"Whaooga!" came the cry, as THIS ET AL came on stage and were preparing to get started. Whaooga indeed. They strutted on stage in uniform (a red and black replica of the Hive's get up), fiddled with their instruments in a nonchalant manner, then started to play.
First off their sound was that of the in vogue sharp-edged rock redolent of Franz Ferdinand. Nice, but as far as I'm concerned the current music scene is saturated to bursting point with it. One was left asking the question, is this yet another case of a "boys with their toys" group? However, listen again and it becomes obvious that with this band, the answer is a definite no.
I must admit I did have my doubts at first. There was too much of an "early U2-ism" going on, and their first couple of tracks sounded similar to the, albeit fabulous, "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. this is not a bad thing by any means. Then, as the set went on, the band did something normally unheard of outside the realms of prog rock and jazz... they introduced subtle changes into the time signatures mid-song. Oh yes. Looking around it was easy to identify every single music geek in the audience by the smug grins, surreptitious side glances, and satisfied nods.
Their tunes often began as guitar-laden melodic pop songs, and then they would switch to produce a much harder sound. Imagine a classroom full of docile pupils, and the teacher suddenly smashing the board duster on the desk, with everybody jumping to attention. This is the effect that this band had, except without the sleepy aspect.
Further into the set, and the songs became more hard and punky - the piercing, almost screeching lead guitar added to the sense of urgency that this band managed to conjure. If you were ever going to have a sound track to a bank robbery gone wrong, then This Et Al would be the guys to provide it. Their songs were dark, heart-felt, and on occasion, epic.
Also, the singer's vocals carried well - I'm always impressed with vocalists who can sing over the din of a band without wearing earplugs, and still hold their notes. This is not healthy, but impressive nonetheless. Notably, the nice thing about the Dublin Castle is that the gig was intimate enough for me to check this! Not that I go around inspecting people's ears.
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Coming from Leeds and Bradford, This Et Al are part of the new wave of talent to come out of Yorkshire. With glowing reviews from the press, and airplay on XFM and Radio 1, they have been steadily building a good reputation and a solid fan base over the past year. There is a bit of everything in their music: the songs are melodic, in places they become punky, there are nice twists on the timing (confusing for dancers), then they let rip and the music becomes a lot harder.
Over summer, This Et Al headlined the Unsigned Stage at Leeds Festival, and despite having artists such as Kasabian and Maryln Manson playing the other stages at the same time, by all accounts they still held a substantial crowd of devoted fans. On commenting on that performance, Ben (bass, vocals) very modestly said that "...when we played Leeds Festival our fans got us through, but I thought we were rubbish." Bless.
On asking why they felt they stand out from the other bands currently on the circuit, he replied that "...modern rock is light and rhythm-based, but we're a bit harder with more melody". I was about to launch into some deep discussion about time signatures when I was interrupted by a groupie shouting "Oi! Ben! Are you from Leeds?". I was then promptly forgotten about while he went to pursue more interesting activities. Which was fair enough really.
These guys are great fun to watch, I personally really enjoyed it. They have a solid fan base that is not comprised exclusively of youngsters who wear black, reflecting the wide range of styles their music encompasses. In short, their songs are intelligent, dynamic, and great to listen to.
Their forthcoming single "You've Driven For Miles and Not Remembered a Thing" is due for release on October 3rd, on Double Dragon Music. Go buy it.
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