04.20.07
It’s not for the cock, it’s for the variety
Good Books/Last Gang/Made in The 80s @ The Social,
Nottingham
Tonight at The Social, the only running theme seems to be musical diversity.
Made in the 80s, a five piece of local Nottingham lads, come on and launch into their big, capturing sound. The band are a creative melting pot of groove, funk and punk. Think The Libertines or Arctic Monkeys jamming with the Rapture after passing around a “funky fag” and listening to Pink Floyd (sounds bizarre, but it’s all the better for it). The band seem to be having great fun playing their highly infectious songs such the irresistibly bouncy “Listergate”. Catch them around the toilet circuit of
Nottingham while you still can.
Next up is
Wakefield band, Last Gang. They sound a little like The Kooks realising they’ve become a pop band and trying to sound more like The Cribs. Their bouncy, spiky punk is nothing that the audience hasn’t seen before, but they just about keep the crowd warm.
Good Books seem to have changed (in appearance) a bit since I last saw pictures of them, when they looked like the Harry Potter gang brought up on a diet of the Smiths, NME and vintage fashion. Tonight, Max Cooke’s vocals, sometimes a delicate hushed whisper, sometimes a panicky yelp, is just right for the backdrop of angular, sonic noise the band creates. Good Books combine synths and bleeps with atmospheric guitars and melodic bass riffs to make thoughtful, intelligent music.
At some points tonight, Good Books are highly interesting and unique, but at other points they become too repetitive. The band are good at what they do, but watching them, you can’t help get the impression that they are only halfway there. “
Alice” could have been an insane, frenzied dance inducing piece of very modern music and “Leni” could have been a haunting, epic electro and guitar driven ballad. Instead, they show flashes of greatness but, unfortunately, never quite make it all the way.
To listen to the noises, see pictures and look up tour dates of the various bands, all you need to do is go on their myspace accounts. How good is that!
http://www.myspace.com/goodbooks
http://myspace.com/madeinthe80sband
http://www.myspace.com/lastganguk
Good Books - The Illness (Removed)
Good Books - Alice (Removed)