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Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 5th November 2002
Once upon time four mates from Deptford decided to form a band. The result was Athlete. Part Dodgy, part SFA, part Beta Band and part Coldplay (but jollier than the real thing) they play amiable enough summery pop rock with some soulful harmonies and keyboards. They're as cutting edge as a blancmange breadknife but they entertain in an undemanding way. Highlight was the new single Beautiful which we were told was at number 41. 'Buy some more copies and get us to number 39' they asked us. New album and tour due in February.
Take two precociously talented teenage brothers who play more instruments between the pair of 'em than Slipknot can manage with 9, add in Britpop influences from the likes of Blur, Pulp, Oasis and co., a dash of Idlewild, a bit of Grandaddy (very Crystal Lake keyboards in Biting The Soles Of My Feet), et voila, The Electric Soft Parade. With a Mercury-nominated debut album under their belts the world should be their oyster, yet the gig wasn't sold out (though pretty close), the usual collection of touts were conspicuously absent and even the bootleg t-shirt guys were missing. Maybe the ESP buzz isn't spreading as fast as it should be; maybe people think they've been over-hyped. Well, lets put that right shall we?
Previous reviews of these guys have commented on their lack of confidence on stage (is it any wonder when you're so young and being hailed as saviours of British music?), but tonight there were no such problems. It takes a confident band to begin not with a single, not with a classic, but with a faithful rendition of Always On My Mind. Most bands these days don't go in for much in the way of banter but Alex White was in chatty mode. The band is a four piece live with Alex starting off on guitar while his kid brother bashes the drums. During the gig they swap over a few times, showing off their virtuosity. They played half the album including Biting…, Empty At The End, There's A Silence and Start Again; alas This Given Line was absent. There was a smattering of new songs in there which held up pretty well, though Hit The Ground Running with numerous tempo changes is a bit of a diamond in the rough at the moment. They encored with b-side Broadcast and the catchy Silent To The Dark. An impressive show from two very talented musicians. Dad, who was in the audience, must have been dead proud.
Written by Graham S
Source: SoundsXP
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