We Came As Romans + Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! + The Color Morale + Palm Reader @ Birmingham Academy 2 – 27th February 2014
As the only UK music magazine to see sales go up in recent times, Rock Sound have started 2014 off in fine style. Tonight’s gig goes under the header of the Rock Sound Impericon Exposure Tour 2014 so I was looking forward to witnessing 4 bands tipped for great things in the years ahead.
Speaking off predicting the future, things start off in blistering style with UK newcomers, Palm Reader. Their bio says “We are Palm Reader. We play loud. We play heavy. We play hard. We play fast” and they do what it says on the tin with pounding hardcore rhythms, furious vocals and a technical edge which never overshadows the songs themselves. Their 25 minutes on stage flies by and they’ve certainly won themselves a few new fans from those that bothered to show up early.
Next up are US metalcore mob, The Color Morale, here in support of their well-received Know Hope album. After listening to their music recently, I had high hopes, and musically they’re an accomplished band, but I soon found myself losing interest as one song bled into another without anything to really set them apart from the masses of similar bands peppering the scene. Vocalist Garret Rapp’s constant spiel about positivity and hope during times of struggle and how they’re not here for the money seems all too staged and cliched and, although the crowd get involved for songs like the title track from Know Hope, there’s nothing much here to make me assume they’ll progress to bigger things.
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, despite having a ridiculous name, have been gaining an enthusiastic fan base over recent months and the French pop-punkers are obviously one of the main attractions on tonight’s bill, receiving a huge welcome as they bound onstage. Indeed, after 7 years together, their sound is tight and impressive and vocalist, Bertrand Poncet, is an instantly likeable and charasmatic frontman. Where their sound falls down, in my opinion at least, is the constant switching from fierce metalcore and growling vocals to Blink-182-meets-boyband pop harmonies. The heavy side of their music works well but the popper side feels cheesy alongside it. Every time I find myself being impressed by the might of one of their songs it’s immediately ruined by some melodic chorus that’s not a million miles away from One Direction.
Headliners We Came As Romans have been doing the rounds for almost a decade now and have developed a sound which balances melody and heaviness in a way that feels more organic than many similar bands. Dual vocalists alternate between the growling vocals and huge singalong choruses which have seen them becoming so popular over the past year or two. Tonight’s crowd seem to know every word to every song, smiling and singing along as the band rattle through songs like Ghosts and fan favourite To Plant A Seed.
The major misstep tonight sees them covering The Wanted’s Glad You Came in a bewildering moment which makes you question how six people in a metalcore band agreed to it. The song, originally recorded for the Punk Goes Pop Volume 5 compilation, is admittedly heavier than the original. But not much. It’s an embarrassing few minutes which they attempt to rescue with the far heavier (and far superior) Roads That Don’t End And Views That Never Cease before A Moment takes them back to what they do best, mixing solid riffs with soaring harmonies and an infectious chorus. It’s not really for me but the crowd lap it up and a final burst of Hope ensures that things end on a positive note and full crowd-participation.
It’s rare that the first band of the night impress the most, but tonight, for me, that was certainly the case. I can see the appeal of all four bands and I’m sure We Came As Romans will soon be playing rooms twice this size, but the only band I’m excited to see again is Palm Reader.
Review & photos – Steve Gerrard