Post by Admin on Jul 19, 2011 10:47:38 GMT -5
Published in the News and Star
Matter of Distance, Wrecked 'Em, ctrlaltdelete, SecondToLast
By Chris Musson
The Brickyard, Carlisle. Saturday 13th September 2003
CYNICAL audiences across Cumbria: Unfold those arms. This is what we've been looking for.
With just a handful of gigs between them, Carlisle-based bands Second to Last and ctrlaltdelete produced a trailblazing effort that can only aid the ambitions of the growing number of new-music makers in the area.
The bands were playing the first leg of a gig-swap with two groups from Cambridge, Matter of Distance and Wrecked 'Em (yes, very funny). Second to Last went on stage fourth to last (that means first) in only their second gig with their third line-up in as many years, having tried out two or three names.
Singer Alex Macarte bounced around the stage like a man possessed by emo-demons, his droogs churning out a blend of skewed and speedy punk-pop with tunes and musicianship that shocked the spectators into frantic applause.
The travellers from Cambridgeshire must have been quaking in their boots at the thought of following Second to Last, whose 40-minute long set provided a variety of jamming, snappy riffs, singing and screaming, which had the crowd whooping and cheering their every move. To compound the visitors' problems, ctrlaltdelete then took to the stage. Post-fine art degrees, these former Cumbria Institute of the Arts students have stuck around in Carlisle to go post-rock. And they're welcome to stay. It's like nothing the city has ever heard before. Obvious comparisons could be drawn with Sonic Youth in one of those nice moments before a feedback fest, or Mogwai at their haunting best.
They're 100 per cent instrumental, but this kind of music - the quiet-loud switches between crisp bass lines, the explosive guitar - doesn't lend itself to lyrics.
Ben Maxwell provides ample polite chat between songs. He sounds like Radiohead's Thom Yorke - southern, well spoken, intelligent - but looks more like Woody Harrelson in Natural Born Killers. And ctrlaltdelete are at their murderous best when their quiet bass and guitar melodies slip into deafening distortions at the flick of a pedal. There are just the three of them. Chris on drums provides beats not just to complement, but to lead in parts. Bassist Laura sits on a chair throughout ("I'm
only wee and my bass is really heavy"), but with fingers like those, let her be seated.
That the visiting ska band Wrecked 'Em could not compete is no fault of their own. The referee in this case hates ska. It went out with Madness, who made my toes curl - even as a child. Carlisle United lost twice to Cambridge last season - but I'll have a tenner on our city scoring a victory in this particular return leg.
* Apologies to Matter of Distance - ska drove the reviewer from the building before they took the stage.
Matter of Distance, Wrecked 'Em, ctrlaltdelete, SecondToLast
By Chris Musson
The Brickyard, Carlisle. Saturday 13th September 2003
CYNICAL audiences across Cumbria: Unfold those arms. This is what we've been looking for.
With just a handful of gigs between them, Carlisle-based bands Second to Last and ctrlaltdelete produced a trailblazing effort that can only aid the ambitions of the growing number of new-music makers in the area.
The bands were playing the first leg of a gig-swap with two groups from Cambridge, Matter of Distance and Wrecked 'Em (yes, very funny). Second to Last went on stage fourth to last (that means first) in only their second gig with their third line-up in as many years, having tried out two or three names.
Singer Alex Macarte bounced around the stage like a man possessed by emo-demons, his droogs churning out a blend of skewed and speedy punk-pop with tunes and musicianship that shocked the spectators into frantic applause.
The travellers from Cambridgeshire must have been quaking in their boots at the thought of following Second to Last, whose 40-minute long set provided a variety of jamming, snappy riffs, singing and screaming, which had the crowd whooping and cheering their every move. To compound the visitors' problems, ctrlaltdelete then took to the stage. Post-fine art degrees, these former Cumbria Institute of the Arts students have stuck around in Carlisle to go post-rock. And they're welcome to stay. It's like nothing the city has ever heard before. Obvious comparisons could be drawn with Sonic Youth in one of those nice moments before a feedback fest, or Mogwai at their haunting best.
They're 100 per cent instrumental, but this kind of music - the quiet-loud switches between crisp bass lines, the explosive guitar - doesn't lend itself to lyrics.
Ben Maxwell provides ample polite chat between songs. He sounds like Radiohead's Thom Yorke - southern, well spoken, intelligent - but looks more like Woody Harrelson in Natural Born Killers. And ctrlaltdelete are at their murderous best when their quiet bass and guitar melodies slip into deafening distortions at the flick of a pedal. There are just the three of them. Chris on drums provides beats not just to complement, but to lead in parts. Bassist Laura sits on a chair throughout ("I'm
only wee and my bass is really heavy"), but with fingers like those, let her be seated.
That the visiting ska band Wrecked 'Em could not compete is no fault of their own. The referee in this case hates ska. It went out with Madness, who made my toes curl - even as a child. Carlisle United lost twice to Cambridge last season - but I'll have a tenner on our city scoring a victory in this particular return leg.
* Apologies to Matter of Distance - ska drove the reviewer from the building before they took the stage.