Imsoc Battle of the Bands, The Wheatsheaf, 23/2/05

Hammer vs The Snake, Holiday in Hawaii, Place Above

With what the organisers at IMSOC regarded as possibly the best bill so far in this years Battle of the Bands competition, all three of tonight's competitors were going to have to be bring something special to impress the judges. Being first up 'Hammer vs. the Snake' seem well aware of this attempting to quirk up the standard indie sound. Their mix of disco rhythms, synths, and don't-mention-Ben-Folds-piano, creates a sound that draws as much on the Rapture or the Faint, as it does the Talking Heads. Over this they offer melodies that are both catchy pop, and raw blues. Add to the mix epic guitar solos and three part harmonies the Snake seem prepared to give almost anything a shot. However an inconsistent rhythm section prevents them from fully achieving the hypnotic grooves of the above bands. Add to this a superfluous, by-the-numbers cover of Gary Numan's 'Cars', which although wearing their influences on their sleeves, and raising a cheer from the crowd, undermines the full impact their own ideas might otherwise have and seems to slightly diminish their chances.

Particularly when they are up against Holiday in Hawaii, who even as a three piece, put across an intensity and depth arguably lacking before them. While first impressions seem to show them building on the urgent funk of the early work of either Incubus or the Chilis. However musically a closer listen reveals the, not only the powerful guitar/bass interplay of Rage Against the Machine in their sound, but with the intricate guitar playing, they begin to sound more like The Blood Brothers, but with heartfelt melodies in place of campcore screams. However despite being the tightest and most technical band on the night, this hasn't fully translated into songwriting, while some tracks take said funk-rock dynamics and build to sweeping hardcore crescendos, the overall impression, seems bereft of melodies or hooks with which to pin down their proficiency, preventing them from possessing the full package.

So as the night moves onto the final band, it is clear that its going to be a close call, particularly if Place Above can turn the competition into a tough three way decision for the judges. Unfortunately they are the most standard of the nights acts. Launching into dual guitar mid-tempo rock, yet without the melodies to threaded over the top, their dynamics end up sounding stale and tired. While their quieter arpeggio'd moments give them a sound reminiscent of Sunny Day Real Estate they seem a self-conscious of expressing a passion that would carry such an approach. This lack of dynamics or immediacy, seems to stem from a lack of stage confidence, and the tongue in cheek cockrock posturing only serves only to detract from the mood of the songs. While on another night, Place Above may have fared better, topping the bill left them with a tall order to fulfil, unable to offer anything substantially different to what had already been seen tonight.

This leaves the night something of a two horse race, and a close run one at that, as either band would be hard done to being denied victory. Both bands showed a lot of potential, expressed some interesting ideas, and played with attention grabbing fire. So when the decision comes in favour of Hammer vs. the Snake, Holiday in Hawaii, could conceivably feel quite hard done too since in some ways they had the edge, particularly, when the winner's encore, is but a pale shadow of the original set. Perhaps this is something to do with the shock of victory, as 'Rejj' and 'Taffy' from the band admit afterwards, they were "f-cking surprised" at the decision. However at the same time the band seem pleased that their attempts at something a little different seem to be paying off, taking their cues from the Stooges and Gary Numan, 'Hammer...' they see themselves as on a mission to fuse lo-fi blues with synth pop, rather than simply following the current Disco-Punkers. On their relation to the Oxford scene, they seem, a little unsure, having only just begun to find a 'sound' in their 9 month existence, and still intent on maintaining an identity in any scene the city has to offer. However, they admit they face some stiff competition in the final and hence whether they will be able to translate this drive for difference, into a set able to hold its own against Oxford's best remains to be seen, but on the strength of tonight, they shouldn't be ruled out.

Review courtesy of alterEgo magazine.