London Scala,
06/04/06
You never know when you might discover your new favourite band, so try and give support acts a chance. Imagine Bloc Party and the Mars Volta wrestling each other in a pit of post-hardcore filth, and you’ll have a rough idea of what Keiko sound like. Unfortunately, the half-empty venue does their sound few favours; and whilst the band give it their all, the constant echo robs them of their subtle edge. Shame.
Never mind, because 65daysofstatic are here to blow our minds with a truly awe-inspiring set of mesmerising, intricate, abrasive math rock. Synths pulse as the Sheffield quartet unleash tsunami-sized waves of white noise from their instruments, constantly changing tack to keep our senses scrambled like those of the proverbial rabbit in the headlights. It’s a gloriously futuristic sound that almost defies description; suffice to say that there are few bands like 65daysofstatic around, and in the live setting they are an unmissable experience. They surely can’t remain such a well-kept secret for long.
After the various troubles surrounding their split from Sony, it’s heartening to see that Hundred Reasons are back with a vengeance. From the moment they rip into the opening ‘Broken Hands’, it’s clear that they’ve never sounded or looked so confident; guitarists Paul Townsend and Larry Hibbitt leaping around the stage as singer Colin Doran greets the heaving moshpit with palpable enthusiasm.
Such stage presence would, of course, be futile without the songs to back it up; but the band have just released what is arguably their best album to date in ‘Kill Your Own’, and consequently the new tunes are greeted with much the same fervour as old favourites like ‘I’ll Find You’ and ‘If I Could’. The thunderous riffs and huge choruses of ‘Feed The Fire’ and ‘The Perfect Gift’ sound even more impressive in the live setting, whilst Colin’s voice is almost drowned out by those of the crowd on the more mellow ‘The Chance’.
Don’t even try throwing the dreaded e-word at them; few of today’s ’emo’ bands would want to compete with Hundred Reasons when the Surrey quintet are on such blistering form. If you’d consider yourself unfamiliar or even uninterested in them, now is most definitely the time to put aside your preconceptions.