Since they cancelled their scheduled Mercury Lounge show back in March, after their appearance back at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, there was a bit of anticipation for this show, even though it wasn’t sold out. After listening to IFORWARD, RUSSIA!’s debut album Give Me a Wall for months, I was expecting a sonic assault. And they didn’t disappoint.
From the beginning, singer TOM WOODHEAD exploded in a display of manic energy (like IGGY POP or DAVID YOW), taking it one step further by wrapping the mic cord around his neck repeatedly. I’m amazed that he didn’t strangle himself, but I guess he’s been practicing. The band was tight, loud and energetic, and many of the songs (all of which are denoted by numbers) bettered the versions found on their album.
Overall, though, while I enjoyed the show, I like iForward, Russia! but don’t love them. Although they often get mentioned in the same breath as fellow Leeds-based Brit-pop revivalists KAISER CHIEFS, or other post-punk influenced bands like FRANZ FERDINAND or BLOC PARTY, in reality their sound is almost like an indie-rock version of ‘screamo’. Woodhead’s vocals are half-sung and half-screamed while the music throbs with the intensity and explosiveness of post-hardcore acts of yore like AT THE DRIVE-IN. The intricate arrangements remind me of the “math-rock” genre. Their one weakness, at least for now, is the lack of truly memorable songs, the one exception being “Twelve,” currently a UK hit. It didn’t matter much, though, as one song blurred into another.
I’d heard that HOLY F*** opened some shows for WOLF PARADE, so I was curious to hear what they sounded like. When I got there, they were already playing, but I managed to catch most of their set. They’re an instrumental band who play “keyboard-based dance music without sequencers or drum machines”, as Sound Bites said in his review.
I really enjoyed their set. In fact it seemed like more of the crowd was there to see them than the headliners, as a lot of people left after their set, though the room did gradually fill up again as iForward, Russia! started their set. Annoyingly, one guy kept shouting Holy F***’s name throughout their set. And worse yet, he was up front shouting the same name a few times during the headlining set as well. It might have been funny once, but after a while, it just started to grate a bit. Then again, as ELVIS COSTELLO once sang, “I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.”
The above picture was taken from the excellent website Brooklyn Vegan.
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