Valleys
Live at HiFi Club on Wednesday, 23rd September 2009
Back from its summer holidays, the 360 Club is in full swing tonight, albeit with a modified bill due to some last minute events.
Climbing onto the HiFi stage for the opening slot is a young Sheffield band, The Talk. They're quite obviously excited, and the first few numbers are punctuated by smiles and laughter between the band. The sound is punchy, and takes a rudimentary punk rock line of attack. I thought of The Buzzcocks at one point during the set, which can only be a good thing. Some numbers border more on the pop-rock side, particularly when they slow it down on a more delicate interlude. Perhaps they could have benefited from keeping the momentum going, as the launch into their faster paced material showed great promise and had the crowd keen. All the same, it's always more of a pleasure to witness a band having fun. Give these lads chance to tighten up the screws and they could come back contending for the top spots.
The meat in tonight's sandwich bill are L-Mo, a Leeds outfit like probably very little you have seen before. They comprise of acoustic guitar, bass and drums. Fusion may be a dirty word so L-Mo are best described as a 3 piece that splice up urban, rock and funk. They've played the 360 Club before, and were great, but it seems they have taken on a life of their own. Confident, tight and visually spot on, L-Mo have evolved into an outfit way past their unsigned status. The numbers are impressively intricate and dynamic, and they still manage to play with precision and effortlessness. Taking only as much time as necessary to introduce themselves, they let the music engage with the crowd and come across as professional and charming. It helps that their music is so removed from the standard guitar band or indeed urban fare, giving them personality and showing real creativeness at work. L-Mo are onto something special.
Rounding up the evening is Valleys, and with a sizeable portion of the audience out to see them, they may look a little nervous but take up a regimented stance on stage. Some confusion at the start and a toilet trip for the drummer could have got them off on the wrong foot, but they seem don't phased. Their strangulated synth sounds dominate the poppy numbers, which comes across as powerful and well thought out. The frontman gives and admirable performance, plenty of lurching over the mike and frustrated guitar whacking. They're stylish but perhaps they need time to carve out more of an identity for themselves. Demands of an encore show the crowd are enthusiastic.
