Regular Drowned in Sound readers may be familiar with Chicago-based three-piece volcano!. From seemingly nowhere, they've released one of the most uncompromising, unique albums of the year; an album that eschewed traditional rock instrumentation and structure in favour of efflorescing swells of freeflowing perfection.
Unfortunately the outer world seems less appreciative, with the band attracting an audience a baker's dozen shy of triple figures, even with the help of Felix and Tiger MCs, two solo performers whose fans seem to make up the majority of the crowd.
Felix, a solo female artist based in Nottingham joined onstage by Lords guitarist Chris Summerlin, takes the song structures and lyrical repetition of Life Without Buildings and places them in Cat Power’s serene, hazy landscape. Songs such as ‘Back In Style’ may sound unfinished, and occasionally the repetition grates, but they offer promise for the future.
Norwich’s Tiger MCs' songs do not have time to become repetitive - many shy away from the two minute mark and there is a surprising variety across his eleven-track set. Instrumental opener ‘Farewell Hear Hospital’'s gently plucked, ever-progressing guitar lines bring to mind Explosions In The Sky, albeit in a more plaintive mood, while ‘We Go Out’ stays true to the songbook of Nick Drake and ‘You’ve Got Red On You’ offers a nod to fellow Norwich-based band Sennen’s quieter moments.
A pleasing calm then before volcano!’s cyclonic storm, which unfortunately can only lay waste to a crowd reduced further by a late stage time and the departure of friends/fans of the support bands. You could forgive volcano! for being complacent, disappointed by the lacklustre audiences that have plagued their tour, but there's no need to be in a forgiving mood as they play as if a crowd of millions stands before them, pulsing with the excitement and wide-eyed wonder that made Beautiful Seizure so enticing.
‘Red And White Bells’ opens the proceedings in the best possible way: a cavernous wall of sound that soon gives way to caterwauling and unhinged melodies, before building again to a glorious, barely contained crescendo. ‘Apple Or A Gun’ is announced as “a song you can dance to”, but no introduction is needed: as soon as THAT bassline springs in the venue is in raptures.
‘$40,000 Plus Interest’, volcano!’s answer to a mid-album respite, is given new life when played live, lit up by the drummer's manic convulsions, seizures even, and use of various toys to torture his drum kit. The set highlight however is ‘Easy Does It': the sound of Xiu Xiu being pulled between ten dimensions, the sound of Acid Mothers Temple discovering electronics and dismissing jamming, the sound of Radiohead realizing their potential and creating truly thought-provoking music, the sound of a band beyond their years and beyond their time, the sound of American music waking up and smelling the fucking coffee.
In front of a crowd one hundred times smaller than one they deserve, volcano! create music that defies logic and effortlessly exceeds expectation. Why weren’t you there?
because..
...volcano! are yet another piss poor US band that don't deserve to be touring the UK.
Hmmm
Not convinced by this lot yet. Unlistenable doesn't do them justice at present, although they're new so give em time, I suppose.
yeah
album ain't as hot as i'd hoped after all the DiS hype
wow
i never thought you and dom would agree on summat. shame yr both wrong lolz.
and you didnt go see them Dom. get offa my back!
Yeah
but you know why I didn't go and see them mate - cos I've heard the record and to these ears it ain't all its cracked up to be.
yeh
that and you would have to pay :)
but i can see why someone wouldnt enjoy them, horses for courses innit
Having to pay or not
is irrelevant mate, and totally wide of the mark!
I don't like the record.
I don't want to see them live based on the fact I don't like the record.
Whether its free, 10p, £10 or 10 grand to get in is irrelevant.
Deal with it!
chillax
bro!
i could say
something incredibly similar about the zutons.
pardon me crabs
but you have already havent you? :)
although
to be fair Dom is talking about them on record, i think Volcano! are improved a lot live. i dont think Dom is a fan of Zutons on record either
Piss Poor?
Perhaps it went on a bit, but the vast majority of it was pretty incredible. They were also stunningly tight considering the complexity of their material. Perhaps a little over blown (you might argue) but I think piss poor is a bit wide of the mark.
