Exit Ten – Fibbers, York – 29th November 2011 (Live Review)
Monday, 05 December 2011
Written by Ben Bland
It’s been a while since the UK has had Exit Ten gracing its roads on a full tour. The three year wait for the second album by the Reading quintet has seemed far longer, especially in the absence of their dependably excellent live shows. Thankfully, with new album “Give Me Infinity” to promote, the band are back on stage and in fine fettle as they prove here tonight.
Gigs in York are mostly sparsely attended, and sadly Fibbers is only about two-thirds full tonight. Darlington based Tomorrow We Radio lack the character that has made Exit Ten’s return so keenly awaited. With a sound heavily indebted to the post-hardcore of the early 2000s, the band have got something but seem currently to be struggling slightly to show exactly what that something is. Promising things may well lie in wait for the band but on this evidence it is hard to tell.
Fei Comodo have been regular touring partners of Exit Ten over the years. With a similar sound based around emotive post-hardcore but expanding far beyond its limited scope, this quintet would probably be receiving equal billing with tonight’s headliners but for the fact that their new album still has not arrived. An engaging live band, even if their songs suffer from being rather samey, they win the Fibbers crowd over in style. They can be added to the long list of promising British bands verging on the heavier end of the spectrum.
When Exit Ten do arrive on stage it is to barrage the crowd with efforts from their recently released record. There is no gentle introduction via the medium of a fan favourite from debut “Remember the Day”. Recent single “Curtain Call” is probably the most impressive new effort on display. All the new tracks are anthemic displays of genuine melodic songwriting talent and, if there is any justice, should make at least some dent on mainstream rock radio. When the likes of classic songs “Resume Ignore” and “Technically Alive” do drop they are, strangely, no more warmly received than some of the newer efforts. If Exit Ten have lost any fans in their absence it seems that the release of new material has gained them a few to make up any shortfall. Closer “Lion” sees frontman Ryan Redman sing from within the crowd, surrounded by a mix of the devoted and the slightly bemused. Exit Ten are not a perfect live band, but they do what they do as well as anyone else does at the moment.
Exit Ten’s “Give Me Infinity” is out now. An interview with the band will be published on Stereoboard.com in the coming weeks.
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When Exit Ten do arrive on stage it is to barrage the crowd with efforts from their recently released record. There is no gentle introduction via the medium of a fan favourite from debut “Remember the Day”. Recent single “Curtain Call” is probably the most impressive new effort on display. All the new tracks are anthemic displays of genuine melodic songwriting talent and, if there is any justice, should make at least some dent on mainstream rock radio. When the likes of classic songs “Resume Ignore” and “Technically Alive” do drop they are, strangely, no more warmly received than some of the newer efforts. If Exit Ten have lost any fans in their absence it seems that the release of new material has gained them a few to make up any shortfall. Closer “Lion” sees frontman Ryan Redman sing from within the crowd, surrounded by a mix of the devoted and the slightly bemused. Exit Ten are not a perfect live band, but they do what they do as well as anyone else does at the moment. 
