Live: AFI - Brixton Academy, London, 6/4/10

Sometimes, there are gigs that just seem to feel right. AFI at the Brixton Academy? It's as if they were made for each other. The classical, gothic architecture and theatrical feel of the interior of this great venue should fit like a glove around AFI's look and sound, which is...well, gothic and often theatrical. I'm actually really intrigued as to how AFI perform here; I've discussed before that I'm a great admirer of them, and how they have managed to break out of the hardcore straight-jacket and craft a unique rock sound that really doesn't sound quite like anything else you're likely to hear, and considering how many cheap knockoff clone guitar bands are stagnating the airwaves concurrently, that's some achievement in itself, and one which deserves congratulation. However, it's all well and good delicately weaving layers upon layers of guitars, pianos, choral backing vocals and strings into their aural patchworks in the studio, but the true acid test of a band is the live arena. Many have flopped before them in this trap (I'm looking at you, Fall Out Boy), so it will be interesting to see how AFI go, especially in a venue known for often dodgy acoustics.

More on that later, but first, it's time for The Dear and Departed (5/10), a band I was ready to callously dismiss as a cheap 30 Seconds to Mars clone, and whilst my cynicism wasn't completely sent packing for the exits, they were better than initially expected, and managed to hold my attention well enough with some fairly decent and slick tunes. Much like Canterbury opening for Billy Talent last November, they didn't appear suited to this size of venue or crowd, or at least weren't experienced with it; unlike Canterbury, they didn't appear to even try to make an effort in it. They may well sound like they've been listening to various AFI records and scribbling notes, but they forgot to crib down the most crucial aspects - i.e. genuinely memorable hooks and tunes, and charisma and energy in performance. The frustrating aspect about this is that it looks like such traits could easily be within their powers, but they seem disinterested in achieving that goal. Maybe they're happy cruising at this level (and why not, there are many bands that don't achieve half of what TD&D have achieved in their career), maybe they're simply suffering jet lag, but whatever, it's a disappointing set, but not without promise.

If I was cynical about TD&D, I was downright pessimistic about Sick of It All (8/10), largely because I really don't have much time for hardcore music. I'd heard of SOIA before, but try as I might, I couldn't get into them, just like I couldn't get into Walls of Jericho, Gallows, The Ghost of a Thousand, the Cro-Mags, and even legends of the scene like Black Flag. I can always respect the energy, passion and anger of hardcore music, as well as it's straight-edge values, but respecting something is not the same as liking it, and I hold my hands up and say that the sheer aural bludgeoning of hardcore has never been for me. All of that said, that doesn't stop me being blown away by SOIA tonight. Maybe I was approaching it the wrong way - maybe the only way to appreciate this kind of music is in a live context, with the sweat and spittle of the lead singer's roars and barks and the guitarist's jumping and thrashing mingling with the ravenous crowd in the pit. Speaking as a stunned onlooker watching on from the sidelines as the carnage erupted, it was a treat to watch.

Brothers Lou (vocals) and Pete (guitar) Koller mesh with the supremely tight rythm section of Craig Setari (bass) and Armand Majidi (drums) to create a furiously kinetic fireball of rage and cathartic power, and even in a relatively large venue for them like this (let's face it, this lot playing Wembley Stadium would be as out-of-place as Muse playing a pub car park), their powerful message and musical punch isn't diluted, as much as certain factors try; indeed, a partial power-cut brings their set to a shuddering halt at one point, but even this doesn't stop the rollercoaster of mayhem. In between songs, Lou is warm and genuine, urging his audience with a message of hope that never strays into hackneyed territory, which all adds to this great sense of uplifting power that emanates throughout. It's still unlikely I'll go out tomorrow and buy their entire back catalogue, and I'm still not sold on the genre, but that doesn't stop me admiring the unbridled assault that is SOIA live. Excellent.

