Hailing from Burnley in Lancashire, Syndicate open with familiar guitar patterns recalling mid-period Beatles. However , it soon becomes apparent that they are punk in a seventies as much as a sixties sense; the Milltown Brothers these boys are certainly not. The singer Damian snarls and simmers, reminiscent of the youthful punked-up Paul Weller. The guitar playing ranges across several genres, even heavy riffing a la Zep at one point. If they can be compared to anyone in the UK scene it is Cast, with whom in fact they recently toured. Syndicate's grasp of melody is pretty good and shows promise and their songwriting is ambitious at times. It's no bad thing to try varying styles within a song and Syndicate aren't afraid to try. Of all the bands tonight Syndicate are the closest to the current wave of sixties-influenced UK melodic garage bands.
Tiny Monroe are an unusual group in 1996; immediate impressions are made by their callow guitarist in suit and shock of spiky hair, giving him the look of recent John Rotten; and blonde- bleached slim oriental female singer clad in glittery teeshirt and tight sequinned pants. The rest of the band leap around furiously as Ms Monroe (surely not her real name!) high kicks and slinks around the stage and moves with an unsettlingly alluring manner. Their set varies enormously from rock to semi-reggae and at times is almost cabaret. In fact they are musically light years away from any of the current trends in UK indie music in just about every sense. There is an air of careless menace about Tiny Monroe which is unusual in a band these days. The guitarist coaxes strange effects from the guitar rather hitting power chords or guitar harmonies which are the vogue. Consequently, they were a bit over the heads of much of the audience. They didn't seem bothered by this however and performed with a committed but insouciant attitude. If you were looking for a comparison I'd mention early Siouxsie & The Banshees for stage persona, early Roxy Music for style and musical references. They've been around for a couple of years on the fringes of things but Tiny they will surely not remain for long.
Marion took the stage after the PA had regaled us with old BB King and Elmore James numbers (!) They are very much in the heroic early U2/Echo & The Bunnymen/Joy Division vein, particularly on U2. The guitarist leans forward with dark fringe/quiff over his face whilst hammering out chiming powerchords that the Edge might have been proud of in his youth. The songs are far more angst-ridden however, and this is compounded by singer Jaime who has the look of a Manic Street Preacher about him, his face whitened and with centre parting in the manner of tortured 19th century French poets. Jaime has charisma and sings powerfully, really convincing the listener of the sombre themes of the lyrics. The deadly urgency of the songs gets the audience pogoing wildly. Marion have built up a committed following who are now utterly devoted to their brand of driving, doomy and extremely catching rock music. In fact what stands out about their audience is the preponderance of young females who stand, clearly gripped, mouthing the words. The songs seem generally to be about tortured relationships and self-doubt. Jaime is evidently won over by the crowd response and gives a terrifically positive performance.
What is great about Marion is the strength of the songs. The album This World And Body (from which the set is mostly taken with the exception of a few old favourites from their first singles) is one of the best of 1996 and live the songs really come over impressively. The band are tight and professional and make no mistakes.
They return for two lots of encores, roared on by a fanatical crowd. The future holds nothing but promise for Marion, as long as Jaime can stay on the tightrope that he evidently walks between depression and his art.
