Marmozets
Newcastle
Riverside 25/02/15
Does
anyone read these blogs? Seriously, anyone? Not that I mind if anyone
does or doesn't (and if you don't, you are rendering this
introduction quite pointless by not reading it), it's just that what
I'm about to write about Marmozets should come as no surprise to
those of you who that saw me give them my vote as album of the year
for their debut The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets. I was
impressed enough by the record but seeing them in the flesh has
affirmed one thought for me, and it's one that has lingered in my
normally scattershot brain from leaving the venue to right this
second: this band is the future.
Ok,
I should warn you that like many of my reviews, this will contain
some serious hyperbole but I happen to think it's justified after
what I just witnessed. So... where to start... Yeah, that's right:
the pub.
Meeting
fellow amateur critic/comic book nerd/swearing enthusiast Nick in a
local pub, we discussed tonight's headliners, to whom I had
introduced Nick the day before and agreed that the record was cool
but that the audience was going to be full of hipsters and children
(we were nearly right). Having been to a woefully under-attended
Funeral For A Friend show a month earlier, Nick knew the venue better
than I did. I hadn't been near the place since I endured a truly
dreadful night there under its previous incarnation, the annexe of
Hell that was the nightclub Sea. Anyone who claims to have had fun
in there at any point can stop reading now and kindly wash the lies
from your mouth with some minging Tyne water. It was an irredeemable
shithole of a nightclub but the new owners' decision to do almost
nothing to the décor has lent it a certain rough and unpolished
charm, the likes of which has not been seen since The Academy sucked
the soul out of the local scene through a corporate straw and
Newcastle University underwent a Star Trek-inspired plastic makeover.
I liked it immediately.
Opening
band Thought Forms were frankly baffling. A three piece with no bass
player, their ponderous noise crescendos made me think of a strange
metaphor. Anyone remember the Brass Eye
episode about drugs? The one about the dangers of Cake, a made-up
drug from Prague? Well one of the symptoms of cake use was that you
experience time at a different pace to other people; one second
feeling like a fortnight. That is the best description of Thought
Forms I can think of. And I really
tried.
Some hilariously expensive beer
lubricated us enough to enjoy Steak Number Eight, a Belgian band
about whom I know absolutely nothing but their nationality. In fact,
I know very little about Belgium as a whole except Poirot, Tintin,
Eden Hazard and Bruges. On the strength of this, however, I think I
want to know more. By turns patient and prog-y and then dynamic and
heavy, they reminded me of defunct bands-you've-never-heard-of Burst
and Isis (the progressive rock band, not the lunatics or the Goddess)
and impressed me enough to investigate further, which I will do when
I've finished writing this.
Looking every bit like they just got
kicked out of sixth form for breaking the uniform rules, Marmozets
walk on and kick into 'Move, Shake, Hide'. The Bingley quintet,
consisting of two sets of siblings, are young and full of energy,
much of which is channelled through the elastic form of singer Becca
Macintyre, who is a bundle of nervous energy and frantic dance moves
throughout. She throws shapes like Phil 'The Power Taylor throws...
well, you know where this is heading.
I
need to get something out of the way before I go any further, just so
I don't have to mention it again because it really isn't important.
But I did notice this: Becca Macintyre is a girl. Girls get a shitty
deal in the rock scene. Rock bands fronted by or even featuring a
female member seem to be a novelty and attract such attention more
for chromosome count rather than important ingredients like songs or
talent. To marketing people and some fans alike, it becomes a
gimmick. And in fairness, some of the singers themselves, or maybe
just their record company image consultants, don't do themselves any
favours. The overtly sexualised singers of Evanescense, Lacuna Coil,
The Pretty Reckless garner attention more for little black dresses or
stupid faux-Victorian baby doll costumes rather than they do for a
great song or a unique voice. That really is sad: a woman in a rock
band should not be a novelty, nor should she have to perform in a
sexualised manner to share a stage with the hackneyed likes of
fucking Black Veil Brides et al. So yeah, Becca is a girl but much
more important than that statement is how utterly irrelevant it is,
because she possesses an incredible
voice, which requires no 'sexy' window dressing or image.
Now,
I'm prone to getting emotional when certain singers do their thing
really well; the first time I heard Eddie Vedder sing live I cried
like a baby. Ditto (but to a letter extent) John Garcia of Kyuss and
Colin Doran of Hundred Reasons. When I hear a certain type of voice,
used with passion,
used like the singer really means it,
it goes right through me. This voice can safely be added to the
list. Capable of a powerful vibrato or a gutteral roar, often during
the same line, Macintyre absolutely nails what is heard on record but
she does this while giving it her all. It quite honesty is hard to
look away from the enthusiasm, the energy and conviction with which
she performs.
But
look away I did and credit must be given to the rest of the band.
Full of ideas and innovation, I could namecheck the likes of Norma
Jean, The Dillinger Escape Plan (in their softer moments...) or the
angular riffs of Biffy Clyro's pre-Puzzle
purple patch and not be far off what they do. This band has ideas to
burn and it's refreshing to hear. The more straightforward 'Is It
Horrible', probably their weakest song, recalls the likes of Arctic
Monkeys (but without being dull as fuck) in terms of chord
progression and vocal melody.
Single 'Captivate You' is a
brilliantly positive anthemic tune, with which the audience gleefully
participates. 'Particle' and 'Vibetech' showcase their heavier, more
experimental side with riff after jarring riff and unpredictable time
signatures, punctuated by glorious, soaring choruses. 'Hit The Wave'
and 'Born Young and Free' are as inventive as they are uplifting.
They play slower tune and album closer 'Back To You' and come
agonisingly close to nailing its brilliant crescendo, stopped only by
a rare bum note from Macintyre and the evening's only moment of muddy
sound, which was largely excellent throughout.
If there's a criticism it's that
their youth and naivete is telling at times, with the occasional
clunky lyric and a few moments where some band members seem a little
nervous. This, however, has the effect of making the band's stage
banter endearingly grateful and wide-eyed. At one point, Becca
Macintyre struggles to find the words and settles on: “This is
just... stupid. We've never had this many people come to see us on a
tour before.” Her guitarist brother is somewhat more blunt with “I
just fucking... bloody love people. I bet there's not a single cunt
in this room!” (cue everybody pointing at their best friend). It's
nice to see a band genuinely appreciate the support they get and long
may it continue.
They close with a brilliant 'Why Do
You Hate Me', the band giving it their all and leaving the stage with
promises of a swift return, a 2nd album and some nice
group hugging. Nick is suitably impressed and I'm suitably reassured
of what I already suspected: these guys are the real deal.
We leave The Riverside to what is
officially the best view one can have while leaving a venue; that of
Newcastle's bridges lit for the night. One of our friends expresses
a fear that a record company exec will soon get hold of them,
homogenise their sound into something more chart-friendly and make
Becca a make-up drenched focal point (the rest of the band reduced to
the equivalent of those out-of-focus guys from Almost Famous).
We all hope that doesn't happen. It would be a shame after what I
saw tonight; this is a band doing their own thing, doing it with
passion and enthusiasm and doing it really bloody well. I'm pretty
sure that what I saw tonight was the future, and the future is weird
and wonderful.
