It’s been a while since I entered the hallowed halls of Liverpool University and much has changed during my sojourn. Firstly, students are not the huge music fans they once were, being more concerned with the cheesy eighties music playing in the dancehall rather than the two up and coming bands playing at the Academy on Saturday. Shame on you students!
Still, I was pleasantly surprised when the Leeds locals, (and yes, you can immediately tell they’re from Leeds…you know what I mean!) ‘The Lodger’ cranked up the amps and let rip with some truly quality material. Sounding a little like a cross between The Clash and The Smiths, they put together some interesting song structures with a chunky rhythm section and fuzz-box guitar. Most impressive were the vocals provided by front man Ben Sidall – he has an individual style and confidence which speaks of much time spent honing his craft. Despite a somewhat lacklustre response from the crowd, they battled on regardless, ‘The Watching’ being a set highlight. The new drummer (and it’s a pretty lady too!) was pounding those skins like there was no tomorrow and you began to feel yourself being hypnotised by the relentless onslaught of Ben’s twisted harmonies. I did feel a bit sorry for ‘The Lodger’ as the crowd weren’t getting into it that much despite their efforts. That said, I think the students were concentrating more on getting drunk and then laid (not that I was of course…) rather than the great music. Overall, it was a great performance by ‘The Lodger’ and with a new line-up, I think they’ll be a real force in the coming year.
Next up were the seminal Wakefield outfit, ‘The Research’ and compared to the seriousness of a lot of local Liverpool bands, they were a breath of fresh air. They exuded confidence, but also good humour and you couldn’t help but like them from the moment they got on stage. Of immediate note is the way they arrange themselves on stage - it’s a real team effort with the drummer playing side on and ‘The Disaster’ aka Russell Searle, sitting on a stool with what looks like a child’s keyboard… and indeed it is! The songs are fuckin’ cool – three way harmonies which are a little discordant and yet blend together seamlessly and with some cheesy eighties keyboard noises thrown in for good measure. My favourite song was ‘I Love you but’ where the hook is ‘I’m scared I’ll fuck it up’ which has them all singing a smooth harmony whilst Russell bangs in a quirky keyboard solo in the final measure. They still retain a slightly rough edge to some of the songs (possibly influenced by the sexy punk Bass player Georgia….though I think she may be a bit blind - introduced myself after the show and I didn’t get a result!) and it’s a weird blend of Pop harmonies, Vaudeville theatre with an Indie sentiment. They are quite something to behold live - a truly great show and with an extremely refreshing vibe.
They release shortly their debut album entitled ‘Breaking up’ and I think you’d be a fool to miss it.
