Narco

The Free Festival at Charlbury, Oxfordshire enters its 4th year and has quickly established itself as Truck Festival’s rootsier younger sister and the launch pad for precocious local talent (Black Candy played here 3 years ago when Nirvana covers still made up part of their set).

It’s almost 4 o’clock by the time I amble into the Mill Field which is bordered by a lilting meander in the river Evenlode. Just as I begin to bathe in the serenity of the situation, Marconi’s Voodoo disturb the quiet and crowds begin to flock to the fore. It’s not hard to see why. The Children of Voodoo (as they like to proclaim themselves in hoarse voices) are a frightening clash between Rage Against The Machine and the Mothers of Invention. They command everyone’s attention whether their Python-esque humour is appreciated or not. Groin-thrusts synchronise with the pounding beat of the bass drum and Spinal Tap poses are struck at every opportunity to hilarious effect. And to top it off, they’re all excellent players with a knack for great rock riffs that don’t smell of Eddie Van Halen’s spandex pants, mixing them with effective timing and tempo changes. Brilliant stuff.

Caliber then, have a tough act to follow. There are strong points – the close harmonies work well and the bass player is particularly proficient but the songs just aren’t there. Yet. It would be all too easy to disparage the feisty female combo given their ages. Perhaps in a year or two, when the confidence is there, they will shine. For now though, I swig my beer and hope that Theremin won’t disappoint me.

They don’t. In fact, any time I’ve seen them I’ve left the venue with their beautifully simple melodies wrapped around my heart like ribbons around a parcel. Charismatic frontman, Richard Walters, announces that he has tonsilitis and that the drummer is drunk. Hardly an ideal situation but the band are in jovial form, dedicating ‘In The Barn’ to foot and mouth disease which Richard quickly dismisses as a ‘tasteless joke’. Fortunately, the light atmosphere doesn’t detract too much from the emotional intensity of the set but the less than fantastic sound has still left me wanting.

By the time X-1 take to the stage, Mr. Soundman has got his act together and the band sound massive. The atmosphere around them is electric as if to get too close to them would result in sudden death. X-1 must be one of the few bands around at the moment who genuinely embody punk rock itself which bands like Feeder can only dream of. But let’s not get into yet another tedious punk rock debate. X-1 are not just a bunch of throwbacks like the Strokes. The bespectacled guitarist refuses to play a single note without layering his sound with all manner of shoe-gazery effects which perfectly offsets the chugging bass and the thumping drums. They have such energy and intensity that I can forgive them for perhaps lacking a little in the catchiness stakes.

From punk rock to stadium cock, it’s time for Vade Mecum. Perhaps that was a little uncalled for. To be honest, I’m not sure what to make of Oxford’s favourite sparkly-vested trio. They look like rock stars, they act like rock stars and they even sell promotional T-shirts of all sizes after the gig like real rock stars. But where are the anthems? Where is their very own ‘Walk This Way’? There are times when it all comes together after a mess of sprawling jazz chords and we get something like an infectious chorus or suitably squealing Rawk riff but these moments are all too infrequent. I can understand them wanting to put their own skew on the old ‘Arena Rock’ blueprint but I’m not sure if their over-complicated arrangements are the way to do it. However, they do give it all they’ve got and play with a conviction that’s difficult not to applaud.

Narco turn down the testosterone levels with synth-fuelled spiky rock. Before the first song is over though, I know I’m not going to warm to them. They suffer from something that’s been all too prevalent today – a fundamental lack of tunes. Yes, everyone’s playing well enough but there is either not enough hooks or not enough experimentation to really grab you.

I don’t mean to sound so negative. I’m amazed that an event this well organised and with such a good atmosphere is still free. The talent that has been on display today has been an added bonus. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if I ended up eating my words as I glance upon the cover of the NME introducing Narco or Vade Mecum as another ‘life changing’ band.