SINCE signing to a US label and achieving success in the States, not least with an appearance on the Jay Leno Show, The Dunwells have gained a reputation as a band with an Americana sound.

But according to singer Joe the band, who wowed their audience earlier this summer at Keighley’s Octagon, have made a shift of direction.

Joe, who shares lead vocals with his brother, said this new direction could be heard on a new EP just released.

The Guiseley quartet showcased the EP, Show Me Emotion, on a UK tour which included a homecoming gig in Leeds last month.

Joe said: “We’re doing mostly new stuff, ending with crowd favourites like I Could Be King. This new EP marks a massive leap forward.

"With the first album, we were chucked in the studio; we didn’t really know what we were doing. But now we’ve come into our own, with a new sound.

“We’ve been working on another album which will be out early next year.”

Inspired by Irish rockers Kodaline’s album High Hopes, produced by Steve Harris, the band set out to track him down. After a gig in Seattle, the lads heard they’d missed Harris by just a few hours but eventually it emerged he lived in Yorkshire – and after hearing their demos he was on board.

The collaboration has resulted in “an incredibly emotional set of songs, heartfelt lyrics and four-part harmonies to melt the hardest of hearts”.

“Steve got the best out of us,” says Joe of the top producer, who has also worked with Kaiser Chiefs. “We wanted to get away from the Americana sound we’d been labelled with, stripping back the acoustic guitars, going deeper.

“People say they can hear the ‘Yorkshireness’ in the new songs."

The four-piece – Guiseley brothers Joseph and David Dunwell and cousins Robert Clayton and Jonny Lamb from Yeadon – have been making music together since school.

Joe and David started out as solo acts before recruiting childhood friends Jonny and Lee Dawson. When a booking agent heard them play an open mic together, she insisted on booking them as a group.

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