Nodzzz and The Mantles at The Victoria

Nodzzz and The Mantles at The Victoria

14 March, 2011
by: Domzig

The weather underground

Not many people know this, but I’m a big supporter of the climatological model of indie music production. If you’ve not heard of this (and why would you? I’ve just made it up), the main argument runs like this: an indie band's sound is directly proportionate to the amount of annual precipitation that falls upon their hometown.

I stress that this is a very rough working hypothesis, but on an extremely superficial level it seems to hold a least a little bit of water. For example, The Rolling Stones were originally from London in the 1960s, where it was all foggy and smoky, so their music is kind of menacing and tough. In Seattle on the other hand, it rains a lot, so in general most of the bands that came from there are quite miserable. See? Not bad for a theory based on about one and a half minutes research, eh?

Climatologically-speaking San Fran is one of the most scatter-brained places on earth: whilst it never gets really warm, it can simultaneously be foggy in one place, windy in another and unseasonably cold somewhere else. Applying the above model, the indie scene will be at least as schizophrenic as the weather – a presupposition that I’m putting to the test down at The Victoria tonight, thanks to Upset the Rhythm and two of the city's more interesting acts, The Mantles and Nodzzz.

I feel sorry for anyone who has never heard The Mantles – they’ve been missing out on one of the finest bands to come out of anywhere in the last three years. Similar in some ways to Crystal Stilts, their sound is a swirling, reverb-fuelled cauldron of ‘60s psychedelic rock and indie pop. However, such a list of clichés will always fail to convey  the sheer awesomeness of this band’s songwriting: almost every bass line, drum beat and guitar lick is pitch perfect. It’s no more apparent than when the band crank out the incredible ‘Don’t Lie’ . Lilting Psych-guitar lines and sweet harmonies merge into a tender, if slightly black-hearted, dirge about betrayal that makes a very pleasant accompaniment to the smell of Caribbean food wafting in from next door.

Nodzzz inhabit completely the other side of the spectrum when it comes to making indie rock. Stripped back to the borders of lo-fi, the band is upbeat where the Mantles are pastoral, making for an interesting contrast. Tonight they launch into a way too short set of hum-along garage punk nuggets with reckless speed, and we’re left standing in the smallish pub backroom reflecting on the last time we managed to see two awesome bands on the same bill for less than a tenner.

So in conclusion, does a city's weather affect the type of indie rock it produces? I don’t know, and I’m probably the only person in London who thinks about these things anyway. What I do know is that everyone needs to see these bands when they come back to London later in the month. That's a scientific fact.

Nodzzz and the Mantles will play a show underneath the Marquis of Landsdowne on the 25th of March. Upset the Rhythm meanwhile have Tyvek playing the Victoria this Tuesday, 15th March.

http://www.upsettherhythm.co.uk/

Domzig