Pacing the Streets
Dirty Chimes continue the trend of local bands on the Rocksound stage and are an interesting three piece comprising of drums, keyboards/samples and singer/guitarist. They’ve had some recognition in recent years and even appeared on the Hollyoaks music show. Well all publicity is good publicity right?
I’m not really sure what to make of them, they play a hybrid mix of indie electronica that at times sounds like Muse or Radiohead, mainly due to vocal similarities. They mix up tempos and whilst threatening, never quite manage to get a real groove going. The slower songs like drive and don’t come over so well but the faster songs like ‘Pace the Streets’ have something about them, more urgency and energy. The performance is OK, nothing amazing but it’s solid and tight and they are entertaining to watch.
They never really seal the deal though, there’s plenty going on with the electronics but often not much beyond that and as they finish with ‘God Only Knows’ I’m still undecided. Perfectly palatable and no doubt appealing to the right audience but perhaps lacking that extra ingredient that would take them to the next level.