Live review: Alright The Captain! / Beyond This Point Are Monsters / You Judas

Alright the Captain!, Beyond This Point Are Monsters and You Judas played at The Chameleon on Tuesday 9 March 2010

Reviewed for LeftLion.co.uk

The Chameleon played host to the launch of Beyond This Point Are Monsters and Alright The Captain!’s joint EP release, and although admittedly it’s pretty hard to get a good crowd of Nottinghamites out on a dreary Tuesday night – even for a kicking evening of metal, post-rock and very loud noises – it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Kicking off this evening of noise, noise, math-rock and more noise were frenetic Derby riffers You Judas, whose set was, well, noisy. In a good way. The gig may have been somewhat sparsely attended but that mattered not to these boys. They filled the room with a dense wall of crunching metal that wavered between slow-driving post-rock and frantic, discordant madness, and ended on a demonic waltz in 3/4 time.

Following them was the ambient post-rock haze that emanated from Beyond This Point Are Monsters, who stand somewhere between the calmer turns of 65daysofstatic and the livelier elements of Explosions In The Sky. They make up for their lack of a lead vocalist with the wonderfully lyrical feel of their intertwining lead guitar melodies, with intricate, sporadic time changes kept in check by stellar drumming. Even though their lead guitarist had to do a runner from the venue before the end of their last song (a note on Zig Zag bus tickets: good value for money, a bit crap for late-night EP launches!) they played through an articulate set of rhythmically and melodically complex, carefully sculpted post-rock tunes.

Last up were Alright The Captain!, who as well as producing an unholy amount of noise for a three-piece were on top form despite the arguably low audience turnout. They churned out an impressive set of intricately constructed yet undeniably ferocious tunes. Complex guitar work dripping with double-hand-tapping, thumping, chest pounding bass and fast paced, twisting, turning time changes that would make your head spin, all wrapped up in a crashing, jagged metallic blanket. I waited all set for the tune that had stuck in my mind from my previous encounters with the Captain, the absurdly named Honey Badger, and was not disappointed as they dove into the track headfirst at the end of their set. Their songs have a habit of sounding like 4 or five tracks melded together into one, but in a cohesive and coherent way that keeps the audience on their toes and the casual head-bopper with neck ache.

I left the Chameleon’s loft with that oh-so-familiar ringing in my ears and rolled onto the tram, my appetite for complex, brain-melting rock satiated for the week.

Live review: Hello Thor’s Christmoustache Party

We Show Up On RadaR, Fists and Hot Horizons played at Hello Thor’s Christmoustache Party at The Chameleon on Saturday 12 December 2009

Reviewed for LeftLion.co.uk

“Welcome to Thor’s Cave… Tonight it’s decorated with baubles and fairy lights”.

After a greeting and introduction from one of Thor’s mustachioed minions, Andy Wright (AKA We Show Up On RadaR) took to the Chameleon’s floor. Andy’s sets are always a lovely mellow treat full of music to dream to, and he kicked off the ‘tache-tastic proceedings with subdued, blissful tones. Christening the evening with his latest single Mountain Top (a single, we were informed by Thor, that was picked by ArtRocker as one of the top 100 singles of the year, and it comes on pink vinyl too!), he immediately instilled the room with his inimitable sense of quiet English whimsy and charm.

Apart from a flourished discarding of his impressive novelty ‘tache halfway through the song, he lulled the audience effortlessly into a quiet and calm appreciative state. He followed with his single’s B-side Spider On a Thread, it’s lilting chorus borrowed from the classic Que Sera Sera and a gorgeously sparse arrangement of barely-plucked guitar strings and tentative, heartfelt vocals delivering a beautiful few minutes of vaguely tragic yet inherently uplifting folk. Finishing off a short but wonderful was a cover of Blue Christmas, a perfectly fitting melancholic ode to the season from one of Nottingham’s finest and most unique folkeys.

Next came about as extreme a change of pace as you could find, in the form of chaotic rockers Fists. Sounding something like what I’d imagine Pixies would sound like if they started making music today, they were unpredictable, brazen, hilarious and quite honestly bat-shit insane, in the very best possible way. Starting off with smile-inducing rockabilly with distorted vocals, acoustic guitar complimented by crunching, thundering electric guitar and bass with some synths chucked in to make sure they had no hope of sounding ordinary, they see-sawed between intentionally discordant messes and jaunty, melodic tunes. Filling the gaps between each song with great-humoured banter, including a discussion of which band members could take each other in a fight, they were constantly engaging and about as far from mundane as a band could get.

As the evening drew on I felt the pull of the last tram home looming, so unfortunately I had to miss what I expect was an equally excellent set from Hot Horizons, but nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed my evening in Thor’s Cave.

Live review: Souvaris / Sincabeza / Alright The Captain!

Souvaris, Sincabeza and Alright The Captain! played at The Chameleon on Friday 16 October, 2009

Reviewed for LeftLion.co.uk

Two bands from Notts, one from Bordeaux, no singers, a metric ton of very loud noise crammed into The Chameleon’s tiny loft and some mild resulting tinitus; it was a night of mad math-rock to satiate nutty rockers as well as the most avid music geek.

First up were Nottingham lads Alright The Captain!, who dove headfirst into a set of thumping, thrashing, intricate creations. They showed off a wide range of talents, taking one song from light-hearted ska to heavy metal by way of guitar-pedal-mashing madness, and incorporating the kind of time signature and tempo changes that meant that anyone trying to be a casual head-bopping listener looked like an idiot. Perhaps it was the low lighting in the Chameleon loft, but at times their guitarist seemed to be moving his strumming hand faster than the eye could see – it’s a good thing he wields his guitar for the good and pure forces of rock ‘n’ roll; if he turned his talents to the dark side we’d all be fucked.

Up next were Sincabeza from Bordeaux, who produced a wall of guitar noise speckled with synthesised sounds, held together by some of the tightest and insane drumming this reviewer has ever seen. They were comprised of a guitarists-come-keyboardist, a bassist-come-keyboardist, a guitarist-come-keyboardist-come-trumpeter and a mental drummer – and I know, anyone would think I was starting an erotic novel with that sentence! But their multi-talented lineup fared well and filled the loft with cohesive, discordant and engaging energy. It’s a difficult thing to engage an audience with no singer, especially when half the band was facing away from the crowd, but their explosive instrumental metallic math-rock was enthralling.

Headlining were Souvaris and I must admit, even the music geek in me struggled to keep up with these guys (yes, I’m a geek rather than a nutty rocker, can’t help it!). They threw out varied, interesting and audience-screwing beats that forced you to pay close attention, which is what this genre is really all about. It was a glorious cacophony, a wall of dense, well-organised noises which pulsated through the flood and right up to your chest. Souvaris make you feel a strange sense of achievement in your musical appreciation of them; if you can tap your foot in time to their constantly changing beats you feel as if you should win a prize. And if you ever want to see a gig end on a truly epic finale, see this band.