Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating * * *
Manchester’s The Words have been much hyped throughout their relatively short time together; however in The Shipping Forecast on a bright Liverpool evening it was not to be their night.
The band, which has just returned from recording in Austria, took to the stage late citing an unnamed “disaster” for their delay. As a result of this, their set was cut short and perhaps it was this unwanted confusion prior to the gig which would ultimately prove to be the decisive factor in a performance which just didn’t really get going.
The set began in the manner so associated with Manchester’s abundance of guitar bands. The familiar catchy, treble laden guitar sounds culminating in what was essentially good indie pop music, the type to make you wish you were jigging your way around a mid-80s Hacienda, and on a night when the Finsbury Park headlining Stone Roses, former stalwarts of the famous club, unleashed Elephant Stone for the first time in 23 years, this opener was a fitting tribute.
However, what was to follow was not. The band diverts away from this familiar Manchester sound and takes on a much heavier outlook. The jangly guitar is replaced with a more overdriven, distorted sound and by Road to Hell, the fourth track in their relatively short set, their imposing figure of a front-man Ste Draper has ditched his guitar and stands alone with the microphone. This leads to a rather disjointed feeling, the tight, lively choruses of their opener have been replaced by a more aggressive, almost shambolic feel. This is not to detract from guitarist Seth’s playing though, which would come to the forefront in the subsequent song.
The conclusion of the set sees the band back to their best, however. The final and undeniably the best song of the night and was again much heavier than the opener, however with Ste returning to guitar duties the sound is a noticeably fuller one. The loose timings of the middle of the set are cast aside, and the entire band is a whole lot tighter.
Whilst this was not to be the strongest of showings, the potential of The Words is obvious. The praise they have received from Tom Robinson on B.B.C. 6 Music is by no means unwarranted. Likewise the simple fact they were invited to play Mercedes Benz 125th anniversary Stuttgart show in front of 40,000 people shows there is definitely something there. However, this was just to be one of ‘those’ nights for the band. Whatever happened prior to the gig clearly played an unfortunate influence on the group and tonight they were not able to do their songs justice. On another night, you suspect things would have been different for the band and for that reason it would be wholly unfair to dismiss The Words on the back of this performance.
Will McIntosh.