Reviewed: Freeze The Atlantic at Windsor Firestation

Liz Crosthwaite • Published 9 Oct 2012 15:30 1 Comment

Freeze The Atlantic have been knocking around for a good few years, sneaking out a quirkily-packaged EP and taunting new fans with Soundcloud snippets, until their debut record, Speakeasy, finally came out this year.

While the main headliner-grabber for the five-piece is certain band members' musical pedigrees - with three hailing from 00s post-hardcore stars Hundred Reasons and Reuben - their recorded output succeeds in blowing away any suspicions of a 'Mark II' version of either bands. And live? Well, I was keen to find out.

Windsor Firestation, as Freeze The Atlantic guitarist Andy Gilmour pointed out, isn't necessarily a place you think of when you think of gigs. Hell, Windsor as a town is hardly a live music hotspot (unless you really, really like covers bands), but on Sunday night, Make A Scene productions had pulled together an impressive six-band bill, and it was anyone's guess why the downstairs room at The Firestation wasn't packed to the rafters with music fans. Maybe everyone was at home being gently numbed into a Sunday night stupor by X Factor...?

Car issues meant we missed the melodic, female-fronted rock of We Stole Fire, Windsor post-hardcore-with-added-hardcore purveyors You Win Again Gravity, and Hey Vanity, who feature ex-members of Fei Comodo, but they're well worth checking out on Soundcloud, or at their next gig.

Verses clearly mean business and brimmed with an easy, boyish confidence as they played their polished, hooky, emotive alt-rock. If the girls down the front singing every word - and their EP being endorsed by Rock Sound - are anything to go by, these boys will go far.

Floods, with their flailing, screamo frontman, Animal-esque drummer and solid sound couldn't fail to grab attention - with their swiftly-shirtless singer leaping out onto the floor and stretching his mic cord to it's very limit as he contorted, crouched and strained. He definitely made an impact, but at times what was happening on stage, with guitar, bass and drums, was actually far more interesting that the melee on the floor, although the band's more melodic vocals could do with being beefed up a little, if only to compete with the pleasingly thunderous bass and drums.

There was a buzz in the small crowd as Freeze The Atlantic took to the stage, and their anticipation was rewarded with opener The Fight, a showcase for the five-piece's carefully constructed tunes and crunchy riffs. It was a powerful statement of intent... but also a title that would prove all too apt as the five-piece battled broken strings and temperamental amps from just a couple of songs in. Broken Bones, a Speakeasy highlight, sounded massive, catchy and moshpit-worthy all in one, with Liv Punete proving himself a compelling frontman - but with follow-up Volcanoes beset by amp issues, the crowd was torn between revelling in melodic post-hardcore played with conviction, and hanging on tenterhooks to see what would break next. Feather In A Hurricane closed the curtailed set, with Andy Gilmour promising that the band would return to play a proper set sometime soon.

If those few songs are anything to go by, we'll have them back anytime.

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This article appeared in Bracknell News 09 Oct 12

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