Thursday night at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen and I am thinking, this is the best place to be tonight! Its a special Moshi Moshi Records Night and there are some great bands on and a couple had definitely made a permanent impression on this writer. First up are very special friends of Live4ever and they are Chapter24.
Tonight’s show case openers from South London are a noisy pop quartet which never disappoint. A special night for these guys and an opportunity to really show what all their fans know they can do. As always, they are punchy, catchy and so infectious, that every audience member were paying attention to their quirky stylings. The band are on top form tonight and as soon as they kick into their song ‘Hepcats’, its a real goose bumps moment. Carefully constructed hooks and melodies that just make you wanna bop til you drop! It was like they let you in for a glimpse and all you want is more more more!
I genuinely feel sorry for any band that had to follow the enigmatic Chapter24 but Milberg did try as hard as they could. Milberg consists of 4 members but its Lisa Milberg, the Scandinavian Kate Nash, who is the sole member of the band. The performance lacked some any real punch. She came across rather disinterested and just did not appeal to me. She was poppy and reminiscent of a touch of Lily Allen, but not necessarily in the right places. Lisa had that ‘I don’t give a shit’ feel to her performance and unfortunately neither did the audience. People were not grabbed or really paying attention! Full of pop hooks but just not exciting enough. It was almost uncomfortable as I wished it would end sooner.
I had a slight epiphany with this next band. It was Japandroids that stole the show for me that night. Two over excited and loud guys from Canada form the primal and aggressive Japandroids. They open with the track ‘Boys Are Leaving Town‘ which just open ups the show with a band! First couple of shows ever in London, and was so glad I had the pleasure to watch them Very loud and a driving force not be reckoned with. They had odd guitar hooks that was driven by an almost post hardcore sensibility. The room was absolutely packed to the roof to see this band tonight! Having considered the music is just from two guys, its very well constructed noise, that is not for the faint hearted! Its like a never ending pulverising heart pounding experience with these guys. Skillful at what they do and they do it oh so well. These guys blew me away so much I went and bought their album from the merch stand! Awesome!!
http://myspace.com/japandroids
Psychedelic influences are evident from the start with our next band BLK JKS , and they are not here to play a traditional set! They are here to expand your minds! “We came across very quickly because we heard London were ready!” And yes London and the rest of the country are ready for these guys! A beautiful mix between Foals and The Mars Volta! but definitely patchy in places, the band had an almost ‘jam’ feel to their sound. Some definite post rock influences present with a touch of Interpol for sure! Exciting stuff but not really making me want more and with their prolonged noisy pop, I struggle at time to find my way! Disappointing but their debut album is very good indeed and really worth checking out.
It was an absolute pleasure, saw some great bands and one of which I hope very soon get signed and produce their tunes for the masses. I will say that the stand out bands for me were definitely Chapter24 and Japandroids. Both delivered such memorable sets and left a lasting impression on me. Moshi Moshi put on a great night and hopefully many more to come like that one.
Peter Cornish-Barlow, London (29.10.2009)
