Eight Legs - Tell Me What Went Wrong (Weekender)
3/5
By: Charlie Potter
This is what I imagine modern indie bands to sound like these days, I mean, when people make generalizations about indie bands I imagine they're describing some music a bit like this. I imagine 20 somethings in pork pie hats taking a pause in their snooker game to sing to you in a prophetic voice. And that's OK. That's not a bad thing.
But we're now in danger of finding ourselves in a position not dissimilar to the people of Germany in between the World Wars, in the depths of hyperinflation. There are still surviving photos of people wheeling whole wheel barrows of Deutschmarks in notes just to buy a single lolli pop. Be warned. Whereas before, what with the steady regulation of pork pie bands, these acts were a strong currency, now we find ourselves kicking smaller, uglier versions of Pete Doherty off our doorsteps in order to try and make our way to a proper gig.
The bands that do a lot better than this have quite consistently dedicated lyricists. True, a lot of the time this just gives them more scope for churning out utter drivel, and here the perhaps overly simple, honest lyrics together with the terrible recording (particularly on the B-side 'Nihilistic Youth') suggest that this band are not ready to hit it big just yet. Sure though, if they were a local band from round my way, I'm sure I'd really enjoy their ramshackle charm in the right mood.
Apart from that obvious and somewhat generic indie sound, this band also have a feel of early Cure to them. Furthermore, the heartfelt melancholic vocals (although at times a bit whiney, due to the odd note being missed here and there) driven along by the almost punk bass lines gives this band an added credibility, and it's undoubtedly these things that have made what goes wrong in the record actually grow on me a bit. If you want to continue enjoying it though, don't put on The Cure's 1985 record 'The Head on the Door' to compare. What a record.
It's a well played song, if a bit rough around the edges, but the enjoyment and excitement behind its creation come across strongly, which deserves a lot of respect. The bits in which they really go for it are laudbible, but there's still a lot of honing to be done, a few dud notes to be ironed out and lyrics redrafted, and perhaps more attention paid to things like an exciting entry to a song. There's potential here, but most newer bands have it, and it's sad to say, most squander it.
Artists in this article: Eight Legs
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