The Flaws - Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award @ The Village - 24/04/08

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Who strung tenterhooks across The Village ceiling? Following the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Award since the get-go meant a real investment in the outcome: of six incomparably different bands, who would triumph? Philtre, Ladydoll or The Dirty 9s, who just won Deis Roc?
Winning a high-profile television competition is a pretty big accolade to land slap bang in the middle of the search for Ireland’s most talented student band. Scoffing at baby-faced boys singing about real life is easy but there’s no doubting the 9s have their act down pat with a handle on pleasant melodies set to upbeat, poppy tempos with enough variation to catch you on the shy. Songs for radio. Songs for van drivers to serenade to. There’s no swaggering bravado but they do wheel and smile. You get the sense that they see a spotlight as a source of illumination rather than a chance of exposure. They seem a solid, grounded young band who’ll stick around for some time to come. The maturation of their musical ethos will be a pleasant one to witness.

Ladydoll and Philtre, chosen from the Cork heat at Cyprus Avenue, were not my favourites to win. Hugely different in style, neither grabbed me as outstanding or bold. I appreciate the energy of Philtre, the frantic ogmygodwe’vegotasongandwe’vegottasingitNOW! grimace works well for Biffy Clyro but Philtre, named after a love potion, are more like the new Superjiminez.
Progression and a tentatively experimental nature give Ladydoll a good grounding to build on. It’s great to see bands tinker with machinations of music whether it’s strange basslines or keyboards or random pauses. Ladydoll just didn’t invigorate or stir me from their place on the stage and I was right up front on my own. Look lively lads!
Jerome’s Law now, certainly thought themselves deserving: tuned up a notch from the qualifying heat at UCD, heads higher, jumps jauntier, you could tell this buzz was their biggest yet. Lush and light-headed pop keys over ambitious guitars, all this band need are a few years of kicking up their heels. Let the fun begin!
When it comes to checking off a list of rock band cliches, Floyd Soul and the Wolf are so high on points they’re almost ground-breaking. Brooding frontman prone to microphone seizures? Check. Classic rock backing from a bemused band? Check. Blistering tattoos and songs about booze? Check-shirts!
Luckily for them, decent people don’t judge so shallowly. Only the band know their full ability and motivations and on that premise, deliver their interpretation of performance art. Entering the competition proved their dedication: what comes now will prove their worth.
Disconnect4 give their vehement all: advanced to Dublin from the NUIG heat with FS&TW, Papa Leon howled into the mic, wild-eyed, feet never still. Scenes must be caused but not without reason: the reason being tight, emotional rock. They’re beautiful, sexy and blissfully self-aware. Disconnect 4 know exactly what kind of band they want to be: the winning band.
Joint honour of runners-up therefore elicits unenthusiastic responses from Disconnect 4 and Jerome’s Law. Boos go out across the venue from the Dublin crowd. Waterford forestry student Floyd Soul and his Wolves are deemed winners of 2008’s National Student Music Award. The Flaws take to the stage to placate the crowd.

Six bands baiting breath and craning their necks, ears straining, hearts bursting guaranteed genuine chaos ensued. This is a competition. This is a result. Each group played their very best and knew the final was a genuine end-of-term assesment of their skill having already made the honour roll. There were no dunces on the night.
I wasn’t surprised to hear FS&TW won. They do electrify and pour experience of life into their songs. Last year’s winners wasted their prize and let slip the chance to further their progress with studio time and a finished product. Floyd Soul should have a very good festival season, they would rock the truckbed of Castle Palooza and Indie-Pendence. A single was sent off for mastering in Nashville a while ago, its release set to coincide with an autumnal tour. Disconnect4 could be playing stadiums before that or the Dirty9s might split. A lot can happen in a few months. Give the kids their summer break : school’s out!

Live photos:

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A right stink was kicked up by one lone dissenter on the official Road To V messageboard regarding the inclusion of Galway band Blasterbra in the final 14 of the festival competition.

Apparently as the band are Irish and non-resident in the UK, they were not eligible to participate, despite the previous inclusion of the new-defunct The Immediate. V representatives contacted Blasterbra in search of a loophole to ensure they retained their place in the final but efforts proved fruitless and Blasterbra were dropped.

Read the band’s MySpace blog for more…commiserations guys

Here’s to Floyd Soul and the Wolf’s howlin’ success! The Waterford pack romped home to victory in the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Awards final at The Village last night. Chosen in the first heat of the competition in Galway along with last night’s joint runners-up, DISCOnnect4, their raw, rocking style impressed judges no end. Also in second place were Dublin’s own Jerome’s Law, who stole whoops and cheers from The Village crowd with an enthusiastic live performance. Dirty 9s, Ladydoll and Philtre conceded good-natured defeat and left to pack up their gear and drown their sorrows. Performing popular songs from their Acheiving Vagueness album were the The Flaws, who polished off the night for The Village crowd.

The winning band receives a slew of prizes including extensive rehearsal and recording time, CD duplication, legal advice and a cash prize from IMRO, which means we may soon see an EP from the Waterford four. Also in the mix is an interview with HotPress and a photoshoot with fabulous Ian Oliver.

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