Posted by PH on 4/24/2007, 11:29 am For reasons that are not especially clear, this evening's entertainment at Night & Day is sponsored by lager. That Jamaican one that comes in cans, to be specific. Which makes iDresden an interesting choice of band, given that the majority of the angry young trio's lyrical content appears to be railing against the corporate-controlled world; words, diatribes even, spill out of wiry singer Cal like someone's kicked over a crate of ball bearings. Someone once said that alternative music thrives at times of social disillusionment, and with the spirit of hope brought by the Blair Revolution and its corresponding Britpop backslapping complacency long since dead and buried this is the sound of highly intelligent young men to whom government, and for that matter "indie" music, have always meant compromise. So musically, too, iDresden take their cues from older, uncompromising hardcore and the louder end of post-rock. They always play like there's some sort of national emergency and tonight is no exception. A guitar string snaps after two songs - hopefully the owner of the hastily borrowed replacement's not watching as it's clawed to within an inch of its life with a drumstick. Slight respite from the fray comes in the form of "Ares" whose Forward Russia like melodic twists have already won the approval of Steve Lamacq, but the energy never lets up for one second. The Lead Balloons are certainly more sponsorship-friendly, although whilst their upbeat, exuberant indie pop radiates sunshine and the sort of warm evenings where a few cold beers would go down a treat, any product endorsements are quite definitely tongue-in-cheek. A "scenester" he may well be by his own admission, but as a singer and songwriter Pierre Hall is about as unpretentious as it's possible to be, a sweet boy with a heart full of tunes and a scruffy bunch of mates to help him play them. With reference points such as early shambling Pastels, The Coral's jangle-shanties and bittersweet Buzzcocks romantic punk-pop it's time to forget all the crap going on in the world for a few minutes, smile and sing along to the infectiously wonderful likes of "Don't Bother With Him", a summer festival hit in waiting if ever there was one. And if the last track - a new one called "Something You Say" which fizzes like a packet of Refreshers into a great big headrush fuzz-pop frenzy - is anything to go by, they've got no shortage of those.
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:: iDresden :: Pierre Hall & The Lead Balloons ::
19 April 2007 / Night & Day / Manchester
By Cath Aubergine
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