Live Review

Tiny Spark – Punk, London

• 3rd Jun 2009

Punk in Soho is a pretty cool basement to see a few bands in on a Wednesday night, and despite competition from Man United’s catastrophic Champions’ League Final showing in every other pub in Central, manages to pull in a few punters to partake in the diverse music on offer. Tiny Spark are third on a bill populated by other such up-and-coming London bands.

“Indie” as a genre is a wide, wide spectrum and these guys sit way down the accessible end with the Keanes and Athletes of this world. Nothing the matter there as they do it with aplomb. The sound is rich, driven by keys and excellent guitar-playing, all classy chords and tight little riffs. The frontman sports that lad-rock swagger, strutting with a tambourine between verses and bantering with the crowd.

With such a polished sound on record, it’s vital the band are tight onstage, and they are; in fact were they allowed a longer soundcheck and were the acoustics in this faux dive better, they’d have matched their studio sound quite closely, unfortunately they weren’t and they’re not, so they didn’t. But the playing all round was accomplished and evidently well-rehearsed, with the vocals on key and powerfully sung; a professional outfit for sure.

The songs themselves are well-crafted pop-rock in the vein of a lot of the rockier chart music of recent years; all big, hooky choruses wrought from relationship angst – set-closer and forthcoming single “For you the World Waits” is the strongest in the set, recalling early Muse with the vocals histrionics and pounding guitar and keys. Its a sound that aspires to much bigger venues and much more doting crowds than Punk and its dwindling Wednesday night turnout. Whether Tiny Spark will get there remains to be seen.