A slight difference of approach...

A LIVE REVIEW
Academy Unsigned 252
Academy 3, 17 Feb 2008

Traditionally, the words ‘unsigned night’ are about as welcome a collocation as ‘war’ and ‘pestilence‘. Put simply, there is almost always a very good reason why the bands on the bill are unsigned. That certainly turns out to be true of tonight’s first two acts, SFR and The Hate Conspiracy.

The latter of these deserve special mention. Bounding onto the stage like the second coming of something at least mildly important, their frontman leaps and yells and for some time looks to be suffering a medical emergency, before the crowd realise it’s his ‘act’.

“WE FUCKING HATE MANCHESTER!”, he screams, as a John Lydon obsession funded by Daddy’s wallet fails to make a significant impact on thirty minutes stage time. Meanwhile, the band around him do their best to stumble through an utterly unlistenable repertoire that must have taken all of the taxi ride up north to write. Less than twelve minutes later, to a hail of indifference, they leave the stage. It’s quite admirable in a way.

Commendable on entirely different terms are JOON, third act on stage and the reason for most people’s attendance this evening. The juxtaposition is almost cruel. Whereas previous acts had poured their energy into posturing and shouting, JOON quickly demonstrate that most of their effort has gone on songwriting and, y’know, actually learning their instruments.

Shorn of their Boss-esque two hour set (the band are restricted to playing original compositions over a half hour slot), the band become stronger and more focused. Without multiple renditions of ‘Addicted To Love’ to get in the way, their songs sound sturdier and more like a tight, complimentary body of work.

It’s clear the band have got a winning sound - even the people with haircuts are dancing by the end - but the challenge now is to ensure that as many people as possible are party to it. If they can turn some of their unquestionable attention-to-detail toward a stint of ruthless and effective self-promotion, 2008 could be a very good year for JOON.

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