The Movielife

This being the Movielife’s first venture to the UK, the Mean Fiddler (grr) is packed tonight, and first on to whet the audience’s appetite are Kids Near Water. Not great talkers, they quickly get down to doing what they do best; the music. And how good that music is. Never disappointing, KNW’s brand of angular screamy ‘post rock’ (think the kidz are calling it post-hardcore arent they? - ed) with a healthy dosage of melody entices all. With faultless renditions of songs off their much-acclaimed EPs, their perfection lies in the raw emotion their music possesses. Even when the singer forgets the words no one really cares.

Even if the Movielife had impersonated slugs for the whole set, the crowd would have lapped it up, such is the general enthusiasm and excitement when they hit the stage. But luckily for us they are a passionate bunch, with singer Vinnie Caruana knowing how to work an audience much like a car salesman knows how to lure his, whilst guitarists Brandon, Alex and Phil spend their time fervently bouncing round the stage. The set comprises mostly of their last LP ‘This Time Next Year’ and their hardcore tinged melodic punk works a treat, highlights being ‘Pinky Swear’ and ‘Once In A Row’. The Movielife also indulge us with a new song, a slow burner with a beautiful vocal melody that escalates into their recognisable sound, albeit in more professionally, ensuring their musical future is bright.

Rather disappointingly, they neglect their grittier debut LP ‘It’s Go Time’ in favour of the poppier recently released ‘The Movielife have a gambling problem’ EP which is somewhat weaker than previous material. Of course, this is until the encore when they play ‘Dead To The World’ triumphantly, unsure whether the crowd know it. This fact leaves a nagging feeling as to whether the Movielife trust their fans, but is nevertheless justifiable seeing as they have never really had much promotion over here, and the LP isn’t on general release. So soon the nagging feeling goes, and you’re left with a band that play flawless melodic punk, putting their label mates New Found Glory to shame.

A band that know how to make a gig feel like a party. A very good party, where your legs ache afterwards, in the nicest way possible.