The Twang
The Twang
with support from Little Man Tate
Cardiff University Students Union
Sunday 28th October 2007
by Jay Cockayne
On a breezy autumn evening, there's nowhere better to be than dancing around to some musical magic, and tonight, Yorkshire maestros Little Man Tate get the ball rolling with a set that leaves us both breathless and in need of refreshments. With their thumping intros and bolting beats there was no respite for the weak, and even if you had planned on a quiet night by the bar, your feet had other ideas as they found themselves involuntarily tapping along. As they jumped off stage there was a mixed sense of excitement and anticipation buzzing through the air; the climax of the evening was approaching.
This was a much-anticipated event; The Twang have had exponential success ever since they burst onto the scene last October, and it's virtually a crime not to like their catchy sounds. When the lights went down and the roar of the crowd went up, the only way to quieten them was to start blasting out the tunes, which The Twang did by kicking off with Neighbour, a track with a mesmeric baseline plucked out by an eerie electric guitar and one which takes you back to the early 90s and the sound of the Happy Mondays.
A lot of things from the 90s should undoubtedly stay in the 90s, but it's easy to see that The Twang have been influenced by some of the finer things of that era. Seeing co-frontman Jon Watkin run around and dance on stage, it's hard not to think of the Happy Mondays and the lovable Bez, although the difference here is that there's more to Watkin than the odd swagger here and there, as his flowing vocals perfectly complement vocalist Phil Etheridge's rough, edgy tones. In this sense, it's also hard not to see a bit of The Streets in The Twang, with that not-quite-rap but rather spoken lyrical style, but again, where the latter two differ is that The Twang aren't trying to tackle topical issues in their songs, instead they're just up for a good time.
There's only one word that can really be used to sum up The Twang's music, and that's anthemic. They followed up their inspiring debut single Wide Awake with another belter of a track, Either Way, and then, often unheard of in the music world, followed that one up with the equally excellent Two Lovers. All of these are just as worthy of being called 'signature tunes', and during the evening's performance the crowd sang their hearts out and danced their feet off along with the lads. It was an outstandingly feel-good show, the guys' cheeky enthusiasm proving to be highly contagious, reflected in the three-track encore that they were called back for. One of these was a fantastic re-working of Bran Van 3000's Drinking in L.A., a double-A side to the next single (sure to be coined yet another anthem) Push The Ghosts, which, again, takes you back to the late 80s, early 90s, with a sampled baseline of Salt'n'Pepa's Push It.
The Twang's iconic sound of prevailing echoing electric guitar and John Smith's no-nonsense-style lyrics has won the hearts of many, and they've done more for the good name of Birmingham and the endearing Brummie twang than Jimmy Savile has for the sale of shellsuits. With all this to their name within less than a year, they'll continue to strike a chord with many for years to come.
For more information about The Twang, including any forthcoming UK tour dates, click here.
