Scene Report: Stoke On Trent January 2007
By: Alex Lee Thomson
For years, Leeds, Manchester, London, Newcastle and more recently Sheffield, have dominated the music map, but at last there's something stirring in middle England, in a place called Stoke On Trent... (and if anybody says Robbie Williams, they die)...
Led by the superior Agent Blue, the female punk-starters The Tommys and the outstanding Echo and the Bunnymen prowess of The Alones, there's something rousing in the former pottery driven town-collection of Stoke On Trent and it's not only drawing the attention of punters and promoters, but artists such as Kasabian and Doherty have championed its intensity making it, hopefully, the next of these supposed 'scenes' to become nationally known.
The first band worth mentioning is The Tommys. Led by the feisty Jess Bell who could not only take on Courtney Love and Juliet Lewis for raw unadulterated smut-fuelled power rock dexterity, but annihilate anyone that would even dare contend her as one of the, if not the, leading front-woman of modern rock. Yes, we all know that Charlotte 'Subways' is amazing, but The Tommys are all so flamboyantly vociferous that this entire female based band hammer into each other forming a dirty and sick live performance that's skull f**king anybody that dares to get near it. With a tour history that could make Muse blush, The Tommys are seriously not to be missed, and with songs like 'Freakshow', 'Wait in the Line' and the best cover of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' ever ushered, they're proving that the modern age of music - in Stoke, at least - is a female controlled one... and all the better for it.
Next in a seemingly endless line of spit n' sawdust pioneers comes Morning Sparks, who, if they concentrated more, could reach Arctic Monkeys proportions, but if they loosened up could end up sounding more like Talking Heads. Sitting between so many forces of excellence is having a great effect on their music as they decide between just which particular road to walk down. Like the Sunshine Underground left in a cup of acid and remoulded by whatever remains of early Bloc Party, or a ramshackle Rakes doing a reggae party tune, Morning Sparks are hard to put your finger on yet sound too fecklessly brilliant to ignore. The vocals are amazing and the shear construction and confusion of material would be intimidating to the likes of The Killers in show-stopping ability, and Larrikin Love in dazed-and-confused ambiance.
A former Rockfeedback Pick Of The Stereo next, Andy Gower. Previously described here as an unpolluted Noel Gallagher, Gower has got 'the right sound at the right time' as he not only bashes out some Oasis-rambling reverberations, but chops it up with sinister and sometimes tongue-in-cheek lyrics to become a Northern songwriting tour-de-force to rival all his Bright Eyes worshiping southern counterparts that waffle around acting as though the worlds ending and their music's saving it. Check out 'Stepped Out Of Line', 'Hollywood' and 'This Town' to see how we write songs where I come from but don't be put off by an apparent pub-singer style as it's Andy's wit, emotion and better yet; simplicity, that make him one of the more interesting performers to emerge from the depths of a town that at last is pulling itself into the arena it deserves.
Playing alongside Andy in his live shows is Craig Hawkes who just happens to make up one fifth of another great example of how we do things up there (yes, there is life above the Watford Gap), amniotic influenced instrumental bliss creators, CODA. Few bands can pull off a live set of just... yes just... instrumentals with even their nearest limelight rivals and personal influences Sigur Ros slapping on some vocals for wider appeal, (albeit we have no idea what's being said making it more like a twisted violin than a wrenched harmony). The bravery that CODA face putting all their metaphorical eggs into one equally as metaphorical and fragile musical basket is outstanding and the result is an initiated and powerfully thought provoking experience of the senses as 3 guitars slide across a frictionless surface of haunting drums and a pulsating bass line. I challenge anybody to watch CODA without capturing the message of what they're doing within the first 2 tracks and if you can find a 10 second dip in any of their standards where lyrics could be tagged, please let me know because as far as I can see, there's no fault or imperfection in their product.
A band that's making a real impact right now is The Alones who've got a chance to bring Stoke On Trent to life on a massive scale. They list U2, Oasis and The Verve among their influences but to compare them to such people wouldn't do them any justice as The Alones are far more developed, distinctive and original than any of the aforementioned have achieved in a combined forty something years. Their style being closer to an early New Order or 'Seven Seas' era Echo and the Bunnymen, they already have far more to offer in range than these 'legendary' bands and can hold their weight live with a sustained level of engagement and capability. Songs like 'Faded Heart' demand attention and its beats can be felt streets away they're so hard and direct with a voice behind them that craves concentration and bellows like Richard Ashcroft at the height of his success. From the first time I heard this one live I was hooked, line and freakin' sinker, as every angle of it works, so well in fact there's a sense of disappointment when it ends similar to when The Cure finish 'Boys Don't Cry'. A confident and outlandish vocal exploit is heard on 'Silver' which too has a bold and severe live presence matching that of the band themselves forming a characteristic sense of grandeur and appeal. The Alones could be Stokes ticket to recognition as they're not only among the more talented of the area but reflect a growing sound that's typical of the city; a gallant, skilled, endearing, beat-obsessed, vicarious and exciting one. Already making headway I wouldn't be taken aback to see these guys popping up on the odd front cover of the music press within the next year, and what a deserved position it would be too.
If these melodic and brilliant local heroes haven't done it for you, try Agent Blue on for size as their Paddingtons-esk rambunction, spliced with all the good bits Kasabian left out, transforms your conception of what the fuck rock n' roll is, was, and should or could be. 'Sex Drugs And Rocks Through Your Window' is like the Babyshambles single that never was with 'Snowhill' appearing as the Clash's best work distorted and genetically engineered into something new, scary and fucking brutal. Underneath the gloss of Stoke lies this amazing music hole that so few people have had the privilege or know-how to experience and Agent Blue are almost its spokesmen as they take all the heated rock, indie, iForward, Russia! mincing and Klaxons headf**king unto the nation for digestible consumption. Being the first band from the area to 'make it' as it were, though by what standards is anybodies guess, they have become local legends and can pack out local super-cool venue The Sugarmill ten times over any leading UK act that's had at least the foresight to play this inspirational town before it's swamped with A and R men to the rafters. Currently working on their second album and after so much quasi-success already, Agent Blue is one of those bands that are just going to destroy rock from the inside and reinvent it for a modern genre fluxing generation.
A great thing about Stoke is that you can turn up at any Sugarmill, and to a lesser extent Underground, gig and find a local band that will fester in your mind endlessly while you're trying to watch your 'headline' band masquerade their show. When The Sunshine Underground meandered into the Mill, local shell-shocking ensemble My:Audio were there to ply the onlookers with some frivolously gathered popish electro punishers to wet their appetites. Again, this is where Stoke surpasses itself as My:Audio aren't just some hopeless local band with a few good tunes, but a mid-80s (raped by the undead spirits of Matthew Swinnerton) influenced riff and beat hook marathon of orgasmic potential. When you see them live you beg and plead why they're not on the front cover of **coughs to hide the identity of pathetic 'new music' orientated magazine that lives inside its own colon**, and why every indie-disco goer the length and breadth of these here united kingdoms aren't bopping along to 'Great Minds', one of the more brilliant pieces of music to come from man since Robert Smith birthed The Cure.
Eyes on this small city folks as it's not only one of the finest places to grab the superlative indie experience gig, but it also comes with its own wallpaper of ready-to-burst artists that have something inimitable, exciting and ultimately brilliant to offer the nation. With The Alones and Tommys literally on the knife's edge of breaking through I can't wait to see how 2007 shapes up for the area that's already given us the Spitfire, Wedgwood and some of the most memorable rock n' roll experiences in years.