Great Escape 2009: Xfm Xposure, Komedia

is a festival full of surprises, full of little gems just waiting for your ears to unearth. They won’t be the same for everyone and as with all music your own opinion reigns supreme, but those lucky enough to be at Komedia as the first evening of the festival kicks off should be pretty pleased with what they find in front of them. The Invisible ease everyone in with music that is the epitome of “effortless cool”; electro beats, soothing vocals and pop hooks to feast on. In hindsight a band that has already benefited from remixes by the recut royalty of Joe Hot Chip (who are a definite influence here) and Micachu. So far without the songs to blow the roof, tunes such as ‘London Girl’ and ‘Monster’s Waltz’ will suffice as support for any band around, but I expect there to be bigger and bolder accosting dancefloors on their behalf in the near future.

The best way for Manchester’s Everything Everything to follow an act as competent as their predecessors would surely be to come out all guns blazing in the poppiest of guises; and they pull it off with some aplomb. The only problem being the overbearing similarities between each song.

Listening to records such as ‘Suffragette Suffragette’ you might have expected a more powerful live set than the one that greets you, but catchy sped-up MOR drenched in falsetto vocals with all the fuzz and treble turned right down makes for a radio friendly mix. And in a festival environment where you have so little time to impress, radio friendly can work a treat. New song ‘Weights’ represents something a little different, but they are have yet to find the right blend between electro- and guitar-pop, but don’t write these off. There may well be a hole just the right shape for this four-piece to slip into the mainstream.

So for the headliners of this mini-gig, who I waited for with an unnatural apprehension; what would the 21st century’s answer to Dexys Midnight Runners be like having spent the winter locked up with the Master of Horns Mark Ronson?

Much the same it turns out only tighter than ever and with an extra spoonful of gusto. Fed up of falling short and pulling off quirky cover versions the Rumble Strips have honed their sound to within an inch of its life. New single ‘Not the Only Person’ screams into life and ‘London’ could well be a highlight from ‘Welcome to the Walk Alone’. Oozing confidence the Devonshire quintet soon hit their collective stride and rather than a band teetering on the edge armed with a handful of decent songs they appear desperate to grasp the opportunity infront of them. A second shot at unfulfilled potential and a chance to avoid playing the forgotten men of music is not an opportunity they intend to pass up with even the songs from ‘Girls And Weather’ forcing their way through the speakers with an added gloss. Having carved out a niche of their own and a solid fanbase to match, Exeter’s finest are ready to stand up and be counted.