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Ludes - andy
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by Andrew Future
It's not without irony that the capital date of The New World Disorder Tour is held in the local shopping center, between GAP and the Warner Village Cinema.

Future Kings Of Spain look like a hobo-fronted At The Drive-In and are a culture clash between the ferocity of Nirvana and the endearing melody of Weezer. Underneath this stylistic face off lies something altogether more trippy and danceable, and it's this which ascends the Irish trio above the vacuous stream of rock and yawn currently plaguing the country’s toilet circuit. Recent single, ‘Hanging Around’ is one of the lighter moments of their set, perhaps a little tepid in the wake of ‘Face I Know’ and ‘Your Starlight’. Still, Kins... rule!

Where the rest of tonight’s bands all have an intriguing depth behind what they do, My Red Cell look outclassed and are sadly disappointing, grasping at more of a Blink-esq cartoon-punk sound than anything more serious. It’s fiery and energetic enough to keep everyone amused, but their current crop of songs aren’t gonna be tugging at your purse-strings. It’s still early days though.

It's not possible to be any more '2003' than Ludes, and thank fuck for that. A lush mix of The Coral's rockabilly rhythms and White Stripes’ raw intensity gives the five-piece a real malevolent edge. More importantly, they’re neither Scousers nor Americans, hailing as they do, from South London. Naturally, the bass and rhythm guitarists are pretty non-descript, but dressed like a pirate at a Tim Burgess look-alike competition, singer Dave Ashby is impeccably magnetic. They’ve got the same belly fire as the capital’s favourite crack heads, The Libertines, but rather than sounding how they look, Ludes’ riotous Jagger-aping theatrics are absolutely pin sharp. The content police may need a little convincing that it matches their undeniable style, but on this showing, Ludes are fully formed and ready to lead Britain’s musical resurgence right from the very front.

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Ludes

Did you not think ludes were just a complete rip off of the coral...I mean...I know the coral have their influences, but one song in particular was EXACTLY the same as dreaming of you.

Even though they do borrow quite a lot...they churned out about 8 great coral pop songs, which even the coral struggle to do.

I'm not sure whether to like them or not damn it.

Re: Ludes

there is that one song that sounds EXACTLY like Dreaming Of You, yes... however, there is more to them than that... it's more moddish r'n'b stuff - stones, faces etc. all done with a cheeky swagger and a wink. They're more comparable to the Libertines in that they have a sense of style and self and regional attitude.

they're cool. And they have some great tunes. The first time I went to see them, I assumed that they were doing at least half covers in their set, but no... they're just really really good. Although the bassist looks out of place. In a nice way.

Future Kings

Didn't your reviewer notice that the Kings are no longer a trio? They now have a wonderful second guitarist. So that makes 4 of 'em altogether! Wear your specs to gigs mate!

Re: Future Kings

Sorry - I was too busy photographing the singer to count the number of guys on stage.

I wasn't aware he was part of the band tho, I'd assumed he was just a session guy given the press release that came with the record said they were a trio.

What's important is that they're a great live band, whether there's three of four of them.

Re: Future Kings

Yep, Karl is now a fully paid up member of the Future Kings. There's a little bit of info about him on the www.fkos.com website. He's a Dublin lad who's been mates with the Kings for a while. He's sharing guitar playing with Joey.

Re: Future Kings

In any case, they rock.

Re: Future Kings

Very true! I've seen them 4 times this year and have loved every song they've played.

Wonder how they got on with the Strokes support slot?

Re: Future Kings

Indeed, I'm lookin fwd to seeing them again.

Go to virtualfestivals.com type 'future kings' for a nice pic gallery.

Future Kings interview

All you FKoS fans, there's an interview with Bryan (drummer) and Karl on Bruce Dickinson's show on BBC6. It's available on the web till Dec 6 or 7. Here's the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/presenters/bruce_dickinson/




© DrownedinSound.com | From the Archive - Singles Round-up (14/07/08)