The Cut II @ Open
Three local bangers.
A cold Thursday night and it is down to OPEN for the second edition of The Cut.
Chalky Seas are a four piece consisting of an acoustic toting lead vocalist, electric guitarist, bass and drums. This was an assured, if unspectacular debut gig. I don't want to damn with faint praise but my notes include "earnest", "polite", “tasteful” and "arena-indie". At times, I was reminded of Walking On Cars, Travis and Elbow, perhaps more In the delivery than in the actual musical style. There's the kernel of something potentially great here and I'll definitely be keeping an ear out for these guys.
Mila Falls is backed up by a decent live drummer and talented guitarist, along with a laptop-generated backing track. Unfortunately, that backing track is having an off day and the resulting technical issues may well have torpedoed a lesser (or less self-assured) artist. As it was, Mila and her band deal with the problem pretty well. Mila has a strong voice and decent, eighties-tinged hard pop songs. Being honest, this ain't my thang but, those technical problems aside, it is done well, with talent and passion.
So, after the tastefully restrained Chalky Seas and the pure pop of Mila Falls, I need something, fast, ugly and nasty. With a name recalling Oi-stalwarts Cockney Rejects, I was expecting that from British Rejects. So do they deliver? Eh, yes and no. British Rejects play hard and fast punk-pop. At their best there's a tasty metallic edge but initially this isn't quite the down-in-the-gutter, outta the squat, snotty punk that I was hoping for. Then I put my notepad away and just get into it. And it is almost a revelation.
Frontman Ryan is cocksure and confident, addressing the audience as if he was playing a sold out arena rather than a half-empty OPEN Club Room. The songs offer nothing new or original but they are played with a fervour and, dare I say, a professionalism that is all too often missing from other bands at this level of their career. A few more performances like this, supporting the right people in front of the right crowds, and I can see these guys being massive.
