New Moons VII Launch Show // London's 229 Venue // 24.01.17

New Moons VII Compilation Launch Show // London’s 229 Venue
Live Review
24.01.17

Tuesday night saw the brilliant timing of Killing Moon's New Moons VII compilation release in correlation to Independent Venue Week. With a few of the compilations finest show-casing some of the talent found on the new album, London’s 229 Club was promising to be a night of breath-taking new music. Bad Family were the openers for the event. This Brighton quintet kicked the night off with upbeat, non-aggressive tracks that resemble that of Spring King and projected youth, whilst beginning the night by reflecting what new talent is all about. Their combination of youthful riffs and lyrics about sex or being drunk (which scream un-original) were surprisingly perfected in a way that made them stand out from other indie bands. The bounding drum beats carried them through the set and seemed to justify the slow hype that is starting to surround them.

Next up were twin rock sensations, Gallery Circus. With inevitable comparisons to Royal Blood and Slaves seeming almost impossible not to make throughout the set, these Newcastle twins created an astonishingly powerful show that never seemed to slow down. Their anti-garage sound contained all the ingredients to drag any listener along with these unlikely rock stars. By capturing every person in the room from the get-go, these boys seemed to be one of the agreed highlights of the night. Gallery Circus have EASILY dominated the art of the guitar/drum combination that seems to be taking the music scene by storm; they have done so in a tasteful way that is bound to push them all the way to the top.

This Be The Verse were up next and put a sinister spin on the night that have already caught the attention of Kerrang! in the past. Their driven tracks steered the night to a slow halt as it took the overall feel in a different (almost wrong) direction. With each track just having too much going on, the overall set weighed down the potential This Be The Verse could have projected. The chaotic noises overlapped each other in distracting ways that show-cased more aggressive-mess than talent.

Echotape were the last band on and their passion and alternative talent dominated the night. With hints of Kings of Leon and Broken Witt Rebels peeking through their refreshing outlook, it’s safe to say every song written by vocalist, Mark Burford, has the potential to be a next, big hit. With Echotape instantly gaining and then holding the attention of everyone in the room, they swiftly filled our night with sing-a-long lyrics and riffs designed to initiate dancing; plus, their care-free set could easily become the soundtrack to your summer.
‘Whiskey Bar’ was their stand out track and the song this 4-piece left us with. As Burford chanted the infectious lyrics, “If I can’t have you then I don’t want anyone else” over the whirlwind of guitars and multitude of layers created by the rest of the band, Echotape revived the energy in the room and maintained it at an unbelievably high level.
Each track reflected what a good melody should be and didn’t fail to get every foot tapping.
Be sure to be on the listen out for Echotape as they are bound to be gracing your TV screens and radios very, very soon.

Check out Echotape here: http://soundcloud.com/echotape