IT'S not all boring Britpop round our way, and here come four new bands from the UK just to prove that there's still room for disparity in 1997's indie scene. The POD's "Red Box was the chosen venue for the opening salvo of alternative pop's annual package tour, and the four chosen bands - 3 Colours Red, Symposium, Tiger and Geneva - were sufficiently varied in their styles to make it an interesting, if not exactly riveting, night of rock n roll.
Despite being much fancied by the critics, Creation hopefuls 3 Colours Red found themselves at the bottom of the bill, which was a pity, since their crunchy, energetic punks sound would have been better utilised at the end of the gig, when the punters would have been ready and raring to pogo. When the band crashed onstage at 7.45 on Saturday night there were only a couple of hundred punters to pummel "with their rocket launcher riffs and S*M*A*S*H-style attitude. There's nothing much in the way of actual tunes here, but there's enough of everything else to make 3 Colours Red more than just a one dimensional band.
Symposium bounded onstage like Blur on heavy metal, and singer Ross Cummins poses like Damon Albarn with a devil's haircut. Luckily, they don't sound too much like the Colchester chappies, but their songs betray a worrying chirpiness which could easily be mistaken for strutting cockiness. The current single, Drink The Sunshine, is distilled optimism in a shiny cocktail glass, but while it has all the positivity of great pop, it also carries the mark of disposability.
Tiger are the only band on the bus who actually have an album out, but when they begin their first, faltering notes, there's little resemblance to the cool, chintzy sounds on We Are Puppets. Guitarist Julie seems unsure whether she wants to be sparsely ironic or splatteringly grungy, so she simply wavers between twee and tortuous. Singer Dan sounds somewhat lost, as though he's not sure whether he believes in his own pop vision, and the keyboard players twiddle tentatively at their knobs, not really adding much to the proceedings.
Geneva ended the night on a high note - literally. Singer Andrew Montgomery has a voice which soars to unfeasible heights, and he's not afraid to let it fly. The down to earth guitars keep Andrew's voice from disappearing into the stratosphere, but they don't stop him from hitting some heavenly musical moments. This is Gene without the fighting talk, The Smiths without coyness, and while Geneva give you something to take home with you, there's a suspicion it will have already dissipated when daylight breaks.
