A very English noise

I went to see Black Box Recorder last night at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank. Last time I saw a gig there it was Arab Strap in the late-90s. It's a seated venue, and on that occasion after an all-nighter the previous night, the slow pace of AS's narrative songs gradually sent me off to sleep, only to wake me again minutes later with a cacophonous blast of noise and an explosion of light. (Oh, those heady days - Ed.)

I managed to stay awake last night.

Black Box Recorder is the band that Luke Haines formed after the Auteurs. The Auteurs were a band that were at the forefront of the wave of British bands that were bubbling under the tail-end of the US grunge movement of the early-90s. They, and Suede, were NME cover stars for a while back then. Suede, however, were the ones who achieved more commercial success in the long run. When Kurt Cobain died, this of course heralded the backlash movement we now know as Brit-pop. One wonders what would have happened had Cobain lived on?

BBR are difficult to pigeon-hole. As were the Auteurs, despite NME's efforts to do so. Because they, like Suede, simply made Rock music with English subject matter and sung with a very English accent. Any US influence is minimal, and probably consciously avoided.

People often say to me, as I'm sure they do to you if you're in a band: What or who do you sound like? I never give the same answer twice, cos I haven't got a stock one - I don't know, see. BBR and Suede must have had the same problem at some point. 'Cos like U2 and Queen, they sound most like themselves. They are rock bands. They are English, and they sing about being British. They have in common originality. Their own sound.

This is great if you 'make it' of course, and can add longevity to your career by continually updating your sound and image. Then you move beyond having to discuss what you sound like. You sound, and look like, yourself.

If however you languish in obscurity, being original can be mean that you don't sit well on concert bills with other bands. People don't know how to describe you to their mates or whether they like you or not. You are an acquired taste. (I see where this going -Ed)

Introducing Pocket Rocket. Brit-Rock at it's most British. Expect an EP release in the Autumn, and a support slot for Black Box Recorder or Suede.