Introducing the Grammatics 13/11/2006
When I was told by the lovely editors of High Voltage that I’d be ‘Introducing the Grammatics’ in this months issue the concept initially appeared difficult to grasp. How do you introduce a band that are so fucking different to the rest of the generic indie melange out there at the moment that at first hearing you could be excused for not ‘getting it’.
I very foolishly fell into this trap myself as a few months ago a good friend of mine told me about the Leeds quartet and after a fleeting visit to their myspace site I left thinking “…” and never thought to return. Then, but a few months later, the same friend asked, nay, pleaded with me to go back there to listen to their new song (and current latest single) ‘Shadow Committee’ stating “it’s simply beautiful”. So I went, I listened, and I hated myself for not realising what I had discarded so nonchalantly the first time around. How can I, a self confessed music lover, not realise that I was listening to something so refreshingly leftfield?
And then I witnessed them live and really realised what these lot are capable of. Easily one of, if not the, highlight of my In The City weekend they glided through their set simply, but not meretriciously, demanding attention from the crowd. You could dissect their sound into many various sections and you’d struggle to find a fault in any of it: The flawless drumming acting as a catalyst to various in-song time signature changes, the bass lines that so carelessly alter from pop to disco to rock and so forth, the cello ‘riffs’ (if you will) that if played on a guitar would sound downright metal but are seamlessly transferred into gorgeous melodic lines that add a depth to each song and then there is him.
Owen Brinley: the future poster boy for girls and sexually confused boys everywhere. He is the dictionary definition of androgynous and he is the proud owner of a simply staggering voice which, when coupled with his exceptional guitar playing, brings the whole sound of the Grammatics together perfectly. I apologise if it appears I’ve used too many superlatives here but in all fairness you shouldn’t even be reading this now, you should be on iTunes downloading ‘Shadow Committee’ and either agreeing, or ferociously disagreeing with my humble words.
Pigeon Detectives @ Carling Academy Liverpool 31/10/2007
There is a saying back home where I come from which is used when you are so certain of somethings outcome that you are willing to show the person you are trying to prove correct ‘your pigeons’ if it turns out you are incorrect. For example: “You think The Pigeon Detectives don’t know how to work a crowd?! If you’re right then I’ll show you my pigeons”. God forbid you ever say this and indeed if it does turn out that you are incorrect (like I did to my good friend in GCSE German once), as you may never be able to show your face in my home village again. My point here is that the Pigeon Detectives really fucking do know how to work a crowd so don’t bet an aesthetic showing of your own personal pigeons against it. As I wandered down to the Carling Academy, I contemplated skipping the gig to bar hop around Liverpool city centre in order to gaze at the scouse women who seem to misunderstand the concept of dressing ‘scarily’ on Halloween for simply dressing like prostitutes. Ever the panglossian of which I am though, I decided against it and I can honestly say I made the right decision.The PD’s are simply brilliant at what they do. They know their audience, they know what they want to hear and they know how they want it delivered. The crowd was going simply ballistic at every song from ‘Wait For Me’ and were also equally enthusiastic for the rarer B-sides they performed, mainly due to the fantastic front man performance from Matt Bowman. The only criticism I can muster is that I believe they are destined to be a 4 star act and never a 5 star one due to their lack of creativity. But do you think they care that I think that? I’ll show you my pigeons if they do…
