False Image - Manchester Roadhouse - 21.12.05
Bolton, it's not exactly known for rock music is it? With the exception of Kinesis a few years ago who merely hovered around the edges of the rock scene there are few bands that have come out of the area, but after the Kay’s Peter and Vernon putting the city of the map for their respective comedic and (lack of) presenting talents it could just be the time for False Image to put the city on the musical map.
Designer Magazine first met False Image over the In The City weekend where they managed to do what most bands could only dream of. While most bands simply put on a fringe gig on the outside of town in the hope that a lowly A&R might just walk away from the expenses paid bar at the Midland Hotel, False Image went straight to the heart of the convention eschewing a gig and instead handing out demos to virtually every A&R rep in the building. One of those A&R men just happened to be Paul Adams, head of Mercury Records and the man behind signing the likes of Ian Brown, Gene and Cast to Polydor during the Britpop period (although you'll probably best know him for being a judge on the original Popstars series)
As the band step out on stage at the Roadhouse, after being shifted up on the bill above Fear Of Music, it's clear that the audience doesn't quite know what to make of a rock band from Bolton. You imagine they're repeating "Rock, Bolton, Rock, Bolton" through their heads as False Image's frontman has a broad accent that wipes the floor with Peter Kays campaign for keeping accents regional...but then again you can imagine Lostprophets suffering the same curse as they tried to tell the world that Welsh bands can rock.
Musically they take from everything that's happened musically over the past 5 years with emo vocals, post hardcore guitars and song structures that defy the norm. Nothing about this band is ordinary so if you're expecting Fightstar's pop take on the emo scene you might as well look somewhere else as this is only just the beginning and you can imagine it's gonna get a hell of a lot more fucked up 12 months time when they've found that confidence from regularly playing in front of a live audience. "The Same Old Train" stops and starts spluttering along before going into a funk work out, "Loves At First Lost" sounds like a track of FFAF's second album or Dashboard Confessional while "Reknown" is just a great rock tune.
Great things will come of False Image over the next 12 months
Words: Alex McCann
Photo: Andy Stubbs - www.shoot-first.com
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