The
Xcerts*****
Yearbook*****
Saul
Goodman****1/2*
More
Than Conquerors***1/2**
The
Borderline, London Thursday
13th September
There
are some things you keep going back for. Even though you’ve got a pretty good
idea what to expect.
You
know what a piece of hot buttered toast is going to taste like. But the toaster
gets fired up regularly. You know the Bill Hicks DVD will cause a thoughtful
laughter-induced aneurism. But, the curtains and ring pulls get pulled and the
BlueRay pressed into action. And you know that slightly sad but soothingly
woozy feeling you get when you get to the last mouthful of a bottle of ’79
Aloxe-Corton. But the cork gets lovingly drawn and the glugging commences.
So,
the tantalising thought of one of the UK’s finest young rock bands performing
their fabulous album Scatterbrain is exactly the same. And one that a packed
Borderline obviously agrees with. So, corks popped and Dualits turned on….
Tonight’s
revelry starts with Ulstermen More Than Conquerors. Their gilt-edged, proggy
alt Biffy-esque, at times mathy jaunt draws a decent early throng and they fire
a volley of catchy energy bullets stage left right and centre. A crackling
start to proceedings culminating with a drum-off and the cheeky chappy
guitarist and front man taking to the venue floor. Great stuff.
Saul
Goodman****1/2*
So,
what next? Who is Saul Goodman? A hitherto undiscovered Canadian acoustic
balladeer? A blind deep jungle-trance electro moshcore visionary from Tel
Aviv? A cross-over Country and Western pedal steel player ? Nah. It’s those
damned tinkers The Xcerts them very selves. So what are the trio doing
supporting themselves? As it were.
 |
| Saul Goodman...tinkerman |
The
new stuff is huger than ever. A heavier and bigger bombast underpins
chest-beating hooks and STI-like infectious refrains. A tantalising
amuse-bouche and thrilling portent of even greater things to come from the
lads. Brilliant and bed-wettingly exciting stuff.
I
was lucky enough to catch Yearbook at Dom Patience’s triumphant Burnout Festival
in July and was duly knocked out and more than a little love struck. Having
heard a smattering of their oeuvre thanks to the unsigned-pushing-heroic hairy
bastard Alex Baker on Kerrang!
Radio I’d already warmed to this quirky and passionate bunch of weirdnik
library geek troubadours. But wasn’t fully prepared for their live animation of
their work.
And
tonight was even finer. The totally original sound, constructs, tunesmanship
and general freshness genuinely set these lads apart from the trailing pack of
competent Canterbury-esque schmoove rockers or clichéd dropped D clean/scream
emometalaltpostrockcore.
Mesmerising
throughout, thought-provoking and musically masterful; they marry massive choruses
with plaintive fragility switching effortlessly into goose-bump inducing heavy-boned
emotional rawness.
Chief
librarian and singer Andy Holloway leads from the front and possesses such an
original and elastic voice. Ranging between Bombay Bicycle Club, ATDI, Weezer
and pitched in the same raw ultra high balcony as Andrew Groves from Arcane
Roots
Like
a fabulous and engaging Iain Banks novel, their set (albeit a shorter support set) takes
you on a journey drenched in pathos, humour, raw power, anger and just general
weirdness. Brilliant and mesmerising. Can’t wait to see them again. As a
headline act.
The
Xcerts*****
So,
the main toast next. And not much needs to be said. It’s comforting. Gorgeous.
Familiar. And as tasty as ever. But tonight they’ve dug out that
once-in-a-lifetime brilliant country loaf and used the very finest posh
Normandy butter. There is not one crumb that’s not the most delicious
imaginable.
The
album has never sounded better. Ranging and veering wildly between light and
shade. Explosive fusillades and pure, pared-down emotion. Light tuneful
singalongy OO OO OO OOs in Slackerpop and the darker, morose timbre of the
beautiful and heartfelt Lament provide perfect illustrations of the massive
breadth of offering.
The
crowd munch on every yummy slice. Dutifully and respectfully lending vocal back
up where needed. And by the time the rapturous applause and wild adulation
fades into a sultry autumn Soho evening, there isn’t a mouth smiling and
whetted by the glisten of buttery deliciousness.
An
over-used word; but an awesome performance, served lovingly by a truly awesome
band. Yum.
