The Courteeners

Some judgments on whether something is good or bad often tend to be clouded by one simple test: whether it passes as being original or not. A similar principle appears to be affecting The Courteeners at this early stage of their career. The Manchester combo write songs about everyday life - where have we heard that one before? - and before you can count how many more (southern) Lily Allen clones and Bloc Party tribute acts are wheeled off the production line at an equally alarming rate, the first stones have already been thrown and the ‘Northern Monkeys’ are the victims once again.

Already this week we've seen a war of words (here) emanating from various sources over the way so-called university educated bands are portrayed compared to those of an alleged ‘working class’ background. (What? So are you saying working class people don't go to university?) As patronising and ludicrous as that may seem, there is undoubtedly a feeling that it’s acceptable to judge bands based on where they come from before actually hearing a note of what they sound like. You see, the actual issue here is more of a north/south divide, not a class war. Thank God, then, that being stuck in the midlands allows me to remain impartial.

Not that for one minute anyone's proclaiming The Courteeners to be the saviours of rock; they quite clearly aren't if tonight's show is anything to go by.

Instead, what their headline status at one of the city's biggest venues after only a handful of (until now) low-key single releases demonstrates is the way hype and bluster seems to have overtaken hard graft and, above all, quality, in determining an artist's level in the pecking order. Because for all the bravado Liam Fray may have shown in certain interviews, one senses that even he is as surprised as the rest of us to see his band topping the bill in such a vast environment as this, at what can best be described as his band's embryonic stage.

Three months ago The Courteeners were playing 25-minute sets as a support act and looked like a band oozing with potential. To an extent, there's still time, but an hour-long set that's laden with songs you sense have barely found their feet outside the band's rehearsal space could be more damaging to their long term aspirations, particularly as debut single 'Cavorting' still knocks giant spots off anything else aired tonight. Sure, as with any media-hyped/reality TV show winner their first few records will no doubt sell by the bucket-load, but when the furore dies down, what happens next?

Exactly, and no protestations of class discrimination will make the slightest bit of difference.

Photo: MySpace.