Back in the day, the term 'Indie' meant something more dynamic - very rough around the edges but fired up with nervous energy and a genuine sense of urgency.
From the late 70s until his untimely death it was synonymous with the legendary John Peel sessions. Newcastle based four piece Pale Man Made are just the type of band Peelie would have championed,
They don't slavishly adhere to flavour of the month trends and have no 'image' as such (unless you count a mutual love of snooker!). What they do is to play solid no nonsense guitar based pop taking a few key moves from the Sonic Youth/ The Fall master class.
Needless to say Pale Made Man don't want to be just another Indie band, especially now it has become another tired label for anything that doesn't immediately fit with the hegemony of mainstream pop. They describe their own sound as DIY with songs about "broken hearts, animals, hatred, jealously, snooker players and natural history museums".
They are in a competitive field with countless other bands in the same boat, all trying to sell the idea of how 'different' they are from the herd.
Making it depends on a slice of luck and a lot of hard graft. Pale Made Man's core members Leon White and Christianne Ormston have already shown they have the necessary work ethic. They have been playing together since 2000, honing their sound and gathering funds for tours, studio time and their self released records. The band's current line up is completed by bassist Karen Forster and drummer Chris Lanigan.
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The reward for this dogged perseverance can be heard in the chemistry on this their debut full length release. They seem anything but jaded, with a vibrant sound stripped back to the bone but wisely avoiding the Lo-Fi option.
The result is an album brimful of energy and enthusiasm, helped by the fact that the democratically shared vocals of White and Ormston compliment each other so well.
The album hits the ground running with two cracking tracks 'Memoirs of a Sin sister' and the single 'Sea I Am'. The remaining ten tracks consolidate rather than build on this strong opening with intriguing track titles like 'The Chaffinch Scoop' and English witches' promise more than they deliver.
If they can come up with punchier lyrics to match the tightness and confidence of their playing they have every chance of rising above the middle mass.
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