The Cut @ Lawrence Batley Theatre (Huddersfield)
By Amy Turner
"Who needs Glastonbury when we've got Huddersfield!" announced the compère at the Noisebox Festival at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in the town. Well the similarities may have ended at the appalling weather, but the day festival certainly fulfilled its criteria of showcasing some of the best unsigned bands in the region.
The day's events kicked off at 3pm, and continued well into the night. The first band I had the pleasure of watching was Leeds based rock band The Invention, after early technical problems, the band went on to deliver a storming set, packed full of energy and infectiously catchy, potential hit songs. Stand out tracks were 'Black and White Bullets' and 'Voltage' which showed similarities to bands like Kasabian and The Music, with their mix of great vocals over dirty guitars, all backed up by a foot-stompingly fantastic beat.
Each band took to the stage for half an hour followed by half an hour DJ sets, this ensured the energy levels of the crowd never dropped as there was no lull in between bands.
Next up were Huddersfield four-piece Your New Antique, who continued the high quality musicianship, with songs in a similar vein and vocal style to Interpol. The group drew an appreciative crowd, who seemed to feed off the obvious enjoyment of the band. Clearly Your New Antique have found their 'sound' and it suits them well.
With just enough time to sample the Jamaican cuisine and well stocked, reasonably priced, festival bar, I returned to the marquee stage area just in time to see the penultimate act of the evening, Leeds band, The Voltaires. Sounding like the love child of The Hives and Jet, the band showcased songs from their Anti-Love EP, all performed by lead singer Gareth Williams with the type of swagger to make Mick Jagger jealous. Each track the band stomp through is of the 'short but sweet' variety, which suits them perfectly, leaving the crowd wanting more, and ensuring they never descend into 'guitar solo' territory. Certainly The Voltaires have perfected their live set and are a stage presence to be reckoned with.
And so to the climax of the evening, as the sun was going down on the day the headliners were coming out. Following the immensely talented acts of the day was no mean feat, but one which Huddersfield trio The Cut seemed to relish, and they definitely didn't disappoint. Celebrating the release of their new EP, which came out the day of the festival, the band played a blinding set featuring stand out tracks from said EP, Brute Force and Cold Sister, all performed to an incredible standard, and creating the kind of sound that makes you wonder how can three people produce that much noise? The answer is they have to be three talented people, which The Cut clearly are, each member of the band playing an important role, with no one person over shadowing the others.
The influences of Muse and Incubus on The Cut are obvious, Cold Sister could have been lifted from Muse's Absolution album, and instrumental track The Late Room showed resemblance to Incubus track, Magic Medicine, but in testament to the quality of the band's music, they have put their own mark on each one of their tracks.
The only negative comment about the set was that often the microphone levels were too low, meaning that a lot of the lyrics were indecipherable, but this is a small complaint in the greater scheme of things. Overall I enjoyed The Cut's performance immensely, and looking around the room as the band finished their set and were called back for an encore, it seemed I wasn't the only one.
And so, Noisebox 2007 drew to a close. The festival was extremely well organised, and despite the poor weather, the talent of the bands shone through. The weather may be grim up North, but Noisebox certainly gave us something to smile about.
