I DON'T know if Green Stax guitarist/singer Andy Wales, drummer Simon Bland and bassist Giles Martin - will even see this review of their demo or indeed, ever grace Lancaster again with their intricate, powerful sound.
All graduating from Lancaster University this time, the three have no doubt secured suitably underpaid and over-qualified jobs in various burger chains but if they're still around - let's hear from you soon.
I've caught them twice over the past six months and on both occasions they've been very tight, very professional and - gosh! -actually listenable.
This eight-song tape weaves some really imaginative guitar work round catchy melodies and like great trios before them, Green Stax can make three sound like ten, even on stage.
Summing them up ain't too easy because they flirt with a myriad of guitar-led styles and while this can occasionally descend into twiddling, they’re definitely putting plenty of thinking time into their music.
'Seen It, Done It' begins like a figure from Suede's 'DogManStar' album before employing Hendrix and a touch of Two-Tone to hang some well-rehearsed harmonies on.
'Golden Virginia', a song about origami Amsterdam-style, shuffles along on a Roses groove while 'Goodbye' - surely the strongest song on the tape - contains the sort of refrain Mark Morriss only dreams about writing.
Where I would suggest a concentration of effort is on vocals. Andy's a good singer but at present his voice fails short of the music's originality. He could develop, I guess, but maybe a nonplaying frontman is what's needed to take this band to places they deserve to go.
I've got a stack of tapes waiting to be reviewed so don't fret if you've sent me a demo and I've not yet perused it in print.

TOM HENRY
(Lancaster Guardian, 19th July 1996)

REMEMBERING your sense of humour and not being too cool about its employment is a thing long forgotten by a majority of local bands, if they ever knew it in the first place.
Time and again we see acts featuring the PsuedoTormented Singer and Foppish Guitarist, flailing all over the place like a grotesque parody of that Harry Enfield "Teenager" character.
Not so Green Stax. They're melodic. They ask for requests. They take bribes NOT to play sensitive songs. They have a prat dancing onstage with them. And in Andy Wales they possess a guitarist whose sheer talent just gobs in the face of jealous onlookers. Elegantly, of course.
On Saturday night the band brought some much-needed showmanship to an increasingly bland local music scene, even if they did play no less than three Stone Roses covers. Indulgent ? Maybe, but their own stuff's strong enough for them to 'do' I Wanna Be Adored for what it is - a mere crowd pleaser.
Besides, they also ripped through Martha and the Vandellas' 'Heatwave' - yer average Thom Yorke wannabe wouldn't find that up his own posterior.
This band have a studied approach without being studious. When four chords and a mild depression is the yardstick, Green Stax use the razorblades of self-mutilation to slice through the opposition. I hope they stick around. I also hope they move on.
Sparkler I hated until they totally turned me around with a hugely impressive final burst of pure energy. Great drummer, great band - almost.

TOM HENRY
(Lancaster Guardian)