The Maple State – Night ‘N Day Café, Manchester – 16/2/07
4/5
By: Gareth Roberts
The Maple State have been making steady progress over the past few months with their own brand of what is best described as manc-emo (get on that, NME). Lauded by the likes of XFM's John Kennedy and Radio 1 / 6's Steve Lamacq, could they be the next band to re-invigorate Manchester's reputation as a truly important musical city? I wasn't sure, so once again my inquisitive nature got the better of me as I headed down, Sherlock Holmes stylee, to the Night 'N Day Café in an attempt to find some answers.
It was clear from the reception the band received that they have established a keen fan base, glancing around for further clues revealed the vast majority of the crowd were mouthing the words to every song - always a good sign in anyone's book. But of course, all this means very little, after all, people mouth the words at Orson concerts, and anybody in their right mind would be loathe to suggest that they are anything short of utter tripe.
So, are their songs actually any good? Well, the answer has to be yes. The magnetically understated 'Wood and Rain' and the brilliant 'Arguments' kick things off in fine style, so fine in fact that you're left wondering whether they can keep up the quality levels for the entire set. Those fears are laid to rest with current single 'Joanna', which is more in line with the likes of Morrissey than the emo types alluded to earlier, it's tight, catchy and simple; staple ingredients for any good pop song I'm sure you'll agree.
The rest of the set passes by in a flash, the self deprecating nature of the band illustrated perfectly in 'For the Temperate Lives of the Music Buying Public' when Gregory Counsell sings, "We don't deserve anything from anyone". Despite their obvious credentials, they are the kind of band for whom their fortunes could go either way, owing largely to their seeming unwillingness to slot into any specific genre (i.e. they may be too emo for some, too indie for others. It sounds crass but it could be a problem, I mean, look at the tough ride Kubichek have had so far...), so with that in mind I'll return to the original question - are they Manchester's 'next big thing?'
To be honest the jury is very much still out on this case. However, with the songs they've got, and their seemingly strongly dedicated fan base that is no doubt growing all the time, it's highly likely that whilst they may currently be under-equipped to qualify for the tag of the next big Manchester band, they certainly possess the credentials to make them one of the brighter prospects the city has to offer. They may not be expecting anything from anyone, but they're almost certainly going to be pleasantly surprised.
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