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(Tom and I collaborated on the Rumble reviews; Tom's comments are italic.)
Aberdeen City remind me a bit of The Cure, without the parts of The Cure that piss me off; it’s loud guitar pop, and the singer has a fantastic voice. It’s like Interpol, but with the vocals in a higher register. They employ grand guitar gestures, including using the proscenium as a slide and shouting into the pickups. I think they also win the award for most pedals. The singer mostly plays bass, but switches with the rhythm guitarist for one song. The last song features percussion from instruments distributed to the audience. It’s a risky move, but we more or less keep time.
A time warp brings the rollicking fun party rock of Muck and the Mires to us. You left off the “and roll.” This is rock and roll, straight from the ‘50s. They’re breaking no new ground, for sure. But they bang out 13 songs with passion and get the crowd going. They’re so polished and comfortable on stage. And that drummer is great! The harmonica solos add some flare, too. I actually think they start out a bit lackluster, for them, but their energy builds over the course of the set.
Mass Hysteria are a female-fronted seven member ska band, reminding me of The Selector. Any genre sounds uniform when it’s not your genre, but ska seems especially mannered to me. One guitarist’s whole job is to hit that staccato chord on every second and fourth beat. I wasn’t gonna give them any points for originality, but then they declare, “Ska en française!” The horns are punchy and tight. She has a weird voice, which I like. I suppose the Gwen Stefani comparison is inevitable. This is their second ‘BCN competition; they’ve done the High School Battle of the Bands.
You have a better ear for metal; what’s up with Rubikon? Security is apparently on high alert. A mosh pit threatens, but is quickly quelled. It’s in-your-face music with a melodic edge, mostly in the vocals. He has a surprisingly pretty falsetto—a weird contrast with the roaring. The rhythm section handle tricky parts well, but stumble a bit on the simpler stuff. I like the bassist and his high-stepping gyrations, although they prove his undoing. Yes, he unplugs himself twice; the second time he gives up and just screams for the rest of the song. First encore we’ve seen.
Winner: Muck and the Mires
