EP launch
Aptly for a band named The Stopmotion Men, the venue for tonight’s EP launch gig used to be a cinema. Tonight though the Cardiff based band has only used the backdrop behind the stage to show their logo and not to screen some of the films they are so well known for in these parts, because the gig is also being filmed for a DVD they hope to release. However, despite the lack of visual stimulation the atmosphere before the gig is good; the venue is pretty full and there’s plenty of excited sounding chatter between some decent tracks from their DJ. It soon becomes apparent that many of the people in the audience are family members and friends, the band mingles a lot before they play so it’s easy to feel that you’ve crashed a private party.
Finally (at getting on for 11 o’clock) The Stopmotion Men make their entrance and start their set, which is a mixture of new and old to an attentive crowd. The band gives it their all, Geraint Connor’s Eddie Vedder style vocals take centre stage, occasionally in the opening moments he does push himself too far though and kills the top notes but this is undoubtedly just nerves and his tone overall is great with a really nice slight vibrato giving an emotional edge. As always TSMM’s style is powerful and intense rock and they bring to mind Pearl Jam, but the extra attention they inject into the small details mixing up major and minor keys and an expansive cinematic element from the string sound and extra percussion makes them more interesting. ‘Spit and Chew’ from the new EP is particularly impressive live; huge, thundering guitars and solid drums provide a foundation for Geraint’s emotional vocal delivery.
Strangely at one point a little further into their set the crowd becomes restless, talking amongst themselves and wandering off outside for cigarettes and to the bar; when the band tries to play some quieter tracks, they don’t even notice one of the songs has finished and there is barely any applause. It’s a shame that after a good start the crowd reaction is a bit lacklustre because the band plays a really solid and varied set and the new three track EP (consisting of tracks ‘What Now’, ‘Spit and Chew’ and ‘Hurt You’) is a cracker; this is a band that deserves more attention outside this local scene.