i concur's focussed songwriting and euphoric guitar sounds set them apart. They go to no great lengths to present themselves as individuals or as a band on stage. They are normal, diffident men who love their music above ego. But they do make sure that their music sings very loud and very clearly. i concur are genuinely motivated by the music, and it shows. The excellent sound system on the BBC Introducing stage here at Leeds gave them every opportunity to present every glint, each nuance, and every juddering crescendo. They took them in great scooping shovel-fulls.The precisely written songs are no more "post-rock" than they are "indie". Elements of searing guitar workouts and verse/chorus construction are present, but not definitive. Tim Hann's songs are what the band is mostly about. Strong vocal harmony between Tim Hann and drummer James Brunger focus attention on the compelling, and always allusive lyrics. In songs like the superb "Able Archer" and the well-known "Oblige" and "Build Around Me" there are strong stories. As an audience we are drawn in to create our own understandings from the strong directions given by the emotionally charged music and the evocative lyrics.
As a gig this counted as a significant landmark. The band's natural diffidence was blown away by Woolford's defintive guitar lines, screaming out of the mix as they were always intended to. The scope for building up the dynamics in such a good pa were brilliantly realised. There really is nothing to touch a big open air gig for experiencing music of this scale and quality.
