Another Friday, another classy line-up from 360 Club. Two bands I’ve not seen before – Railroads and Honours – and two I’ve seen and reviewed in the past – The Greedy Souls and The Harriets. When The Harriets asked me down to see this gig they promised new material – we got lots of new material, but more of that later.
Opening band – Honours – play a kind of raucous indie rock with hints of that Manchester sound. Although more interestingly some of their songs have a raw R’n’B edge to them – I really liked that stuff. I was especially impressed with their guitarist – Struan McInnes – who pulled out some great guitar stuff.
Covering ‘The Chain’ (The Fleetwood Mac track that everyone knows as the music that was played by the BBC for motor sports programmes) might be considered to be a slightly risky thing to do. I loved what Honours did with this, they made it into a heavier raucous thing.
Overall I really liked Honours and have made a mental note to see them play again. If you like raucous indie rock with plenty of guitar I suggest you catch them.
It’s the second time I’ve seen The Greedy Souls, the first time was when the band hadn’t been going long. And they’re better, a lot better. They seem slightly heavier and raucous in places. For those of you who don’t know the band they play a kind of heavy alternative rock with a metal edge in places. It’s loud people. It comes with a hint of Manchester swagger.
The thing I really like about The Greedy Souls is that the guitar is just right – it’s great but not too flashy, it’s really solid. And their songs are catchy, they have tunes.
Their stand-out song for me – as it it was the first time I saw them – was their first release ‘We Will Rule’. This comes with a more raucous and heavier sound and is all the better for it.
I really like The Greedy Souls, I like loud guitar bands. If you like loud guitar bands I’d suggest seeing them if they’re playing in your town.
Before the gig I’d had a brief chat with some members of Railroads – they asked me whether I liked garage rock, I said I did – they promised garage rock aplenty. And boy did they deliver.
It’s all loose and thrillingly on the edge of falling apart, with tons of really raucous guitar. Bass and drums provide that much needed foundation. It’s wonderful, it really is. In the faster songs the drums trash with what we might call joyful abandonment. Both visually and audibly the focus is very much on their lead guitarist who rips out fantastic lines whilst throwing striking shapes. And it’s fun, garage rock should be fun, it left me with the hugest grin on my face.
Not having seen the band before I don’t know the songs but there’s great variation within that garage rock thing, they didn’t sound same-y at all. They covered ‘You Really Got Me’ early on in their set but they bring their garage sound to it and it’s fantastic. So good were the band that I quite forgot to take my usual copious notes, I love a band who do that to me.
Look people, for me Railroads were the discovery of the gig, I loved what they do. If you love garage rock or raucous guitar rock go see Railroads, you won’t be disappointed.
Opening with old favourite ‘Television’, after a kind of drum intro, The Harriets tear into the song. For those of you that don’t know the song it’s a kinda NYC punk sounding thing with hints of Talking Heads. It’s a great start to a set that is about 50% new material – boy have The Harriets been busy.
Their second song is a ‘quite new one’ called – according to the setlist – ‘Trip To The Moon’. This is a ballady thing and has what I can only describe as slightly punk edge to it. It’s lovely, that is the only way I can describe it. Up next is another new song – ‘Darling’ has a country-ish edge to it but only in the broadest sense.
Skipping ahead in their set ‘Cafe Disco’ – which I think is set to be the a single release – has that classic Harriets’ sound. It’s all slightly 60s’ pop with lovely harmonies. Watch out for this one people it’s fantastic. After that comes ‘Rules Of Travel’ (I think it’s called that, the setlist just says ‘Rules’) another new one. This is a brilliant slow starting song that builds into something wonderful with some great interplay between guitar and keys. Their final song – ‘Fall Out Of Grace’ is a stonking huge song, it’s an epic people.
They encore with ‘Harry’, I love that song, it’s a riot.
In my notes I wrote that ‘the new material seems bigger sounding, and the keyboards seem really integrated into it’. It’s a definite step up. There’s not one dud in the new songs at all. The more I see The Harriets the more I love them – they write great songs, their live set is hugely entertaining and leaves you smiling.
All photos on this page © Frank Roper Photography
