Wave Machines at Islington’s Bar Academy

Having been potentially dropped on the head as a child, I spent a good 20 minutes writing notes on the band Colourmusic, at Islington’s Bar Academy on Monday, before realising that they were the support and not, Wave Machines, the main draw.

The reason I mention my tool-like behaviour, instead of smoothly glossing over it, is that after getting geared up to write a review about how the music industry is saturated with mediocrity , the car had to be turned around and sent up the highway of sweet, sweet song.

Wave Machines, a four-piece band from Liverpool, are very disco baby, from the floppy hair to the mustard coloured ‘70s shirts to the oh-so funky use of instruments. Bassist, James Walsh and guitarist, Carl Brown, gave a good impression of being involved in a competitive round of musical chairs so frequently did they leap down to tickle the keyboard or sampler, a clarinet was whipped out towards the end, and even the humble tambourine found a place in the well-constructed and catchy melodies of the Merseyside minstrels.

Even the vocals were not exclusive to Tim Bruzon – with his ability to reach up high to Bee Gees/Matt Bellamy level (Keep the Lights On) and stay down in mournful pop poet territory (Punk Spirit). Brown, rocking the bald head with Viking beard combo, also happens to have the voice of an angel whilst drummer, Vidar Norheim, is responsible for penning one of the group’s more desolate offerings, Dead Houses.

With the occasional pause to let the sweat flow freely, the band played with identical half-masks on their faces creating a sort of anonymous-let-nothing-disctract-from-our-function-as-channelers-of-awesome-and-varied-sounds effect. Yet, you can’t be this good and also devoid of character and the character presents like a candy covered cannonball, sweet but powerful.

One of the many things I enjoyed about Wave Machines was their lack of rock ‘n’ roll posturing. They came, they  played a polished and original set, they left with not a single ‘put your hands together ‘cause we rock so hard’ remark. Not that it was necessary, the Bar Academy can feel a bit draughty when the band on stage is not top notch, but this time the whoops and cheers surprised my expectations for an act that have yet to carve themselves into the public consciousness. However, if the charming foursome keep hammering away in their current style, recognition should soon be theirs.

Wave Machines played at:

Bar Academy
N1 Centre
Parkfield Street
Islington
N1 0PS

Tel: 0844 477 2000

Have you heard of Wave Machines?