Arp Attack - Camden Proud Galleries, London - 7th September 2011 (Live Review)
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Written by Lew Maclean
There is still a rustic feel to the venue and neighbouring bar-stalls of Camden Proud galleries. The whole place was pretty much a nightclub in a former horse stable, with a bar. Shortly after I arrived Arp Attack burst into action. The trio are a zesty form of electro-pop rock and have magnetic stage presence. They have an intriguing mix of sombre and lively songs and blend them carefully into the set.
The second track they played, ‘Crocodile Tears’, is a pop music classic waiting to happen. A bouncy guitar rock soundtrack with Kate Bush/ Futureheads style falsetto melody. Arp Attack always get the crowd tapping their feet. The next song was perky, pop like ’Follow the rhythm’ with equally catchy melody chorus hyping you up and then crashing you down with songs like ‘satellites’ a guitar ballad which could rival the Cure in angst ridden song writing.
They are a formidable song-writing talent and I’ve watched them grow in front of their native Southampton audiences and onto London where they continue to impress new crowds and are rumoured to attract reputable music industry interest. They continue to write music and gig prolifically with extravagant stage shows that switch between guitarist Chris with inevitable crowd invasions (sometimes shirtless) and Drummer Kev giving the drums a thorough work out. They leave ample space for glamourous front person Frankie with eloquent shiny cape to strut her stuff on the catwalk, often breaking into a little improv dance as if no one was watching and slowly exploring the stage area like a bored supermodel waiting at a train station.
They really are a crowd-worthy spectacle as a group of nearby clubbers proved when they stumbled in with a look of fascination on their faces and stayed for the set. Arp Attack always look to be enjoying the show as much as the audience and truly get lost within their music. They ended their set on another strong song, ‘Illusions’, a haunting yet motivational synth balled that rocks the house and leaves a lingering impression.
At times the sound quality of Proud tended to muffle the vocals and the odd feedburst crackle slipped out but no seriously harm came to the bands set. The sheer momentum of the bands performance was unstoppable.
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