A Whole Lot More Than Sunglasses
I am Kloot’s Pete Jobson strikes a pose.
The casual nonchalance with which I Am Kloot take to the stage at the Zodiac on Saturday and launch straight into their set doesn’t sit well with their appearance. Dishevelled, but not in that stylised, Strokes-esque way, these Mancunian purveyors of melodic indie have the look of the tobacco-stained house band in your local.
However, it doesn’t take long for John Bramwell (vocals and guitar), Andy Hargreaves (Drums) and Pete Jobson (Bass) to prove that the style of a band lies in the music, rather than in the sunglasses. Light on instruments, I Am Kloot have always stressed the need for space in their music and it is this thirst for simplicity that sets Bramwell’s songwriting apart from the chasing pack of wistful indie crooners.
There is a story at the heart of every song, an imaginary world of romanticism and horror moulded from thoughtful lyrics that complement the melody, rather than simply fleshing it out. The band clearly discovered how to maintain emotional mastery over an audience long ago.
A perfect rendition of Here For The World stuns a fairly lively crowd into contemplative silence with rich yet edgy chord changes, before feel-good indie strumalong Darkstar has some die-hard fans attempting a bit of subdued pogo-ing. Possibly the same diehard fans I once saw headbanging to End of a Century at a Blur gig.
While I Am Kloot will never provoke unbridled moshing, there is a dark sensuality about their music that suggests a cauldron of unreleased energy simmering just below the surface. The themes of tracks on forthcoming album Gods & Monsters range, in the words of Mr. Bramwell himself, through “drinking, fucking and vampirism”, shaping a mood that is never far from the macabre. Yet it’s hard not to demand something more.
The brooding romanticism of Storm Warning builds a tension that is never resolved, leaving you wondering whether they don’t have the guts to rock out, or if they just rather wouldn’t. Yes, their music thrives on the measured restraint of the songwriting, but it often seems as if they cannot approach a climactic moment without backing away from it. Consequently, I Am Kloot can run the risk of sounding samey, with few songs containing that distinctive something that makes a song memorable.
Nonetheless, Gods & Monsters might just be their best album yet, and it’s worth getting out to see the band before their UK tour ends at the end of this month. Leave protective headgear at home; all you need for an I Am Kloot gig are a handful of romantic sentiments and a philosophical bent.
21st Apr 2005