Pop Threat @ Fenton
By Andy RobertsI must say I am a little late in reviewing Pop Threat and for that I apologise unreservedly to the delightful Juliet who cornered me after a Scaramangas gig at Ver Well one night last year. The diminutive Bassist certainly made an impression - I vividly remember the strange spectacle of her suddenly popping a set of wheels out of each trainer and starting to skate around the bar. A few days later, a parcel arrived with a Pop Threat single and I was mightily impressed by said slab of Altered Images-invoking cool indie guitar choons.
Fast-forward a pretty damn long time (in pop terms), and somehow events had conspired against catching the very occasionally gigging Pop Threat. Until this evening that is. And how did I manage to escape without my ears bleeding? A minor miracle I suspect for with the combination of Guitar alchemist Darren Lockwood and the fuck-you sneering vocals of Caroline McChrystal. A smile crept across my face as the walls verily shook and plasterwork fell into my pint.
Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine liked to use frequencies that damaged people's hearing, creating what were full-on assaults on their audiences. Now I'm not suggesting that Darren's trying to emulate this kind of sonic pranksterism in Pop Threat shows, but there sure were some cool FX pedal-mashing and earsplitting moments tonight in the rubbishy top room at The Fenton.
Pop Threat have a cool range of edgy and not un-catchy songs that perhaps could be longer - perhaps more experimental and less well, er, pop. My eminent colleagues thought it was all an attitude-filled act but I thought Caroline's fuck-you and sometimes off-key vocals sung from reams of bits of paper didn't suit the stylish music accompanying her. It sounds right on record 'Ingrained' not quite living up to itself live - it may have been the scratchy PA system - but it didn't suit the aural majesty being created around her.
It's cool that there's a bit of carefully choreographed? Surliness (just like the 'moody glares' on their band shots - as picked up by Karl Cremin in The Fly) - most bands either don't try it or get it badly wrong. But is this hiding a lack of ability in the singing department? Judgement is reserved until I catch them at Joseph's Well...
