’s very hard to grab listeners.

But who knows? There is always a chance, after all.

Salvation Jayne – Remixes EP

Posted: 4 September 2020 in Singles and EPs
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7th August 2020

Christopher Nosnibor

Having built themselves a solid fanbase since their formation in 2017, with a series of single and EP releases, supported by some live shows primarily in their regional territory of Kent, Salvation Jayne have been going from strength to strength.

As has been the situation for so many bands, lockdown has put paid to pretty much all activity: gigs simply can’t happen, rehearsal rooms and studios have been closed, and it’s not been feasible for many artists to record at home for various reasons, not least of all not being allowed indoors together.

Despite all of the hot air and rhetoric and the unprecedented use of the word unprecedented, the 1918 so-called Spanish flu pandemic bears remarkable similarities to the present, and it’s like we’ve learned nothing in the last century. However, two major differences are that in 2020, we have the Internet to connect us, to spread misinformation, and to perform live streams and so on, and exchange chunks of audio.

For Salvation Jayne, exchanging chunks of audio wasn’t conducive to the creation of new material, but did facilitate a quite unexpected project, whereby other people could put their spin on cuts from the band’s back catalogue by means of some remixes.

For this project, they’ve enlisted a diverse array of collaborators: John Tufnell (Saint Agnes) – Black Heart; Jericho Tozer (SKIES) – Coney Island, Baby!; Eden Gallup (Violet Vendetta) – Cortez; Sara Leigh Shaw (The Pearl Harts) – Juno; Fuji Hideout – Tongue Tied, Tiiva – Jayne Doe. And at launch, they donated the proceeds of sales from Bandcamp to Refuge.

Witnessing bands so sorely deprived of income using their art for the greater good has been one of the most heartwarming things about lockdown: infinitely more meaningful than clapping for NHS workers in a display of virtue-signalling solidarity, artists making genuine sacrifices for charities spanning foodbanks, support for the homeless and mental health support shows where the real heart is. It’s always the grass roots acts passing up on Royalties, too, not fucking Bono imploring punters to donate, and that’s significant too. This is real charity.

It also matters that the product is of a certain quality, and this really is there: these remixes showcase the breadth of Salvation Jayne’s material, which may be rooted in solid alt-rock with more classic twists, but are well-suited to adaption.

The Saint Agnes Lockdown remix of ‘Black Heart’ explodes in a blast of abrasive noise and steers the song into a kind of early 00’s Pitchshifter industrial noise and distortion space, with pounding percussion and slabs of overdriven guitar backing Chess’ fuzzed-out vocal. With more disco-orientated verses, it shouldn’t work, but it does, and what’s more, it packs some real groove.

The Pearl Hearts’ take on ‘Juno’ is another stomper, disco beats cranked up to industrial strength, and this take also has a much harder edge than the original, and it works surprisingly well, as does ‘Coney Island, Baby!’, when SKIES sub the post-punk feel of the original version with something slower, heavier, more industrial, then sling in some epic strings on top. The result is pretty spectacular.

‘Cortez’ is a standout in the SJ catalogue, and to hear it pumped up, grooved up, and sped up is a major rush, and the same is true of ‘Jayne Doe’, released in May of this year and here given a radical and full-on dance reworking. It may divide the fans but it’s important that the band continue to push their parameters instead of limiting their horizons. Ultimately, this is what the remixes EP is all about: Salvation Jayne may be a rock band with a certain post-punk leanings, but above all they’re a band who don’t want to be pinned to a style, and a band with range, and these remixes showcase both the sound and progressive attitude perfectly.

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Salvation Jayne – Salvation Jayne EP

Posted: 20 October 2018 in Singles and EPs
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16th November 2018

Christopher Nosnibor

Salvation Jayne are going from strength to strength at the moment, and kicking off with lead single ‘Cortez’ which drives hard with an amalgam of grunge guitars, solid, hard-rock riffage and pop-tinged rock-solid vocal sass their eponymous six-tracker sees the band take stock, refocus and capitalise on their work to date to mark the trajectory of the next stage of their emerging career.

‘Juno,’ which surfaces as a standalone track a year ago showcases a poppier groove in the med-section, but is primarily about the hefty, bass-driven, riff-centric chorus, and at the risk of reductionism, it’s the riff and the rock vocals that define the EP as a whole. There’s no lack of heft to ‘Black Heart’, either, which is propelled by some attacking drumming and thickly overdriven guitar, while Chess belts out the lyrics with full lung.

If the verses of ‘Tongue Tied’ suggest a slight lifting of the foot from the pedal with its layered, chorused guitar and easy disco beat, the chorus kicks it back up a notch or two. The slide guitar and strolling bass of ‘The Art of Falling’ marks the biggest shift as they slip comfortably into country grunge that expands into stadium space-filling emotionally-charged rock epic territory. It may be vaguely template and conventional, but it’s got a captivating sincerity, it’s well-placed and works well, and more importantly, it’s what you might reasonably call a ‘big’ tune that indicates the band’s mass-market potential

Yes, the Salvation Jayne EP is on the more accessible side of whatever: it’s not nasty or gnarly or dirty or fucked. But is does pack some riffy, guitar-based punch, at least for the most part: the ‘stripped’ version of ‘Juno’, with its aid-back, sultry beats is pleasant enough but my views on remixes and alternative versions are strewn about the Internet for those who remotely give a fuck. Suffice it to say that while it’s actually quite nice, it still feels like quite nice filler, and perhaps five tracks would have done the job just as well.

