August 2, 2006
Junktion 7 Battle of the Bands Heat 5
Dust Bunnies
Well we are halfway through the heats of this years Battle of the Bands and so far it has been an intense battle with some worthy winners, having seen 3 out of the 4 bands tonight before, I am fully expecting heat 5 to be no different! Dust Bunnies kick the night off with there funky, moving bass lines and screeching rock n roll guitars, this music has a drive and soulful 70’s rock edge that is full of energy and makes an instant impression. The vocals are powerful and raw and mix a lazy Jim Morrison-esq whine with powerful and catchy patterns in a more modern Hives sort of feel. They seem in confident mood and even though some of the changes aren’t always tight and some songs seemed a little messy this is catchy and vibrant rock music, played with vigor and promise. The guitar mixes subtle lead breaks and punchy rock n roll riffs and by mixing the dynamic, tempo and time signatures, they change the mood with ease. Sadly I felt towards the end of the set the Dust Bunnies got a little tiresome and the sound got a bit repeatative. There best songs were great but some of the others lacked the power and punch that give this band such energy, still this was a solid performance, full of groove and expression.
http://www.myspace.com/dustbunniesnottingham
Dirty Saint
Second tonight are Dirty Saint, a band who aren’t to dissimilar to the previous act and again have a frontman who has a powerful and soulful voice, also tonight they seem to have an army of fans with them! There sound mixes 90’s indie (Oasis, Charlatans) with a 60’s edge (The Jam) and mixes catchy simple riffs with some nice rock n roll moments and it all has a uplifting and bouncy feel. The lead guitarist is the main dealer of dynamic in this band providing some funky little lead breaks and beefy indie rock n roll riffage, leaving the bass and drums to keep the bands backbone he breaks it down over and over again and has a very personal sound to his style which was slightly Clapton-esq. The acoustic song near the end added a range of variety and diversity to their set and I felt the vocalist’s softer voice was really good but could be used more, he holds your attention with a good presence, he could however move around more. I felt Dirty Saint had a good variety and energy to their sound and they were pretty tight and fun but I think an image wouldn’t do them any harm as they look a bit mis-matched on stage and the second guitar seemed lost, playing to same riffs as the lead to often, however again this was a eye catching and ear bending performance.
http://www.myspace.com/dirtysaintlive
Thousands of Reflections
So the competition is hot and next to join the fold are Thousands of Reflections. They start the set with messy and interlocking riffage that has a mixed and original sound. The riffs from the start build up and break down and are very cleverly written. The vocals seemed a little weak however but when all three members used harmonies it was really impressive and strong. The vocal patterns were strong and unpredictable yet still very catchy, and their sound slowly became a barrage of messy yet wonderful noise. The bass and guitars also linked up well, with the drummer providing a solid base to work round and by mixing influences of grunge, punk, emo and post hardcore, they had plenty of originality, variety and diversity. The songs build layers of depth with every member playing different, interlocking riffs and even though at times it wasn’t that tight, the imagination of their song writing was impressive. Imagine Muse, Idlewild and At The Drive In having a big fight.
http://www.myspace.com/thousandsofreflections
Lights out Vegas
Finally to end the night we have Lights out Vegas, they mix indie rock and garage punk with which mixed some early Blink 183 sounds with a more 90’s rock feel aka Ash. The songs were at a fairly fast tempo but they weren’t very tight and at times got quite messy. They also seemed a little simple and empty with no really beef or kick to the sound. Their mix of influences however were quite interesting and the vocalist had a decent voice even though the backing seemed a little weak. They didn’t look very confident and seemed like a band who hadn’t been playing very long but the sound was quite original but there wasn’t anything that really hit you here. The guitars mixed catchy chords with some cool riffs but sadly it just wasn’t tight enough and lacked real balls and energy, something which hopefully would come with time. The ideas were there though and if this band can experiment a little more with their sound and tighten their set up they had the potential to do a lot better. They had some good moments of dynamic and interesting changes but as the set progressed they made a few obvious mistakes and sadly stopped in the middle of a few songs. The frontman had fairly good presence but the rest of the band wasn’t as energetic. Potential was there in theory but this band need to practice more and find their own sound.
Winners of Heat 5 were Thousands of Reflections
Reviewed by: Gaz
