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Tonight marks the start of Leeds Breeze Festival, a week of gigs at Leeds Town Hall showcasing some of the hottest new bands on the circuit. As it turns out, it'll also be the only one we attend - we opted to miss Wheatus on Friday night in favour of seeing the Rain Band over at the Rocket while the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster will end up cancelling their gig on the Saturday leaving us to seek solace at a nearby eighties metal night.
Still, can't complain, tonight's two bands are, if you believe the press, hot property. Both have recently broken the Top 40 and picked up rave reviews across the board. Cool we thought - bring it on!
Unfortunately, if tonight proves anything, it's that you shouldn't believe everything you read in the press - Scots emo types Biffy Clyro kick proceedings off and pretty much prove themselves to be a poor man's Hundred Reasons - plenty of low-end grunt and determination but, unlike ver Reasons or Hell Is For Heroes, bereft of any really memorable tunes. They're average enough but really need a bit more work to get into rock's premier division.
Headliners Inme are a similar case in point. Bafflingly popular over here (two Top 40 singles and a Top 20 album), the only thing they really sound tonight is uncannily outdated. In an age where grunge is rapidly being overtaken by the day-glo nu-rock (as in the Darkness and similar) explosion, Inme's decision to sound like a Brit Silverchair just doesn't convince. The likes of "Neptune" and "Crushed Like Fruit" just sound over-wrought and whiny, like all the bad bits of the Smashing Pumpkins without any of the good ones.
Sorry guys but having a sense of humour bypass isn't gonna get you anywhere in 2003. Time for a rethink.
Reviewed by Andy James
