(Picture: Language)It’s a Tuesday night at the Buffalo bar in Islington and having just paid £5 entry we find ourselves reeled in by the complimentary (or so we thought) pinball machine. It just so happens that someone has kindly left four credits in the tank, a precursor for the performances to come maybe?
Well it didn’t take long for us to find out. As we mulled over our failures with the pinball machine, Strait Laces took to the stage. The ‘Belfastian’ trio play punchy-rock-pop and they play it with gusto. I found the energy put into the performance quite admirable considering the stock still audience of about 10. All in all it was a decent set with a few filler tracks but included some quite catchy little gems such as “Clap” and “Romantic Issues”. “Romantic Issues” being the standout track with its infectious riff and energetic punch courtesy of the lead singer.
Next up were The Half Rabbits hailing from Oxford. This heralded a distinct change in pace and energy. The four piece played more laid back atmospheric rock a-la Interpol, except without being anywhere near as good as Interpol. They never really escaped the realms of mediocrity for me and ended up finishing a passable set with their new “single” which actually was the only decent track.
To end the night we would be treated with two bands from London. Glitches were first up, with their skinny jeans, worn out footwear and trendy haircuts they could have been mistaken as yet another generic Indie band. Comprising of a drummer on a drum machine, a guitarist, a bassist (very tall) and a singer on keyboards Glitches play a delicous mix of electro, rock and dance (think the Klaxons). Combining fast paced drumming with synth punch and an excellent guitarist (probably the best thing about Glitches) they played a storming set, a welcome change in pace from the previous act. The highlight of the set “Caliguila: The Monster” employed chip tune-esque synth, high pitched chanting and soaring guitar riffs to good effect. from a promising new band, with a free demo CD to boot.
Last to take to the stage and the ‘Headline’ band of sorts, were “Language”. The three-piece are helmed by Mark (with the topknot) who guides the audience through Language’s snare driven drumming and synth driven melodies (initiated by the drummer) with bundles of charisma. Although starting off a little weak Language soon hit their stride prompting the audience to respond with shouts of “I love you mark” and outbursts of unintelligible spanish. Highlight’s of the set include the strangely named “The future of woody allen” and “The devil is me”. The latter being particularly interesting as Mark simply ‘talksings’ through most of the song, a nice touch considering the song’s subject matter. It was an enjoyable set and a great way to end the night of performances.
My personal highlight of the night was Glitches and I will be looking out for future material coming from them with some interest.
Cheng Lao
Well it didn’t take long for us to find out. As we mulled over our failures with the pinball machine, Strait Laces took to the stage. The ‘Belfastian’ trio play punchy-rock-pop and they play it with gusto. I found the energy put into the performance quite admirable considering the stock still audience of about 10. All in all it was a decent set with a few filler tracks but included some quite catchy little gems such as “Clap” and “Romantic Issues”. “Romantic Issues” being the standout track with its infectious riff and energetic punch courtesy of the lead singer.
Next up were The Half Rabbits hailing from Oxford. This heralded a distinct change in pace and energy. The four piece played more laid back atmospheric rock a-la Interpol, except without being anywhere near as good as Interpol. They never really escaped the realms of mediocrity for me and ended up finishing a passable set with their new “single” which actually was the only decent track.
To end the night we would be treated with two bands from London. Glitches were first up, with their skinny jeans, worn out footwear and trendy haircuts they could have been mistaken as yet another generic Indie band. Comprising of a drummer on a drum machine, a guitarist, a bassist (very tall) and a singer on keyboards Glitches play a delicous mix of electro, rock and dance (think the Klaxons). Combining fast paced drumming with synth punch and an excellent guitarist (probably the best thing about Glitches) they played a storming set, a welcome change in pace from the previous act. The highlight of the set “Caliguila: The Monster” employed chip tune-esque synth, high pitched chanting and soaring guitar riffs to good effect. from a promising new band, with a free demo CD to boot.
Last to take to the stage and the ‘Headline’ band of sorts, were “Language”. The three-piece are helmed by Mark (with the topknot) who guides the audience through Language’s snare driven drumming and synth driven melodies (initiated by the drummer) with bundles of charisma. Although starting off a little weak Language soon hit their stride prompting the audience to respond with shouts of “I love you mark” and outbursts of unintelligible spanish. Highlight’s of the set include the strangely named “The future of woody allen” and “The devil is me”. The latter being particularly interesting as Mark simply ‘talksings’ through most of the song, a nice touch considering the song’s subject matter. It was an enjoyable set and a great way to end the night of performances.
My personal highlight of the night was Glitches and I will be looking out for future material coming from them with some interest.
Cheng Lao
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