The Strands
The panic has set in with Hull's football team sliding down the table, yet this time last year things were truly on the up as the Tiger's found themselves on a crest of a wave that shot them into the Premier League – and it was The Strands who found themselves sound-tracking the goals on the end of year DVD. Yet, they struggled to find genuine acclaim in the city and on this showing they, at least, deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Liberty Stands and the GST Cardinals – two bands who, for all their detractors, are probably our better indie-rockers. Of course, it is hard to review The Strands or their peers without a general criticism of the stalwart nature of the genre. The band have talent and tightness – plus the lead singer does have a cracking bluesy-rock voice – but without killer, chart-ready songs, what else is there? Rock music is about mass appeal, but these bands are merely local and, sadly, people only tend to love those things that are rubber stamped with their favourite band's brand. To get that vital breakthrough you have to have a genuine killer tune (see Jet, The Datsuns, and The Darkness) that lifts people from frazzled indifference and I just don`t see that here. Of course, such an expectation is pretty lofty and whilst final track 'I Will Make You' does a great take on the freak-out guitar classic. Still 'takes', 'versions', and 'impressions' are all very well, but if the band really want to get noticed then they need to write something that fires the neurons and stands above the rest (and there is a lot of that).
Mike Reynolds
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