Laki Mera @ ABC
they have the right mixture of seriousness and pop sensibility to achieve success
| 12 Dec 2006
Both Magma Child and the Sonsie Collective rattle along on anxious funk rhythms and strutting basslines: if the Collective are tighter and more soulful, Magma Child emphasise looser, swinging guitars and a harder rock edge. Their short sets and concise song-writing display considerable promise - once their influences settle and they find more distinctive voices, they have the right mixture of seriousness and pop sensibility to achieve success.
The Mode take a more hurried indie-rock approach - galloping guitars and raucous vocals and songs that sound too similar to each other. But their confidence and competence lifts them above the average: they are a band for whom time and experience will work to their advantage.
Laki Mera's instrumentation - two keyboards, a cello, acoustic guitar and drums - immediately sets them apart, and their electronic sounds collide with folksy vocals in an original and disorientating manner. Unfortunately, the PA at the ABC fails to give them enough space and their interesting experiment is cursed by impressive yet overbearing drumming. Laki Mera are deserving headliners, and their languid mix of futurism and tradition fits between chill-out and funk: however, they rely heavily on pristine sound quality, and without it, they are lost in noise. [Gareth K Vile]
The Mode take a more hurried indie-rock approach - galloping guitars and raucous vocals and songs that sound too similar to each other. But their confidence and competence lifts them above the average: they are a band for whom time and experience will work to their advantage.
Laki Mera's instrumentation - two keyboards, a cello, acoustic guitar and drums - immediately sets them apart, and their electronic sounds collide with folksy vocals in an original and disorientating manner. Unfortunately, the PA at the ABC fails to give them enough space and their interesting experiment is cursed by impressive yet overbearing drumming. Laki Mera are deserving headliners, and their languid mix of futurism and tradition fits between chill-out and funk: however, they rely heavily on pristine sound quality, and without it, they are lost in noise. [Gareth K Vile]