It’s the grand final of the Vodafone Bright New Sounds competition and the five short-listed bands have gathered at the Tripod in Dublin to show off their wares. First up are Chaplin, a Wexford quintet who wear their collective rural heart on their sleeve, displaying a distinct fondness for all things country-tinged. Most memorable is their Harvest-period Neil Young influenced ‘Leaving This Town’ and their storming Afro-styled percussive outro.
Chaplin have rarely played outside their native county – and so you tend to believe vocalist Lee Byrne when he insists backstage that they’re happy simply to have been nominated. “We’ve been plugging away at this for a long time,” he says. “An event like this is just a great opportunity to play in front of a decent sized crowd in Dublin.”
The Minutes combination of drainpipes and winklepickers suggests theirs is an altogether more fashionable milieu. ‘Harmonic’ confirms the trio are as familiar with Kings of Leon’s last record as they are with the American band’s current wardrobe. Stomping percussion and stop-start guitar dynamics combine memorably with pop choruses and vocal harmonies, especially on the well-received ‘Ukraine’.
“It’s a great opportunity to up our profile ’cos we were planning to put out an EP this year,” proffers lead singer Mark. “If we manage to win it’d be great because we could put out the single and follow it up with an EP later on in the year.”
Is it possible that there’s an Irish Mercury Rev hidden away in deepest Carlow? Certainly, 79 Cortinaz' lead vocalist Gala Hutton’s haunting vocal quaver bears an impressive likeness to that of Jonathan Donoghue. But, then again, 79 Cortinaz are not exactly hidden. They have an album out (Hopioki) and 2FM’s Dan Hegarty has been singing their praises. As it happens, ‘Drive Me Home’ and ‘Deirdre’s Song’ are celestial lo-fi lullabies, probably better absorbed in a dark room with headphones on than in a short live blast at a showcase. But they are good – very good.
“It’s a shame we only got to play three songs, we were just getting into it,” laments bassist Cormac Strain arriving offstage. So were we. The words ‘Criminally Underrated’ and ‘Best Kept Secret’ get bandied about a lot. If there was a more apt phrase to apply to 79 Cortinaz I’d use it.
Ever wondered what the musical spawn of Ben Folds and The Feeling would sound like? For an answer to that question, check out Belfast-based Superfreakz.
“We’re extremely surprised to even be here,” admits frontman Mark Le Sal. “Somehow we managed to get enough downloads to get on the bill, so we’re 100% delighted!”
Their brand of classic pop is a tricky thing to pull off – but the quintet know their strengths and cater to them on the handful of ballads they present tonight. Still, a little dirt wouldn’t go astray.
The curiously-named Star Turtle attempt to mount a late challenge. The band try to find the bridge between bolt-rattling hard rock and swirly guitar pop. But they need to recruit an extra guitarist to alleviate the evident pressure on Matt Walker’s jaded Stratocaster or risk remaining essentially monochromatic.
With all five acts done, the judges gather upstairs to deliberate. When the announcement eventually comes, it’s The Minutes who emerge victorious. Merely hours later the band meet their new record label. Two days later, they enter the studio. In one month they will release a single.
Tipped last year by Hot Press as ones to watch, The Minutes are ecstatic now, having successfully cleared the final hurdle in a keenly contested band competition that attracted a flood of excellent entries, from high quality Irish talent. Backstage, three young men make frantic calls and send hastily-composed text messages, cancelling all prior commitments with immediate effect. For The Minutes, time clearly is of the essence.