That said, it’s a fair inclusion and not a terrible addition to an EP that’s got some guts and showcases a band with game.

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Salvation Jayne – Cortez

Posted: 30 August 2018 in Singles and EPs
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James Wells

The Clash’s Topper Headon reckons they’re ‘fucking brilliant,’ so they must have something about them. But we already knew that here at Aural Aggravation, and that was before they were featured on Metal Hammer’s Revenge of the Riff cover CD and landed on Planet Rock playlists with single ‘Juno’.

Salvation Jayne’s latest offering, ‘Cortez’, was inspired TV show American Horror Story and sees their sound continuing to evolve. Propelled by a sturdy beat you can dance to. It’s still got plenty of melody and a keen sense of groove, but brings a harder, darker edge. In fact, it’s quite the riffy beast, a solid grunger that drives hard from the start.

It’s not only a massive grower, but also has the potential to reach an even wider audience. The video ain’t bad, either.

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Salvation

Salvation Jayne – Juno

Posted: 9 November 2017 in Singles and EPs
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8th November 2018

Christopher Nosnibor

Salvation Jayne’s latest offering, which follows the summer release of ‘Moves that Make the Record Skip’ which got our thumbs up, marks a substantial step both forwards and upwards.

With a nagging clean guitar in the verse and a thunderous overdrive propelling the riffy chorus, all underpinned by a chunky bass, ‘Juno’ is a savvy, sassy rock tune. Chess Smith’s in fine voice, and there’s a vintage post-punk twist in the execution of the song’s grunge dynamics.

And really, what more do you need to know? It’s got guts and is as catchy as hell, and in terms of achieving everything it’s intended to, it’s pretty much impossible to fault. Did I say Salvation Jayne are a band to watch for 2018? No? I did now.

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Salvation Jayne - Juno

In Search of Salvation: An Interview with Salvation Jayne

Posted: 6 August 2017 in Interviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

We’ve been digging both Salvation Jayne and Chess Smith’s solo work here at Aural Aggro for a while now. With live dates in the offing to support the release of their new EP, Moves That Make The Record Skip, Christopher Nosnibor welcomed the opportunity to have a virtual chat.

AA: Ok, let’s get the lame, predictable, off-the-peg questions out of the way first: why Salvation Jayne?

SJ: No depth to it really. We were once in a cafe in Camden, and there was a sign on the wall that said ‘Previously called Salvation Jane’. We thought it sounded cool, so we just added the Y.

Would you care to introduce yourselves? Who does what?

Chess (pronounced like the board game) is the vocalist, Holly plays guitar and does backing vocals, Tor plays drums, and Dan plays bass/does backing vocals and also records and mixes our stuff.

Chess, you’ve been in music forever and things started happening when you were 17, back in 2008. Having been in electro act Mooli, and then working as a solo artist, what made you want to be in a band again?

I’d always loved being in bands, and had recently tried starting an all-female band of my own which didn’t really work out. Initially I’d agreed to just stand in for SJ, but it really worked and so I decided to stay.

Salvation Jayne

Your bio describes you as ‘a young, female driven alt-rock band with a distinctive dirty sound which combines elements of rock, nu wave and blues’. How do these elements combine to create something that uniquely defines Salvation Jayne?

We have the big fuzzy single note riffs of bands such as Royal Blood, and QOTSA, but often mixed which dark lyrical themes/chord changes and a chorus effect on the guitar/bass! There’s some big brooding sections not unlike Sisters of Mercy!

Anything that’s got big brooding sections that tip a nod to the Sisters gets my vote. Hit me: influences?

It’s really varied for all of us. In our sound you’ll find elements of Wolf Alice, Kill It Kid, Girls Against Boys, QOTSA and even some hip hop influences in terms of the cadances!

These guys get cooler by the second. In the three-and-a-bit years you’ve been in existence, you’ve accumulated some name-droppable fans, including AC/DC drummer Chris Slade, and The Clash drummer Topper Headon. How did that come about?

Slade is actually a customer of Dan’s. Dan records his other band and played him our stuff. Both he (Slade) and his partner have come to see the band live and really enjoy our stuff. Topper is an old friend of Tor’s Dad, and he has known Tor for years too. Tor often hangs out with him and he was keen to hear the EP, which he loved. He then came to see us live and was totally into it!

You recently released a new EP, Moves That Make The Record Skip. Would you like to talk us through the songs on there?

