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8 out of 10
Leeds has gotten almost too good at this indie rock gig, from ¡Forward, Russia! and the Dance To The Radio label right through to chart regulars like The Pigeon Detectives and even the Kaiser Chiefs can get it right on a good day. Next up is five-piece The Bribes, whose demo I for the most part love. Listen to 'Heroine' and the scratchiness of its guitars, the muffled nature of the drums, how the mics sound just a bit too far away from singer Tim Rooke. It's charming, deceptively simple, easy love and has a sentimental melody like the ones Jimmy Eat World play but stripped of any sheen. Hopefully they'll never be buffed and polished into the new One Night Only or something equally horrid. They have the oddity that The Pigeon Detectives and Kaiser Cheifs had when they first started out, and that The Young Knives still have. Off record it crosses over into 'wackiness' (We have no idea whether Tim really modelled for Nike or if bassist Nick Blair is an Oxford graduate, but it could be a typical 'joke' band bio). But because their songs are good enough and so much fun for us they can have theirs. It's testament to how good 'Wake Up' is that the brilliant sludgy riff that most bands would use for the whole song only gets played for about five seconds at the end. Instead they focus on the wonky harmonies and shrug their shoulders like The Strokes in 2001 but with more obvious passion. 'Would You Do It Again?' is the type of post-Libs song that could be milked labels, 'Soccer AM' clip montages and Jo Whiley for indie cool points, but after repeated listens reveals itself as, like Reading's Pete & The Pirates, a bit too imperfect for the mainstream. I kind of hope The Bribes stay the same way. Listen: www.myspace.com/bribesband
Tracklist:
1. Heroine 2. Wake Up 3. Would You Do It Again?
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