Live

Senses Fail, The First

Paul Cook 18/04/2009

Senses Fail aren't to everyone's tastes. First and foremost there are better bands out there and secondly, they have ample competition from the likes of Funeral for a Friend, My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday to name but a few. A modestly sized crowd of around 500 attended the gig which is surprising considering the band's success back home (three out of four albums having made the top 40.)

Blood, sweat and tears might best describe the night as Senses Fail played hard and fast for a solid hour or more. A good mix of tracks from all of the band's albums and a professional performance of them showed the band, soon to be celebrating their tenth anniversary since forming in 2001, to be a promising live prospect, as good as their closest competition Funeral for a Friend.

Rum is for Drinking, Not for Burning, Bite to Break Skin and Martini Kiss all from second album Let it Unfold You stood out as the band's better material whilst more recent material sounded surprisingly more dated. Long solo's and cluttered drums were good in the right places but overused. Whilst the talent is clearly there and the dedication to their music is apparent, a stripped back more structured, built approach might benefit them if they are to ever break into the UK market. Garden State the last track of the night, from most recent album Life is Not a Waiting Room, was as energetic and full throttle as the first and although what the band does isn't especially new or innovative, they do it very well indeed.