Redwood start off as melodic alt rock in the vein of Weezer. The opening track has a nice pulsing bass and a good amount of melody. There are some dudey backing vocals which irk me a little but the first impressions are pretty good. The second track is more influenced by modern emo. The funkier bass irritates me but the intricate guitar work is excellent. The third track seems more mature and is probably the most rounded, consistent song so far. The guitar work again is impressive too. The closing track has more of a hypnotic shoegaze influence and the vocal harmonies are lovely. Overall, Redwood are inconsistent but there are definitely moments of promise.
Love Rarely play riff heavy mathy rock with spiky female vocals, like Rolo Tomassi's Eva Spence fronting tonight's headliners, although the beefy guitar tone probably has more in common with Royal Blood. It's dynamic and complex but it probably takes me a little while to get my head round it. It has a certain energy although it can be a bit stop/start. The final track is like Rage Against The Machine's 'Bulls On Parade' given a femme punk makeover. The reaction from the surprisingly young crowd is good.
My first impression of Hail The Sun is that the drums are far too loud. When the drummer is pounding away during the verses of opener 'Maladapted' you can barely hear the vocals or guitars. The chorus is magnificent though with the crowd drowning out the singer Donovan Melero. For a band whose main strength is their guitar wizardry, the sound sadly renders them rather impotent. I saw Hail The Sun at RADAR Festival last year and they were great but the sound doesn't seem to improve and the longer the set goes on, the more disappointed I become. If I can hardly hear the guitars then really, what is the point? Sensing that things aren't going to get any better, I make the decision to leave halfway through. A huge let down.
Hail The Sun **
Love Rarely ***
Redwood ***
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