If you haven't already been to night classes at the fortnightly underground shows to find out what's happening on the indie music scene in Hong Kong then check them out!Last weekend we had lessons from 6 bands on how to be musically cool.First choose a crazy name like Killersoap,The Fragile ,Hungry Ghosts or the Sinister Left.Next learn how to play really well,write some good original material, and share it with your audience .In this show there was lots of good stuff and one or two bands who sound like they could go beyond the local scene to a wider audience.
Underground 58 at Club Cixi
The Fragile...Hungry Ghosts ...Gong Wu...Consent...Killersoap.....TheSinister Left....all at the Underground .....review with videos ...
The show powered up with Killersoap,a young band who kicked off with an upbeat number before slowing the pace with their next song,which featured strong vocals and some excellent lead guitar..By the next song which was an upbeat rock pop song with a big and catchy chorus,everyone seemed to be relaxing more and they finished their set on a high.The vocalist has an expressive voice and the band played well .They look as if they're still finding their sound but have lots of promise.My favourites from their set were the opener 'Somebody' and 'Get Rid of You''as well as the closing song 'Dirty Mind'.
The Fragile have definitely found their own unique sound.It's a haunting post rock that shows influences of shoegaze,especially the aetherial vocals and fuzzy guitar sounds of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.They are a 5 piece outfit formed in 2006 who play emotionally expressive indie that takes you far away from the stressful modern life.It's wistful,dreamy and beautifully played.Like other bands of this genre (The Yours,Elf Fatima),they don't need to dance around in an extrovert way to get your attention.
The band are Fred(vocals,guitar),Jacqueline(guitar),Tat(bass),H (drums)and Wong (keyboards).You must check out their EP 'Venus' or listen on myspace.The band's songs were "First day I believed in angels','Venus' and'Smog' from the EP and 'Eclipse'.Their sound is unique.Check out the band on myspace.
Gong Wu's arrival ensured that we would all leave our sheltered postrock haven with a bang as they set about deranging our senses with some rhythmic,intense crashing tunes.The lead vocalist confessed that he was hungover but there were no signs of that in his performance from their opening cover of 'Garden of Eden' to the final song ''Strip It.'A big hit with the crowd who were jumping around like crazy.
Hungry Ghosts are an appealing outfit with lots of great new songs,reminiscent of the britpop era of The Boo Radleys and The Bluetones or new wave Canadian bands like Tokyo Police Club or Born Ruffians.They started with a new song ,an upbeat jangly indiepop number and then charmed their way through a set of well crafted indiepop songs like 'You and Me','Five Year Plan','Modus Vivendi'(Way of Lfe) and 'Chinese Families'.
The band have a relaxed yet upbeat sound and stood out as the best all round act.They are excellent live,write great songs with catchy hooks and seem happy not to be part of any scene ,making them all the more appealing.
Hungry Ghosts at Club Cixi
Consent sound like their influences are more from the USA,hip hop and R&B.They played a set with lots of variety from indie rock to ballads to hip hop,assisted by a DJ.
The Sinister Left are an experimental indie band.their sound is a little like the heavier rock we associate with The Editors and Interpol.Having seen this band before last year,I was surprised at how much rockier they've become.From the opening song'The Vulture that She Is ' it was clear that we we had some dark,heavy rock ahead.The band have a compelling,trance -like sound ,enhanced by the awesome lead guitar of Jack and the moody vocals of Nat.Song titles like 'Lord Byron','The Faux King' and 'Cast Away' indicate that the band have seriously radiohead tendencies in their
