Tonight showcases two current modern trends in modern hardcore and punk.
Right now it is not enough to merely be an American punk or hardcore band as the scene has taken on a revisiting of the late 90s vibe.
This is by no means a bad thing, it makes sense that for the current crop of bands to be taking influence from a particularly fruitful period from the natural cyclical point in music trends.
The only problem is that it can get a little tiresome when several bands overly saturate a scene by being too alike.
None of the bands this evening are guilty of being so uninspired to the point of derision, but they all fit quite neatly into certain labels. Seahaven for instance are a young band touring their second record but are fairly heart-on-their-sleeve when it comes to their influences, pre-empting for the more experienced Balance and Composure.
Both bands take the more emotional edge to punk rock as their main base, perfected some time ago by Brand New with ‘The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me’.
Seahaven start off slowly to get to grips with the audience, but pull them in successfully once establishing their worn but still largely pleasing sound.
As a band they have a tendency to go stray a little too close to the aforementioned Brand New or any other emotionally tinged, for want of a better word, grungy, style of music which has been around for some time.
Still, the young band do very well and by the end of the set put together a neat set of well produced songs.
Philadelphia’s Balance and Composure however, though also fitting into this highly recognisable style, bring something far more interesting to the table, and their confidence comes across in spades over the course of their performance.
Pulling easily the biggest (read: warmest) crowd of the night, B&C include more post-rock and indie influences to their sound that give them a classy distinction that has been winning them plaudits since last year’s excellent debut LP Separation.
In many ways this brings out elements of that record that become slightly undone by its occasionally muggy production, as each part of this five-piece (singer Jon Simmons’ guitar-mostly-as-a-prop notwithstanding given his excellent, raw vocal performance) brings wonderful definition to the band’s overall sound.
Overall it’s an excellent performance from the still fairly new indie rock band, who somewhat steal the night from everyone else.
Pianos Become the Teeth however belong to the other current camp inhibited by bands like Touche Amore, La Dispute and tonight’s openers (who I missed, sorry) Departures.
This is the revitalising of 90’s screamo as somewhat of a post-internet reaction to bastardisation of the terms emo and screamo which can be pretty hit and miss.
Like the indie-emo side, and most punk related sub-genres, this can be very hit and miss between the cream of the crop and the average with good timing.
PBTT aren’t really either of these things, and this is sometimes their problem.
Their set is a fantastic ball of energy that never really lets up in their short, not even 30-minute headlining set, but they can suffer (like La Dispute) from a bit of sounding a-bit-like-everyone-else-ness.
This isn’t really a huge problem, there are plenty of people who enjoy the genre and the scene rather than individual bands, but at times the Baltimore five-piece can just sound like they’re struggling under the weight of their own, occasionally indecipherable sound.
At their best though they make excellent short work of the structurally difficult songs and put on an excellent performance of their set, but as a seasoned veteran I would like to see the band offer sometimes a little more, a little different.
Words: Adam Turner-Heffer
Photos: Neil Jarvie
