Uberdog learning new tricks

It’s hard to ignore them; it’s harder to dismiss them. Stronger and with more depth than before, the trip-hop collective – with so much else besides – once more stormed the Mill. The crowd may not have filled the venue in number, but with a little help from the groove on stage, the Mill was fit for bursting.

The ‘Dog looked comfortable tonight, and ran through old and newer songs with a smart, sincere class. It was a night for determination and intelligence, a night for drummer Andy to give real foundation to the highly complex multi-layered “Sour Note” and to revel in awesome closer “Stalingrad”. It was a night for Chris to illuminate with joy as “Great Apes” pounded the brick work so hard dust fell from the ceiling. Kim, with more a flirtatious Miss Whiplash glint in the eye and groove in the hips, could cause men of a certain age the most unusual feelings.

Powerhouse

From the start, this was powerhouse punches; Morcheeba meeting Asian Dub Foundation in a coffee bar whilst waiting to finish chatting to Garbage. Only once did the new boisterous bounce of the band seem to vanish – “Grey Matter”, still with ghostly charm intact, is missing the added depth of “Schrodinger's Bomb”.

From the two new songs, “Pigeon” had the most instant reaction with the crowd. The cool cutting chorus had everyone tapping their feet. “Sour Note”, a drum led track which leads into a very complex array of guitar riffs and rapping, will take time to sink in. On the closing exam-to-music “Stalingrad”, Dean knocked out his now eagerly awaited New World Order diatribe , although the mouthing of the words in the crowd stopped the moment he struck up. That his power is just as gratifying as Jonti’s synth mastery or Paddy’s contrasting harmonies on “Great Apes” is not just one sign of Uberdog’s collective power as a band. All seven of them are as stand-out as each other: the power of the team effort means the end result is never cluttered or messy.

Exceptionally daring

In truth, it is harder to write about an Überdog gig without resorting to advertising slogans. They are so sexy, graceful, angry, melodic and exceptionally daring that other local bands must shrink back to the Mill practice rooms and wonder what exactly can be done next. On present form, their nearest rivals can do no harm in aiming to reach a tenth of the potential Überdog must currently harbour.

Written by Liam Pennington (doktorb)

Photography: http://www.uberdog.co.uk/