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| Decibels In Keyboard Concentration Mode |
Regardless of what a lot of locals might say, Northampton has a lot to offer, especially in terms of music. Sometimes places have certain scenes that reign supreme and variety is hard to find. I don't feel this is the case with Northampton, the bands in Northampton may not be anything ground breaking and influences may shine clear with it's bands, but variety is something it definitely has to offer. Such is the case with Decibels, a relatively fresh formed band featuring, if I'm not mistaken, two members of the short lived Yeltsin. Yeltsin were a great indie rock band full of energy and promise, but they sadly disbanded, for reasons unknown. Nice to see two of the three doing something new! The third member can be found these days playing in the high octane rock'N'roll rifforama band Wotwolff. This is another thing that's great about Northampton based musicians, when one band ends, two or three spring from it's place and they are usually something in a different vein. Decibels build up anticipation for their performance by leaving it till around half ten to come on stage, and with the gig starting at eight and no support band, it's left to the Everything Is Beautiful DJs to get the party started, and boy oh boy do they deliver. Luke and Stu from the much loved The Parks Dept. band make up the DJ duo, and they drop a potent mix of drum and bass, rap and alternative dance and electro anthems. I can already sense that Decibels know what they are doing; getting the best dance DJs in town to whip the crowd into an electro frenzy then leaving it till half ten to play. This can only result in a party with the only guests being the band and the crowd, surely?
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| Smart Of Trouser, Smart Of Tune |
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| Crooning And Twiddling; Two Of Decibels Favourtite Things |
This only half comes true, the DJ set is rapturously received by the youngersters among the crowd, but most people decide to enjoy the night as wall flowers. Then when Decibels come on, they deliver a slick set of a more ambient, minimalist kind. Each song is based around a thumping dance drum beat, the kind you'd expect to hear on a hardcore dance track. What floats around these beats however is a much more atmospheric mix of croons from both lead singer and band members alike with the gentle hum and throb of blissed out synthesizers.The equipment looks very complicated and industrial but the sound that it makes is gorgeous, almost natural like waves or the wind. Despite this style being their strong point, it feels as though something more should be there. The tracks seem to just come and go without change of pace or a triumphant break down. But if you are tired of most electronic music forever building up to the climatic kick in, then Decibels are definitely for you. Their music recalls the laid back minimalism of acts such as Small Black and the Earls Barton based producer J.Carter. The night comes to a close having provided the audience with the two extremes of dance music, from the frantic electro DJ set to the ambient main attraction. hey are sure to become firm Northampton favourites, they may even taste the level of success that Northampton based electro band The Parks Dept received. Only time will tell, but even if they do disband, something glorious will come from it, maybe something with more ambition, who knows? But for now, Decibels are bringing something fresh and ambient to Northampton's music scene.
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| Keeping Their Eyes On The Prize (Keyboard) |
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| Everything Is Beautiful DJs Doing Their Beautiful Thing |
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POWER CHORD LIVE RATING: P P P
GIG HIGHLIGHT: When the Everything Is Beautiful DJs dropped "Just A Rascal" by Dizzee Rascal
BEST PERFORMED SONG OF THE NIGHT: "This Life" - Decibels
Want more from DECIBELS? Check these websites out:
http://www.myspace.com/decibelselectro
www.facebook.com/pages/Decibels/140778769292821
Photography and words by Jack Parker for Power Chord Music Blog
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