I spend the entire set tonight desperately trying to think what exactly On A Friday remind me of. Not so much the music as the vocals. The next day it hits me: Kirk Brandon! Yes, he of Spear of Destiny and silly haircut fame. Now On A Friday’s singer, Thom, hasn’t got a silly haircut (in fact he’s hardly got enough hair to have any kind of a cut), but he does possess a voice very reminiscent of Brandon - the way he elongates every syllable and almost howls rather than sings - and it’s the way it’s so at odds with the rest of the band that’s so intriguing.

I’m sceptical after the first couple of numbers, which come a little too close to that Manchester sound for comfort, but delve a little deeper into On A Friday and a whole new angle on them opens up. While the drums and bass (with a little help from the keyboard player) do evoke an indie-dance groove thang, there’s an almost country and western feel to the band at times, more REM than Kenny Rogers though, fortunately.

Confusing? Not if you see them live for yourselves (which you all will when they inevitably become extremely famous and you swear you were here at the beginning). In my book it’s a good thing when you can’t easily place what you’re hearing, and when you can dance to it as well then even better.

There’s an impressive turnout tonight, justifying the early buzz surrounding the band (they’ve already been recommended by The Candyskins); certainly their sound is well tuned to what’s going on at the moment and it shouldn’t be long before they’re attracting major label attention. Just a couple of questions though: doesn’t the bass player, Colin, look like Christopher Walken from The Deerhunter? And what’s with the subliminal backing vocals? They make the inside of your head go all funny like.

Nightshift
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