REVIEW: THE CHEMISTS AT BRISTOL 02 ACADEMY (11/03/10)
Having been out of the gig scene for a while I grabbed the opportunity to go along to the O2 Academy to see Bristol based band The Chemists support the perennial purveyors of NYC cool, the Fun Lovin’ Criminals.
Through a number of high profile supporting slots, most recently with the reformed Skunkanansie, The Chemists have garnered a reputation for energetic live performances, and tonight’s effort did not fall short. Barely pausing for breath they ploughed through their brief set with purpose, working hard to get their home crowd on board from the off.
A chunky guitar sound very akin to Feeder, Hard-Fi and their innumerable American counterparts may not stop The Chemists from getting sucked into the vacuum of guitar bands doing a very similar thing. However what will perhaps give them an edge is the undoubted competency of the musicians.
And this is where it begins to fall down a little. Whilst this is not a group who are trying to reinvent the wheel, it seems that their undoubted technical ability belies the simplicity of their identikit riff led sound. Whilst tracks such as ‘Radio Booth’ and ‘Hear Our Song’ are perfectly decent examples of the clean edged rock genre, at times it all feels a little predictable.
That said The Chemists are a polished live act, with a sound that would comfortably fill much bigger arenas. General feedback from the punters I spoke to was positive but not overwhelming, which is probably a fair reflection overall.
Words: Jon Godfrey
