James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
The first of the finalists were Girl of Prey, whose frontman seemed to be on a bit of a mission to prove that his band, who finished third in the first of the semi-finals, had a right to be in the final stage of the competition. Suggesting that the 'doubters' who said his group wouldn't make it to the semis or the finals should 'fuck off' and calling them 'c**ts' was no way to win over an audience, and even concentrating on the small group of 'the kids' in the front row wasn't ever going to give the singer enough votes to win the competition, or even enough kudos to avoid looking like a wanker - a fact the crowd were careful to make him understand.
This was a shame because the songs and the performance, aside from the singer's expletive ridden rants, were actually of a high quality, with an amazing introduction using the Prodigy's Spitfire and a catchy enjoyable set of emo-ish rock. "Get a new frontman" went the shouts at the end of the set - advice the band might be well advised to take.
Second up were eventual champions Magic P. The tone was set in their pre-gig warm-up - a blast of the Hollyoaks theme on guitar that didn't even find its way into the set showed that this is a crowd pleasing band with material to spare. The fun continued with a samle from 24 and godlike uses of hats (the best being a snazzy tricorn). This didn't detract from the quality of music, enough to inspire a bandsoc led hoedown, a multitude of chants and sporadic bouts of enegetic linedancing the combination of folk, rock and dance was enough to encourage the audience to vote heavily in the band's favour.
Questions do remain about the longevity of the band's music without a frontman, and if a longer set or repeated listens would garner the same kind of success, and personally I would quite like to see some kind of rapping over the top of some of their tunes, this obviously wasn't a problem in this competition as the band found a well deserved victory.
Coming up next were Half A Dog, who seemed to scupper their chances of the prize by picking a rather too mellow and downtempo set. The funk, stunning male/female vocal combinations and grooving rhythms that won over fans in the heats remained, but some of the playfulness seemed to have evaporated.
That said, the Polish language and throbbing-bass cover of 'Amazing Grace' was breathtaking, and the cool and chilled set did pick up towards the end, but it seemed like this was too little too late and a real shame for a great band who chose soulful impact over playful funk in this particular set.
The penultimate band of the night were Hero Status, who looked and sounded rather surprised to have made it to the final. Early on in the set it was a shame they didn't have a chance to prove themselves wrong, as their strongest point, lyrical genius, was hampered by a sound that masked the vocals.
Things did improve, however, with a frankly astounding recitation of all the countries of the world in musical form. A stunned audience was then left to contemplate exactly what they had been doing with their lives as the band, all also proficient in the art of the Rubik's Cube, continued into the Pokemon theme and other nostalgia fronted tunes. As in the earlier heats the real shame here is that the band don't have a fourth member to flesh out their sound, the melodies and lyrical twists are here, there just seems to be another instrument needed to propell the threesome into a high quality outfit.
Finally another three-piece Low Flying Flag took to the stage. Displaying a very different and much more rounded sound they rocked harder than an explosion in a granite quarry. That this was the only band in the classic Battle of the Bands style in the final is a testament to the wide variety of acts that entered this year and to the openness of the competition itself. With a really well developed proggy sound, filled with brilliantly tight rhythmical innovation the band were well deserved recepients of second place.
1st - Magic P
2nd - Low Flying Flag
3rd - Half a Dog
The high quality of the music in this years competition can only mean one thing - it's going to be a great Woodstock this summer. See you all for Magic P by the lake.
Go Magic P! Magic P!
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