Tonight, we saw how good the independent Leeds-based scene gets, with a great turnout and a cracking night.
EDIBLE FIVE FOOT SMITHS - denizens of the Adelphi in Hull - were first on. Matt Psychotic, looking like retro man in his 70s skinny jumper and shoulder length ringlets, does a bemused routine wth our sympathies and mops up the early arrivals with 8 genres per song. Reggae, punk, glam metal, folk whimsy...whatever. Every song bursts with ideas and impossible combinations. Everything falls apart at 20 second intervals, every time pulled up and restarted with another crazy twist. Transitions? Hell, no...Just stop for a bit, count "seven, eight, nine" and start off at a completely different tempo. It's a great start to the evening.
GALITZA are on next, with preview copies of their July release EP parachuted in halfway through the evening. They're a brand new band, but the faces are familiar survivors from half a dozen of Leeds' best bands. Stevie Gonzales (ex-LANDSPEED LOUNGERS) and EMMA BOB III (ex-CHEST) share a passion for pulsingly fine music and laconic, self-deprecating humour. You have to love them.
Swapping or sharing the vocals, backed up with the stylishly-named suspects on either side, they create waves of nimble riffs and great tunes. They finish with "Rattle In Me" and "Stalker", two pasionately fine songs from the EP, "Laugh Like A Horse". They combine Emma's rich voice and the band's effortless sonic mastery.
This is a very mature music, absorbing and trannscending all that's best in everything from Alt.Country to rip 'em up VELVET UNDERGROUND garagery. They sound like GALITZA.
MAMA SCUBA are partners in crime on the vintage Leeds scene. Sharp as the creases in their pants, they charge through pumped up alto-Pop with fearsome control and suppressed passion. They flirt with the muso tag. Their lead guitarist takes centre stage with a fixed scowl and says nor sings a word. On a couple of ventures into noise-mongering, close attention to the pulse and dynamic keeps the chaos well beyond the perimeter fence.
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Very much their own band with their own impeccable style, they are closer to SQUEEZE than DARK STAR or MOGWAI. But there are elements in all three in tonight's approach. The drumming is a joy. The crowd love it and the whole evening is just cooking up to a terrific climax.
BLACK NEILSON slow the evening down. It's late. A few gaps have appeared in he audience,. but this is no anti-climax. We've had the adrenaline rush of the climb and now we're crusing at high altitude. The band starts with "Oh Phantoms", the opener from their new EP, "Cyprus 2765" and then we're spoilt with a mix from the EP and their new album, "Still Life Hear Me."
This is crafted music played well. Keyboards provide a sweeping backdrop to guitars that sometimes rock but more often combine to create ethereal music. There's an epic quality to their sound; it's never less than interesting and sometimes quite beautiful. Comparisons are made between BLACK NEILSON and MERCURY REV/ FLAMING LIPS. Add SIGUR ROS to that list. Notwithstanding these comparisons, on the basis of tonight's performance, BLACK NEILSON are no poor relation to any band.
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