Eastern Lane + British Sea Power
De jongens van Eastern Lane waren eerder dit jaar al te bewonderen op het Rotown podium en later ook tijdens het Metropolis festival. De hype vooruit bewezen ze dat ze de omschrijving ‘nieuwe belofte op indie gebied’ meer dan waard zijn. Je gelooft niet dat ze nog geen 20 jaar zijn. Als invloeden noemen ze: Love, the Stooges, the Pixies, the Velvet Underground, Johnny Cash en Joy Division. Berwick-Upon-Tweed, tegen de grens van Schotland, waar ze vandaan komen, zal binnenkort te klein zijn voor deze jongens.
British Sea Power is in Engeland al enige tijd een begrip en nu ook klaar om het vaste land te veroveren.
Uit The Face:
FUNNY PECULIAR BRITISH SEA POWER:THEY KNOW WHAT A UNIFORM DOES FOR A MAN
It`s not cool to be an art band. Or clever. `Pretentious shite,` people mutter, then laugh, then get back to lager in hand. But British Sea Power don`t do stunt sunglasses, swagger or ingalong loveliness. Instead they run Club Sea Power, a monthly variety show freak-out in their adopted hometown, Brighton. Their website points visitors in the direction of Czech literature and the band ask to be called Hamilton, Wood, Noble and Jan. They wear scratchy wool Royal Navy trousers, deploy plastic bird decoys and chunks of tree on stage, and are very, very good at staring. “We`re trying to look military, but decommissioned,” says singer Jan (and brother of bassist Hamilton). Visually, BSP are excitement writ thick; musically, second single `Remember Me` has big, slashing guitars recalling Joy Division and speed-gobbing indie as readily as Jan`s twitchy dance and boggle eyes. The rest of their live set portends an LP of epic/intricate art-rock as impressive as the antlers stuck to Wood`s drumkit. BSP say their main strength is imagination. “We`re willing to take chances.” Are you willing to be laughed at? “I don`t mind that!” says Jan, with the cheerful look of a man with long experience of public ridicule.
Craig McLean