REVIEW: Symposium, On The Outside (Red Ant)
- Reto Koradi
Tired of the smooth and perfectly crafted sounds that radio stations try to sell you? Looking for some noisy, fresh and fun music to turn up loud and scare your neighbors? Symposium, a young band hailing from the UK, may be just what the doctor ordered.
"Punk-pop" is probably the best one word description of Symposium's style, but it is far from the commercially polished output of Green Day. This band does not take any prisoners and stretches of sweet melody are quickly drowned by blasts of rough guitar riffs. If you can imagine the Buzzcocks transformed to the 90s, or the Toy Dolls getting somewhat more serious, you may get a good idea of how Symposium sound. Names of producers can also give interesting clues: Killing Joke bassist Youth was playing with the knobs, as well as Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer, known for their work with Madness. Some ska influence is clearly recognizable on a few tracks (like "Puddles"), but these sound like Madness on steroids.
The press information highly praises Symposium's live qualities. While you should generally read press releases with more than just a bit of skepticism, this claim sounds credible. Even though the music is preserved on a silver disc, On The Outside makes you want to crank up the stereo and jump around in your living room.
