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Smokers Die Younger / Slow Down Tallahassee / Chuck / Millipedes / Heartyeah
The Boardwalk Sheffield
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Article
written by Matt H
Jan 12, 2008.
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This night of Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation bands is being held to commemorate the imminent demise of the Forever Changes record shop and marks the last gig of Heartyeah - yet their mood is upbeat, swapping break-up gags much as they swap hollering discordant artcore vocals and riffs onstage. They're vehement and entertaining and it's a shame to see them depart. Next up are the Millipedes, something of a thee SPC supergroup - dealing in rather fine, highly entertaining, psychobilly-tinged tunes that ought to have had the placing bopping, except that it's not really a dancing crowd.
So far so enjoyable, but the night really kicks into gear with the now-rarely-seen Chuck. Sat firmly on Spinal Tap's "thin line between clever and stupid" they deliver a storming set of sci-fi garage punk with lashings of humour that would've guaranteed them a massive cult following at the turn of the 80s into the 90s. So as well as marvellously dumb No Brain, the Starship Troopers-inspired Kill 'Em All and their chef-d'oeuvre, the sometimes plaintive Balkan-influenced Um Na Nagay, you get Half Man Half Biscuit-quality pleas to "take me to your regulatory body" and a song built around the claim that it's statistically proven that by the age of 44 all indie musicians will ahve been in the Fall. Vastly entertaining and massively accomplished too.
Still earning their stripes are Slow Down Tallahassee, who benefited from decent sound (an early hiccup with the synth notwithstanding) to deliver a far more convincing and accomplished set than when I last saw them before Xmas. In this mode they deliver the sort of amped-up melodic indie pop that recalls the Breeders with an extra shake of 60s girl band and a dash of Joy Division. I suspect their album will confirm that they're still working out how to make the best live stab at some killer tunes, but I'm bearing with them. Quality will out...
As Smokers Die Younger prove. Tonight they are astoundingly good - regimenting their chaos to absolutely nail their wide variety of off-beam songs. Stand-out I Spy Dry Fear equals the Arcade Fire's atmospheric indie anthemics but less preciously. This would be enough in itself, but following on from the beautifully controlled raging shoutathon of Bad Driving School, and their top quality country standard sounding Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray, not to mention some marvellously constructed anti-harmonising on newer songs, it all left me with my jaw hanging open. If I'm honest I thought they'd be like their Kermit Song single - endearing but a bit shambolic and parochial. They're not. They deserve to win hearts across the world. Foolishly, mere weeks ago, I lauded Champion Kickboxer as deserving to be the next big thing out of Sheffield - they've just gone to second in the queue.
(Apologies to Bon Bon Club - I was late getting there)
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