A few weeks ago I was hunting for bands to book for a night I'm running in August. With so many bands looking for gigs, it was difficult to know where to start. The main problem faced by a band booker is that a band which sounds great in the studio can be weak live. The actual logistics of running a night are comparatively unimportant; the fate of the night is already designated as a success/failure as soon as you confirm that band. With this in mind, I sought the advice of friends on who they thought I should book. Having investigated a few bands, I decided to go for Ejectorseat, with Penfold Gate as support.
Above: Ejectorseat - What do they care | Buy
Lots of indie kids seem to be drifting in to nu-wave and dirty electro at the moment. Even the emo kids are listening to electro-popified tunes, courtesy of bands such as hellogoodbye. Don't get me wrong, I'm a bit of an electro slut myself on occasion and won't say no to a bit of musical filth on a night out. However, I wish that there were more bands who could integrate these synthy electro beats in to songs more subtly. By doing this bands can produce punchy songs, whilst maintaining the over-riding sound of classic indie-rock. This blend creates memorable, danceable indie classics. Ejectorseat are one such band who play riotous tunes which wake up the dance floor. Next time your out force the DJ to play one of their songs. Think Bloc Party meets Maximo Park and let your dancing shoes do the rest.
Ejectorseat - Attack, Attack, Attack (acoustic) | Download | Buy
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6 comments:
Hi!
It's Sweeny, fellow Gloucestrian blogger. Where are you putting on Ejectorseat then? They do sound pretty good...
Good work on the blog!
Sweeny
http://partlyporpoise.blogspot.com/
It will be on the 28th of August at crackers, glos. details at www.myspace.com/kissmyfaceevents or www.kissevents.com.
Any promotion you could give the event would be amazing. In fact im running a battle of the bands event at crackers this coming tuesday and need judges if you fancy it?
They sound like Editors crossed with The Bravery. Like an even more annoying version of the Killers. When will indie music stop indulging in such horrible incestuousness, get out of the ghetto it's in and make truly world-beating music again. What is this over-riding sound of indie-rock and why does there have to be a template anyway? It's bullshit. Good music is good music in whatever genre. This all sounds so 2005. There is some good news though, if they play their cards right they should be on the cover of The Fly before they know it. Middle class white indie bands are all they seem to feature.
I've never really understood the point of The Fly. In my humble opinion, they don’t offer the depth or quality of journalism of FACT magazine or The Stool Pigeon. It seems like they just look at the mainstream that you get on the radio and filter out the complete crap (e.g. rap, rnb etc), but don’t bother digging much deeper. The regional sections do get a bit closer to grass roots music, and Ejectorseat were indeed featured in Mays East Mids bit.
I just had a quick look through my pile of magazines and found 3 old copies of The Fly; with Kaiser Chiefs, The View and The Cribs featured on the covers. You're right, indie is pretty white middle class, I’m not sure this a new phenomenon though. However, white middle class doesn't necessarily equate to bad music.
You mentioned The Bravery. For me they sum up everything which is bad about indie music. Our student union won a competition to have them play for free a while ago. Despite the tickets being £0 the venue wasn't full, the atmosphere was dead and I was bored! The reason why it was so dull was that they're really not very good and nobody cared about seeing them that much. But thanks to their marketing machine and the rise of the boring clone indie bands, the gig was part of a huge European tour on which they took a ridiculous amount of kit and staff.
The Bravery are not the only ones, many of these boring yet successful indie bands do exist; but I think that putting The Killers in to this group is misguided. Mr. Brightside is a tune worthy of defining a music generation. Hearing it on the radio every 20 seconds may have taken the shine off it, but it’s still a seminal anthem. I don’t believe that any old average indie band has the ability to write a song that good. I saw The Killers play a few years ago in a fez club. The gulf in quality was more evident then, but it’s still evident now.
As for Ejectorseat, the question is ‘are they part of that group of samey indie bands or have they got something more?’ It’s all down to opinion in the end. For me the songs are catchy and they have a certain edge and quality to them. On a simple level, I like them, that’s why I booked them.
I'm not sure how you can have a 'seminal anthem' 50+ years into the history of rock n roll, but i'll concede that Mr. Brightside is a great pop song.
The real problem with Mr. Brightside is that its such a good song and just serves to highlight how lacking the 2nd album is. I know it's a cliche to say it now, but it really is like a really banal Springsteen album.
That, and the fact that I'm still gnashing my teeth over that godawful 'indie rock n roll' embarrassment on the first album.
I agree, theres loads of bands cashing in on the electronic fever, which isn't a bad thing, but it's almost too much. I'm a fan of synth rock, which give those subtle touches, which you almost forgot they have a synthsiser, such as hot hot heat pure brillance. Also going back with death from above 1979, or black eyes, both pretty funky without trying to hard.
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