MUNCIE GIRLS/ CASSELS/ KANCHO!, Future Perfect, Cellar,
15/2/17
A few years ago any hipster worth their rosemary-infused
artisanal salt was in a bass and drums duo.
That time has passed, perhaps because of fashion’s restless
vicissitudes, or perhaps because people realised that economy of musical means
demands increased precision, or at the very least a little effort put into
arranging. Kancho!’s two man tirade is
built from crisp, incisive drums and rough blocks of bass granite, but they
know that simply throwing everything in at once wouldn’t cut the triple
strength septum-melting mustard for a full half hour, and have addressed their
attentions to hooks, dynamics and slightly silly jokes. Not that they’re preciously twiddly, any
self-conscious mathy opening riff is just a disguise for old fashioned amp
blasting, quickly discarded (“It is I, Leclerc; let’s rock!”). This is an excellent set, possibly the best
we’ve witnessed by them...just in time for them to split up.
Not since The Cellar Family has any Oxford-connected band
brought the aesthetics of disgust to their music like Cassels. Another skins and strings duo, albeit one
with more intricate fluidity to their pummelling, Cassels ricochet between
splenetic ire, mordant humour and defeated resignation, wrestling global and
personal politics into punk straitjackets.
At their best, such as recent single “Flock Analogy”, a twitchy tattoo
bolsters howled poetry and impassioned broadsides that reveal a burgeoning
poetic sensibility. There are lyrical
missteps – describing the world as a “Huxleyan nightmare” doesn’t sound any
less sophomoric just because it’s now true – and the set is oddly hesitant and
apologetic when it should be declamatory, but Cassels are still something
special.
Catch a few lyrics and you’ll realise that Exeter’s
Muncie Girls are as politically charged as Cassels, but choose a less abrasive
method of delivery. Their perky punk pop
has its roots in C86 fizz, and borrows its fat amped attitude from that early
90s lacuna between grunge’s early influence and Britpop’s colourful trade
fair. Their melodic vocals glide whilst
the music canters in a way that resembles a less self-conscious Wedding Present
or even a souped up version of The Sundays (The Sundays Before Bank Holiday
Monday, probably). It’s all good bouncy
fun, and we can’t say a word against their opinions or general charm, but if
Muncie Girls play a better set than Cassels, it’s the latter that have hooked
our attention, and will drag us back for another visit.