But what about x band not deserving to tour the UK? They put out for a tour and people are more than glad to book them, mostly small promoters who really aren't in it to make the money, but rather for the joy of putting on bands they like. Actually speaking to them, it is pretty clear they aren't some awful corporate monsters trying to come over here and steal our jobs. They were three guys touring and indeed even seeing Europe for the first time, who were also pleasantly politically involved and took seriously, for example, what label they chose to sign to for the sake of artistic freedom rather than making wads of fat cash (Leaf). Even their stage manner was pleasantly self-depreciating - asking to have the echo on his voice turned down and then glancing over the banks of electronics to say "yeh we don't need any of this modern technology".
What do you think makes a band deserve to play the UK? If it is innovation, a decent live show and committment to keeping it as DIY as humanly possible despite the fact you are coming a huge distance I think volcano! tick all the boxes. I think they ended up on someones sofa at the end of the night...
yes, piss poor
i think you should look into the economics of US bands touring the UK (how much does a work permit cost?)and ask yourself the question why UK bands of a similar DIY stance can't tour the US.
i have turned down loads of US bands this year because they (or their booking agents) ask for too much money and, in my opinion, the bands aren't good enough or popular enough to warrant it.
Yes, but...
The way you seem to be phrasing it is that bands like volcano! who are new to this (and probably more than a bit naive) are doing this out of some spite for UK acts as well as more than a large dose of American arrogance. As you say, it is often generally the promoters who ask for these prices (hardly the bands fault with small acts). If the bands themselves ask for the money, it is probably because this is the done thing. Imagine yourself in volcano!'s shoes - you have the opportunity as young guys to tour Europe, which you have never seen...etc etc.
The US economic system and the music industry therein is hardly the fault of volcano! or any band with a similar DIY ethic who want to come over here and tour. I am pretty damned sure, considering their politically charged lyrics and generally pleasant personalities that had you come down and chatted to them they would have expressed more than sympathy for the fact that UK bands can't do what they are doing. They are more likely ignorant of the situation, rather than aggressively arrogant and needlessly money-grabbing about it.
Basically, is your opinion that they are piss-poor an aesthetic judgement first, or a economic judgement based upon bands-like-these-coming-over-from-america first? I can more than understand your annoyance, but I just don't think it is volcano!'s fault. Perhaps I am the one being naive.
indeed...
My opinion of Volcano! as a band is based on an aesthetic judgment when I listened to their music after being offered to put them on in Nottingham.
Of course it is not Volcano!'s fault that they are in the privileged position of being able to tour the UK, but they are symptomatic of the problem, as I see it. I should probably rephrase and clarify my objection - they are less deserving of touring the UK (based on how good they are as a band) than a large hatful of UK bands are of touring the US.
I'm sure they are lovely people with great politics, most US touring bands are. That is really not the point.
Can you imagine a relatively unknown UK band going to the US and asking for the equivalent of 250 GBP as a guarantee?!!! that is around 450 USD.
It is the ATP syndrome of the US curator picking the same old bands and failing to acknowledge music based in the UK. It IS US arrogance and cultural dominance, except writ small in the world of indie music.
How may UK bands get to play No Fun Fest or Terrastock? (answer = a couple, and they certainly don't get their flights paid for).
Agreed but...
The thing is here that touring the UK is not equivilent of touring the USA. Touring the USA and doing it properly means really touring, getting your back into it and travelling thousands of miles.
In addition, the US is much bigger country than the UK. They simply have more bands that are good/interesting because there are more people. Plus a US curator is pretty obviously going to choose US bands to play. Perhaps what we need is a UK curator. But considering that the big names in indie music *are* American (for better or worse) and they have to sell tickets to indie fans....you get my drift.
Sad thing is, the problem you indentified can only be solved by not letting the bands play in this country, but when is that going to happen.
At the end of the day, the situation will only be solved by better labels in the US becoming aware of the problem and trying to be more understanding.
.
"Plus a US curator is pretty obviously going to choose US bands to play."
only if they are ignorant.
Perhaps...
their loss eh?
Then again...
if any promoter sold tickets and chose a vast majority of British acts would the Festival sell like it does...
m
i didn't say the vast majority should be british. i do think a decent proportion would be welcome. at least a quarter of the acts....
truck fest sold out! lots of DIY British bands with a much smaller US hip quota.
Good point
After all, there is the US ATP for all the US malarkey. I am gutted that truck has song out incidently.
