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Review: 'Demob Happy / Junk / The Carazons'
'The Basement, York, 13th April 2015'   


-  Genre: 'Rock'

Our Rating:
You can’t win them all. And it must be tough as an up-and-coming band on tour. Some nights will always be gambles: depending on the city, the venue, what else is on that night and that week, how far it is from pay-day... So despite having a buzz about them (a thumbs-up from The Guardian and an 8/10 review of their EP from the NME, for starters), it could have gone either way for new-wave grungers Demob Happy with a date booked for York on a Monday night.

The first of two local supports, The Carazons may not have packed the place out with their mates, but, show real promise. The chances are none of the band members were even born when Kurt croaked, but taking cues from Soundgarden and Weezer, they packed some grungey heft. The plaid-shirted drummer looks about 12, but is a hard-hitting percussion powerhouse, and ultimately, they proved to be the best band on the night.

Junk, unfortunately lived up to their name. Trebled-out to the max, their trash aesthetic served as a detriment to their breezy indie pop songs that got buried in the uncoordinated fizz.

And so Brightonites Demob Happy ventured forth, hoping to follow the success of their show in York last October. I truly believe that it’s more the luck of the draw than an indictment on the the fickleness of music fans that they stepped out to a depressingly small crowd, but at least they were appreciative.

Their studio recordings are dominated by gritty riffs, low-slung basslines and drawly vocals, but on this outing Demob Happy’s sound didn’t really translate live. Perhaps it was the low ceiling, the mix, the weather... but while the stop/start riffs were definitely present, the guitars didn’t drive hard enough or lead the sound in the way they needed to. Matthew Marcantonio’s high-hung three-string bass failed to cut through and the harmonies sounded decidedly Britpop.

They were suitably together, and had a good energy but something was lacking. Not so much that je ne sais quois, but the full-throttle balls and grunt necessary to carry the driving grunge sound.

They wrapped up the set with ‘Young & Numb’, lead track from their current EP and finally hit their stride, coming on like ‘Nevermind’ era Nirvana. It was a great finish, but cast the rest of the set in the shade to the extent that it was hard not to leave feeling rather disappointed: if only the whole show had sounded as forceful. Ah well. Next time, eh?
  author: Christopher Nosnibor

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Demob Happy / Junk / The Carazons - The Basement, York, 13th April 2015
Demob Happy
Demob Happy / Junk / The Carazons - The Basement, York, 13th April 2015
Demob Happy