It was, I suppose, inevitable, that at some point I would arrive at a gig to find that my name wasn't on the list at the door. That point happened to be tonight, and I experienced a 'your name's not down, you're not getting in' situation. Remonstrating was clearly futile, so I had to quickly weigh up my options: say "sod it", walk out and go straight home again, say "sod it" and go to the pub, or say "sod it" and stump up the fiver entry fee. Having paid to get the train from York to Leeds, the first option seemed entirely self-defeating, and I didn't much fancy sitting in a pub on my own in Leeds city centre on a Friday night, so option three it was.
The support acts, Charlie Barnes and Eaststrikewest struggled bravely with a poor sound and large crowd of people standing about in groups talking loudly. I'm not entirely sure what to make of the ubiquitous Barnes. He's one of the numerous loop-pedal solo artists around at the moment, but where he differs from many is in his human beatbox backings that he creates. He creates a fairly pleasant vibe, and has a warm enough stage persona, but there are times during many of the songs that sound just that bit out of time, a little bit untogether. It's a tad amateurish, and nothing to write home about.
Eastrtikewest start off promisingly, issuing forth tidal waves of swirling shoegaze guitar noise with their heads down and driving hard. The vocals are a tad weak in context. The mop-topped front man does lack that essential presence, and has more beef in his paunch than in his larynx, which produces a sound that's ok, but nondescript; a bit Newton Faulkner at times when he pushes it a bit more. I doubt many people present notice any of this, and as the set slowly blurs into sameness, the volume of chatter increases incrementally. Nevertheless, there are moments when, despite the muffled mix, the guitars do soar and the percussion really does cut through the chatter, and they leave the stage in a flood of feedback that I have to give a thumbs up to.
This is, of course, Hail Animator's night. It's the launch gig foe their debut EP, 'We Live in Boxes,' which isn't a bad effort, I have to admit. Skirting the question of whether a six-tracker constitutes an EP or a mini-album, the majority of the set was composed of material from the nre release, as one might expect. They opened with the EP's lead track, 'Simple Yet Wise,' which does boast a niggling, reverby guitar intro that's got more than a touch of Interpol or Editors about it and is really rather good.
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There's a part of me that's torn by Hail Animator: they're clearly having fun and enjoying what they do. They've clearly found a fanbase, too, and have worked hard to do so, and for that, I have to give some real credit. They've no shortage of solid indie-rock songs that work well in a live setting. But... well, there as to be a but, doesn't there? There are some rough edges, for sure, but whether this is representative of pub-rock tendencies or simply an endearing rough-hewn northern attitude, it's sometimes hard to tell. They do emanate an affable presence on stage, but I can't help but be nagged by the sense that they're like so many other bands that play in pubs up and down the country, who are competent and well-received, but are never going to break on through.
It might have a touch of the Keanes about it, but the tonking piano-led 'Working' could easily be a bona fide hit if given the right marketing and airplay. Despite it being my least favourite song on the EP and in the set, there's no denying that it’s as catchy as hell.
It's early days, and Hail Animator are still finding their feet. They've certainly made a promising start. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.
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