It can be nice, if frustrating, to see a band take their own sweet time. In the case of the still disturbingly youthful Bristolian quartet Munch Munch, their below-the-radar crawl towards debut album Double Visions recently ended over three years after their first Cardiff shows at Clwb and Howard Gardens. One seven-inch single and a stand-out turn on David Shrigley’s oddity Worried Noodles wasn’t a lot to show for that time – they literally had their heads down, uni studies taking precedence – but the results were worth it. The instantly head-turning two-drummer, two-keyboard line-up, the foursome lurching between instruments like industrious cub scouts, translates perfectly on record, where the schizophrenic time signatures, wobbly falsetto and prog-pop breakdowns coalesce into wonderfully addictive, if strange, pop nuggets. Think Cats In Paris, Islet, Dirty Projectors or Ponytail if you like. As their two Swn festival sets show, though – especially last year’s in a rammed Model Inn – it’s way more thrilling live.
Get there early for the debut show from James James. Two of King Alexander giving it some No Age-style garage clatter, you’d be a fool to expect anything other than good times. Shape Records, long-term Munch Munch cheerleaders, will be on the decks. Sounds like a party.
MUNCH MUNCH
JAMES JAMES
& Shape Records DJs
Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
Saturday 19th March 2011
7pm – 10pm £5 / £4
http://www.myspace.com/munchmunchband
http://www.shaperecords.com
