Ohmme + Odmansbox, Kinds Of Light. Live at The Hare and Hounds review (18/2/19)

Kinds of Light (6.8/10) are a Birmingham group who supported Ohmme with a gorgeous set of blissfully psychedelic tinged indie rock. Mixing in some elements of electronic sampling and post rock into their sound. For an act who only formed just under two years ago they already seem to have their sound and style figured out and I think they will be worth looking out for.

The other opener Odmansbox (7.6), linger on the fine line between self parody and eccentricity. Coming across as a sort of mix of the clever clogs indie rock of Field music and the dense yet comedic Prog rock throwback of Matt Berry. Their singer reminds me a lot of Flight of the Conchords' Jermaine Clement and his penchant for self deprecating jokes doesn't help with this much. He introduced their song 'I don't want to be your dog anymore' as being inspired by to the legendary 6 Music DJ Iggy Pop. And that if you think about it the sing they played after that 'Swoon' is kind of about wanting to be a dog. Their singer also asked if anyone had 'been to a bad wedding lately' before playing their tune 'A quiet affair. Odmansbox mat struggle with their own name but they mix their light hearted humour with some impressively low key musical chops. They seem ready to fall into the tradition of bands such as Sparks, or 10cc who show that being smart doesn't have to mean being pretentious.

Chicago's Ohmme (8) are a trio comprising of guitarists and singers Macie Stewart and

Sima Cunningham and their talented drummer Matt*. Ohmme are billed as an 'experiment in voice, guitar and sound'. In parts of their show this definitely rang true as Ohmme have a habit of experimenting with guitar and percussion. However they have already crafted a sound that is unique and spellbinding. Macie and Sima have perfected their exceptional vocal harmonies and interplay between their voices and angular guitar riffs. Their songs are mostly stripped back post punk songs with a similar dynamic to Sleater Kinney but an artsy-ness that is all of their own. While they have plenty of engaging original songs its with their innovative approach to cover versions that they really shine such as with their rowdy take on The B-52's 'Give me back my man' and a brilliant cover of David Bowie's 'Girl Loves me' off the Blackstat album. This cover was good enough to remind me not only of how much I loved that sing when it came out but also of just how weird it was too. Ohmme did a great job of taking such a wild card of a song to cover and putting their own spin on it. 

Having come all the way from Chicago Ohmme had to deal with lighting and van failures earlier in the day Ohmme seemed convionced that they had been followed by a ghost, or that they might just be witches. Yet this did little to phase them as they engaged with the brummie crowd on the local dialect and how colds can exaggerate a mid-west accent. Despite coming across such setbacks Ohmme' debut UK Tour and Birmingham performance seems to have been a success. 

* at least I think that's what he's called

Websites:
ohmmemusic.com

www.odmansbox.com

kindsoflight.com

Sabrepulse, Neon Asylum, Figure 09, Chromatouch. Live at The Flapper review (15/2/19)

Before coming to this show I knew very little about the musical genre known as 'Chiptune' or It's biggest name Sabrepulse. For the uninitiated Chiptune is an underground subgenre of dance music that comprises of producers remixing the theme tunes and noises of early arcade games into fun yet complex noise. The opener for this show at the Flapper was Chromatouch, A Birmingham based artist who like Sabrepulse has been bubbling away in the underground for a long time. his abstract glitchy electronic noise went perfectly with the 8- bit graphics supplied by a kid at the side of the stage making backdrops under the name 'technolgy is evil'. In keeping with the throwback theme, Jason Tyler, aka Pink Violence brought back his old 'Neon Asylum' persona for a set full of mashed up electronica and house tunes unearthed from his Myspace and Soundcloud pages.

