Collectorz.com Connect Blog

The world economy is in crisis and the UK is facing a recession. So what about the Britpop bands? It was time to find out at London Calling again.

London Calling at Paradiso Amsterdam, 15 november 2008

Another edition of London Calling and a chance to check out the new batch of Britpop bands. Who will make it and will be big in a few years? Well like I said the last time I was there the new batchis less exciting then the previous generation that gave us Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs. And this edition was even worse.

Magistrates (Ronald says 3 out of 5)

Again we missed part of the program because dinner was too good to rush. So by the time we came in the Magistrates were playing. At least they were alright. Nothing new going on but they sounded fresh, energetic and played some catchy tunes. Not a bad band to warm up with.

Bromheads Jacket (Ronald says 2 out of 5)

I listened to their one of their albums to prepare for this edition of the festival and didn’t really like it. Singer Tim Hampton sings semi funny lyrics with a huge accent which seems to be obligatory nowadays. However it all kind of ends up in muddle and it’s hard to pay attention. Their heavier songs are a bit better but nothing too excited. And smashing and burning guitars!? C’m on you gotta be kidding me!

Twisted Wheel (Ronald says 2 out of 5)

Not much subtlety here which not necessarily is bad. But it’s not really original either. The crowd doesn’t mind as long as they can go on stage diving and crowd surfing. But probably they don’t care what band is playing either. However making noise just isn’t enough to make it I’m afraid.

Glasvegas (Ronald says 1 out of 5)

I heard a lot about this band. Some call them the next Oasis. Not the worst band to be compared to but it does raise some expectations. Well singer James Allan sure practiced his cocky rock poses completed with sunglasses. Is he trying to imitate Bono? He sure doesn’t sound like him. And what’s going on with the drums? It can work out well to not have your standard rock drum setup but at least make sure it sounds good. Caroline Kay who plays the drum kit looks like she’s holding drum sticks for the first time and doesn’t seem to know more than one beat. As a result all songs lack a proper groove and sound alike. Together with the uninspired band makes it a performance that is very hard to swallow and this is reflected in many people leaving the main hall. The next Oasis? Even Oasis in their worst shape would do better and I’m not even a big fan. Time to get a proper drummer, get back to earth and start making music.

I Blame Coco (Ronald says 3 out of 5)

Hm, doesn’t she sound familiar? Yes, Sting also has a daughter, Coco Sumner, and this is her band. It all sounds relaxed and based on reggae grooves and then of course it’s easy to draw a line with The Police. She also inherited the singing quality (like her brother) of her dad and sounds like a female version of him. It’s not fair to compare her to her relatives but it’s all so familiar that it’s hard not to. It wasn’t bad and some tunes were quite catchy but it could be a bit more exciting. But then again it’s inspired by reggae so relax, chill and pass da smoke man. Maybe a few more years of maturing will get her there.

So there it is the new batch and it seems like Britain’s economy Britpop is in a deep recession. Most new albums by established Britpop bands all were disapointing this year: Razorlight, Snow Patrol and Kaiser Chiefs all delivered poor quality new releases. Only Bloc Party’s new album was exciting and Oasis delivered their best album in years. Upcoming bands like The Ting Tings are way overhyped. And the new bands simply seem to lack quality. So all hope is based on new albums by Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. In the meanwhile we’ll keep an eye out for bands from the USA like TV On The Radio (not really new) with their incredible 3rd album Dear Science and hyped bands like Mgmt and The Black Keys.