Armor For Sleep - Manchester Academy 2 - 4.6.05

Armor For Sleep have toured with Thursday and Taking Back Sunday, so it's not hard to see the emo signs hanging around their doors like a warning sign. Although these four natives of New Jersey are here in a supporting capacity for Fightstar, they might as well call it a co-headlining tour for the reaction these guys inspire.

Singer Ben Jorgensen's handsome features will do him and his three comrades no harm in aligning impressionable young girls to take an interest. Along with guitarist PJ DeCicco these two are the Morrissey / Marr of alternative rock, a dynamic duo with plenty to offer both in terms of lyrical and musical depth. Their 2nd album "What To Do When You're Dead" could be the making of Armor For Sleep and catapult them into the premier league away from the cult status they currently hold.

AFS have just the right combination between heavy riffs and beautiful melodies in songs such as "Stay On The Ground" and "More You Talk, The Less I Hear". Some of the guitar breaks remind me a little of Thin Lizzy (Ed: Younger readers, ask your dad) and very occasionally the vocals cross over into post-hardcore screamathons.

By the end of the set most of the crowd have turned into gibbering wrecks "Armor For Sleep, Oh My God, they're like so brilliant" as if they're emo versions of Vicky Pollard. It was an all too brief, but memorable set, which captivated the Fightstar fans. A result all round

Nicholas Paul Godkin

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