Kubichek! / The Motorettes

It seems that Alan Shearer fever has finally spread as south as Nottingham; however this promised to be a more interesting tribute than staring at a label on a bottle of Newcastle Brown.

The Motorettes enter into your consciousness like a bolt from the blue, one minute they’re launching an all out assault on your eardrums and then a minute later another retrospective audio bomb takes to the airwaves.

In 2005 they were signed to Kitchenware Records which is also home to Editors; after listening to a few recorded tracks it is clear to see why there is a certain amount of anticipation surrounding these guys. A strong stage presence combined with pure, punchy, under-three-minute, rock and roll tracks makes for a truly unique performance.

Why then, at the end of the set did I feel as if something was missing? Everything that makes for a good performance was there but for some reason I wasn’t drawn in. I was expecting to be grabbed by the scruff of my neck (metaphorically of course) and submersed in their uncompromising sound. It could have just been a bad day or one of any number of reasons that bands sometimes don’t live up to expectations but I was slightly disheartened by the end. ‘You Gotta Look the Parts’ is the new single due to be released on the 22 May, we’ll have to wait with baited breath.

Kubichek! are the musical equivalent of a Rubik’s Cube, just when you think you’ve figured out what they’re all about a spanner gets thrown in the works and it’s back to square one. It’s always a difficult task when listening to new bands not to automatically start thinking, “who do they remind me of?” Tonight was no different; all I could think of was that they are a strange but fantastic mix of Bloc Party, Maxïmo Park and Athlete.

Opening the set with ‘Just Shut it Down’ it gripped your senses and would not let go. Full-on beats combined with catchy riffs and Al’s innocent sounding vocals create a well balanced sound. ‘Taxi’ tells of how frustrating it can be living in a city and how great it would be to escape to greener pastures, “The agitation of the city centre”. After stopping for a bit of a chat they then treated us to the delights of ‘Stutter’ with its strong bass line and ethereal vocals it is impossible not to draw a comparison with Bloc Party, however these guys have an edge that can’t be pinned down. ‘Nightjoy’ had the crowd begging for more before ending with ‘Hometown Strategies’.



These guys are almost certain to be thrown into the spotlight in the not to distant future. They have been confirmed to play at ‘The Great Escape’ festival in Brighton on May 20th; with this at the beginning of the summer there are plenty more opportunities for these Geordie lads to get noticed. I had a distinct feeling that they belonged in a bigger venue than where they stood tonight.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.