50 – Stellarscope (USA)

49 – Avatars (England)

48 – The Pins (England)

47 – The Brassic (England)

46 – She’s a Beauty (Ireland)

45 – The I.D. (England)

Age Anti Age by The I.D

44 – White Clouds and Gunfire (England)

43 – The Gadsdens (England)

42 – Ben Sommers (England)

41 – Vegas With Randolph (USA)

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OK

More more, that’s my initial instinct when I hear OK, they have an instant familiarity and seem like old friends from the playlist cupboard. Undoubtedly they have brought together a plethora of sounds, with many of the tracks signalling clearly their source, but OK, manage to put a new spin to it all raising a smile all-round.

It is simple – good times music, played with a frenzy and enthusiasm that can’t help but ambush the listener and like many hostage stand-offs, the Stockholm Syndrome comes in to play, brilliant stuff.

They drift between anthems and straight songwriting with equal success, I look forward to hearing more, more more.

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There are some similarities to White Clouds and Gunfire, but OK play a more clean-shaven pop-ier sound. It would make for a fun festival if these two bands were on the bill.

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Whiteclouds and Gunfire

After considerable dithering on my part, I finally decided I would make the short trip up the A1 to see the return gig of White Clouds and Gunfire, who I last reviewed just over 2 years ago and I’m glad I did. Thanks to Rob for sorting out the entry for me, just as they were about to go on for sound-check. The all important parking, easy and nearby, other than the back roads were unusually busy and it transpired there had a plane accident further up near the A1 which had resulted in the traffic taking detours.

Never having been to The Met Lounge, what struck me while watching the support acts, was how low the ceiling was above the stage. Not the easiest venue for tall acts who want to move vertically, that aside, a decent stage area, mosh-pit and viewing. With the low ceiling the sound is prone to distortion, which can often work well for live performance.

Enough of that… White Clouds and Gunfire. Just after 22:37 with a rock and roll tribute like boxers entering the ring – on came the band, with a slight change to line-up Ben has been replaced by Jake Matthews on Guitar. A confident Spread Your Dreams opened the set, with no sign of nerves they performed with the ease of seasoned players, as Eveline remarked at the end of the track , it’s been two and a half years since we did that.

There was a strong core of fans and if you didn’t know would have thought the band were a regular fixture of the Peterborough scene, not a provincial band who have been off the scene for a while. Their relative inexperience was only evident during breaks between songs, which despite some banter from the band members, good to see them interacting, did on occasion drag, but that is a minor point. Following on with Sail Home, the band grew in confidence on the stage. The effervescent Eveline appearing all over the stage (and off it) with scorching vocal, while keeping track of the path of Rob and Jake on bass and lead was like watching a game of tennis as they switch from side to side throughout an energetic set.

Promises and Poison were the next two songs on the set list. White Clouds and Gunfire play a fairly complicated construct, which requires strong interaction between the guitars and Lewis on drum, as pace changes, tracks suddenly stop mid-flow before restarting to a different tempo and they handled them all with ease, as importantly it wasn’t necessary for them all to huddle watching each other to get the changes right, a testament to plenty of time in the rehearsal studio, which was replicated live. I loved the few bars of exposé a bass solo was given, but then as a fan of Bass guitar, why wouldn’t I.

A call for audience participation for Let Go, seemed to find the band a little nervous, but volunteers stepped up to the stage and the audience got involved.

Following on the set took on a surreal air, as we were treated to a Rocked up Lionel Richie Cover – All Night Long. Whilst in theory this should have been a disaster, it was a fun and well received interlude.

With a flourish White Clouds and Gunfire brought their set to a close with what I think is perhaps the real meat and potatoes of the band – Satellite.

White Clouds and Gunfire Satellite

With that at just turned 23:10 the return gig was completed. They did a great job, produced an entertaining and engaging half an hour of powerful guitar, drum and intoxicating vocal. The next gig, will I’m sure be even stronger and more spontaneous. To keep abreast of news of the band join their facebook page.

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Band of the week: Top 10. Saturday 26th September 2009.

1. Negro Fluo – Argentina
2. The Drums – USA
3. The Five One – USA
4. The Swing Movement – UK
5. Vaqueros Paganos – Argentina
6. The XX – UK
7. Divorce – UK
8. Temposhark – UK
9. White Clouds and Gunfire – UK
10. Joyside – China

Jorge Niklison is more than a musician, he is also a talented and creative artist, his work reflecting the same themes as the music.

Un bosque donde las cuerdas te iluminan C :All rights reserved

In a recent departure from the one man live shows, he has started to practice with a female singer for the live sets and the Indie Bands Blog will bring you more information as it becomes available.

To accompany digital music downloads, artwork for Negro Fluo is also available for download, this can be obtained by joining his mailing list, details available from the myspace page which is linked to from the Indie bands blog review.

How will the Band of the Week shape up next week? Keep your eye on the indie bands blog for the best emerging bands from around the globe.

I was tempted to entitle this article ‘we didn’t think you would sing along, but you did’, which I will explain at the end of the article.

White Clouds & Gunfire

Eveline Verdegaal (Lead Vocals) Rob Woods (Bass & Vocals) Ben McRae (Guitars) and Lewis Fountain (Drums) all met living and working in the city and got the act together in early 2008 when other projects fell apart.

White Clouds & Gunfire play what the media are describing as “Pocket-Rocket Pop Punk” and are influenced by the likes of VersaEmerge, Paramore, Kids in Glass Houses and No Doubt, having said that the four take a lot of influences from other genres such as dance, hip hop and heavy metal.

I first met Rob a few years ago, while he was playing with a different band. While I don’t know any other members of the band, if they are like Rob, they deserve any success which comes their way. Rob has been enthusiastic about his music, fiercely loyal to music first, media hype later.

It is good to see that he has now got together with a band who are beginning to develop a profile and a following, which is more becoming ever more broadly based than local friends.

The last 6 months have been a busy period for the band, recording their first EP back in January and gigging heavily up and down the country. July saw White Clouds & Gunfire take to the main stage of the Stamford Riverside Festival which has so far been the biggest musical accomplishment the band have been apart of.

Recently signed up to Deuce Management, Rob Saunders (manager) has managed to get White Clouds and Gunfire airplay on many radio stations not only in the UK but in Australia and America too.

The next 6 months is scheduled to be as busy as the previous with the band booked in to record their second EP in August and lots of shows booked all across the UK. White Clouds & Gunfire objective is to get their material heard by as many people as possible, through press releases and live performances whilst maintaining the enjoyment and passion that they have for their music.

The video taken at the Riverside Festival shows the spirit of the band, Eveline says at the end of the video expressing the fear that stops so many bands trying anything new, ‘we didn’t think you would sing along, but you actually did….’

This deserves to become a legendary quote, ranking alongside Johnny Rotten ‘Ah-ha-ha. Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated? Good night’ at the Winterland Ballroom, albeit Eveline’s quote being for bands starting out, rather than bands having reached their sell-by date.

Good luck for the future.

Home page for White Clouds & Gunfire