A new DJ booth and stage area provide the focus for Underworld’s relaunch party featuring Salon Boris & The Microsluts, Friday 28th July 2006.
Underworld Relaunch
The Ominous – Out Of Order EP
July 23, 2006
I’m probably slightly drunk and slightly concussed after visiting the Cathouse for “just the one” at midnight. At 3am I’m bloody, bruised and talking to some guy handing out free CDRs from his band. More than likely I’m talking nonsense about promising to review it for him.
It’s the next day and such conversations don’t count. This is rule number one of any night out involving alcohol—promises made simply do not count the next day. But I’m intrigued: is the CD any good, is it a musical masterpiece or is it laughably awful? Let’s throw the CD on, give it a listen and find out.
Opener Hey! I’m Sick starts the game with a pleasant enough bass and drum intro and takes us on a journey into pleasant call & return punk “Hey!” territory. It’s nothing outstanding but is gonna be kept in my playlist as I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s a grower.
Three Minute Warning and Contradiction are more of the same: perfectly fine local band fare. Each song seems to be rather too similar to the others; all feel too long to me, ending up sounding as though the band are bored and just plodding along to pass the time. Speeding it up or shortening it down would help. Embrace punk’s brevity and then despair when you need twice as many songs to fill a 45-minute set.
There’s nothing here leaping out at me to offer band management skills in exchange for a cut of future royalties, but I’m also not skipping the tracks or running screaming to throw the CD in the incinerator. I’m not even filing it in the coffee-cup-coaster pile. It’s a fine enough debut demo for the band. Experience and time will hopefully improve them leaps and bounds.
The Dualers – Melting Pot
July 22, 2006
The Dualers weren’t content with building a fanbase from simply playing in venues up and down the UK, they also took things to the streets and busked to entice people with their tasty ska goodness. Ska in the streets is exactly how the world should be all through summer so they’ve already got me hitting that “I approve” button.
Their debut album, Melting Pot isn’t going to make me regret that approval either. It starts off with Money taking you gently by the hand, leading you through getting your white shirt and rudeboy suit on, knotting the thin black tie and stretching your feet out into your best dancing shoes for the beginning of a great Ska journey.
The toasting-packed start of Stole The Show develops into back & forth vocals, the brass building to provide the soundtrack as you walk down the street and stand waiting in the dancehall queue.
Third track, Jack the Ripper, ups the tempo to irresistable foot-tapping as you wait at the bar for the night’s first drink. By the time Take a Trip kicks off with a traditional “This is ska!” you’ll be certain that this albums gonna leave you skanking, moonstomping and just plain acting cool while looking like a fool on the dancefloor.
After the long, subtle build into dancing ska the album leads you through a wonderful collection of summer sounds, leaning away from the angry punk influences ska picked up over the past twenty years and reaching right back to ’60s Jamaica.
The Dualers manage to maintain a balance throughout of this gently bouncing summer ska, dance band vocals and just the merest hints at dark and dingy ganja filled clubs. There are nods to rocksteady, flirtations with heavy reggae and a love affair with show-band ska. The only time I felt let down was halfway through with the out-of-place balladry of Urban Spirit.
With two singles from this album, released by the band themselves, having almost made it into the top twenty—Truly Madly Deeply reaching number 23 and Kiss on the Lips peaking at number 21—Melting Pot has covered all the right ska bases and it’s done them well. I want them to play at my wedding reception.
