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Firstly, confusing the punk kids, we have Nottingham residents Seachange, their single ‘Superfuck’ on Radiate last year got them a bit of attention and through seemingly constant gigging they have evolved into a supremely powerful song based indie rock band. There are hints of UK contemporaries like Aereogramme (but less macho rock posing) and US classicists like Guided By Voices for the whole play the proper rock songs real loud approach, but they're pretty unique really. Just great songs played with a lot of heart. There's too many tunes and not enough yelling for the hardcore kids tonight but give them a few years for the black dye to grow out of their teenage hair and they'll know they're missing something. It's inevitable that any band with a violinist is going to get compared to the dirty three but... well fucking hell Jo Woodnut plays like she listens to a hell of a lot of the Dirty Three and the noise steaming out of her amp (unfortunately only audible from right by the stage), does do a hell of a lot for the dynamics of the band. Anyone who heard her contribution to the Reynolds live Peel session can attest to her skill at transforming base rock into musical gold! Mention of Reynolds brings me cyclically back to Wolves! (Of Greece) which also brings me back to Bob Tilton... members of which people Wolves! along with luminaries from Heresy and Schema. Imagine buying a Captain Beefheart record playing it at 45 instead of 33, recording that, and then playing that at double speed really fucking loud with lots of screaming over the top. They're a massively enjoyable experience all the more so for the obvious delight they take in their aural assault. Simon the singer manages to wipe out half the drum kit after the first bar and they only slow it down once in the set to play a song that sounds like Black Sabbath trying to play something by Conflict and giving up halfway through to go doom. As you will appreciate this sort of thing is hugely popular with people trying to be cool by liking deliberately difficult music but ignore the poseurs because this is actually a fucking great band, they tear up most of the other UK bands I've seen doing this stuff purely because Steve the drummer has been doing this shit for years (in Heresy) and simply can keep the beat feeling good even when playing faster than you can see! Marvellous! They have a 10" EP coming out this year, recorded by the guitarist from Spiritualized in a tenement block in Nottingham - it rules. And so to Cat On Form... it's clear from the sold out rammed as fuck venue, that Cat On Form own Brighton, they are "the" band of the moment down there. This means full on moshing some interband heckling from the crowd... (however if I was in that band I'd keep my gob shut). It did also mean a longer set and some new songs I hadn't heard before (having seen these guys a lot last year). Musically what I hear is a UK band going for the kind of sound that Hoover and Fugazi were doing in DC in the early 90's which blended (the now ubiquitous) early 80's agit funk of The Pop Group and Gang Of four to some screaming hardcore parts. Dan Jones, strained screaming vocals actually remind me a lot of Rites Of Spring for example. Eva the drummer also adds a third, female voice to the mix, which makes the stuff sound a lot more interesting than your usual "bunch of jocks shouting" type vocals. They're an accomplished live band now, and though they probably wouldn't thank me for saying it, are tighter and more enjoyable than their slightly shambolic beginnings - although I’m sure they would argue that it's the passion that matters. I await the album with interest. Ian Unpeeled (the zine that covers the John Peel shows, info from shane@unpeeled.freeserve.co.uk) |