A bit of a (belated) review
Ok, so, 'twas with trepidation I ventured into the wilderness of Littleborough on a cold, wet and windy Friday night in Rochdale. If you've ever seen the pub scene in American Werewolf in London, you'll know exactly what I mean.
My first sight on entering the establishment was a rather loud and obnoxious "regular", wearing a rather loud and obnoxious Matalan check shirt, ill fitting jeans and a pair of regulation green wellington boots. Yes, you've read it right. Wellies, in a public house, on a Friday night in Littleborough. Standard issue I suppose though for Littleborough. No wonder the sheep looked more than a little harrassed on the way up there!
My first thought was, "Here we fucking go", and to turn on my heels and get back to the comfort of my sofa. After all, not only were my ears about to be subjected to the assault of an evening of mind numbingly dull "classic rock", but chances are, my now twitching rear end would also fall victim to a level of abuse by local villagers not seen since Deliverance. And the thought of being passed around like a spliff in a Jamaican brothel, was more than I could bear. But Tubthumper Nic deserved some support in gratitude for the advice and support she has proffered to her fellow NWBers.
And I stayed to the end. And I'm glad I stayed 'twas that good.
Reload are an extremely tight sounding, unobtrusive and unassuming little outfit.
The drums sounded awesome with the bass drum pounding like a heartbeat in a blocked eardrum, whilst the snare sound had enough snap and crack about it to cut right through the mix. The bass was thunderous too, (and in some songs just slightly overbearing), and whilst it wasn't the clearest bass sound I've ever heard, the rhythm section was really tight and provided all the drive and power you'd expect from a rock orientated engine room.
The two guitarists went about their business extremely well, although I sensed a slight lack of confidence in both of them in crucial solo's. The twin guitar solo in Rosalie for instance, was a bit too laid back for me and wasn't driving the overall sound as much as the rhythm section were. Having said that, I did try to comment to the lead guitarist that his rhythm sound wasn't as prominent as maybe it could have been, and was slightly rectified in readiness for the second set
.
The singer too had an inoffensive voice, in as much that there was no unnecessary screaming which is exactly the kind of headache inducing, aural terrorism I've come to expect (and despise), from pretentious rock wannabees. Indeed, he had an an impressive vibrato and a smoothness about his delivery, which, in my opinion, would be better suited to songs in the vein of Maroon 5 or bands of a similar ilk.
And that would be my only criticism of this band. Their song choice. I believe they could be so much more impressive by being bolder in their song choices. They certainly have the talent and would promote them out of a league of mediocre, average or unspectacular and catapult them to a level of superlatives often reserved for much more experienced bands.
I know most bands thrive on the atmosphere created by an expectant audience, which in turn, leads to an adrenaline charged performance, which in turn creates the ambience of a thoroughly enjoyable gig. Unfortunately, any such ambience was lacking on Friday night as the Dyers Arms isn't the most welcoming of venues, and I believe the band were rearranging furniture prior to loading in. And because of the layout of the venue, a kind of "L" shaped room with more space afforded to the pool table, there is only adequate seating for about 20 people to actually watch the band, which I suppose dampens the enthusiasm somewhat.
All in all though, an excellent band that would benefit by "raising the bar" a few inches. 7 out of 10