Californian punk-pop quartet Warm Soda are anything
but flat tonight as they begin their first UK mini-tour at the Louie. A
fizzing 50 minute set from tonight’s headliner is watched by a fairly meagre
but lively crowd, owing in no small way to the sweltering stubbornness of the
current heatwave drawing fans away to nearby beer gardens and riverside
railings. The super-skinny group mix the 70’s glam power-pop of T-Rex
with the punchy 2D post-punk of The Jam to create a bubble-gum version of ‘This
Is It’ era Strokes.
Front-man Matthew Melton has a touch of Phil Lynott about him with curly hair and suspect tache as he wields his intriguing Ovation Breadwinner. The charismatic singer wasn’t without a band for long following an acrimonious split from previous group Bare Wires after last years SXSW tour; his ear for an infectious pop hook certainly appears to be undiminished. Debut album ‘Someone For You’ was released in March with enough syrupy pop to rot a good set of gnashers. A different proposition live, Warm Soda stir in a couple of shots of Jaeger to give their sound an aggro/punchy kick away from the squeaky clean production and one dimensional foot-stomping.
Things get a little weird early on during lightweight radio hit ‘Jeannie Loves Pop’ as some youthful audience exuberance sees a clutch of shirts streaming onto the stage. Guitarist Rob Good (a spit of 70’s era George Best) sports a bewildered look as he begins the rather futile clear up duty. Good and Melton are clearly the driving force behind the band, the former laying down some tight jagged licks that sit up nicely for the latter’s heavily echoed and sometimes indecipherable Bolan-esque whispers. Staying just the right side of vom-inducing tweeness; early track ‘Busy Lizzy’ has enough bite to move it towards lo-fi garage rock, leather jackets and bar brawls. Although at times repetitious it is great fun to watch and the heady mix of poppy innocence and fuzzy buzz-saw riffs could wreak havoc on a packed-out sweaty Friday night.
‘Waiting For Your Call,’ one of many to show a tale of
youthful romantic longing and heartbreak proves a standout with the killer
chorus that Julian Casablancas seems to have recently mislaid. EP track
‘Reaction’ is unashamedly glamtastic with a bouncing bass and distorted picking
that builds to a balls-out thumping chorus with Melton fully engaged with the
girls in the front-row calling “don’t you want a reaction, yes I think
so.” The group finishes off proceedings with a conspicuous sugar-free jam
that smashes the 2 minute barrier, in fact almost topping 15 minutes with some
blazing riffage and herculean skins pounding seldom heard earlier on.
It's a curious finale that's unrecognisable to the rest of the set and points
towards the possibility of a fuller stadium rock direction. In all
though it’s a promising UK debut and with a swelling of approval creeping over
from across the pond you would expect that good times lie ahead for the trendy
throwbacks.
Kindly published by Venue:
http://www.venue.co.uk/music-live-reviews-w/20938-warm-soda
Best Track: Click on link below:
Warm Soda - 'Waiting For Your Call'
Album available here:
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