Liverpool Sound City 2008 - Demo Review
Liverpool Sound City is the latest in a long line of Urban Festivals following in the mould of SXSW and In The City and Designer Magazine was there to check out the latest bands heading out of Liverpool and the rest of the UK. While the likes of the Wombats, Reverend & The Makers, Hadouken and Santogold ripped up the larger stages it was the unsigned bands which made the focus point of the festival.
While we did see some familiar Manchester faces such as Carlis Star, Virginmarys and The Underclass the real problem is we didn't actually get to see that many bands due to last minute changes in stage times and mammoth walks between all of the venues which potentially took us from one side of the city to the other. Hopefully these problems will be ironed out for next years Sound City if they manage to take it further than the Capital of Culture funding streteches....but in the absence of any real live reviews we thought we'd round up the Best Demos of week long Festival
PRISON AREA
One of the bands we really wanted to see at Sound City, Prison Area
manage to strangely mix the sort of riffs that Franz Ferdinand used to
deliver with the the contemporary electro groove of Reverend & The
Makers. "Can I Touch You" sounds like it should be soundtracking a Skins
Party and "Break Probation" is probably what happened after said party.
It wont be long before the kids bored of Hadouken look for a few more songs
and the adults want something a bit more exciting to dance to. Prison Area
could be heading for a mainstream Prison break very very soon .
ALVAREZ KINGS
Like Prison Area earlier are set to turn pedestrian audiences into
full on raves. With half the band hailing with Sheffield their are obvious
comparisons with Reverend, but there's more of a laddy swagger going on
like early prime time Kasabian. "You Me Them Us" is an obvious arms aloft
anthem and if you don't believe us burn it off as a free download from
their myspace page, take it down the local indie disco and watch 400 people
go mad for it. "Despair On The Stairs" is a little scuzzier with a post
Monkeys riff wrapped around a post punk beat. They've supported The Enemy
and NME love them - expect big things
THE SUMS
Already known to those Oasis fanatics, The Sums are the latest band
from former Smaller frontman Digsy (as in Digsys Dinner fame). The band
deliver what you'd expect with a rousing workmanlike chorus that sticks
to a tried and tested formula but their answer to that would be if it isnt
broke dont fix it. What we get with the Sums is non-pretentious well written
mid tempo songs like "Ringing In The Rain" and "Rise", while the stripped
down "Who Cares?" touches on Neil Finns back catalogue. Members of the
Sums have been writing with Paul McCartney but when the tied turns
back to songs rather than fashion there's nothing to stop The Sums finding
a much larger audience
THE DRELLA'S
Space caused several arguments in the pre-Designer Magazine days between
various members of the team. Some of us thought they were the future of
pop and others thought they were just plain shit. Its come as a surprise
than that we're universally agreed that former frontman Tommy Scotts new
band The Drella's are f*cking amazing. Even the titles are better than
other bands around with the best ones being "Radically Thinking Out Aloud"
and "Violence Is Art". About as far removed from Space as you can imagine
The Drellas sound like John Peels favourite band that never was and expect
The Fall and McClusky fans to jump on this band
THE SOUND MOVEMENT
For a three piece they sure make an epic soundscape. Its the sort of
thing you'd expect from a band that has travelled from Melbourne, Australia
to Toyko, Manchester and London soaking up various musical influences.
A distinctly 80s melodicism of the Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen mixes
up with the early 90s shoegazing bands such as Ride. At times they even
remind us of long forgotten band The Frank & Walters. The Sound Movement
are never gonna set the charts alive but they will make their cult audience's
life much more enriched with these beautiful textured layered classics
www.myspace.com/thesoundmovement
THE VAGABONDS
We first became aware of the Vagabonds when the Tigerpicks decamped
to Liverpool after their Deltasonic signing but the single "Twothousandandseven"
is the first thing we've really listened to properly by the band. Lyrically
articulate and observational, without falling into the WKD school of lyricism
ala Alex Turner or getting preachy, they mix it up with some great punk
tuneage. While "the title track and "The Boys In The Dirty Boots" are great
tracks its "The Shape Of Things To Come" with its Clash influence meets
80s metal synths that shines through
EPIPHANY
One of Manchesters most underrated bands and proof that even though
we do indie so well we can do rock music equally as good. Equal parts Muse,
System Of A Down and Porcupine Tree there's nothing held back and each
song builds to epic prog proportions. More than the sum of its parts it
mixtures up strange arabian signatures with a European Stadium rock pomp.
Word has it their album is set to released in the coming month and if it
as half as good as the demo suggest expect them to received critical acclaim
across the board.
REVENGE TRAGEDIES
Bowie meets Nick Cave with the look straight out of V for Vendetta.
Everything that the London scenesters are saying about Glasvegas right
now they should be saying about Revenge Tragedies because the mini symphonies
this band create are made of bigger subjects than are normally covered
in contemporary music and that to date only Spiritualised can only pull
off with any credibility. This is a band you need to witness now!!!
www.myspace.com/revengetragedies
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