Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Serendipity has a much underrated effect on the human psyche. There are just those friends of yours that only ever want to see the main band, the one they have shelled out their hard earned money for, and for the rest of the evening they are quite happy to sit in the bar, holding a sort of court and quietly and perhaps intentionally chatting about the beer on offer behind the bar, then there are those that find by chance a group or a couple of bands that peak their interest and makes the overall evening one in which to remember. Call it what you will, chance, the fickle finger of fate or fortunate providence or just an understanding that support artists can be just as enjoyable as the main act.

A Friday night in Birmingham used to be a musical occasion; bands would play everywhere and everywhere. They still do, but somehow with much less pomp and ceremony attached to the evening. The days when the likes of Edwards No 8, Costermongers, The Hibernian for example used to be awash with music fans catching the latest unknown band have been quiet for a long time, yes The Symphony Hall, The N.I.A and the N.E.C. have thousand walking through their doors and rightly so but walk around town, take a listen and you might find the odd bar playing original new music but they are few and far between. Thank whatever deity you take comfort in that The Flapper is around and that Under A Banner have come along in time to show that music still resides in the heart and soul of anybody born between the points of Kings Norton and Aston, between Selly Park and Quinton.

The Flapper had already started to bounce and glisten like a marathon runner approaching the half way mark with the appearance of the excellent Capital Sun and was no doubt gearing up for Liverpool’s Amsterdam. That heady glow was pushed even further as Adam Broadhurst, Tim Wilson, Si Hill, Jonathan Price and Kat Davies took to the stage played as if serendipity had taken human form and sat down in front of them. This though was no mere coincidence, no measly outpouring of karmic blessing, this was a set of musicians who captured what it meant to a Midlands rock band. Thoughts of the past collided head on like an asteroid being blown apart a ripe and champion winning conker and with a set of tracks that could only be considered as akin to the likes of The Levellers and New Model Army, not so much with the delivery but with the sizeable fortitude afforded those who play with lyrics in their sleep and give them the airing they deserve.

Tracks such as the phenomenally good When We Used To Dance, Leaving Here, the tremendous English Soil, Bullet Rain and Network, not only reaffirmed a faith in Midland’s rock that had somehow started and implausibly to wain in some eyes but that the ties that bind Merseyside and the Midlands are as strong as ever. Both areas love their music, they have a seemingly deep fascination for it which comes crashing through their demeanour as if set for a rampaging battle somewhere around Crewe and above all in bands such as Under A Banner, the deep loathing of privilege is honour bound and holding a sizeable truth.

Serendipity never seems to fail when the need arises for a timely reminder that music is what makes the heart beat that little faster and kicks at the door of ignorance and apathy. For Under A Banner they may be but they stride a huge path of their own making.

Ian D. Hall