The Megaphonic Thrift at The Rainbow 13/03/2012

It's relatively quiet in The Rainbow, however whilst the crowd may be thin on the ground the same can't be said for tonight's opening act Swimming. The Nottingham 5-piece fill the stage, and the room, with their blend of electronics and reverb-soaked rock. Think of a more upbeat Twilight Sad, sans the Scottishness, and mix in a bit of The Cooper Temple Clause, and you may be somewhere close to imagining what these guys sound like. There is definitely a summery vibe to their music, which is reflected in the projections displayed behind them depicting surfers and US highways and various other Americana. On their more keyboard-led tracks they come across as a heavier Late of the Pier, and this may be no coincidence - their keyboardist Sam is/was a member of said band. Swimming have certainly mastered their craft, powerfully layering their sounds, all underpinned by their metronomic drummer who continually propels them forwards. I imagine the next time they swing through town, they'll be playing to a much larger crowd.

Next up are local lads Bad Apes, a caustic three-piece out of Walsall. Don't let their youthful looks fool you, for they know how to bring the noise at nosebleed-inducing levels. Their sound mixes punk and shoegaze in equal measures, and at times they wear their influences on their sleeves. Tonight's set opener for example sounds heavily inspired by Sonic Youth, and despite some issues with bass levels, gets the crowd in the mood for what's to come, a blistering set which takes in 'Oceans Rust' with its acidic bass riff, wavering nauseatingly throughout whilst still forming a solid bedrock upon which guitarist/vocalist Joe can build the song to its violent conclusion. However, the highlight tonight has to be new song 'What Doesn't Kill Me Only Puts Me In A Coma', which comes on like a pissed-off My Bloody Valentine. With its repetitive refrain "It's just the way we live our lives," it's as good as a statement of intent you'll get from Bad Apes. Closing with 'The Near Deaf Experience,' the audience are literally left near deaf as the band blasted the levels sub-atomic before leaving their guitars in a heap on the floor. They may not be to everyone's taste, but if you like your music loud, abrasive and unpredictable, Bad Apes may just be your new favourite band.

The Megaphonic Thrift

Headlining The Rainbow this evening are Norwegian 4-piece The Megaphonic Thrift who bring a lot more melody to proceedings - think a Scandinavian Broken Social Scene, melodic basslines, swathed in layers of reverb-drenched guitar, forming a formidable wall of sound. Similarities can be drawn with early British Sea Power, however it is the shoegaze elements that really make The Megaphonic Thrift shine: the vulnerability and fragility in bassist Linn Frokedal's voice mark a sharp contrast to the sheets of distortion, and recall all the best bits of My Blood Valentine. Not to be outdone by Bad Apes' antics, TMT end with the massive post-rock epic that is 'Queen of Noise', speeding full throttle through to a ear-shattering climax  - a climax that leaves their guitars ringing off into infinity, as well as ears buzzing well into the next day.

Pulled Apart By Horses at the HMV Institute 20/02/2012

Monday night down on Digbeth High Street, and you’d be excused for thinking nothing was going on. However behind the doors of the institute a mass is gathering to witness two of the hardest working bands currently treading the boards. DJ trio Mildred Fierce get the crowd in the mood for what’s to come with their mix of distorted classics, before tonight's first act hit the stage.

I've seen The Computers a few times now, and they have always been a phenomenal live act, however these shows have always been within the confines of The Flapper, so seeing them on a big stage was an interesting prospect, and they certainly didn't disappoint.  Imagine the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster covering The Hives with a pinch of Elvis Costello pomp, and you're somewhere to imagining what these guys sound like. And whilst my description may sound somewhat horrific, they have a great live sound, and a stage presence that most bands would kill for, especially their front-man Alex who literally has the crowd eating from the palm of his hand in moments. Taking the spirit of classic rock n roll and putting it through a punk-rock blender, The Computers deliver up some heavy, surf-rockabilly blues. Some may find the whole ‘preaching to save rock n roll’ vibe a little tiresome, but there’s enough evidence this is tongue-in-cheek to allow me to let them off the hook for being a tad cliché. Alex brings the set to a close from within the crowd, whipping the pit into a maelstrom of arms and legs, lost shoes and nosebleeds. Just like it should be! Not a band I’d listen to on record, but live they hit the mark just right. An excellent start to the evenings proceedings.

Pulled Apart By Horses

Tonight's head-liners, Pulled Apart by Horses, are clearly happy to be in town. Loud, abrasive and good humoured from the get-go, this is their first time back in the second city for a good while and are in good spirits. Having had the previous day off from their touring schedule, front-man Tom Hudson had taken the opportunity to grab some home comforts, including a roast dinner with his parents back in Halesowen. With batteries fully recharged, the band tear their way through a healthy mix of tracks from their self-titled début as well as latest disc Tough Love. ‘I Punched a Lion in the Throat’ kicks thing off nicely, guitarist James Brown throwing himself violently to the floor throughout - even know just thinking about the way he jumps in the air and lands on his knees makes my mind boggle how he hasn't busted his kneecaps out! 'High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive' sounds as vital tonight as it has always done, whilst current single 'V.E.N.O.M' gets the already sweaty crowd into even more of a sticky mess. The real curve-ball of the set comes in the form of Tough Love album track 'Everything Dipped in Gold', which shows a side of Pulled Apart we had until now really seen - a more considered, slow-builder of a track that will be a key fixture of their set for a long time to come. After a brief break, the band return for an encore during which they dive headlong into a cover of Nirvana’s ‘Tourette’s’, as well as head-first into the crowd - as Tom and James both clamber into the crowd, climb onto the bar, and accept a drink from a member of the audience, all whilst ploughing through the final chunky chords of 'Den Horn.'  

