October 25, 2004
Story One started tonightÂ’s entertainment at The Social, with their slow swaying indie. The frontman had in his hand a violin, and pulled off some very pleasant string intervals between his singing. The bass lines were slow, intricate and nice on the ear. Sadly the guitar seemed very simple, and it was a little indistinct above the sound of the violin and the rather humble drums. The slow swaying continued throughout the set, which made it all very samey, and a bit hard going, but we were treated to a violin rendition of GrandaddyÂ’s A.M 180, which worked incredibly well, and the crowd definitely loved it. It was a nice way to start an evening, it would have been nicer if it was a summerÂ’s evening, chill-out indie, needs a summer evening.
We got to see Public Relations Exercise for the second time in 5 days, and damn it, it wasnÂ’t supposed to work out like that! But anyway, at least we saw a change in their performance. This one had many, many more balls thrown into it, with crunchy distortion, comfortable movement by all members, and the bassist climbing all over the amplifiers. The guitar was much clearer this time round, and we were able to hear each note, which gave depth to their sound. They used messy, unorthodox vocal patterns, and together with the drums which were similar, it was very difficult to nod your head along to. Tonight was the first night of their tour, hailing from Leicester, they werenÂ’t too far from home, but their tour will take them to Liverpool, Sheffield and the like.well as band, and they’re certainly on a roll, as the sheer impressiveness of the title track from the second Ep ‘The Tree’ suggests. These guys come together to make music that if you knew the words, you’d be sure to sing your lungs out to it.
Hinterland were here to promote their new single ‘Got A New Drug’, but they were also here to give us a storming show. And they did, but not quite with the same vigour as previous times, but then, The Social crowd isn’t a very Hinterland crowd. The blare of the guitar and bass were mashed together far too much, and this meant that there wasn’t the distinction between the two, that defines Hinterland’s sound. They were still undeniably, catchy and dance worthy, and tonight was the first night that I have truly heard the sound of the bassist’s backing vocals. Hinterland are joining Pubic Relations Exercise on their tour around the Midlands and North-west promoting their single. So good luck to them both for that.
To see more pictures from this gig click here Review ~ Steph Photos ~ Glynn
Written By Steph
Photos ~ Glynn
