Review - Unborn (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Review - Unborn

Unborn Band Night (Carbonated Youth, Ampersand and Afterglow)

CARBONATED Youth had the questionable pleasure of being the first band on at Unborn, held in Cirencesters Corn Hall on February 1.

Taking their name from a Jack Kerouac novel and their style tips from The Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones, it was evident that the band were on a strong retro tip fashion-wise.

The bands musical ambitions however, were looking strictly forward.

Steve Palmer-Bank, 17, Dean Octane, 17, Simon Moore,17 and Gary Lunascy, 21, make up the Cheltenham-based band whose aim is to be loved by the fans and hated by the critics via their angry, lyric-orientated rock.

Lunascy, as the bands main lyricist, was delighted to have the chance to get his thoughts and feelings across to a live audience although due to the sheer size of the hall, Palmer-Banks vocals did not carry as well as they should have done and so did not do justice to the lyrics.

The frontman made up for this in attitude however, tossing his regulation Ian Brown haircut, slouching around the stage and furiously shouting into the mic, all arms, legs and, indeed, youth.

Ampersand appeared next with a warning to the crowd that implied they had not come for a quiet evening with a few acoustic numbers.

Vocalist Stuart Hawkins,24 was confident and obviously at ease in the spotlight, while the appropriately named Bongo, 20, demonstrated a ferocious and energetic drumming technique.

Stuart Smith, 29, is Ampersands charismatic bassist and gave a competent and understated performance on bass guitar, happy to let the other two show off.

Amongst their set, the band played a few songs from their CD, The Indefinite Article, recorded last September, including Polarized, a track Hawkins cunningly personalised for the audience that evening.

Looking like they were already having a great evening, Afterglow began their set and were met with a deserved warm response from the audience.

Having played at The Marlborough, The Tin Can Club and The Nelson, all in Cirencester, The Corn Hall was probably the largest venue Afterglow have performed in but their past experience of playing live meant they were totally unfazed by this and managed to make their presence felt through the whole hall.

It was this experience that allowed Brad Forbes, Grant David, Graham Simmons and Kevin Brown to perform their brand of, as they describe it, melodic rock so well and their evident enjoyment at being there made them the perfect band to wrap up the evening.

Unborn is a great opportunity for local bands to get some recognition and it was a pity more people did not turn up to see this fresh talent for themselves. It seemed obvious that everyone who was there was happy to have spent £3.50 and a Friday night so wisely.

Bands interested in playing should contact 01285 640344