circlular ends

and talking of how far behind The Enfield Advertiser are (as usual) i wanna give you guys the heads up on one of my latest reviews

They Live made their live debut in Hoxton two weeks ago today, and as with the Frank Turner review, i knocked up a couple of reviews, the first has already been seen over at glasswerk, and given time the Advertiser will catch up to

but for those that can't wait, here is the local angle i gave it


They Live @ Hoxton Underbelly 09.04.10


Many are quick to blame reality TV for a lack of creativeness.

But for new electro-experimental duo, They Live, it may be the mother of invention.

Let me share a little background info with you, In 2007 Channel 4 launched MobileAct Unsigned as an alternative to the bland prime-time Pop Idol and X-Factor fare touted by rival ITV.

It featured real bands and took them on real tours and although little has been seen or heard of eventual series winners Envy and Other Sins in the years since, it did make local celebrities of Barnet’s Ginger Bread Men.

Former GBM front man James Richards can now be found collaborating with fellow ‘contestant’ Josh Dickson from the group Mancini to create an agro-electro anomaly that lays both their previous bands to rest.

They are They Live and they arrive amidst a raft of anti-sloganeering slogans and cries for conformity to be shunned, their image is shadowy and mysterious, their recorded output dark and abrasive.

And two months after their first songs began circulating on the internet, the duo prepare themselves to enter the live arena and give their new vehicle a test drive in front of a curious crowd at the baroquely decorated Hoxton Underbelly venue.

Shades of Talking Heads and Pet Shop Boys are updated and clash head on with the noughties sound of Chase and Status and Breakage, fashionable Kitsune and Ed Banger rosters possibly factor into their list of influences, whilst a nod to long lasting dance dons, The Prodigy, is nigh impossible to overlook.

The ever popular ‘email checking’ accusation my well be levelled at Josh by critics as he plays his part from behind an Apple Mac laptop and synth set-up while beside him a sharp suited James acts as front man without a band, delivering confrontational lyrics over the sharply processed beats that reverberate around the room.

Future plans may well expand the band but as a first taster of a new direction their debut gig certainly shows their scope for experimentation as They Live dabble in a scene where genre boundaries are repeatedly blurred, stressed and broken.


Minotaur by They Live  stream only