13th October 05 - thisisUll.com Keeping It Peel at The Silhouette (4/11) By Joe Hakim Photographs by Darren Rogers and Mo

(1/11), (2/11), (3/11), (4/11), (5/11), (6/11), (7/11), (8/11), (9/11), (10/11), (11/11).

Darren Rogers Photograph Gallery   The Vultures Gallery ,    BlueSand Gallery ,    The Johnsons Gallery,    59 Violets Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    The Dirty Dreamers Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    Gallery 3,    People Gallery.

Mos Photograph Gallery   The Johnsons Gallery ,    59 Violets Gallery ,    Sidewinder Gallery,    People Gallery.

I've seen Blue Sand play a couple of tracks at the Sesh before, so I sort of know what I'm expecting. I think they're a good band, but for some reason, they seem to bring out the ardent cynic in a lot of people. A couple of guys stood next to me with Paddingtons' haircuts mumble something about them not being exciting enough, which I think is a load of bollocks. Firstly, this is an evening that is supposed to celebrating diversity, so what would be the point in filling up the bill with strictly teen-pop-punk? Secondly, this is the twenty-first century, and any kind of geographical based cultural movement needs to be constantly re-inventing itself.

The proliferation of downloading music and content and iPod shuffling has meant that styles and genres and influences are all mashed in a kinda post-modern soup, so in the space of a couple of years we get a full-on hardcore punk scene, indie scene and dance scene all developing simultaneously. In other words, there's room all kinds of sounds, so fuck off and open yer minds a bit. Anyway, back to Blue Sand. Their opening track 12:30 showcases the ambitious nature of the band's sound. They are all swooping guitar riffs and hushed vocals, and they remind me of bands like Doves and Elbow a bit.

It's Ruining Everything and Love to Hate You are given similar epic treatment, splicing slow chiming guitar lines with driving rhythm section, and then they really nail it with Bleed Myself which has to be released as a single or EP at some point. The song's layered like a cake, and it has a real soundtrack quality to it. End of the World and Insecurity (That's Me) roll in like waves.

I would really like to see some big-name producer with a load of cash get Blue Sand into a studio and stick a load of sweeping synths and string sections behind some of these tracks. They have what I call a late night sound, the sort of music you put on at three in the morning when you got something to finish (like this fuckin' article) but you keep avoiding it.

By now, the cult of Stef Landau has gathered near the stage, shouting and screaming, so the last song is hastily renamed Stef's Second Hand Trousers. For this track the band shift gears and head into a Pixies-esque blazing drums and guitar work out. Blue Sand have got a polished sound, and they seem cool enough to pull off the whole thing without seeming dreary and shoe-gazing. They can chuck in the odd Coldplay style riff, but not dwell on it and turn it into ultra-boring wet shit.

They're young and they look the part, and they have a pretty female bass-player and Stef Landau on drums, so they're not cursed with the image problems that plague a lot of deeper sounding bands, like the aforementioned doves for example. That may have appeared to be shallow statement considering I've just berated a load of people for not looking beyond surfaces, but hey, contradiction is my crack habit... I grab another pint and I go and steal a set list from Blue Sand. I also find out that the ubiquitous Stef Landau is also the stage manager for the night's proceedings.

Continued... next page (5/11)

Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photographs courtesy and Copyright © Darren Rogers and Mo

Darren Rogers Photograph Gallery   The Vultures Gallery ,    BlueSand Gallery ,    The Johnsons Gallery,    59 Violets Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    The Dirty Dreamers Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    Gallery 3,    People Gallery.

Mos Photograph Gallery   The Johnsons Gallery ,    59 Violets Gallery ,    Sidewinder Gallery,    People Gallery.

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