As I leave tonight, with ears ringing and a grin as wide as my face, I'm pleased in the knowledge that there are bands out there who practice what they preach, and don't treat a show any different if they are sweating it out on a tiny stage or up on a platform with a steel fence between. As long as their are acts like this who can entertain and engage then we're all in safe hands.

iLiKETRAiNS at the Hare & Hounds 28/10/2010

The deafening sound of a ships horn heralds the entrance of the iLiKETRAiNS 2010, or I Like Trains as they now like to be know. Gone are the British Rail uniforms and black armbands; the band now clad themsleves as seamen, with rather dashing Officer jackets. Whilst some might see scorn this kind of gimmickery, with 'TRAiNS it's all part of their appeal - and equally as much a reflection of the thematic nature of their music. With their latest record, the band have moved away from the post-rockish, historically-informed sound of their previous records, and instead for the first time looked to the future - particularly the demise of the human race due to it's own ignorance to issues such as global warming.

Tonight the band are clearly on form, playing their set to an almost full Hare. This evening's set comprised mostly of new material from album He Who Saw The Deep, as well as a few older cuts ('Victress', 'A Rook House for Bobby', a rare outing of a (shortened) 'Stainless Steel'). Strangely, no tracks from debut 'Elegies..' were played - not even the early single (and in many ways difining track) 'Terra Nova' showed its epic head, which is a great shame. That's not to deride the new material, which shows the band are more than capable to write softer, more ballad-like tracks, relying less on the wall-of-distortion that is trademark of a lot of their early releases. In many ways tracks like 'A Father's Son' and 'A Divorce Before Marriage' recall their more tender side which came across in their demos prior to Progress Reform.

After the show, I spoke to singer David Martin about the length of time between albums; 3 years is a long space of time between albums nowadays. He was aware that people would think they had nothing left in them, but the gap was more about them trying to create material that they were happy with. And have they acheived that goal? Dave's pleased with the results, and I too have to agree that the band have put together what is a very strong rock record. Yes, it's very different both texturally and thematically than their debut, but I think it's possible to argue that with their latest offering they've become more focused as a band, and as always with iLiKETRAiNS it will be interesting to see where they set sail for next.

Shapes + Grown Ups at the Flapper 23/05/2010

Despite it being an extremely warm Sunday evening there is still a reasonable turn-out for tonight's show in the warm underbelly of the Flapper. Turning up slightly later than anticipated (it was an early kick-off) I manage to catch half of Bronze Medals' set. I don't know if they were having an off-night or if the sound just wasn't doing them justice, but tonight they didn't seem as full of vim as they had last time I caught them at the Adam & Eve. Perhaps the heat had taken it out of them? That said, they stand head and shoulders above a lot of local bands for their ingenuity, surmised in set-closer 'I Lost the Map', which has become one of my favourite tracks of the year thus far.

Next to the stage were City Hero. Whilst they weren't necessarily a bad band, I can't say that the Birmingham three-piece left me wanting more. There were brief moments where interesting riffs came into the fore, reminiscent of old-school Deftones. However where progress was made on the heaviness front, the band cancelled themselves out by lapsing into a, well, cliche and cheesy rock sound that does absolutely nothing for me. I know some people like Nickelback, and there is a place for that gravelly-throated alt-rock, but that place is not in my record collection.

Into It. Over It. acted as a solid counter-balance to the acts proceeding him, and to Grown Ups who would follow. His acoustic discourses on subjects as diverse as friends, love, and American Football went down brilliantly, and his chirpy sense of humour was almost as good as his music. Favourite comment of mine was his thoughts on how Britain doesn't understand the term "bummed' which he uses often, and has had people on the tour mistake his feeling sad as reference to anal sex, which I'm sure is not always a good thing when you're thousands of miles from home. My only regret is that I didn't pick up his 52-track double album, recorded over the course of a year (1 track a week, folks), as he was a lovely guy. I complimented his brilliant humour and he said it was due to watching a lot of British sitcoms with his parents when growing up. It was very pleasing to find a Yank who gets English comedy, so Evan Weiss, I salute you.

The main pull for tonight has to be Chicago's Grown Ups. Recently signed to Big Scary Monsters, and with debut More Songs currently gracing my stereo, I knew that these boys would be an absolute riot. They remind me a lot of Hot Water Music, with their infectious pop-punk hooks skittering along in reckles abandon, with the songs usually cumilating into a fantastical conclusion almost as soon as they've started. The only negative I found this evening was that it did seem a bit too loud, meaning that the vocals were often obscured by the guitars which is a real shame as it was the combination of the vocals and the guitar hooks that originally drew my attention. I was also a little sad about how short their set was - but then their record only clocks in at just over 30 minutes. I really hope these guys come back soon as they are a fantastic, summery punk-rock outfit who deserve your attention. Why not go download their first EP, Songs, over on If You Make It - you won't regret it.

Last up tonight are local boys Shapes who I've written about before on these pages. It's pretty much text book this evening, and despite the crowd becoming decidedly smaller (it's a Sunday night after all) the band plough through their set of juggernaut riffs and unexpected time changes like the prog-metal supremeos they've grown into. A couple of new songs were thrown in for good measure this evening, including one which sounded like it may have been called something to do with AC/DC, but my ears may have tricked me. Closing with live favourite 'You Butcher!' Shapes brought to an end a diverse evening of music. Whilst they are always a great act to watch, for me this evening was all about Grown Ups, who were brilliant and are well worth your investigation.