So, with my pessimism successfully clubbed to death and thrown out onto the street in tatters, it's time to regain our composure and welcome AFI (8/10) to the show. With a gorgeous light show setting the scene, guitarist Jade Puget strides atop a monitor, rips out the lead-off notes to 'Medicate' and we're underway in some style. Anthem after anthem comes ripping out of the speakers amidst the myriad of glittering lighting effects and singer Davey Havok's flamboyant delivery, with the awesome 'Girls Not Grey' being disposed of two songs in, 'The Leaving Song Part II' following soon afterwards and the spectacular one-two punch of 'Kill Caustic' and 'End Transmission' whizzing by barely over 15 minutes into the show.

Whilst most of the set deals in the highlights of the three most recent records, of which there are many, it's refreshing to see the band so willing to acknowledge their early days - given their dramatic change of style and tone since around the turn of the millennium, and the fact that a fair few of the fans here tonight are probably oblivious to anything before 2003's 'Sing the Sorrow', they could easily choose to ignore the first decade or so of their existance, but they are happy to dive into the dusty vaults, and more importantly, the oldies slot nicely into the set without feeling like obviously telegraphed nods to the past; they just get on with the art of being kick-ass songs. I most hold my hand up and admit to having never heard of songs like 'File 13' or 'Love is a Many Splendored Thing', but the fact that they didn't feel out of place considering their age is an achievement on the band's part.

However, it's their post-1999 output upon which this set hangs it's hat on, and in that area AFI have an embarressment of riches. Along with the opening salvo I already described, 'Dancing Through Sunday' rips and roars, as does 'Death of Seasons', and newies 'Too Shy To Scream' and 'Beautiful Theives' augment the attack with a dash of confident swagger, before 'Miss Murder' brings the regular set to a bouncing and thrilling close. And even then they still have time in the encore to break out the blistering 'The Days of the Phoenix' and the sublime 'Love Like Winter', although 'Silver and Cold' seems like an odd choice to end the night on.

That combined with a few other factors prevents them gaining top score, with the most glaring issue being that of sound quality. Simply put, someone needed to whack Jade's guitar up to 11 - too many times when his lead lines or riffs were supposed to be soaring into the ether, they were being lost in the melee. The erstwhile Brixton sound problems also reared their ugly head, with some songs sounding mushy and muddled instead of razor-sharp and shimmering. These problems would be enough to cripple lesser bands, but the strength of their back catalogue combined with high musicianship shown between the four as a collective unit and a frontman oozing charisma and easy chemistry with his fellow bandmates, means that AFI save this evening's set from being a total disaster, and instead turns it into a memorable and breathless experiance for all.

Overall Rating: 8/10.

AFI - Crash Love

One characteristic that sadly blights a lot of music nowadays is the feeling that we've been here before. Too many times a song will come on the radio, and I will sit and think "Hang on, that sounds like x band", before the DJ proudly announces that it's some 'hot new talent' or something. Cue a bemused look from me at how such a blatant act of ripping off can go unpunished. Of course, bands will always sound similar to something else, and will always sound a bit like who they were inspired by - that has always happened, and will continue to do so. But there are too many bands or artists nowadays who are either digging up past glories and ripping them off wholesale or just copying themselves in the same mould as a contemporary of themselves. Examples? Two off the top of my head: La Roux's shameless (and very bad) graverobbing of '80s electro-pop and the seemingly hundreds of identikit bands who have followed in Fall Out Boy's footsteps since that group blazed a mainstream trail a few years ago now, complete with the same haircuts, same guitars, same lyrics, same sound, and same posturing, give or take a few exceptions. Like I said, there will always be a crossover between bands, and no band can ever sound completely separate from everything else that has come before it, but it is becoming increasingly harder to find bands willing to not just accept their influences, but meld them into a unique combination which listeners will recognise as theirs and theirs only.

