The Blizzard Of Zod

I went to see this because my mate Russ wanted to, and he reviewed it himself (probably online somewhere, if you're prepared to make the effort). This was a few months before their monster hit, "Run", and I'd never heard of SNow Patrol, but they were fine, & I'm sure I'd have written the same if I'd seen them 6 months later, although I may have included a sentence along the lines of "Stop playing that bloody song I bloody hear every ten bloody minutes! You know, the one about the lighter, or something".

SNOW PATROL/ THE UNISEX/ THE LAKE AT DIVERS' POINT - The Zodiac, 10/03

The Lake At Divers' Point is a great name for a band. In fact, I like it so much I think I'm going to type it again.

The Lake At Divers' Point,

Ah, yes, that was fun...and filled a bit of space because, frankly, there isn't much to say about this slightly poppy indie threepiece. The most interesting elements are the little tempo changes, although ironically these tend to be the least well executed. They aren't bad, but there are far too many bands sounding like this, and, as Samuel L. Jackson once said, personality goes a long way.

Tonight The Unisex is a revelation. But not in a good way, so if I find their publicist has used that as a quote I'll - well, I'll be very upset. They're revelatory because they explain why I never liked The Hives much, by providing the missing link between today's New Wave of New Wave of New Wave acts, and Menswe@r.

On the rock side they have some sprightly little guitar solos, and an organ that screams "Garage rock!". On the pop side they have a singer in (and out of) a lousy shirt who could be doing "flounce" in a game of charades, and a load of old Kinks/music hall rhythms sounding like the sickly karaoke offspring of "Sunday Sunday" and "Daydreamer". And that stupid Britpop name. In fairness they're jaunty, likable, and energetic, but The Unisex sounds like a band that missed the bus. A big, red, swingin' cartoon London bus, presumably.

Snow Patrol can't really go too wrong after this warm up, and they proceed to not go too wrong pretty effectively. The way the guitars chug through the chords, and the keyboards come over spiky yet wistful, whilst the vocals sneak up in a friendly manner almost reminds me of Grandaddy - albeit a big anthemic Grandaddy who don't look like they live in a shack made of Miller cans and scrap tarpaulin.

When the chips are down, it's just Evening Session indie, and is hardly opriginal, but the guitars lock and swirl together pretty neatly, and the singer is a lovable chap. I can't explain the ecstatic response the huge crowd gives them, but Snow Patrol delivers a fair set of alt-anthems of the type that Northern Ireland seems to specialise in. Satisfying.