What it says on the tin
There’s a big crowd in the NME tent awaiting the arrival of local boys The Music. Since first arriving on the scene back in 2001 and being hailed by the usual suspects as the next big thing, The Music haven’t quite scaled the heights predicted. They have however continued to turn out well received material culminating in this years ‘Strength In Numbers’ album. They’ve clearly built up a solid following over the last few years and this is boosted further when it starts raining and the tent goes from busy to rammed in a matter of minutes!
The crowd give them a huge reception when they take the stage and they respond by getting straight into their groove, taking the crowd with them and getting a good majority singing along. The Music basically play free flowing indie rock anthems backed with really driving rhythms; the crowd love it and it’s a consummate performance. Whilst this is all good, the longer their set goes on however the more they start to irritate me. There doesn’t seem to be much variety in the beat, most songs having that familiar indie rock beat that you’d find behind most Kasabian songs and after three or four songs it’s all become a bit predictable.
It doesn’t help that vocalist Robert Harvey’s vocals are way too quiet, or that he seems to have that Madchester swagger dance going on all too often. I think the real problem is that I always thought they had the potential to be something special and to push the boundaries as they developed as a band but they seem to have stuck with a tried and tested formula, which you can’t blame them for to an extent as it clearly works but ultimately it’s a little disappointing. The majority of those in the NME tent today however would probably disagree.