It’s a shame there weren’t too many people out for this Tuesday evening as upstairs at Drift bar is secretly becoming quite a venue – OK this may only be my second trip since it’s been given a new lease of life and there may be a need at the bar for ale on draft (or at least a Guinness) however this isn’t about beer, it’s about music and a PA that can get pretty loud.
With only about a dozen or so watching, Death of the Author made the most of the volume with their set of My Bloody Valentine influenced noise, Brad Garland utilising an array of effects to make his guitar take centre stage whilst Billy Higgs played bass through a six sting baritone guitar.
I’ve found the vocals for the three-piece to be weak and lost in the background at previous gigs, however this evening you could tell this is in fact a deliberate ploy and where I may have had my doubts before, tonight the vocals added a further depth to Death of the Author’s big shoegaze and instrumentally driven sound.
Next up were the other Portsmouth based band on the bill tonight, the Stayawakes, who following Death of the Author have a much cleaner and solid structure to their songs. Although they may be incredibly tight the Stayawakes are far from contrived and play with passion whilst relishing in the power-pop that in the past has brought us indie greats such as Teenage Fanclub and Ash.
Over on tour from Ireland were The Winter Passing, an intriguing mix of musicians who came together in something of a highlight and whilst up against strong competition were my favourite band of the night.
I find there’s always something warm and welcoming about the Irish accent in song and with both male and female vocals The Winter Passing were almost a band of two halves, on the one side of the stage you had the keyboards, voices and an extra floor tom drawing you in with every breathe whilst on the other were the drum beats and the hypnotic lead guitar all creating so many subtle changes it was a pleasure to watch and listen.
During a set hindered by a temperamental delay pedal the last band of the evening Play Lounge enjoyed the intimacy of a small audience and whilst leads and battery packs were being replaced their singer/drummer filled the silence with an audience Q and A session about his home ground of East London.
Play Lounge wouldn’t stay quiet for long though as the two piece sound as though they definitely have more members on stage, the drums aren’t overly complicated but switch between being played softly and then hammered as and when required, whilst the last track mainly featured the stand alone guitarist showing just how much noise one man can make when given the chance.
