Gig Review... White Lies @ The Junction, 4th February 2011

February is a month when bands come out from the crap month of January and breathe new life into a year that has only been about earning the money back you wasted in December. So with a £16 price tag you would be expected to be getting some amazing musical action live... well this is what I encountered last night.

A freezing cold evening made worse with the delayed doors opening and 53 MPH winds ripping right through the queue I was in a hurry to get to the centre of the barrier. Instantly I was met with a strange array of covered instruments and a harp?! This was Active Child, this is a band comprising of Pat Grossi and he combines his soaring vocals and crunching analogue synths with the honey drip drop of echoing harps. The vocals are something similar of the best of Yannis Philippakis and Hayden Thorpes vocal abilities into something to admire. I loved their set and even bought their EP on 10" and have listened to it a few times already today!

Weight of the World by Active Child

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Active Child - She Was A Vision


After that breathtaking encounter it was the turn of another American band, this time, Crocodiles took the stage. With a stage lit up they seemed to look like a cross between an Oasis tribute act and a Post-Punk outfit. The singer was trying so hard to overcome the loud and pulsating guitar and drums but sadly you couldn't hear him enough. After a few fiddling around on the sound desk you could hear him loud and clear. Wonderful vocals projected right across the room with an array of pedals to his right and (what sounded like) a distortion pedal being used all too often by the guitarist. I did enjoy the performace but couldn't help but feel like they came 15 years too late, they sounded like Brit-Pop with a slight Rock edge to them.

Crocodiles - Album

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Crocodiles - Mirrors


So now to the main attraction, the Junction was sold out for what was to be an amazing show. They started with a new fans favourite called 'Holy Ghost' this song was followed with an epic sing along to 'To Lose My Life'. With a few new songs dotted throughout the set it was a nice diversion from the old favourites such as 'Taxidermy' and 'From The Stars'.

With an additional member now providing some relief from Harry's guitar parts, this created more layers to the sound. Think of it as the album but better, the extra two members do create a wonderful experience because you can hear the layers they create in the album a whole lot better once live.



With Harry constantly getting sing-a-longs to the big tracks such as 'Bigger Than Us', 'Death' and 'Unfinished Business' everyone, old fans, new fans and even the bouncers enjoyed the experience with a few of the lads turning around to check out the brilliant performance behind them.

White Lies played:
Holy Ghost
To Lose My Life
Peace & Quiet
E.S.T.
Strangers
A Place To Hide
Streetlights
Death
Is Love
Bad Love
Farewell To The Fairground
-Encore -
Unfinished Business
Power & Glory
Bigger Than Us

Ritual [Clips] by White Lies

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White Lies - Bigger Than Us (Factory Floor Remix)

Review by:
Active Child - Fred Bambridge
Crocodiles - Fred Bambridge
White Lies - Fred Bambridge

Band Review... Gliss

Exciting-sounding yet underrated American three piece Gliss, are a band from LA, California. Gliss consist of Victoria, Martin and Dave. In an interview, they said that they all played drums and also each others’ instruments. No wonder during their live shows, you can often see the vocalist’s position switching from a member to another.



Their hit single ‘Morning Light’ has captured a lot of listeners’ hearts. It starts with some distorted guitar, and then some drums with the drummer played standing up straight. The sweet bass on ‘Morning Light’ is accompanied with some equally sweet lyrics like ‘Darling, it’s a start. Darling, in your heart.’ It’s a really catchy song and it has a really well-made music video too!

Thought that they’re pop rock-ish after having heard ‘Morning Light’? Think again. Moving on with ‘Velvet Stars’, has a much gloomier and dark feeling pumped into the song. ‘Kissing the Blvd.’ is sung by Martin, rather than the female vocalist Victoria. It sounds a little retro and is rather intense compared to the other songs by the band.

You should keep an eye on them as they are a really fresh band and have an awful lot of energy on stage.

By guest contributor Coco Wong

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