I decided to take a gamble and check out a band from the local scene I'd never seen before for an evening based merely on their online descriptions and a brief blast of a single track on soundcloud – I was intrigued by House of Paris’ description as being like Mogwai accompanied by female vocals and thought it was worth a look. I arrived at the Green Door Store at eight fifteen and it was obvious I was way too early – even the bar staff were outside smoking! All I could see indoors were a few members of what looked like a band sloping off after soundcheck, so I too sloped off to find reinforcements; I feared the night might be awkwardly quiet and would rather not stand alone in the corner of a near empty room.
When I returned an hour later Thyla were taking to the stage. It was only when they played their last song, the excellent 'I Want You To Swim' (if I guessed the right title correctly), that I realised I'd seen the band before. Thyla have a much rockier sound than the whimsical demos on their soundcloud, which must come from their early inception as folk pop duo. Main singer Millie Duthie has a distinctive vocal that is at times a little reminiscent of PJ Harvey on her ‘Let England Shake’ album. I felt her characterful vocal expressions were occasionally overdone, but it's a tough call as I always prefer a passionate delivery over someone who plays it too safe, even if the results can be a bit 'marmite'! To my taste the best moments were when she was joined by guitarist Chris Hall on backing vocals – their voices blend together really well for some great harmonies. They sound like a band who are still finding their feet with the grungier direction on some of the material but when it does work its magic. Some of the arrangements, particularly endings, could do with a bit of work but their set is full of great ideas that really come to fruition in that last, extremely memorable, song. The band announced it will be released on vinyl soon – and I’m certainly be looking forward to hearing the recording!

Next up were House of Paris who, unfortunately, didn't quite float my boat. The four-piece seem very young, and are perhaps still developing the act, but there is no denying that they are a talented bunch of musicians. I think the Mogwai comparison was unfortunate as it led to me expecting something completely different from what I heard on the night. In my experience Mogwai create broody, atmospheric instrumental music that is most notable for its dynamics –they are simultaneously one of the loudest bands I've ever seen live and one of the quietest. House of Paris didn't really deliver on this front, although they occasionally stripped down to the lead singer and her piano, whenever the band kicked in they played at one level: hard. They didn't leave themselves any room to step things up a notch, which prevented them from sounding as epic as they could with their material. The sound, to my ears, was that of a contemporary hard rock and pop blend – dark piano ballads backed by a rock band that at times verged on nu-metal and unfortunately the material was a bit samey and repetitive. They had some great visuals, moody projections which were a step in the right direction for evoking that film noir melancholia they seem to be seeking. Unfortunately that kind of dark broodiness and theatricality requires total commitment from the performers or it doesn't come across – half of the band looked too nervous and, dare I say it, the rest looked too happy for the mood of the pieces. Maybe it would help if they all dressed the part, I felt there the boys in the backing band were a little disconnected from their front-woman – finding a shared look that suits the music might help them to get into character. I am probably being way too hard on these guys, they were young and, perhaps, inexperienced, but show a lot of promise. They can really play their instruments and given a bit more time playing together, honing the sound and show, I'm sure they can deliver.
Adam Kidd