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Leeds Music scene (see links page) BYT gig19-03-02 by Nick Kilcher

First up tonite, for the second in the series of showcase gigs, are Icarus Smith. Obviously determined to win the much-coveted 'most indie name in the world' award, the band originally come from Hull but moved to Leeds to "increase their profile and be heard" (I like them already; shows how far the local music scene has come in the last few years when bands are actually making the decision to move here).

Although not particularly original (they follow the same distortion drenched, quiet-loud-quiet formula that bands such as Sonic Youth patented over a decade ago) and apparently possessing the sort of 'extremely interesting shoes' that condemned various members of Slowdive, Chapterhouse and My Bloody Valentine to a life spent in and out of the 'cricked neck' department of the local general infirmary, there is something about Icarus Smith that holds the attention.

At regular intervals throughout their twenty five minute set we are treated to a glimpse of what, given time and practise, could be a very good band indeed; occasionally the band will 'click', shifting up several gears (as on the instrumental ending of the closing song tonite) or a truly original melody fragment will emerge from the rather muddy mix. However this does not happen often enough at the moment and the bands flaws are rather too obvious - they need to learn how to end songs (the majority tonite splutter to a halt as each individual member of the band chooses to stop at seemingly random moments) and the addition of backing vocals would help, given the singers distinctly average voice. That said Icarus Smith are clearly talented - if they can find a way of translating their potential into songs that are consistently good then they have a bright future ahead.

Bright Young Things cd

Written by Sam Saunders

My first impressions (neatly arranged in alphabetical order) are as follows:

All Star 69ers "English Pop Star": Flashes of classy Britpop inspiration mixed with clumsy production stunts and pointless lyrics.

Beautiful Feet "James": Acoustic warbling with some disorienting 'dramatic' stops and vocal insecurity. Some interesting Tortoise-like improvisation sneaks in towards the end, but too late and too little to cheer me up.

Buzzkill "I'll Take The Alcohol": The shortest and best track on the CD. Great attacking guitar, bass and vocal style, but at 2 minutes 52 it's still a minute too long.

Design "Springer Generation": Oooh. The Devil's Music. Dark Star meets Death Metal. This lot have some ideas. Not all of them pinched from other bands.

Draco "Office (Alright @ The)": Two part harmony and clumsy guitar with ploddy drumming and lame lyrics ... 'sexy lingerie'?

Ian Beetlestone "Skeleton": Strangely Peter Skellernish retro piano song with an over-delayed punch line. Exotic and different in a Radio 4 sort of way, but musically repetitive and way too long.

Icarus Smith "Tried Not To": What's a song without a tune or interesting words when you can't dance to it and there's no instrumental texture or flourish to admire? An emotional space where some lonely souls might find recognition and comfort.

Laserkid "Take The Money And Run": Bog standard pop/rap excursion with funk backing. Very well executed but unexceptional, with overt Thatcherite sentiments.

Last Night's TV "From The Top Of The Watchtower": Warm, well made and professional. Well blended instruments and good natural vocals. Risky re-use of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" chord structure.

Melvyn "Helpless": Helpless indeed. These ska punk kids shouldn't have been exposed like this. They're not ready.

Mojo Pin "Everywhere & Nowhere": Great rattling start, but way too long. Jimmy Page tribute anyone? Extended stuff like this needs a good underlying song. This one hasn't got it.

Novacain "Real Time" : Enthusiastic Parisman style, with a Robert Harvey vocal delivery and really not bad. Cute riffs and real identity. Watch out for this lot.

Quarry Hill "Candy": Delicate indie pop stuff. Old furrows being ploughed to the point of exhaustion.

Rhythm Kickers "Waiting For The Rain": Slightly awkward Rolling Stones approximation. Rhythmically out of control bluesy pop song with textbook Chuck Berry riffage.

Three 33 "Barrier To Your Soul": Bedroom writing with rock guitar chords from the Heard It Before (guitar Tab and Vocal) Song Book.

iCARUS Smith Say:

Praise and Blame, treat those imposters just the same

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