Spring Cleaning – Sin É
Spring Cleaning – Sin É
Words: Aaron Kavanagh
Trying to be constantly on top of active acts in the Irish music scene is a fool’s errand. It’s like trying to count how many freckles you have on your body; even if you somehow managed to arrive at a definitive number, the sun will just kiss you again and add more when you’re not looking. Still, if you’re even somewhat curious, you can be a good decade ahead of the curb, before a major promoter “discovers” a “new” act and puts them on an “Introducing…” bill.
Anyhoo…it’s with this in mind that I say: I wandered into Sin É at the invite of The GOO’s very own Corey Grange (who – disclosure, disclosure – manages the headlining band, Spring Cleaning), as a complete tabula rasa, with no prior knowledge, prejudice, or favouritism towards any of the four bands who played that night, and this is my report.
Up first, and just taking the stage as soon as I walked in, were Bruiser, a self-described alt-rock band with influences from grunge, metal, and shoegaze, and whose members hail from Wicklow and Wexford. The band lean more on the hard-rock side of the metal spectrum, grating Page-esque blues indentations into their guitar licks. What really stood out to me was their singer, who dared to channel distinctive, demanding, multi-octave maestros like Maynard James Keenan and Serj Tankian into his performance. For that alone, I would take my hat off, but, even more impressively, he actually managed to invoke them while staying in pitch and without jeopardising his presence! That doesn’t sound impressive, until you’ve tried it yourself. Even for the opener, the place was already packed, but the thing about Sin É is that it’s so small and compacted that fifty people look like a lot, but so do fifteen. Iceland’s population looks large inside Vatican City. It’s hard to estimate a headcount is my point, but the young crowd at the front, varying (in my empirical estimation) from 18 to 25 at most, were very enthusiastic already, and that’s always a lovely thing to see.
Next came Blight, a really, really new band if their SEO (or lack thereof) is anything to go on. The band might be the most aesthetically interesting act I’ve seen in a long time, and I know that may read as a superficial observation, but let me paint it like this: on vocals, you have John 5, on bass Krist Novoselic, on guitar Robert Plant, and on drums Euronymous. They’re so distinct, arresting but incongruous, yet it works. There’s a natural synergy in the same way that people in an insane asylum may have different ailments, but you put them at the same table in the same smocks, and you don’t question that they all belong within those sterilised, white walls. I think they would appreciate that simile.
Really dangerous and unstable in both presentation and performance, Blight generate a kind of hard-hitting, wailingly gothic, post-punk noise, and their painful and sullen cover of Nirvana’s “Breed” really got the crowd bopping. The only other thing to note is that the lead singer belts out his timorous fury in a distinctively Dublin accent, and, unfortunately, should the band spark press coverage, I fear that element will draw comparisons to Fontaines D.C. I say “unfortunately” because I’m uncertain that Fontaines are an intended influence, but if you sing in your native accent, and you happen to be from Dublin and are performing rock music, then a comparison (at least for the meantime) is seemingly unavoidable.
The penultimate act was a bonkers little heavy alt-rock four-piece from Naas, called Burn Down the House. Before they even hit a note, their frontman rooted through a little toolbox of toys to produce a Mike Patton-esque white megaphone, which he placed on his mic stand that was perched beside another member’s Novation pad, signifying that we were in for something a little different. And we were! The band were funny, but were, crucially, not a comedic band. The earlier comparison to Faith No More might be a good demonstration of their attitude: Burn Down the House embrace silliness and absurdity, but their music is not intended for amusing dismissal, à la Tenacious D. A good example of their fervent flippantness was their cover of C+C Music Factory’s “Things That Make You Go Hmmm…”, the only tongue-in-cheek cover of the night, which was played with as much musical dedication as their originals. And, despite being a good chunk older than the crowd (which, at the risk of sounding ageist, I should note that I’m closer in age to the band than the crowd), they were not intimidated by this fact and confidently played their set of spacious and dissonant but weighty and grave tracks, and the kids beneath them were equally as appreciative of them as they were of their fellow post-Y2K peers.
They liked them so much they even excused them one original that verged on the boomer-ish. My sole critique of their set was their song “The Algorithm”; a takedown of how tech companies dictate public significance. It’s a topic, I guess, that most people would side with them on, but the song’s main hook (“Fuck the algorithm!”) smacks of throwing Gen X’s generalised-dissatisfaction-made-radical at modernity, which, if not done right, can come across as slightly reactionary, impotent rage, akin to Green Day’s Father of All Motherfuckers album, or Green Day’s performance at the iHeartRadio Festival, or just Green Day post-2000s, honestly. Still, that’s not to dismiss the project as a whole, and you should definitely check them out!
And, finally, the closer: Spring Cleaning. An apt name, really, as the night’s proceedings thus far would lead you to believe each act would gradually up the down-tuned doom and despair. But, no. Instead, here come these nice four lads, playing a string of bright, upbeat indie tunes! And, once more, the metalheads, punkers, and goths danced along in unison! I really can’t overstate how welcoming and accepting these gig-goers were!
Spring Cleaning lacked the frills and theatrics of the night’s predecessors, but they didn’t really need it. Clean-cut and unassuming, they simply played and let the music speak for itself - and you know what? The skill required to master these jangly and lively parts needs to be recognised and appreciated. These lads were just as dexterous with their instruments, and their drummer hit just as hard as every other drummer that night, but compared to metal, where such things are emphasised for awe, in indie, it’s more understated, unheeded, but still kind of necessary and subconsciously expected. Sure, Kirk Hammett can speedily rip a complex solo like it’s nothing, but could he perform a set of Johnny Marr suites?
For comparisons to Spring Cleaning, The Smiths are one obvious act, but that applies to pretty much everyone making indie music. Bands like The Wombats may be another, or really any post-Britpop indieheads who played Reading+Leeds in the 2000s. I don’t know their influences, and I purposefully didn’t look them up. An edge of post-post-hardcore punk is present in their tracks, as well; specifically, their song “I Think I’m Going to Be Sick” reminded me of The Menzingers’ “Good Things.” The band are currently promoting their debut EP, Ain’t They Swell?, which came out last month, and even though they only began releasing music this year, there was already legitimately excited anticipation in the cheers when they announced that their next song would be their debut single, “Merry-Go-Round.” What they’re making is already resonating, and may it spread!
Now, I just can’t wait to see all of these acts perform at [Promoter, a subsidiary of Multinational Entertainment Company] Presents: “Brand New Irish Acts for 2042!” [Sponsored by a Dutch Beer Company].