Through Silence, Camden Underworld
Strange choice of venue for tonight’s proceedings, but quite a cool little place; probably about 100 people in attendance which packed out the small yet cosy bar. What I’ve come to learn through a few years of gig going is that when Big Cheese/Deck Cheese put on a small showcase gig it’s always going to be good and equally as cool is that they are free. Tonight was no exception, although I was pretty much unfamiliar with two of the bands playing I was more than happy to go and check it out.
FAILSAFE were in my eyes band of the night and for several very good reasons. From the opening song their set was packed full of energy and with more explosives than a terrorists lunchbox, with both singers fronting the band forcefully yet excitably. The rest of the band were incredibly tight and looked like a solid unit who’d been playing together for years and had just become one single entity comprising of each member being an extension of another. Musically, any band who can switch from dub reggae to full on post-hardcore heavy riffagery in seconds are good; any band that can do it as seamlessly and tastefully as this, with the inclusion of 80’s synth-pop keyboards, are fantastic. There are a lot of bands doing the whole ‘lets take the normal ska-formula and mix it up with just about anything we can find’ thing, but very few can actually pull it off, FAILSAFE are amongst those few. (8.5)
This show was really billed as STORIES AND COMETS’ album launch party; anyways they went on next and seemed to have drawn the biggest crowd of the night. It’s strange really as I’m not even sure if they’ve been a band for a year yet but they’ve been on some large tours and now have an album out. It shows you just how hard they must work and I think it has paid off judging from this performance. The last time I saw them play was a good few months ago, they were good then, but they’ve really gone up a notch. It’s amazing that only three guys can create such a powerful barrage of sound; if Fidel Castro said war was loud, then S&C are deafening but certainly in a good way. I was often finding myself lost in their songs, I’m not sure why but if I look past the constant screaming I find their music mesmerising. What they do lack however is an abundance of melody and much crowd interaction, but what they’re in shortage of here they make up in raw brute force. (7.5)
THROUGH SILENCE are another of Deck Cheese’s latest signings and I’d hadn’t really any knowledge of them at all. When they took to the stage with the front man sporting a scarf I checked where the door was but I stuck around to witness what was a strong performance. ‘Sounding like the bastard child of LOST PROPHETS after listening to INCUBUS’ heavier moments’ was one connotation I thought of whilst watching them. They certainly have a polished metallic edge whilst holding an also not so unfamiliar emotive vocal weapon. TS pull it off well though and although far from being my cup of tea, I did quite enjoy their set. They handled and held the crowd admirably and are obviously more than competent of doing some aural damage as well as putting on a lively performance, I just wasn’t too sure on the ‘Gold’ cover. (7)
Mike
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