Live

I Concur, Her Name Is Calla

Helen Newbery 08/03/2008

Although billed as a single launch for Leeds-based I Concur, tonight's Brew Records bash promises a four-band spectacular at the Brudenell Social Club. First up are The Pattern Theory. Eschewing vocals, they generate a funky and slightly prog-rock feel. With lush interludes interspersed with crashing drums, there are enough carefully crafted changes in tempo to (just about) keep things interesting.

Following on, Wintermute may have the addition of vocals, but they do share a similar focus on switches of tempo. Their stop-start rhythms are reminiscent of Dartz! And if there is more than a hint of Foals in their first few songs, by the end of their set, shouting the nihilist “Nothing at all” into the microphone, the style they have generated is all their own.

Having been on stage for some minutes, Her Name Is Calla begin to play almost imperceptibly. However, their sound builds and builds until it reaches an intensity which is almost to much to bear, and, some ten minutes later, 'New England' crashes out with all six members on the stage bashing at drums, or whatever comes to hand. By the end of the three-song set singer Tom Morris is screaming “This is punishment” into the microphone. Things are cut short by technical problems and the legacy of a recent trip to Prague, but in a short set, Her Name Is Calla still manage to pack in more raw emotion than many bands manage in a lifetime.

Headliners I Concur play muscular riffs with the occasional spot of extended post-rockness. 'Build Around Me', the “other” A side to the double A-side single, typifies this approach, starting off almost gently, before building into a powerful beast of a song. Perhaps oddly, the first A-side on the single tonight is all about, 'Lucky Jack', isn't one which particularly stands out. It's perfectly serviceable, in an effects-heavy guitar sort of way, but there is actually much meatier fare on offer, such as closer 'Oblige', with its catchy melody and irresistible build-up, leading to an immense crash-out at the close of the set. All in all, a night of interest and variety at the Brudenell.