ROTATING LESLIE
Splash takes place every last Monday of the month at 93 Feet East, a free event for unsigned bands - which, of course, means that the music offered is rather mixed, to say the least. First up tonight are Liner. They produce a reasonably pleasant pop rock sound, but the singer has a slight case of Liam Gallagher-itis - the voice, the hair, the tambourine… and the occasional monkey impressions! At least he puts a bit of effort into singing, but ultimately the band don’t produce anything more than a decent noise.
3rd Dan, meanwhile, are like a rockier version of those all-pervasive “epic” bands of the moment - with the vocals of Keane, and guitars that are somewhere between Snow Patrol and 3 Colours Red (if anyone remembers them enough to make the comparison pertinent). Still, they’re clearly very young, their head-banging is rather sweet, and when the guitarist takes the lead vocals for a bouncy, old school indie song, they are almost good.
Third up are Broken Dolls, who don’t seem to know quite what they are. Hoxton electro via Oasis and, um, Babylon Zoo, with forays into heavy metal and a more classic REM sound. It could be good, but ultimately it’s just confusing, and the only real similarity between songs is the infuriatingly repetitive choruses. Broken Dolls are clearly determined to force people into singing their songs by peppering them with phrases (”rock ‘n’ roll”, “so good for me” - well, they forced their way into my memory at least!) repeated 20 times in a row. It remains to be seen whether this is enough.
Rotating Leslie, then, are the band we really came here to see. And we’re instantly transported into a different league. Bouncy, catchy pop, in a similar vein to YSOS favourites Seeing Scarlet, they put the school music room to good use with Rapture-style wood block percussion that really complements the songs. Classic with a touch of funk, and even a dash of new wave with the infectious “Piss In The Wind”, Rotating Leslie wake up a rather sluggish crowd at last, getting an unusual amount of cheering for a Monday night for their efforts. Happily, they deserve it.
