Proper Capo
Having released their self titled debut album back in May this year, Belfast band LaFaro are currently engaged on an extensive tour that sees them heading around Europe supporting Helmet. Unfortunately crowds in the Rocksound Cave at Guilfest have been disappointingly small so far and the trend continues for LaFaro, not that they let this bother them.
The volume seems to have been cranked up for their set and they impress almost immediately with catchy riffs. The music is hard edged dirty sounding post hardcore … or something like that. It’s big, it’s loud, it’s a bit ugly at times but overall it’s damn good! It’s an engaging performance with plenty of banter between songs, much of it humorous including the first of numerous digs at N-Dubz (who play the main stage later in the day) Dappy on this stage.
The vocals are fairly clean, which is a bonus as had they ventured into hardcore screaming it would have detracted from the quality of the songs and probably had them labelled as just another hardcore band. As it is, each song maintains the energy and bite of it’s predecessor and they build a relentless intensity yet punctuate it with just the right amount of melody. ‘Chopper Is A Fuckin’ Tout’ being the favourite on the night and representative of the quality on depth.
The crowd remains relatively small and it’s an opportunity missed for all those who aren’t here as LaFaro make a case for band of the day on the Rocksound stage.