Last night Blinding Lights Promotions hosted Liverpool indie group The Jackobins in the trendy Quayside venue, Popolo. The support for the night was Mosaic Sun, Moon Rover and Primary Colours.
Kicking the night off was local group Primary Colours. The five piece band are renowned for their prolific gigging and front man Joseph James's outspoken presence on social media.
Although the group have a refreshing energy, I highly doubt they'll progress much further than the 'local support act slot'.
As a whole, their sound is very generic and unoriginal, and they've confused being artistic or edgy with just being plain strange. James has adopted a bizarre stage presence that doesn't enhance the performance and just comes across as a bit try hard.
Musically speaking, their songs at best are beige and repetitive and at worst they're cringe worthy - especially the track 'Guava'.
They need to work on creating their own unique sound, rather than having a set that's just a rip-off of a 'Now that's what I call Indie' compilation CD. They were only tolerable because I had taken advantage of the reasonably priced bar.
Up next was grunge band Moon Rover. Their sound is clearly really heavily influenced by the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden and the rest of the 90s Seattle Grunge scene.
That being said, they've managed to put their own spin on things, through bold riffs, strong drums and a very friendly stage presence.
To take their music to the next level, I think they need to add a bit of variety in their set as a few of the songs were quite similar. However, they're all good songs and they definitely know what their strengths are as a band.
I'd happily see them again and grunge groups have been gaining popularity in the local scene, so there's the potential for the band to do really well.
Unfortunately there were technical difficulties that meant that Mosaic Sun's sound was quite right, so they didn't play their set.
Finally, Liverpool indie rockers, The Jackobins took to the stage.
From a distance (or through beer goggles) you'd think that they'd dressed up as Alex Turner, Rat Boy, Van McCann and George Michael, which is arguably still better than the boring (and overdone) uniform of all black.
Although their recordings are good, they really don't do the band justice. I was expecting the 'same-old' indie that's saturating the scene at the moment. Especially when they kept talking about Catfish and the Bottlemen when I interviewed them.
However, I was really pleasantly surprised with their performance. Their songs were fuelled by ebullient guitar riffs, beefy bass and an extremely charismatic front man. Their songs are a lot heavier with an alluring, suave edge - think late Arctic Monkeys meets Kasabian.
The whole band had an entertaining stage presence that heightened the energy of their tracks, creating a lively atmosphere.
Dominic Bassnett vocals were superb, showcasing skillful tone and control, coupled with an engaging theatricality and a satisfying rock grit.
Their latest single, 'Outside', was particularly impressive. It's one of their pop-ier tracks, and its uber catchy chorus had the whole room dancing and singing along from the get go. The song has been stuck in my head all day - and I'm not complaining.
Overall, the night was electric and I can't fault The Jackobins' performance. It was vibrant, varied whilst still maintaining a distinct sound and thoroughly entertaining. I'm really looking forward to seeing them perform at Kazoopa Festival in November.
UPCOMING GIGS
25/10 - Birmingham Sunflower Lounge
27/10 - Glasgow Record Factory
28/10 - Edinburgh Cab Vol
18/11 - Liverpool Arts Club
25/10 - Leeds Kazoopa Festival
FOLLOW THE JACKOBINS
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