Dissolved In, In Remission, Alias, Sevaloco.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 16th May 2009.

Tonights gig on level 2 is most certainly an eclectic mix of musical styles and, above all, personalities.

SEVALOCO are a five piece from Stevenage. On first sighting they seem to bring precious little to the modern metalcore scene, preferring to follow the basic copy-cat formula favoured by the vast majority of the young bands of this ilk. Although the general stage presentation and overall movement of the band is high, the vocalist's gut wrenching screams rather grate on my nerves. He constantly barks out the lyrics like an overheated and rabid canine creature. To be fair, there are a couple of better moments, such as "The End is Waving us Goodbye", which is from their current EP, and "At the Bottom". On the whole though, they garnered together a lot of less than memorable songs that bludgeoned me into submission well before the end of their set.

Ah! Pray thanks for ALIAS on this particular night as this quartet fully enhanced their glowing reputation. They may have been the more mellower band on show, but sometimes you only have to listen carefully to the lyrics to know how much they cut to the quick. Immaculately attired, there's a loveable off kilter charm to boot as they begin with "24 Wasted Hours". Worryingly, vocalist Tom tells us that he is feeling a touch "peaky" as he has not eaten anything today. It's not noticed as he leads this ethereal and enigmatic band through their paces. His strong vocals combine with the impressive display of controlled musicianship, which is certainly at a premium this evening. Their overall ambitiousness is to be commended. A ravaged soul seems to be unleashed throughout the lyrics on their moody pop songs. At times there is added vitriol splattered throughout the heart of them, thankfully delivered with brightly lit optimism. "Devils in the Dark" perfectly encapsulates this. Sometimes Alias inject a little leftfield psychedelia, but on the whole, the set is half an hour of inventive instrumentation, good arrangements and, above all, some top notch songwriting. They saved my evening.

Expectations were high as IN REMISSION hit the stage. They offer a post-hardcore ethos and splice it with some trancey electronica. I felt that their bunch of songs didn't really exploit enough opportunities. Stuffed with an equal measure of nihilist strops and a fair degree of sonic insanity, it just seemed like they were on the road to nowhere tonight. Needless to say they soon exacerbate my limited patience.

DISSOLVED IN are definitely the high spot for the many teenage girls in attendance. This dynamic twisted pop quartet certainly work, and succeed in packing the dancefloor. They know how to construct a punchy tune or two, although it does become a little repetitive at times. They involve the youngsters in a few "Woa, woa" sing backs which get maximum reaction. Songs include "Mattress" and "First Impression". The vocalist branches out and shouts loudly to the overexcited crowd "I want to see everybody jumping up and down". Needless to say Dissolved In got what they requested.