Cordia
Live (Philtre / Ten to Never)
Philtre opened the ‘Rubber Soul’ night at The Gander on the Green, Bournemouth, with a retrospective rock sound.
The songs themselves were good, although we had to wait until the track that followed the Inspector Gadget Theme before the songs could be called impressive. There were a couple of moments in the slower tunes that had the feel of bands like The Calling, but on the whole they stayed firmly in their retro style.
Perhaps if they tried adding some backing vocals into the equation they could thicken up the main vocal hooks and maybe pull each chorus out of their songs, but they are heading in the right direction.
Ten To Never followed with a more technical edge to their sound. Every instrument was tightly in step with the sound and the lead vocal was really strong. There were a couple of dubious backing vocals at the front end of the set, but as they warmed up the harmonies got better and better. With the exception of the last track, which seemed to last for an inordinately long time, the songs were well produced and had some decently sticky guitar parts.
Musically, Ten to Never are a very well polished act. Some movement in the performance or an outward show of emotion would help the live experience a great deal, though.
Headliners, Cordia, had an air of confidence as they took to the stage. Thanks to this, they had established themselves before they played their first note. The sound was distinctly classic rock – the kind of music found on CDs that you’re supposed to drive long distances to – and they certainly knew how to not only create the sound but also deliver it with a dynamic performance.
With such an openly-retro sound, harking back to Led Zepplin and The Black Crowes, some might say that it’s all been done before. However, the pub-crowd were out of their chairs and enthralled within minutes, so they must be doing something right.
Written by Fenton on
