All You Miss, Escape 1942, Girls that Scratch @ ‘The Run Off’, Cobarna, Stevenage, Mon 30th May 2005
What’s in a name? Girls that Scratch should be prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act, in truth being boys who mostly bore. The Essex trio attempt to imitate all that’s trendy in the ‘indie’ world, with a repetitive Franz Ferdinand / Bloc Party / Killers sound. Their song “about life in a small town” at least sounds genuine, though I’m not sure about its U2-style atmosphere; on the whole, they’re only going through the motions, and at least when they decided to jump on a meaningless bandwagon they didn’t try to be ‘emo’.
‘Emo’ is the vaguest, most misplaced term of musical description since the word ‘indie’ stopped meaning ‘independent’ and came to mean any guitar group of a slightly nerdy disposition, too awkward to be ‘pop’ or ‘rock’. If ‘emo’ means ‘emotional’, the name can cover any music, since all music is an expression of something and thence all is emotional. Kraftwerk are an emo band.
However, ‘emo’ seems to be the word for an indie group who do try to rock, relying on the quiet/loud template and some boyish wailing, provoking moshpit sympathy. To me, this constant expression of woe - yesterday’s heartbreak, tomorrow’s Maths test – tends to sound more self-obsessed than sympathetic, because misery, like cynicism, is only worth listening to as ‘entertainment’ when written about with some wit. If the bands want to project themselves this way, fair enough. Many fans get together in generic uniform - baggy jeans, stripey jersey, hair styled long but tidy – and take part in such standard fare. But what a stupid name!
Readers may be aware that Kraftwerk are not the sort of ‘emo’ band this latter description would suggest. Thankfully, neither are Escape 1942.
Until recently, this quintet went by the name Fall to the Sky, and I never quite took to their style. While the new name is quite a mouthful, it does tie-in with a newly developed sound. The band have moved away from the well-worn route, no longer just going quiet/loud, but doing that twisty-turny thing so beloved of bands like Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies. And there’s one track that’s almost reggae! While still utilising some of the moves which make their ‘emotive’ sound look melodramatic, they put together some interesting songs, accessible, anthemic and fresh. The further they go down this road, the better. Don’t cry for the death of the ‘emo’ scene; be emotional in your own way.
I’ll be glad to hear this band again, preferably louder. Is it a regulation applying to Cobarna’s that means the DJs are much louder than the bands? At a gig, you want to talk about bands during the interval, not the other way round!
Volume does seem to increase for final band All You Miss, though this might be from their own equipment; they’re a touring band originally from Oxford, formerly known as Caliber, well-known to the Truck festival boys. Unfortunately, the extra volume also comes with massive distortion, which sounds quite appealing but actually hurts, the attraction wearing thin even during this short set. These three girls in their great big trousers know how to handle the stage, but could do with changing pace once in a while. Impressive as this confrontational metal can be, its fast beat tonight forms one long parade. All You Miss… are not all that. A trendy haircut aside, they could be a rock band from any time in the last fifteen years. Good music is timeless, but this is quite average.
A different running order could well have improved the reception for the headliners: again, tonight presents a touring band that, while good at what they do, could learn a thing or two from the locals. In Stevenage, of all places! The location matters as little as the name, so long as the music's good.
