Diastole: Gandhi Goes To Hollywood

Something odd has been put into the Suffolk water system as Blue Gandhi are yet another Band From Bury. They are yet another band with the potential to make people wet themselves with joy (though I do hope they don’t. Wet themselves that is. Shall we move swiftly on? Good good.).

First track Oblivious opens with the sound of Chompy the Rhino Head er...chomping [cheers Clairey! - RA] and continues with a fast paced funky guitar riff that makes a welcome change from the oodles of lo-fi introspective singer songwriters, nascent rap-rock bands, and people who look no further than a 4/4 beat. Add to that vocals that vary from a neer sneer to a rasp to jumping up and down an octave like a teenage boy’s voice breaking and this is a very good start indeed.

We move on to Affectionate Hands. The skittish guitars are replaced by a drone and Ellie Langley deadpans about small town life and a dead end future in living in the suburbs with a husband as a housewife.

The third track on this four track demo, Good Time, has a darker feel to it and it sounds as though Blue Gandhi have taken a time machine back to 1993 and gone grunge. Just without all the bloody shouting involved as Ellie’s vocals go into maudlin mode, the bitterness is tangible and they manage to summon up more scorn by being evenly paced than if she was screaming blue murder. This song seems to go hand in hand with their last song Optimist which, is equally dark with vocals that go from being a hoarse rasp to soaring up an octave and going smooth to illustrate the two personas in the song.

Blue Gandhi are already better than many bands that are 5 years older than them or more. Fuck moderation: go get!!

Demos are available at gigs and through Blue Gandhi's website