LIVE REVIEW: You don’t have to be a science fiction fan to experience multiple universes. Glasgow has you covered. In one, bland unsigned indie sells out small venues in town. In another, a band with imagination and artistic merit treks to Glasgow from Elgin for an audience of less than 25 people. His Name Is Codeine deserve better.
The following extract from their album review by Peenko could be equally applied to their live show.
…crashing waves of noise are accompanied by howls of rage, thunderous percussion and the sudden dips and swoons of a glorious chorus leading to a spiraling, dizzy coda.
Those sudden dips and swoons is a trademark that is as potentially troublesome as it is ambitious for this atmospheric, dark shoegaze creation. Professional bands with endless rehearsal time and an experienced sound crew can make sure nothing gets lost in a live translation. How an unsigned band with no production budget will sound with similar soundscape ambitions rests on factors outside of their control.
The typical scenario involves band members struggling to get off work early, driving for a few hours to the venue, battling through a soundcheck with most likely an unfamiliar shared backline, all with a sound engineer who is likely hearing them for the first time. Now you may begin to understand a few of the many challenges unsigned bands face.
Bassist and singer Lyn Ralph looks like a young Chrissie Hynde and fronts this six piece that has three guitars, drums and keys. Credit has to go to drummer Stu Russell for energetically maintaining the pulse during those song parts that bring the listener to dark, Flatliners-esque places.
What keeps the show from becoming dull is the dynamics. Three guitarists (Marc Roy, Mark Simpson, Ian Dickson) is potentially overkill and a lot more work is needed if they want to be more The Jesus and Mary Chain / Super Furry Animals’ experimental moments and less a collection of noises all cancelling each other out. Such ambition pitted against the reality of losing large chunks of what you’ve been rehearsing to the mixing desk requires a solution that many bands find too awkward to contemplate – always have your own soundguy or else do not play. Treat that person as another member of your band and in the same way I wouldn’t expect United Fruit to play without a drummer, His Name Is Codeine would do well to adopt this attitude to having a sound engineer. I’m not for a second criticising the person on the desk on the night, he actually did a great job. But for this band to evolve it’s required.
Four way vocals, three guitars, percussion squared due to a little help from Elizabeth Maycox (percussion, keys, drones – I’m quoting all these names from their biog in case you were wondering) and I’m getting tired writing it all out. That’s a lot of work for a soundperson who’s probably not getting paid enough for their time and who, due to having to put up with so much crap from bands in general, might spend half a band’s set on a smartphone txting or surfing the web. When your entire sound rests in the hands of one person, that’s not something you want to cut corners on.
Finding an enthusiastic (student?) sound engineer who is willing to help out is worth their weight in curly wurlys.
With the percussionists injecting as much energy as they can muster from the rear of the stage, the audience directly faces Lyn’s straight ahead stare while three guys with guitars look down at their pedals. Stage presence and confidence will come with time. For now the soundscapes and songs carry the show all by themselves.
In a week where a fresh batch of unsigned tbreak talent has been selected to appear at T in the Park 2013, Scotland is high on ambition. However, it could do with fostering better those who dare to imagine beyond what’s popular right now or fulfilling exactly-what-you’d-expect genre boxes. When we’re ready to free ourselves from those predictable genre boxes, let’s hope His Name Is Codeine will still make that trek from Elgin to show us another way.
ORDER THEIR ALBUM NOW ‘THE ONLY TRUTH IS MUSIC’
