The place is fairly busy here tonight, people everywhere, ready for first up band The Cinematics.
A neat little four-piecer from Glasgow with a sweet polished sound and a good stage presence, they ain't half bad, yet for all their efforts, I just didn’t hear anything original from them.
It was like Editors meets The Killers meet Franz Ferdinand’s wardrobe with a bit of Weezer thrown in for good humour; every riff sounding similar to that of old classics or newer hits, which was a real shame, as this group definitely have musical talent between them. With such a tight, precise, interwoven groove, they just didn’t offer up anything new for the musical menu tonight.
By the time Nightmare Of You come on, the place is hot and packed. Impatience and anticipation are laden in the air. Straight out of Long Island, across the water in New York, they cause the crowd to burst into life like they have been engulfed naked in a field full of electrolysis. Named after a line out of The Cure’s ‘Kyoto Song’ they certainly have been influenced by them too, as well as The Smiths/Morrissey. Not so strong as a rip off, just with similar poetic ramblings and angst free sing-along’s, it proves to be a real Horlicks sound, proper comforting like.
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Pick of the band's line up was their drummer - formerly of Glassjaw and Rival Schools - a Mr Sammy Seigler, who was very slick indeed. With Ryan Heil equally good on bass, Joseph McCaffrey on guitars and the group founder, lead singer and guitarist Brandon Reilly, formerly of The Rookie Lot and The Movielife, also turning in professional performances, they held their own with ease.
The crowd are very excited midway through, belting the lyrics out to a couple of tracks. Nightmare Of You are most certainly a US band with a real Preppy persona about them, but without the tedious Americanisms that usually tag along with so many of their contemporaries.
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