HYDE & BEAST | livemusic.fm

At their recent show at The Water Rats, London, the pair that is Hyde and Beast fill out to become a six-piece band. Ex-Futureheads drummer, Dave Hyde, is transformed into frontman and directly behind, nestled in his drumkit, is resident Beast, Neil Bassett. Their set begins with a noisy sample rotating across the stage, which happily turns into their first song.

Their set is comprised of an album's worth of groovy, pastoral, rock songs from an age gone by. It is rich in sound, given warmth and depth by their ballooned ensemble. The songs are playful, intelligent, catchy but not cliché, and Hyde and Beast deliver them flawlessly.

And we like it - oh yes we do. We shuffle around to the thumping beat, clutching our beers. We watch Dave, with his eyes virtually shut, singing lovingly into his microphone. Occasionally we remark to ourselves about the well executed dual lead guitars, and the textured accompaniment by the guy at the back on the keys. The bassist is a rock and the Beast (as expected) pounds away happily on the drums.

Another nice touch during the show was 'Jack', a member of the public who was recruited to play trumpet for this show alone. In each town a different trumpet player becomes a part of Hyde and Beast - one of the Beast's autonomous limbs if you like. He joined in for two songs, most notably on the bouncy single Never Come Back.

Now I like a bit of noise, and in my humble opinion I felt there was more room for more noise on the night. It is obvious that Hyde and Beast's noise making capabilities are there, but a good bit of thrash was definitely missing. So, more noise, Hyde and Beast! The set is controlled, tight, and well-mixed, all good factors…but…

THROW IN SOME NOISE!!

A brief word about the support acts. Both fun and different. First up, playing to a mostly empty room, was the great Steve Smyth who pulled off both touchingly sombre songs and grinding power rock all with nothing more than a Telecaster, some reverb, and a beard. Honestly though, not much else is required.

Kurran and the Wolfnotes delivered the catchiest stuff of the night - the sentimental pop-punk hooky ballads, framed with folky percussion and a touch of teenage torment.

Three different acts, one good night.