Late Of The Pier, Heaven - 27.11.2008

Nowadays, electronic bands pair themselves off with tagline terminology such as ‘neon’, ‘day glow’ or ‘the klaxons’. Despite this, Late Of The Pier don’t quite lie down on all fours and surrender numbly.

Instead they take influence from a cross section of bands like Joy Division (a la ‘Bathroom Gurgle’), Gary Numan, Pink Floyd and a mantra penciled by contemporaries Franz Ferdinand, of making music that boys and girls can dance to. Add to this a skim of varnish and direction from underground super producer Erol Alkan, who even throws some vinyl’s about and makes an appearance, albeit barely visible through the excessive clouds of artificial fog tonight, and you end up listening to their debut ‘Fantasy Black Channel’, an collection of songs that should be on any wised up music fans credit crunch ration list.

Tonight, they headline a club night tailor-made by themselves at London’s Heaven, and show off Fantasy Black Channel to its entirety, making space for falling microphone stands, instruments fashioned out of planks of wood and techies punching guitar strings for ‘that sound’ – strange? No, not really considering that this is a band that pretty much verbally copy wrote the idea of vending machines filled with kebabs, and who’ve been known to microwave drumsticks during sets so that they’re “hot enough to hit that beat”. Peculiar perfectionists that they are, they allowed the crowd soften up the floorboards and familiarize themselves with the bouncers tonight during adapted versions of ‘Space And The Woods’, ‘Random Firl’, ‘Focker’ and ‘VW’ on which they throw in seasonal slurs of “Holidays are coming, holidays are coming…” to remind us it’s almost December.

If only we could put our hands on our waistlines, move your bodies to the bass lines, and get our hands on some cheap wine every night?



ANANT NAIK