Alias Kid Live in Liverpool

Review of Alias Kid, the new band discovered by Alan McGee and Creation

Several months have passed since Alias Kid were last reviewed on this website. The band have made a lot of progress during this time and tonight the boys were back in town.

It was a gig at District for the Creation Sessions (formerly known as the 359 Sessions) that formed the basis of the last review of these Manc-maestros at play. The review reported the band then as a raw, hungry and anarchistic bunch; the gig was great; chaotic and destructive with stage invasions and thunderous noise. Nonetheless, all the while it retained the melodic value that rewarded the gig going public. Tonight the venue was the same, but the band were not.

The first noticeable thing about the band was the shift in their appearance. All dressed in black they looked sharp and cool; more in keeping with the New York scene than that to be expected on their Manchester estates. They still had the same boyish charm and cutting tone to their speech, but the difference now was that it was being delivered from beneath a better hair cut and atop a more expensive pair of shoes.

Clearly some of this is written slightly tongue-in-cheek; while it is true the band looked great (as rock stars and those aspiring to be so should do), the most important aspect was obviously the performance and the music. The only criticism last time out was that the band were full on a little too much during their set. The change that seems most apparent now is that they are allowing themselves and the music to breathe. The raw, punk-edged sound is still there and prevalent but the ebb and flow of each number is dramatically better. The melodies that were so captivating last time round are now able to shine through to an even greater extent.

Of course following on social media it has been clear Alias Kid are going places for a while; support slots with The Jesus and Mary Chain and Black Grape have lead the band onto bigger things and it is perhaps this experience that has focussed them in the rehearsal room to nail the songs down into such a well delivered and classy, compact performance. The next big gig looks to be their album launch and it will be interesting to be there and see if they can take what they did tonight to the next level. It was exciting to see Alias Kid emerge last year; and it is very compelling to follow them and see where this story will go next.

WEBSITE: http://www.facebook.com/aliaskid

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