Piss Poor indeed
I'm with you. I saw them at SXSW before th' Faith Healers, and they were terrible. I wish I could have those minutes of my life back.
thats fair
they wanted £250 to play i hear, but i dont think its the fault of the band, im sure they only charge so much because they need to.
but anyway, why does the fact that they are american or how much they cost to put on have anything to do with their quality?
blah
them being american or how much they ask for has nothing to do with their quality. their lack of quality is the reason i wouldn't put them on, let alone pay them tha much money. just my opinon though!
fair enough mate
im just sticking up for a band i enjoyed seeing. obviously you have some taste as you put a lords album out.
And Wolves!( of Greece)
And Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!
Wonderful.
Money, money, money
I have it on pretty damned good authority that they didn't cost *this* much to play.
they cost
£250 ive heard.
And the rest...
...
£250?
Well, they didn't.
FACT.
volcano!
is incredible.
The album is stunning.
I'd pay lots to see them live.
Saw them in Manchester...
...and there were even less people there. Shame, as it was top, even despite not playing Easy Does It.
I'm don't
appreciate them as much right now as some friends do but they definately grow on you. I think Easy Does It and Fire Fire are both excelent tracks though. I say some further listening will be worth it.
wow...
for once I am proud of Southampton - there were loads of people watching them play and they went down very well.
I personally think they are awesome both live and on CD, and they certainly don't cost as much as what has been quoted.
ummm...
Loved their CD, went to see them live......they were shit.
In all fairness, if they were from England, people like Optimist Club, That fucking Tank + Catsx3 would consistently blow them off the stage. Then they'd quit music, go and live in a bungalow in Melton Mowbray, eat shitloads of pork pies. and get fat.
well
They didn't demand- or get- £250.
That said, they got paid an awful lot more than an equivalently sized English band would have. I think Matt speaks a lot of sense.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tis all true.
If we'd put them on for the Nottingham DiS night it would have cost us more than virtually EVERY other band combined since the night started in December of last year!
I am with matt
fucking pisses me off. bands coming over here with barely more than 15 mins worth of decent music. America isn't exactly my favourite place in the world for a variety of reasons but it seems like every fucking 2 bit band and their Mum thinks its their god-given right to come and tour here and like the cocksuckers we are, we let them.
What then happens is that you get this opinion being formed with (maybe younger) gig goers that UK bands aren't worth bothering with because the US band HAS to be good as they're on tour right?
Not being arrogant or cocky or anything but I know bands I am in are better than the majority of US bands we usually end up playing with but the simple logistics of touring the USA are impossible. Its really frustrating and I'm tired of seeing half assed bands land on these shores and ask for a shitload of money like it's their birthright.
.
the whole US vs UK touring situation is a horrible situation, i would have to agree, but to me this seems like an unfair place for the argument to kick off. if they can get paid more money just for being american then yes, that's weak, and it's symptomatic of a greater problem.
for quite a small country we've produced a huge number of incredible bands which tour relentlessly and put out consistently good releases on awesome labels but seem to go largely ignored for some unknown reason.
however, i think volcano! are an excellent band, both live and on record. hundreds of bands of various nationality play venues of similar or far greater size on the back of single albums which are - in my opinion - of lesser quality.
basically, i agree with your general point, i just feel that if any one band is gonna be singled-out like this, it certainly shouldn't be this one.
Agreed.
See my comment above. Its frustrating, but its not their fault. Perhaps next time a US band hits our shores we should inform them of the situation. As I said above, the problem is often ignorance, rather than arrogance...perhaps.
Okay, but.
Considering the rude health of the British music scene at the moment ie Arctic Monkeys, Franz etc (bands who I don't like admittedly), I don't think any young gig goers are forming this opinion about American bands etc...
what?
"rude health" of the British music 'scene'??
those are full time bands, bands with financial backing who do it as their job. we're talking normal, DIY, simple bands. where are they in the UK? supporting some lame US version of themselves week in week out, thats where.
Fair enough
I agree. And it is a sad situation. What is more sad, is that I don't see an easy solution. But here is hoping that the internet and sites like this one might go some of the way to sorting this mess out.
I was just responding to comment about the kids getting the wrong impression. I was pretty sure you were refering to the diy thing, but my itchy messaging finger got the better of me.
Shit?
Although this appears to be rather a losing battle here, for me its fine to they weren't amazing, or didn't seem that good, but they were shit ie totally without value seems a bit over the top. They do a pretty good job considering there is only three of them and a complex sound to re-create. And really, its not in the same heavy/crazed bands you mentioned. They have elements of this, sure, but there are more electronic/other sections.
Cats Cats Cats are great mind you. That Fucking Tank don't really float my boat on record.