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FOUR SEASONS
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:: Forena
:: Lookin
:: The Maker
:: Glass
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09 October 2003 / Life Cafe (now see Studio / Chicago Rock) / Manchester
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By JA
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LOOKIN break the ice and immediately their brand of West Coast, punk fuelled rock feels comfortable. The throbbing harmonies and spiced guitar are set against a firm foundation of firmly wedged basslines and ricochet drums. Lookin are putting things pretty much in the rear view mirror. Their new material is firmer, more solid and carefully paced. As a three piece they focus on whatever reserves of power they can muster, but are also playful and inventive mid-song. Their penultimate track “The Edge” is masterful. This is maybe their hit or their “sit up and take notice” song. Piecing together gutsy rock, skittering middle eights and infectious, catchy straight rock, this track gives a glimpse of a very special future indeed.
FORENA are next and to be quite honest its not going to get the best review. Each individual seemed quite good at their instrument and the girl drummer would give anyone a run for their money. But I just couldn’t get it to add up. Their songs intend to be epic, but maybe a lack of atmosphere both on and off stage stifled things. An angsty approach may have helped, but it looked more like an uncomfortable rehearsal at times. Perhaps a bit more space, time and tension will move them on to their aspirations.
HOPE DIES LAST / 20 MINUTES (who keep changing their name) still deliver their powerhouse muses, with apparent ease. There’s still the positive blend of Radiohead Vs Nirvana and some crystal clear, soaring vocals, that pack each tune with melody. Within the set there’s more than a handful of growers and I detected two rather special numbers that should be blistering your ears. Impeccable, powerful but joyfully disjointed whenever they wanted it to be.
THE MAKER seem to be growing and improving. Their set mixes their firebrand indie rock, with some bluesy influences and stirring melodics. A shame that I missed the last 15 minutes of their set, but the five songs I did hear, re-affirmed their intention to out the rock back into accessible and harmonic tunes. The Maker have skilfully avoided the retro-garage and the indie-schmindie to grasp a rather rousing bag of exciting, but often complex, driving songs.
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Resources:
Lookin Web
The Maker Website
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Manchester Music - Final Words..For Now.......
ManchesterMusic - Signing Off...
Manchester Music - The Chairs are Missing ...
ManchesterMusic - Farewell...
ManchesterMusic Bows Out...
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