Clor

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Leeds Festival 2005

Friday 26th to Sunday 28th August 2005
Bramham Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS23 6ND, England MAP
£125 for weekend (including camping) - SOLD OUT, £60 for any day

Daily capacity: 55,000

Clor bore me. I'm sorry if anyone reading this finds Clor the most intellectually stimulating, edge of your seat, air punching band of the last 50 years but they really are quite a dull live band. For anybody in the dark about Clor's background they used to be the live band that performed with Roots Manuva, who incidentally was also playing Leeds festival this weekend.

Musically they couldn't sound more different to Roots Manuva if they tried. They take indie/techno crossover eccentricity to new levels of irritation. The metronomic drum beat that plagues most of the songs is a nod towards Kraftwerk but Clor are more indie than techno - think half decent LCD Soundsystem on a Long-wave radio played through dodgy speakers.

I should be ranting about how experimental Clor are - how refreshingly original their sound is. But I'd say its different more than original and contrary to popular belief different isn't always a good thing.

Clor look like they've been plucked from an American Sitcom. Lead singer Barry Dobbin looks like Napoleon Dynamite, whilst the guitarist looks like 'Nile' from the US comedy series 'Frasier' and the rest look like a bunch of truck drivers. Not forgetting the keyboard player who plays as if his fingers are attached to strings and could at any unforeseeable moment jerk upwards like a malfunctioning Thunderbird. There’s no denying it Clor look like an odd bunch.

Opening track 'Good stuff' from their debut album reminds me of when U2 started believing they were a dance band. 'Outlines' is an 80's disco record with synthesised beats, squeaks and bleeps that could have been ripped straight from a Commodore 64 game system. 'Love and Pain' is slightly better, rockier and easier on the ear.

Clor are talented musicians and if they could write a song that was vaguely listenable it might actually make them a good band. For now I would avoid watching them at all costs.