‘Burn It Down’ is the most recent, and the only one that was actually written with the lineup as it is now. That track nicely combines the elements of our sound described earlier. ‘The Jailer’ is probably the most blues influenced. Featuring slide guitar, although very heavy. That one is actually written about a serial killer, really gloomy in terms of the lyrics! ‘Thrillride’ was inspired by the film Natural Born Killers. It’s about a hedonistic couple indulging in a night of sin. Has a cool kind of ‘desert’ feel to it. ‘Whorehouse Down On The SE’ is another one with dirty slide guitar and even dirtier lyrical theme – it’s about the activities inside a Whorehouse!

There are a lot of people under the age of, I dunno, 30, who have never experienced the skipping of a record. Are you fans of vinyl? And what moves have you got?

Everyone loves vinyl right? Holly can moonwalk, that’s about all we’ve got.

salvation-jayne-moves_thumb

You have a handful of live shows coming up: given the live rep you’ve managed to build, I’m guessing you quite enjoy playing live?

Yeah we love it, get to relieve ourselves of the stress of everyday life! Haha. We always put lots of energy into our performances.

How do you fit playing further afield with non-music commitments, and are you planning more live shows to promote the EP?

We’re pretty fortunate as we all work for ourselves. So taking time off is easy, something we’re thankful for. And yeah, you will catch us all over the UK in the forseeable future!

Final, superfluous and utterly frivolous question, which I’m asking for a friend: what are your favourite crisps?

We had a massive discussion about crisps on the way to a show once. Tell your friend it’s a closely guarded secret.

Moves That Make The Record Skip is out now. Tour dates are listed below.

Forthcoming Live Dates (so far)

Aug 15 The Prince Albert Brighton

Aug 17 Hawley Arms London

Aug 25 The Good Ship Kilburn

Aug 27 Dover Music Festival Dover

Sep 23 Camden Rocks Presents London

Oct 13 Ramsgate Music Hall Ramsgate

Dec 13 NME Presents London

Salvation Jayne – Moves That Make the Record Skip

Posted: 10 June 2017 in Singles and EPs
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2nd June 2017

Christopher Nosnibor

The digital generation may be unfamiliar with the experience of leaping around their bedrooms to favourite tunes, only for their exuberance to result in the needle skipping a groove or two. While it’s unlikely to cause any damage to either the vinyl or the stylus, it has a way of disrupting the flow and making you feel like a bit of a buffoon. There’s Kent four-piece Salvation Jayne’s EP suggests, it contains rock nuggets potent enough to inspire bedroom moshing, although it’s not being released on vinyl.

After a brief introductory segment, the EP gets going properly with ‘Burn it Down’ which we covered when it first aired back in April. And it’s a cracking tune, chunky blues-based guitars chopping against a sinewy lead line and strolling bass. It also meets the ‘monster chorus’ requirement for a strong rock tune. And yes, tunes matter: on Moves That Make the Record Skip, Salvation Jayne offer tunes, with strong vocal melodies shaping the songs.

If ‘The Jailer’ contains all of the elements of infinite 80s rock bands and reminds me of many, many pub gigs I caught at the tail end of the 80s and into the early 90s in my home town (for all I know, there are still the same sort of bands cranking out the same stuff in the same venues now: Lincoln never was the most progressive of places), it’s well-executed and has the guts in the delivery to make it work. There’s also some nice slidey guitar action that brings a dirty country / blues vibe. ‘Thrillride’ starts with a low-slung bass and sassy, semi-menacing vocal from Chess Smith before she gives it some throat and everything kicks in.

EP closer ‘Whorehouse Down on the SE’ makes for a strong finish: it’s a percussion-driven hefty rock workout which has all the makings of an anthemic crowd-pleaser live. It mines a proper old-school rock seam, and calls to mind The Pretty Reckless at their best, with Smith giving it the raw, rough ‘n’ tough treatment.

 

 

Salvation Jayne - Moves

Salvation Jayne – Burn it Down

Posted: 17 April 2017 in Singles and EPs
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21st April 2017

James Wells

Being a cynical motherfucker, and living in an era when everything’s not only been done, but done to death, diluted, fucked about with, hybridized and rendered beyond obsolete, I was a bit dubious when I read Salvation Jayne’s Facebook page, on which they describe themselves as being ‘four musicians who play their own unique style of dirty rock n’ roll’. Unique? Show me something unique and I’ll eat my own head.

But then I also note that the line-up features pop chanteuse Chess Smith, who’s previously featured on Aural Aggro in a solo capacity. And while image only goes so far, Salvation Jayne not only look like a proper band, but they look bloody cool, too.

‘Burn Down’ is a kickass blues-based rock tune with a dark edge countered by a carefully-crafted accessibility. If it harks back to the 80s, and therefore isn’t exactly unique, it’s forgivable: they don’t make tunes like this any more, and the lamewads at Kerrang should get their lugs round this and remember what a proper rock band sounds like instead of plugging all that pop-punk cack and dance music not even disguised as rock b acts like PVRIS. Smith’s vocals are gutsy, the guitars throb and the production is meaty. This means that while I’m not feeling any obligation to eat my own head, I do have to take my hat off to Salvation Jayne for delivering a quality single with a strong sense of identity.

Salvation Jayne

Salvation Jayne are on Facebook.

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