John Robb is a fairly well known figure in these parts when it comes to music. As a musician with The Membranes and Goldblade and as a journalist for Sounds, Melody Maker and several broadsheets, he has been in and around the Manchester music scene for over forty years. Louder Than War is the music magazine he founded and contributes to, and today sees them host their first festival, set within the various venues found in the Manchester University Student's Union.
The Dirt are the first band I manage to catch in the Academy 3. They open with a spoken word section led by Jack Horner (formerly known as Leon The Pig Farmer) which is wordy and clever, coming across like an angrier John Cooper Clarke. When the music starts, it is garage style psych rock that rides simple, repetitive guitar lines provided by his wife Saciko whilst Jack continues with his highly politicised spoken word delivery. He is righteous and furious at the state of the world, sitting somewhere between the aforementioned Cooper Clarke and Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods. They cover similar territory to Benefits who will be playing later on. 'Bed Of Nails' is swirling psych noise backed with a drum machine whilst Jack spits forth his ire. 'Chaos' is a bit sluggish and lumbering but the dirty groove of 'Rage Of Ages' is much better. This is an outfit which exists as an outlet for the ideas, lyrics and anger of the frontman and his vocal delivery is consistently excellent. A good start to the day.
Manchester's The Empty Page are a female fronted, grungy alt rock band. The opening track has a distinct Veruca Salt feel and the guitar work from Giz is pretty good. 'You're Tame' rides a Pixies bassline that is very 'Debaser'. A new track marries Sleeper style pop with a harder edge. The singer/bassist Kel sounds great, with a nice throaty edge to her voice which is reminiscent of Courtney Love in places. When she really opens up and hits the top of her range, it also reminds me of Björk at her most unhinged. She also exudes much more confidence than when I last saw them a year ago, which helps to elevate the performance. New track 'A Feminine Ending' is a bit of a slow burner but the controlled yet wild guitar solo courtesy of Giz is excellent. The set is dedicated to Mötörhead's Phil Campbell, which seemed a bit odd at the time but made sense later when I learned of his passing. A more impressive showing than the last time I saw them.
House Of All have a direct lineage to The Fall and you can definitely tell. They are made up of former members of The Fall so, unsurprisingly, they sound pretty similar. Musically, it is pretty loose post-punk and Martin Bramah's vocals have a shouty Mark E Smith quality to them. I was never the biggest Fall fan so liking House Of All was always going to be a bit of an ask for me so I decide to go and check out The DSM IV in Club Academy instead.
My first impression of The DSM IV is that they look really cool. The waiflike synth player is lost in the music as he rocks back and forth behind his bank of electronics whilst the guitarist is all goth punk chic. The singer Guy McKnight looks like he could be the long lost third member of Sparks. They remind me of The Human League although the beats are harder and there is more guitar. Guy has the look of Paul Rudd and has such a theatrical manner that you could imagine them as a spoof band in a Judd Apatow movie. Don't mistake them for a joke band though as they are really good at what they do. The hooks are big and draw you in like colourful fishing flies lure in trout. The guitar and synths combine beautifully, neither overpowering the other. The guitars sit more in the background but augment the sound and make it sound powerful and dangerous. The final track has a tribal Joy Division feel although the synths give it an accessible edge. Soundwise, they also sound like they would fit in on 'The Lost Boys' soundtrack as there is a certain gothic sexiness to them. Great stuff.
Masked psych rockers Evil Blizzard are up next in the larger Academy 2. The opening 'Off With Their Heads' has a nice motorik groove. Some of the masks worn by the band are horrific, the bassist looks particularly grotesque. They are hypnotic and generate a fair bit of power but with two bassists and two guitarists, you would expect them to. 'Hello' is like a psychedelic Public Image Ltd. with plenty of swirling guitars. 'Rotting In The Belly Of The Whale' is a psych take on '80s metal and is quite dramatic. They are a versatile band covering a number of different genres although everything is painted in psychedelic tones. They are really good but I end up cutting their set short so I can get a good spot for The Sick Man Of Europe.
The Sick Man Of Europe's debut album was one of the unsung gems last year but live they are something else. Opening with 'Obsolete's monstrous motorik groove, it sounds intense due to the combination of the electronic pulse and the heavy, coruscating guitars. It is an incredible start. The driving, heavy synth pop of the second track is equally good. The singer starts off fairly low key and gets off more animated as the set goes on, deciding to spend the majority of it on the floor with the crowd. This is dark Joy Division-esque post-punk plied with a relentless krautrock spirit. The rhythm section is tight as hell but it needs to be for tracks such as 'Profane Not Profound' to work as well as they do. The dark bounce of 'Transactional' is compelling and the violent guitar punctuations are particularly intense. Incredible.
From one of last year's best finds to one of this year's, the hotly tipped Mouth Ulcers. They are a London based act who play gothic tinged post-punk. They don't have much of a stage presence yet but the songs are very strong, with robust, well-defined basslines and big hooks. 'A Perfect End' has a driving Grave Pleasures/Beastmilk feel. There are tons of photographers in the photography pit, highlighting how much hype there is around them. There is an air of cool about them and the guitarist particularly exudes it, coming across like an '80s New Wave Rizzo (from 'Grease'). There is a real potency and depth to their sound and the icy power of Grave Pleasures is often brought to mind. On one hand, it's hard to believe that they only have three tracks out (now four) and this is only their third gig as their sound is very complete and the songs are really strong. On the other hand, it isn't that hard to believe as the stagecraft isn't there yet and there isn't much engagement with the audience but I'm sure that will come in time.
Heavy Lungs draw the short straw of clashing with headliners Sea Power and the popular Benefits and as such, they are playing to the smallest crowd I've seen today. They explode into life with the energetic, intense hardcore of 'Cushion The Blow'. They seem wired tonight and 'All Gas No Brakes' has more of a groove than usual. They are a highly energetic band, with the bassist James Minchall stomping around the stage and windmilling his bass around whilst the singer Danny Nedelko has lots of crazy dance moves and a genuine disregard for his safety. I thought he was going to seriously hurt himself as he constantly rammed his shoulder into the safety barrier. 'Get Out' is high octane punk rock fun and Danny sings it hanging upside down from the ceiling. 'Yes Chef' is a short sharp shock which is proper in your face. The oddball punk rock of 'Cavier' is thrilling. The bass tone is really dense, giving weight to everything they play, and the bass heavy shuffle of 'Dancing Man' in particular is amazing. The bouncy post-punk bop of 'Mr. Famous' is great and the drummer's 'boring' backing vocals are pretty funny. The drummer is impressive with his powerhouse drumming whilst also singing backups. The angular noise punk of the closing '(A Bit Of A) Birthday' has more energy than a nuclear power plant. A great way to end the day.
For a first event, this was great. Sure, there could have been more people there but most of the sets had a decent amount of people in attendance. The event did a great job of showcasing the independent scene's underbelly and the bands I saw were consistently good. Hopefully, it will return next year.
Heavy Lungs ****
Mouth Ulcers ****
The Sick Man Of Europe *****
Evil Blizzard ****
The DSM IV ****
House Of All **
The Empty Page ****
The Dirt ****
No comments:
Post a Comment