Sennen // Norwich Arts Centre - 09.04.10
Olympians
Opening proceedings for wombatwombat tonight were Norwich’s own Olympians. Formerly Hair Traffic Control, a band who were one of the best this city of ours has to offer, they’ve had a name change, added a member and written a whole bunch of new songs. I had high hopes that all of these things would be positive rather than detrimental to the band and, well, they were. In fact, Olympians were by far the best band of the evening and could easily have headlined the night. They captivated the audience from the start, sauntering on stage wearing false beards and bursting into a set that contained elements of Mimas and Mew, including the wry sense of humour that you can find in both of those bands’ material. Ed’s lion’s mane flowed majestically from behind the drum kit and the bass player had something of the Unabomber look about him and it all added up to a fantastic set by a fantastic band. This lot are ones to watch out for, so I suggest that you do.
Kontakte
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by Kontakte and I think that they actually work better as a recorded band than they do as a live act. The problem is that it all just falls a bit flat in the execution and they come across as Mogwai wannabes but without the knackers to pull it off. It’s very much a post rock by numbers sort of thing and what they were doing had less energy and punch than local boy NDX who manages to achieve everything Kontakte do and then some all on his own. What they do is a little on the obvious side for my money and I think that they could’ve benefitted from a live drummer instead of a drum machine. That said, they have got potential so I do think they’re worth keeping an eye on.
Sennen
This was Sennen’s launch gig for their new album, 'Age of Denial', and every time I watch them I really want to like them but there’s always something that just doesn’t quite work for me. And unfortunately it was no different this time. In fact, if anything, I would say that this was probably my least favourite Sennen experience to date. The main issue here is not the quality of musicianship or song writing - that is not in question as these boys play exceedingly well and are very, very tight indeed, but rather, it’s that maybe the songs have been over-rehearsed because there’s nothing that really pulls you in as an audience. The vocal harmonies are as lovely as ever but you don’t get any sense of emotion from them or from the way the instruments are played either. It’s all just a bit sterile and static which is a crying shame because I think that played with a bit more of a sense of emergency or desperation the songs could come alive. There needs to be something more intense in the performance and then I think that we could witness something quite special. Sennen are a good band, but I’m not convinced that they’ve got that extra something that you need as a live act if you’re playing the sort of music they play and unfortunately tonight neither they nor Kontakte could compete with Olympians, who were clearly the champions of the evening.
BBV