Which brings me nicely to AFI, a band who have managed this feat very well in recent years. Starting out as a slightly sarky bunch of punks, they slowly started daring to blaze their own trail out of the punk scene near the end of the '90s, and when 2003's magnificent 'Sing The Sorrow' arrived, their transformation was complete. STS stills sounds quite like nothing else I have ever heard - it has elements of hard-edged punk rock 'n' roll, heavy parts, ballad parts, dark and mystical elements, all combining to create a dark and unashamedly gothic listening experience. 'Decemberunderground' cranked up the mystery and dark imagery another notch with a heavy electronic overtone to their unique sound, but what let down this release was that it did appear to plod in places, although it still had the power to be a rip-roaring record when it wanted to be. Now we arrive at 'Crash Love', and I'm gonna state this right off the bat - this is a belter.

Simply put, I love albums with a fantastic opening track, and CL doesn't disappoint - after around 15 seconds of odd ambient noise, 'Torch Song' crunches and crashes, before vocalist Davey Havok gives his trademark cry and the song roars into life, guitarist Jade Puget's opening salvo of notes ripping through the noise and lifting the fists into the air straight away. It's an absolute belter of a song, led by a monstrously catchy and seismic chorus, single-handedly putting in the shade a hundred other rock bands with arena-rock aspirations. 'Beautiful Thieves' is a more subdued affair, led by a slightly blink-182 style verse riff (think Stay Together for the Kids style and you have a good idea), until the chorus arrives to blow you away. What hits you immediately, and will be obvious already to longer-term AFI fans, is that, while AFI have the outrageously catchy choruses of many of their peers, they also have the full songs to go with them - the songs aren't simply big choruses with some mediocre verses padded out in between.

With CL, AFI are also forging another unique path for themselves - they are somehow managing to walk the tightrope between catchy MTV pop-rock and more hard-edged goth rock 'n' roll, without falling on either side; for example, the foot-stomping, Adam Ant-baiting 'Too Shy To Scream' has a real Fall Out Boy vibe to it, but at the same time, there is no mistaking at all that this is Havok and company. Likewise, the belting lead-off single 'Medicate' has a little hint of Green Day about it, but Puget's imaginative little guitar runs and lines and neat drum fills from Adam Carson, as well as the trademark 'everything crashes down and then builds back up again' which only AFI can pull off with this degree of class, put you in no doubt as to who this is - indeed, AFI make forming a nifty slice of catchy, energetic rock 'n' roll look a damn sight easier than Green Day have done in recent times. In a perfect world, the strutting 'I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here' would be the theme tune to a new teen drama show, but again, the fact that it rocks a bit too hard means that it stops just short in this aspect. In my mind, this has to be the perfect combination - pop sensibilities and melodies balanced with enough hard rocking and rolling to keep it firmly away from being the scene kids' new band of choice. Brilliant.

What is also pleasing is that it shows that they have moved another step forward without loosing their identity in any way. Sure, the pacey 'Sacrilege' sounds like an out-take from the Sing the Sorrow sessions, and the lyrics are still unashamedly emotional and deep to a large extent, but overall Crash Love shows a nice progression on from past glories. Havok in particular is allowing himself to be a little more bold and slightly flamboyant with his vocals these days, and while there is less screaming this time round, the emotion and power is more evident in his voice than ever, backed up as he is with the massive-sounding gang vocals that pop up all over this LP. What does let this disc down however, is that it is still not quite consistent - 'It Was Mine' is a bit of a plodding song to end on, and might have been better placed being mid-disc, and some other songs do suffer from being filler, but then again, I defy any band to write 12 songs of equal quality as the highlights of this LP - it would be a massive ask. But I'll sum up this record like this: a common argument in the whole illegal file-sharing debate is that, if artists want people to pay for their music, they should work hard to make music which is worth paying for. If that is the case, then AFI fully deserve your money for this release - I was happy to give them mine to have it on CD. It is that good an album.

Album Details
Label: Interscope Records
Release Date: September 29th 2009
Rating: 8/10
Standout tracks: 'Torch Song', 'Medicate', 'End Transmission', 'Too Shy to Scream'.