Sunday May 11th 2008 @ The Medicine Bar/Factory Club, Birmingham
Words by Stephen Hudyba
Stage 2 Showcase
Old Ricoh
Kicking off Stage 2 of The Surface Unsigned Festival 2008 was Coventry based five-piece Old Ricoh. Since we last saw them the band has had their first stage performance aired on MTV2 and they are to be featured on MTV’s “The Contenders” later this month! At the Custard Factory’s Factory Club they gave another strong performance of their intense, contemporary Rock sound – a set that made it more than apparent why the band are attracting such exciting media attention and showed they’ve got the potential to do well in this years festival.
To find out more about the band, or to hear their demos, visit
www.myspace.com/oldricoh
The Underclass
Next up were Indie five-piece The Underclass. It’s smarter than your average ladish indie sound yet with all the swagger and confidence you would expect from a band in that genre. Refreshingly stripped of ego, their music is unpretentious yet witty and whilst their tracks often descend into some guitar-heavy, rock n roll excess, it never seems drawn out or loses energy. They lacked some of the intensity of their set at The Rainbow, yet thanks to the high quality of their material and the sharpness of their sound it was still an impressive set from a band who have some real ability.
To find out more about the band, or to hear their demos, visit
www.myspace.com/underclass1
Poor Frankie
The third band of the evening was Coventry’s Poor Frankie. Maintaining the high standard they delivered in their first stage effort, they gave an intense, measured performance of their Indie-Blues-meets-Garage-Rock sound. While there is a clear, heavy Kings of Leon influence in their music, they make it all very much their own the result is something that is refreshingly stripped down, unique and genuinely exciting. It’s the quality of their material where the band really stood-out.
To find out more about the band, or to hear their demos, visit
www.myspace.com/poorfrankieband
Regis
It was the sixth time Regis have played under the Surface Unsigned banner and, rather improbably they have always managed to top each of their previous performances in terms of energy, intensity and material, and on their return to the Factory Club they did it again. Tearing at a breakneck pace through eight of their tracks, they showed an ever growing body of some truly exceptional songs - intelligent contemporary indie anthems all belted out with an excellent mix of technical precision and raw emotion that give their music a distinctive, effortless and urgent quality that so many bands try in vain to achieve.
To find out more about the band, or to hear their demos, visit
www.myspace.com/regismusic
Optic Therapy
The fifth band of the evening was Wednesbury based four-piece Optic Therapy. Dark, atmospheric Garage-Rock dripping with distortion and energy – they gave a first rate performance of their well-crafted, guitar-driven sound that sits comfortably between classic and contemporary rock n roll, yet at the same time (to the bands credit) never fitting well into any particular genre box. Despite a problem with their tuning breaking up the flow of their set it was still a strong effort from a band who know how-to-do-what-they-do well and who went down very well with the Sunday evening crowd.
To find out more about the band, or to hear their demos, visit www.myspace.com/optictherapy
Thieves Like Us
Another strong performance from Walsall based four-piece Thieves Like Us proved the perfect end to an excellent evening of unsigned music. Well-written, memorable pop-indie songs and an engaging stage presence made for a first-rate set from a band whose sound has real pop-accessibility and a surprising amount of lyrical depth. It’s a tricky balance to get right, and how well they manage to pull it off is a testament to their ability as songwriters and performers. Much tighter than their first stage performance, it was a technically impressive effort yet to their credit they lost none of the energy and emotion which comes across so well in their music.
To find out more about the band, or to hear their demos, visit www.myspace.com/thieveslikeusband
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