– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER –
“If you like yoghurt then you might know this one”, announces Shingai Shoniwa before the second song of the evening, ‘Wild Young Hearts’, and judging by the reaction of the crowd, a lot of people like yoghurt.
Two of the Noisettes songs have been used in adverts, most notably the uplifting and joyous ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’, one of the greatest pop songs of recent times. Their label as a rock group seemed much more suitable a couple of years ago, but they’ve come a long way since then, with Shoniwa commenting, “First Night & Day, and now here” as she looks out on the crowd, she appears undaunted by its size and up for the challenge of playing in even bigger venues.
When seeing the Noisettes live, Shoniwa’s sheer energy makes you forget about the adverts and concentrate on the music. She does everything in her power to keep the audience energised and engaged – with the room about two thirds female, her strong style has enamoured her with other, ahem, ‘strong’ women, who identify with her feisty on stage attitude.
While there is no doubting the Noisettes ability to put on a good show, the content of their lyrics is somewhat lacking. A cover version of the Killers ‘When You Were Young’, is a definite highlight of the evening, typically delivered in the bands’ upbeat style but, lyrically, it’s a departure from what they usually deliver.
If the Noisettes could come up with words to rival some of the major bands out there and combine it with their ability to entertain a crowd, they’ll be a pop force to be reckoned with. The bands with the original lyrics to match the tune, are those that stand the test of time, the Noisettes plan to be here for a while, so the jury is still out.
When people ask me what music I am in to, I find it very hard to give a definitive answer because, throughout my life I have been in to all kinds of music from House to Heavy Metal. So I can safely say I am open to most things however, I would say that overall my allegiances lie with Electronic music because it covers so many genres and is constantly developing and changing. Having grown up in Manchester my musical tastes have been influenced by nights such as Electric Chair and Mr Scruff which encompasses the sounds of House, Detroit Techno, Disco, Soul, Funk and Hip Hop. As far as bands are concerned, I particularly like bands that are melodic and have a hook and a heart such as Wild Beasts. While living in London in the early noughties, I was also listening to music that didn’t really have a heart, more of a pacemaker. I was listening to Electroclash at nights such as Erol Alkan’s, Trash. I love writing about music and believe you can be honest about why you don’t like something without being disrespectful, a skill I am still learning in real life! But ultimately I understand that music needs to be experienced first, rather than intellectualised but why do one, when you can do both?
