Dead Wolf Club
What I’m about to say is probably going to sound incredibly dubious and possibly naïve for someone who writes about music but sometimes when you read a band name before any of their music it’s very hard not to have preconceptions. Either you will wince at a name because of its terribleness or the connotations that are created in your mind or you hear a name that has a good ring to it and gives the impression of a promising band, but whatever way the pendulum swings, it’s all pretty useless since you judge music on what you hear (that’s why you have to get past the terribleness of the Arctic Monkeys’ band name).
I say this because last night I was sent to London last night to review the Charlotte Hatherley gig at the Borderline and one of the support bands left a very good impression. Dead Wolf Club could give you many ideas in your head of who they are based on the band name, but it’s really just very good rock music that takes its inspiration from a variety of places. In their own take of rock music I sense bits of shoegaze, bits of punk, and bits of post-punk amongst other things. Their MySpace also states that they’re influenced by such things as Wii Sports, curry monsters, and Russia.
The band consists of Alwin on lead guitar, John on vocals and guitar, Martha on bass and backing vocals, and Matt on drums. They all contribute something to the band – Matt and Martha deliver a very tight rhythm section, Alwin mixes intricate guitar melodies, heavy rock chords and atmospheric effect-laden noises (sometimes even in the same song) and John provides vocals that are almost on edge and mixes between soft crooning and punk-like yelps. Perhaps most impressive is how amazingly tight they are as a band already. For a new band, they are incredibly comfortable onstage, especially John gets lost in his music so much that sometimes he wanders around the stage in an almost dreamlike state, sometimes taking his mic stand with him. It’s clear that Dead Wolf Club have the potential to be a fantastic band, as they have three very important things – good music, a great live stage presence, and a good band name.
The band have a smattering of tour dates in the next few weeks. They are playing at the Railway Inn in Winchester this Friday and then playing a couple of London shows in October at the Lexington on the 16th (supporting Die! Die! Die!) and Powers in Kilburn on the 23rd as part of the No Fiction Club night. For a free taster of their music, a track is available for download on their MySpace site called Disappear, though you must have Windows Media Player 10 on your computer to play it.
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Posted on September 23rd, 2009 by Max
Filed under: New Music
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