November 8, 2005 @ Junktion 7
Rock Idols 2005
Plinth
To start this heat we have Plinth, who mix folk and indie rock to provide a nice, upbeat start to the evening. Using some moving basslines and simple drumming to keep the songs pushing forward softly, Plinth mix their acoustic folk sound with a heavier indie rock sound. With a roaming keyboard to add emotion, they have a chilled out and easy to listen to style of rock, which has some good changes in dynamic and tempo. The tight drums and bass provide a good background for the keyboards, vocals and guitars to work around and with the electric guitar bursting in with fast, punchy upbeat riffs, they had a nice way of kicking up the feeling and power at choice moments in their songs. Some of the keyboards seemed a little off-the-pace at times and some of the keyboard scales seemed overly complex and didn’t work with the sound in certain songs, somtimes keeping it simple can more affective. The vocals had some good catchy melodies, but weren’t always powerful enough and backing might have helped. The sound was quite an original mix though but Plinth could do with more confidence in their ability as at times their movement and stage presence wasn’t the most charismatic. Plenty of potential here though and a solid start to the night.
http://www.myspace.com/weareplinth
Swound!
Next up are the one and only Swound! With a good following and growing reputation these guys always put on a great show and tonight was no exception. Using fast moving and deep bass riffs and solid crashing drums to structure their songs around, Swound! let their random yet catchy guitar melodies and vocal patterns ram their songs into your ears. Swound! really are masters at writing fun, catchy and clever lyrics and vocal hooks and by getting all the up-standing members to mix and match their vocal patterns and harmonies, the songs are infectious and full of energy. Tonight wasn’t the best we have seen them though and even though their music was very tight, the mix on the vocals wasn’t the best with the backing sometimes being drowned out and the full random effect of the crazy guitar riffs not at the forefront of their sound as normal. Swound! play with real confidence though and with great movement on stage, imaginative and original song structures and a really catchy fun edge to their sound, they always get the crowd bouncing around. For those who have never seen Swound! it is hard to put them into a genre with punk, indie, metal and funk influences, Swound! do have a sound like no other band around and even when they aren’t on top form, it is a show like no other!
ManPlayingKazoo
After a class act like Rebbeca the next band was going to have to pull out all the stops, and that duty fell to ManPlayingKazoo. MPK have been away for a little while and tonight they had a stand in bassist (Steve from The Stuntmen). Mixing fast and furious punk riffs with catchy, softer indie and grunge melodies, they have an infectious mix of songs that are high in power and energy. ManPlayingKazoo really have some good dynamics, kicking in and out of distortion and mixing up the tempos of their songs, tonight they came back with a bang. The deep, powerful bass really suits their sound and with the tight drumming providing a good base for the roaming, busy guitars and catchy melodies to interlock with, they push the energy up to full. The vocals patterns are well written and fit round the riffs really well, with some effective backing from the bassist. They also mixed softer moments well with more angry shouts and screams, to give the vocal a good mix and a passionate feel. They played with real conviction and confidence tonight and the songs were full of power and angst. With good movement on stage and plenty of beef when the dynamics kicked up a notch, MPK really did sound impressive. A great return to the local scene and certainly a strong case to go through tonights heat. Powerful, geeky, grunge, punk rock, played with passion and purpose.
http://www.myspace.com/manplayingkazoo
The Stuntmen
To finish the night off, The Stuntmen have a short time to try and impress us. With some heavy, moving riffs that have interesting structures and changes, The Stuntmen mix instrumental and experimental progressive rock with more catchy punk rock influences. The drumming is really tight and inventive, dragging the songs along whilst the bass and guitars interlock to take the lead melodies. With a slightly trippy feel at times this music moves well and builds failry nicely. The catchy guitar riffs drive the songs forward and breakdown, at times they have some good dynamic. There is no doubt these guys have good technical ability, but at times it maybe gets too clever with the guitars going into random almost improvised soloes and the drums and bass don’t always seem to keep up. Sadly The Stuntmen had to cut their set short as time ran out but from what we saw they had some interesting ideas adn mixed random, furious instrumental music with catchier and more stable rock influences.
winners: ManPlayingKazoo + Plinth
Reviewed by: Gaz
