IMSOC/Zoo - Battle of the Bands Final, 2/3/05, The Wheatsheaf

Mostly Mouth, We The Starling, Hammer VS The Snake

They'd entered, triumphed in the heats, but now finally tonight's competitors, were playing for ultimate victory, and the prize of three days paid studio time with an Engineer funded by those kind souls at IMSOC. Judging by the standards of some of the heats, the final promised to be an even tougher one to call. With the Wheatsheaf packed with partisans of all three bands, each band seemed as likely to win the judges over.

With this close call in mind, the three-piece Mostly Mouth, kick-start proceedings, launching into their first song, a displaying a raw, urgent pop punk sound. However seemingly aware of the bland, formulaic pitfalls of the genre, Mostly Mouth, seem to be making a conscious effort not to fall into that trap. At times bringing in, surf rock guitars, surprise time changes combining, slower funky feeling, with stuttery stabs, all topped of by lush vocals, standing out from the traditional bratty drawl. For the most part this original twists work in the bands favour, yet at the same time, towards the end both songs and set begin to drag a little, a problem faced by many bands throughout the competition.

Yet it is a problem that We the Starling seem fully aware of, keeping to a shorter streamlined set, giving the audience and judges enough time to warm to the abstract lo-fi indie, but stopping short of out staying their welcome. Probably the hardest to pin down of tonight's competitors their main point of attention is the Kate Bush-esque vocals, which though brash, ring out defiantly over the scrappy but charming guitars. Its hard to tell whether the band dynamics would be strengthened by more confidence in the rhythm section or whether the charm lies in the somewhat rough and ready sound they purvey. Either way We The Starling stake a credible claim to be this years winners.

But momentarily diverting their attention away from their main competition of concern, Hammer vs The Snake, launch into the synth-based disco-rock, which saw them through the previous weeks heat. With their confidence clearly bolstered by the surprise heat victory, 'the Snake' of the final seem to have developed a funkier, harder edge to their sound. Showcasing new material, that seems yet more ambitious than their existing use of, three part harmonies, flamenco rhythms, and cheese-rock guitar solos. Yet despite the new material, the band still includes covers which push the set list a little past attention span, meaning that the rush of the first half of the set has somewhat dwindled, but luckily the impression the band create is not undermined.

Thus the decision for the judges, is a tough one, but eventually comes out in favour of Hammer vs The Snake, to the cheers of the crowd. As with the heat the band seem somewhat surprised by the victory, but fortunately this week seem a little better prepared for an encore, trying out more new material, but stubbournly keeping a crowd pleasing but dubious Gary Numan cover in their set. With the competition too close to label them outright deserved winners on the strength of tonight's performance, it still seems like the Snake have a lot of potential to convert that studio time into something very promising.

Review courtesy of alterEgo magazine.