Clor / The Research @ Infinity Club, London 11 Nov 2004

If Hollywood were going to make a high school drama about a group of outcasts who form a band and gain social inclusion, then The Research just might be that band. With the awkward geek in a new Christmas jumper keyboardist and singer, the prissy prefect blossoming behind the drums and the haughty goth on bass, they have all bully-target bases covered. What the film moguls might not countenance is the use of The Research's own soundtrack, which is far too gloriously unpredictable to fit into any kind of formula.

For a band with no guitars and the smallest drum kit I’ve ever seen, The Research make a hell of a noise. The keyboardist perches on a stool with his instrument on his lap and pounds at it like a drunken organ grinder. But that’s not to say his female accompaniments are monkeys. Aside from their solid yet inventive rhythms, the girls form beautiful harmonies with consummate ease, like a steady light amidst the dark swirls of the keyboards. It’s like Sonic Youth gone pop, or Stereolab tired of being so damned cool all the time. A song called ‘Love Weighs a Ton’ recalls the hazy days of early nineties indie, later they touch on Scandinavian guitar pop, and there’s swaggering tempo changes a la Franz Ferdinand. A rapturous reception at the end was greeted with surprised acceptance and gawky heartfelt thanks.

No such pleasantries from Clor. The five piece band take to the stage and immediately launch into the wailing soft rock riff that jump starts ‘Good Stuff’. Then the beats kick in but the stomping electro track from their superb ‘Welcome Music Lovers’ EP seems strangely flat live. The bassist for all his immaculately creased trousers might as well not have been there. ‘Magic Touch’ and ‘Making You All Mine’ follow but the music seems distant despite the immediate presence of the band in this tiny venue. Completing the EP is the beautiful ‘Gifted’ which is unaffected by the lack of oomph. This is provided by an intense vocal and a punchy burst of drums towards the end.

It says much about their confidence that Clor are willing to get their better known songs out of the way at the start of their show. When the bassist finally finds the volume control Clor click into gear and differentiating between songs becomes meaningless as you get caught up in the bravado of noise making. The guitarist releases audaciously pitched notes as he sombrely strangles his instrument, the keyboards are loud and hectic like a heavy metal fairground. The bassist displays some previously unheard virtuosity while the singer’s distracted stage presence is engaging, even if his voice occasionally gets lost in the mix.

Clor are like a hard-rocking Radiohead, obstinately hiding their wonderful melodies in a rush of feedback and noise so you get lost looking for them in the clamour of their sound. And then it suddenly crashes to a halt after a thundering, feedback-drenched end to the set. Where The Research were endearingly coy with their heartfelt thanks, Clor stride off stage looking like men of conviction. It shouldn’t take for the masses to follow.

words: Colm Larkin
photos: Zoe Haseman

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