Figure 0.9

Neon Asylum also provided the backing for an incendiary set from his old 'Crime and Punishment 2011' bandmate Figure 0.9. Who poured his heart out in an emotional set of songs from his extremely underrated Debut album 'casket' and its upcoming follow up 'Yellow'. The title track of which is a disturbingly bleak look at the suicide of a friend. His lyrics differ from quotable one liners on hype tracks such as Charizard on which he aims to please "the Grime dons and the pokemon fans", and the bleak analysis of mental health on his 'cry for help 'Ghost'. Dan tackles such issues in a frank and unique manner. later on he was joined by some other former Crime and Punishmemt band mates who lent screaming vocals to 'Hellbound 2'.
Sabrepulse is far from your usual joyless dance producer as was apparent from his request to have as many peopled upfront dancing to his tunes as possible and his habit of bouncing around the stage cracking self deprecating jokes. What followed was an hour of joyful noise, created with an arsenal of mp3's, keyboards and a gameboy. Sabrepulse entertained an a small yet ecstatic crowd of dedicated fans with a barrage of remixed video game themes and tunes going back over a decade. Sabrepulse's music seems to incorporate many elements of dance music subgenres such as Drum & Bass, Hardcore and even dubstep. With only a few minutes to go he asked if anyone wanted to hear a track by his favourite drum n bass producer Dimension. Nobody really cared that it was just an MP3 of someone elses track, Sabrepulse had already delivered more than enough with his own material.


links
http://www.chromatouch.net
https://figure09.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/neonasylum
https://sabrepulse.bandcamp.com/

Enter Shikari - Live at the 02 Academy Birmingham (1/2/19) Review

Enter Shikari are a band who know how to make an entrance, kicking off proceedings with the 'The Sights', a jaunty upbeat song with flashes of progressive rock in the mix. Singer Rou Reynolds greeted the crowd in a typically Enter Shikari-ish fashion. "greetings carbon- based lifeforms, we are Enter Shikari". This show in Birmingham marked just over 2 years since their last Birmingham show. Since that last show they seem to have kept touring constantly and while they had toned down on the stage set up they made up with this with more energy. 

Tonight Enter Shikari decided to mark 10 years since the release of their second album  'Common Dreads'. Arguably the most important album of their career as they built on the template of post-hardcore and electronica and added the overtly political lyrics and sloganeering that they are known for now. Alongside airings of songs from that album Enter Shikari added some rarely heard fan favourites such as 'Hoodwinker' into the setlist. 

This show went to prove that Rou Reynolds is one of the best and most engaging frontmen in rock right now. With his magical ability to reappear in unexpected places in the room, seemingly in the blink of an eye. He appeared on top of the balcony on the left hand side with his guitar, delivering speeches and songs to the crowd. Rou also showed off his impressive singing range, challenging the audience to match his screams and yelps in a bit of a Freddie Mercury moment. Of course this wouldn't matter at all if it wasn't for the amazingly talented band behind him, whipping the crowd up in a frenzy with classics such as 'Mothership' and their own take on Faithless' iconic 'Insomnia'. The 'quickfire round' incited more frenzied crowd surges with a medley of classic tunes starting with 'Sorry you're not a Winner' and slowly raising the BPM by each song. 

now that it has been out in the world for roughly two years 'The Spark' is looking like it may be every bit as important to Enter Shikari as 'Common Dreads'. Rou let the crowd cool off for a bit with a rousing solo rendition of 'Take My Country Back'. With Brexit looming on the horizon few songs have captured the zeitgeist so perfectly. It's proven to be an anthem for those who have grown to hate the tribalism that has grown in our country and it's politics. Many bands preach diversity and unity yet few can bring people together like Enter Shikari, whose music crosses genres and social boundaries. 'The Spark' was inspired by Rou's battles with anxiety, and is such probably the most emotionally rewarding Enter Shikari album. This shows closing track 'Live Outside' is a particularity poignant yet upbeat song that confronts anxiety directly. It felt like the perfect note to end the show on, confronting fears about the present but also sounding hopeful for the future. In the 10 years since 'Common Dreads' Enter Shikari have grown into something special, vital and unique. 

9.2/10 

While I do regret not seeing Black Peaks I stand by my decision to not see Palaye Royale. That bunch of posers have no business supporting a band with as much credibility as Enter Shikari.