Live Music: The Subways, The Sunshine Underground, Wry

The Subways + Sunshine Underground + Wry
Rock City, Nottingham
September 6th
Guest Reviewer Mike Treece




Firstly, a confession: I don’t really like indie music. Not that I can’t recognise a good song when I hear it, but so much of the genre seems more concerned with looking cool than with originality and musical intelligence (see: The Kooks). So I was not expecting to enjoy the whole gig: I hoped that the hits would be enough to leave me satisfied with the night as a whole. So I was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of talent on display.

First, though, I had to listen to Wry. These hopeless poseurs somehow managed to set the crowd alight with their own brand of generic, sub-Snow Patrol whinging. Original melodic ideas were scarce but the crowd lapped it up and the band responded, rocking out like a 14-year old who had just learnt to play Smells Like Teen Spirit. While such enthusiasm is hard to fault, I’ve come to expect better, even from a support band. Coming to an indie disco near you soon. Sadly. 35

The Sunshine Underground were a much different proposition. Their style of funky indie is genuinely new, sounding like a mixture of early Red Hot Chili Peppers and Franz Ferdinand at their best. The only gripe worth mentioning is that they have yet to write a really big hook or chorus, but they’ve plenty of time. They have the potential to be miles better than, if not a big as, any of the current generation of radio-friendly indie-rock bands. 65

When The Subways finally hit the stage the atmosphere was excellent, the crowd thoroughly in the mood having responded to both support acts. Set-opener With You proved an excellent choice, appealing to both hardcore fans and the uninitiated. The dark Young for Eternity followed this, proving that the band can write a straight rock song when they feel like it. During the first part of the set, bassist Charlotte’s vocals were a little indistinct, a pity, as these serve to separate The Subways from many an indie-punk band. Fortunately this was soon corrected.

As the set progressed the band threw in some new material in the form of Girls And Boys and Shake! Shake! While these were solid enough, they lack the spark of some of the best material off the first album. The excellent Oh Yeah proved a reminder of how the band can perform, epitomised by frontman Billy’s athletics around the stage and climbs on amplifiers. Set-closer Somewhere was suitably anthemic, and for me was the best song so far.

However, it was the encore that really showed what the band could do. Perfect ska-edged songwriting in the form of Mary. An exciting new song entitled Clocks. And superb performance during Rock and Roll Queen, culminating in the first stage dive I have seen in five years of gig-going. The subways may never conquer the world, but if they keep playing like they did tonight, they’ll always have an audience. 79

Film: Dir. Richard Linklater - A Scanner Darkly

Dir: Richard Linklater
A Scanner Darkly
[Sci-Fi/Thriller/Animation]





You may have heard a lot about this film's rather unique visual style. Essentially, it combines live action of actors like Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder with real and CGI enhanced backdrops. The twist is that all this footage is then "drawn over" by a computer to look like a cartoon, in a similar method to the rotoscoping of old.

Whilst this makes all the film posters look rather beautiful, you'll likely find yourself looking straight past it within the first few minutes of the film. In stills, the actors look like well drawn cartoons of themselves. In motion, your eyes will soon begin to ignore the cartoon treatment completely.

Does this detract from the film? Not really, thankfully. Indeed, the main gain may well be that it kept the budget down to a relatively tiny three million pounds mark. And despite the fog of the graphical style, it's easy to distinguish some great acting. Keanu Reeves, famous for only being able to play a confused stoner or a zen-like super agent, gets to do both here, just like in The Matrix. He plays an undercover cop sent to infiltrate a houseful of - confused stoners. Being a Philip K. Dick plot, the story is as drug addled and enjoyably crazy as a trip without the come-down. I don't want to spoil it, but the central themes are identity and paranoia; pretty typical Dick. The supporting cast, in particular Robert Downey Jr. are also rather great; his unhinged dope fiend is both funny and terrifying.

The music also deserves a mention; as well as a specially written soundtrack, the film also features quite a bit of Musically Sound favourite Radiohead. The script adaptation does a great job of transferring the 1970s set novel to the present day without sacrificing the plot or the characters. And the direction's choice of camera angles and POV shots, and the gorgeous composition of the driving scenes, had me hooked.

