The Beat Surrender

Ignoring its seedy surroundings, the soho review bar is, quite simply, a brilliant place to spend an evening. Depending on who you are there to see of course. We walk in the door, up the windy staircase and through the main doors to find a swanky, sophisticated room complete with red leather seating and shimmering chanderliers. The room looks good and is the perfect size and shape for a gig.

The evening we are attending has been aptly named pop-rocktik because of its mixture of acts from different genres including rock pop and soul. We manage to nab a table in the perfect spot with a perfect view and we settle down to watch the action. We sit through a number of very talented acts. So, when Slashed Seat Affair take to the stage i have high hopes for them.

They look good as they walk onto the stage and I like the catchy rhythms and drum beats in the first song. One thing I am struck by is that they seem a bit older than the other artists performing that evening. I get the feeling they may have been trying to make something of themselves for a while and that this is their last little push before they give up. The setup of the band is similar to that of garbage or no doubt with an all male band and a female vocalist. I would class the music as pop with a dark rock edge, similar in sound to Evanscence but speedier and less depressing.

The lead singer is clearly trying to sound like Gwen Stefani in her No Doubt years and there is slightly too much movement and microphone snogging for my liking. As the gig goes on I realise their music doesn’t particularly excite me. With a few of the songs I am quite relieved when they come to an end and relief is never a good emotion to feel at a gig. I find their music slightly boring and dated.

This review might seem short and slightly uninteresting and I apologize if that is the case, however it is a reflection of what I feel about their music. I don’t see them making anything of themselves without a bit more drive to stand out. They say themselves that they are not afraid to be seen as ‘pop’ or ‘radio friendly’ and this indicates to me that they are lazy and lacking in creativity.

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