Los Angeles’ boys, The Outline are setting out to blow your mind with their funky, experimental, rock rhythms. Hearing their music on myspace, on your mp3 or stereo is one thing but hearing them live is another. These days with bands you always wonder if they can live up to your expectations when seeing them live. You’re either disappointed from what you had just seen or you are grinning from ear to ear and rather pleased with the outcome of seeing them on stage in front of you.
The Outline are proving they are more than ‘just some other band from America’. They have recently toured with Say Anything in the UK and are about to support Melee and The Rocket Summer over here too in this next month and I have to say, I have to get to one of those shows because I know it will be one night not to miss out on.
You would think if only 20 people (that’s including some of the other bands who were performing that night and the venue staff) had turned up to a gig, a band would just give up. Not The Outline. They rocked out in that venue as if that place had sold out. The energy was outstanding and it was particularly shown in ‘Why We’re Better Now’. The atmosphere felt like it was ready to burst with the amount of power The Outline had behind them.
On their album ‘You Smash It, We’ll Build Around it’ there is a song called ‘In Light of Recent News’ and it’s the slowest song on there. Earlier that day, before The Outline had turned up to Barfly, the band had recorded a new version which will surprise everyone with the new sound they have given this song. It’s an Altsounds exclusive session recorded at Screamadelica studios in Cardiff. Hearing this new version live definitely made my foot tap and head bop. The sound of Fink’s voice gave me goose bumps until the very end and I probably wasn’t the only one.
St John’s and Lee’s talents were shown when keys and guitar pedals and effects were thrown into the set. Basically messing around with the guitar sounds live on stage with the guitar pedals and it was the same with the keys. This is what makes The Outline differ from the other bands that perform live. No backing tracks were to be heard anywhere whilst they played their set. Mike Trevino was the last member to join the band but seeing them live, he looked as if he had been playing with them right from the word go. He played to a click but that didn’t mean he wasn’t good, the drums sounded amazing. Especially in the new version of ‘In Light of Recent News’ with awesome drum fills.
The Outline had proved to the crowd that they mean more than business, their electrifying energy and tight sounding rhythms shows this band has some real talent. It’s a shame that hardly anybody had shown up and had missed out on such an amazing band because I know that The Outline would be loved by nearly everyone who would had been in that crowd. Let’s just hope more people show up at The Rocket Summer and appreciate The Outline’s talent.