Saturday 16th July 05 - Doing Hull a Favour - Silhouette Club (4/5) By Joe Hakim Photo Gallery By Mo

(1/5), (2/5), (3/5), (4/5), (5/5).

Photograph Gallery   Hollywood Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    The Shine Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    The Favours Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    Gallery 3,

The dance floor begins to fill up, getting ready for The Favours. I've seen The Favours on flyers and in the Hull Daily Fail before, but Andy Knudsen, The Favours' guitarist informs me that this is a new line-up. The last gig the old Favours played was at Christmas, but this is the new line-up. It started out as a side project, but as we were playing some of the songs used by the old line-up, we decided to stick with the name. But this is an almost entirely new batch of songs, by the new Favours. It's a bit of a risky set.

I've seen Sara Sanchez's face in the paper before, but because it was a head shot, I assumed, for some reason, that she would be really tall. When the band takes to the stage, I'm taken aback by just how petite she is. Her guitar seems massive on her and Martin Knight, the bass player, and Andy, the guitarist, seem to tower over her. They don't fuck about and launch straight into their first song Sick of it. I promised myself that I would stay away from the usual generalisation of comparing a female fronted band to Blondie, but I can't help it. There is a definite Debbie Harry feel to the vocal style, and that's no bad thing.

After the first song, Sara shouts to the sound engineer, who, as it happens, is Sam from Turismo. Turn up the vocals - I want to hear them over the guitars she screams. This comment immediately dispels any fleeting notion that Sara is some kind of shrinking elfin figure, like Emma Rugg or any of these other acoustic sorts. This girl fuckin' rocks. As if to prove this, they start playing In a Moment. The song's guitars have an almost flutish quality, and Sara indulges in some Cranberries style wailing for the chunky chorus, really belting it out and flinging her hair this way and that along with the tune. It is such a massive voice.

The next song, Left, is a new one, and Sara drops her guitar, so she can walk about the stage, then crouch down and plead with the audience, Cry me another one. Say Something is a deceptive song, creeping in on an almost countryish lilt, fooling the crowd into letting their guard down before breaking into a towering, swaying chorus. Sara hangs off the stage, I would have given everything, she says, and there is no reason to doubt her. We're on the ropes now. The Favours have got a song writing dynamic that manages to make every track seem like a self-contained epic.

Sara takes her guitar again for One up on you, another track that starts off gently before moving into full gear. With its spiky, wired guitar and juggernaut bass, this track sounds like Bloc Party fronted by female, and must be an obvious contender for a single.

I've stopped trying to keep up with The Favours by now. I have to admit that I half expected them to be some kinda updated take on a Sleeper style band, but within the space of six tracks they completely confound my expectations. Sober once again shifts the sonic landscape. Hanging on a laidback bassline, the song shifts into a groove that recalls bands like Portishead. It's another brilliant track, and I can almost hear a DJ in the background scratching and cutting into a sample to complement the eerie effect of the song. The last two tracks What's in it for me? and Kill are no messing rock workouts.

They're fast as fuck, and Kill marries a Muse-esque clunking bassline with a vocal and guitar blast that touches upon Veruca Salt's Seether.

Continued... Next page (5/5).

Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photographs courtesy and Copyright ©  Mo 2005

Photograph Gallery   Hollywood Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    The Shine Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    The Favours Gallery 1,    Gallery 2,    Gallery 3,

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