As much as I like Dick, the only thing that saved me from loving this film to bits was one aspect of the plot - the stylishly animated "scrambler suit", designed to render a persons identity as a fleeting composite; simply didn't make a lot of sense; why not just use a mask and a vocoder? Still, are you expecting water-tight logic from a film about taking a lot of hallucinogens? Probably not. In all, a faithful adaptation and a great stand-alone entity in itself. 90

Music: Guillemots - Through the Windowpane

Guillemots
Through The Windowpane
[Indie Pop]






It’s nearly that time of year when Top Figures in the British Music Industry listen to Radio 1 for a couple of hours, have a brief chat with Edith Bowman and then decide on the best British album of the past twelve months. While it is traditionally billed as an “alternative” award, the Mercury Music Prize often features nominations that appear to be selected purely on sales figures. In fact, some years it even feels as though the judges can’t think up enough worthy artists to make up the shortlist, for example the puzzling choice of Editors this year.

However, I happen to have some good news for the industry men – this year there is no need for a competition. That’s right guys and gals, we shouldn't fear another debacle of Miss Dynamite proportions; Guillemots have the competition so far beaten it would be embarrassing to perceive of another winner.

I cannot remember enjoying a debut album as much as Through The Windowpane. From its rich samba freak outs to more purer forms of song writing, it is a clear winner across the board. What’s immediately welcome is that chief Mot Fyfe Dangerfield eschews the current trend of half-baked Mike Skinnerisms in his lyrics, instead choosing to write in a more traditional style. Themes of existentialism are especially prominent, leading to some truly moving moments, such as the following (rather long) excerpt from “Trains To Brazil”. “And to those of you who mourn your lives from one day to the next / Well let them take you next / Can’t you just be thankful you’re here? / It could be you tomorrow or next year”. Accompanied with the typically desperate, clinging-on-for-dear-life vocals, it certainly trumps “Well ah met a feller down t’pub…”

There’s also room for plenty of dark humour, too, with killer lines such as “I bank all my dreams on an earthquake” and “There’s poetry in an empty coke can” rife throughout. The lyrics are of such a high standard that it is a genuine surprise when Dangerfield utters the clanger “If I had you / All the stars wouldn’t fall from the sky / And the moon wouldn’t start to cry”. However, he delivers the line with such Yorkian pathos that it doesn’t feel as contrived as it perhaps should.

Having a classically trained vocalist and cellist in the band is obviously going to put significant pressure on the music, and this is where Through The Windowpane really earns its stripes. After all, anyone can write about love, right? From dizzyingly complex, multi-instrument arrangements (“Made-Up Lovesong #43”) to the subtlest ever use of organ, strings and ambient noise (“If The World Ends”, “Little Bear”), it is clear the album’s apparently big budget has not gone to waste. Yet at no point does the album sound over-produced, retaining a warmth and humanity that is only usually accustomed to a lone man with a guitar.

As well as recent single “Trains To Brazil”, many numbers have a bruising momentum that is just plain funky. “We’re Here” and “Annie, Let’s Not Wait” have real bite, the latter employing 80s cheese synth, groovy bass, banjo and smiley piano to make it irresistibly danceable. In contrast, Guillemots aren’t afraid to use silence as an important instrument in their songs. “Little Bear” and “Blue Would Still Be Blue” in particular aren’t afraid to leave a sizeable volume of empty space to emphasise the teary words.

Album closer “Sao Paulo” deserves a paragraph all of its own, and that’s exactly what it’s going to get. A twelve minute, brooding, indulgent, musical rollercoaster of a masterpiece, it flies the flag defiantly against edgy guitars, post-post-punk and the twenty-first century in general. Beginning with a simple piano backdrop, Dangerfield tells a traveller’s tale reminiscent of “Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream” before strings leap in and blow the mind. “Sometimes I could drop my bags and run for miles / Sometimes I could live nine lives / But I won’t” is one of many standout lines as the first part of the arrangement fades out to a wall of distorted screaming. The song then engulfs its subject matter and begins five minutes of pure samba madness as the listener is warned against doctors, lovers, soldiers, lawyers and more. I defy anyone not to like this song.

So, whether floating on the catchiest of pop melodies of attempting something that little bit different, Guillemots clearly have what it takes musically and lyrically. Their biggest challenge comes when they are expected to build on this astounding effort in eighteen months time. For now though, we should let them bask in the glory of Through The Windowpane. The biggest threat to their success will come should they act violently when Muse snatch the Mercury prize and talk about changing the face of music… 91