You're just a rubber band boy

Thursday 21 February – Mm, these weekends are coming earlier and earlier! So, a Thursday night visit to Fibs, mostly because we’ve heard the second band on the bill before and liked them. I have to say that the audience was a bit thin on the ground. Take away the groups themselves and their family and friends, and there’s probably only about 25 people in.

First up were Player 1, a York band formed in the spring of 2005, they’ve only recently had a stable enough line-up to start gigging, but they’ve already developed a great sound and some stand-out tracks. Player 1 consist of; Charlie Floyd (Rhythm Guitar and Vocals), David Kearns (Lead Guitar), Ed Shipley (Bass), and Dan Whiting (Drums). The slightly mono-tonal vocals are reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Check out Dead Grover Storage, and Surrender on their MyFace website. There was a song about vampires and they even managed to pull off an instrumental. Excellent stuff.

Band número dos were Hull-base Lecorum. Gigging on the back of their Clockwork EP, the band consists of Chris Hazard (Vocals, Guitar), Damo (Piano), Fletchy (Bass), and Joe (Drums). A bit like Longpigs, and a bit like the Manic Street Preachers, only with proper tunes. Outstanding tracks were; Clockwork, Hide Away, Gone, and Connected, all available on the EP or downloadable from iTunes. No, I’m not on commission, they just happen to be pretty damn good. If they release an album I’ll be adding it to my collection.

Hey, this is good, two great bands on the trot, surely we couldn’t be in for a hat-trick? Oh, yes we were, the final band were South London-based Royworld. Rod Futrille (vocals and songwriting), Timmy Miles (keyboards), Gerry Morgan (drums), Robbie Parkin (guitar), and sleeping partner Crispin Futrille (songwriting) . So that’s a Rob and a Rod, but no Roy. In December 2007 they released Elasticity and Tinman on the Fierce Panda label. The band is currently working on their first album which is due to be released in the summer of 2008. Rod’s voice has a fantastically rich quality not unlike Martin Fry, of ‘80s Northern Soul band ABC. Together the band makes music of epic proportions, almost orchestral works, with each song comprising several distinct parts. This is piano-led indie, pushing the envelope and succeeding. Brakes is a slow-burning song that, propelled by acoustic guitar, soars from a whisper to a scream. Tinman, meanwhile, is a piano'n'synth mini-opera. The opening line, 'Grew up in a house on the hill' - almost like a short story. Science is a love song with a twist; it's more like an anti-love song. Other standing tracks were; Wish Ourselves Away, and Man In The Machine, which is a contender for the title of the album and also due for release as a single on 3 March through Virgin Records.