Dead City Riots

We heard of rumblings from north of the border....dark whispers in conspiritorial tones....was an invasion afoot?
We sent our intrepid reporter Nick Elson to brave the inhospitable weather of Perth to find out what it was all about...we weren't sure if we would ever see him again, but it appears he may have had an epiphany...and seen the light...

Friday night...in a cold and windswept town...stumbling through the door to The Plough,the poster beckons us in to catch Freeview.
glasgow's finest exponents of...well...what exactly? I'd heard the terms: grunge ; post-grunge and plain old "rock" bandied about, as the listings struggled to shoehorn their sound into a suitable slot...the lights wash out the stage - ready, for Freeview.

From the opening chords it's clear that this is really something different. Whilst all the usual rock sensibilities are there - there's a particular twist to the whole ensemble - that credible, loose fit kit - dreadlocks swirling,as the bassist collides one crunching bar into the next. And there's something else lurking too...
David Cunningham's vocals cut straight through the noise and rise...and rise again, soaring above the songs in a way not heard on their last outing (on Glasgow's fledgling Chicken Physics label)...and never more so than during the night's highlight, the anthemic and pleading "Something's Got To Give".

What makes this work - what makes it rise above the identikit post grunge masses - is the unique blend and texture of the sound. With a guitar that pulls in style and influence from just about everywhere (...and I mean everywhere ; rock, punk, indie, grunge; you name it - there's a hint of it in there somewhere...),pulsating drums and throbbing bass...and those soaring, searing vocals.

In the midst of the thrash and glam of "Car Crash", with heads down - all at once grasping at and grabbing with writhing strings and lurid power chords - shards of incandescent white light fence everything in around you...and then you get a flash of the Freeview yet to come...and when they grab The Buzzcocks classic " Ever Fallen In Love..." by the scruff of the neck and make it their own, you truly start to realize the sheer breadth and depth of what this band can - and do deliver.
Freeview's time is coming and there's plans for a major UK tour in 2006 that will surely see them take their place as the band who challenged post grunge to step out of it's comfort zone - and start taking risks.
- Noize Market Magazine, www.ukbands.net

It’s reassuring in this day and age of teenage bands to know that you still can't teach your granny how to suck eggs - or in this case how to put on a good live rock show. Freeview offered a slick, highly enjoyable performance that rescued the audience from a night of bad set-ups and a group who can only be described as 'McFly does Rock' (yes that bad!).

Hailing from Glasgow and making a not-often-enough jaunt to the East coast, Freeview are a four piece Rock/Grunge outfit. It’s far too easy to immediately label them with a Pearl Jam clone label. Lead Singer Dave Cunningham’s vocals draw a strong likeness to Vedder’s but with a harder edge to them.

From the moment they kicked off into 'Pass It On', it’s clear that these guys have been playing together for a long time now. The playing is confident and effortless. The driving rock track immediately had crowd members jumping, and Cunningham’s vocals immediately get attention.
His laid back stage presence is an enjoyable break from the myriad of rock singers who insist on jumping around at breakneck pace until they're a bag of sweat.

New track ‘Kerosene’ followed. A speedy track with some hectic drumming and good riffs. If the rest of the new E.P. sounds as good as this, fans have something to look forward to – it definitely had an early Metallica sound to it. Old tracks, ‘Car Crash’ and ‘What’s My Pill?’ closed off the set.

‘What’s My Pill?’ is a perfect lesson in how rock should be done. Screaming vocals, thumping drums and some catchy riffs. It sounds like a missing Pearl Jam/Soundgarden track. Catchy and full of energy it begs to be unleashed on the charts, and has to be heard to fully appreciate it.

The performance tonight offered up a well crafted group. All members of the band showed that they were more than competent in providing what was expected of them. The chemistry they show on stage re-enforced that impression – Drummer Chris and front man Dave happily stopping to light up a smoke half way through the gig. The live performance is certainly the way to be introduced to Freeview; studio tracks that are available on the web sound good, but the live aspect adds a whole new dimension to them. The response of the crowd certainly seemed to justify this statement.

After seeing them live, you have to wonder why they are still playing smaller venues such as The Subway. Everything you would expect from a top band seems to be in place; Well written songs, played with great vigour and good skills; Good live; An Interesting band, with a frontman who can hold your attention; Enough marketability.

So why aren’t they there yet? You have to wonder if the 'grunge' tag hinders them somewhat. McCallion’s vocal do immediately draw to obvious comparisons. And with the bands metal, grunge-esque direction it’s easy to label them a clone band left over from the early 90’s. And surely it will be at least another five years before we are due a grunge revival?

But it would be unfair to label them in that way. Listen to a good mix of their tracks and you realise that there’s a consistent quality to the work they have produced, and it covers a good mix of the rock genres. The best suggestion is to go and see them live. And don’t be surprised if you hear 'What’s My Pill?' on your radio sometime soon.
- www.glasswerk.co.uk/glasgow

So, from a night full of disconnecting cables, snapped strings, dodgy sound and a few dodgy haircuts, it was quite refreshing when Freeview took to the stage.

It was a long wait for these guys, I think it was about 10:45 when they came on, but, as everyone there that night would probably agree with me here... it was worth the wait.
This 4 piece from Glasgow came on with what looked like the attitude of 'Right, lets show them how the big boys do it' and they did.
Not to say these guys were coming across arrogant, but it was clear that they were more professional of the bands that night and that's what came across in their performance.
Not only did Freeview look the part of a good rock/grunge band, their sound was similar to some great bands such as Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam.

Now, these guys play frequently up and down the country, which might explain how comfortable they looked performing, especially in front of such a small crowd, as some bands are fazed by this, but not this lot, they were there to entertain us and I for one was entertained.

I did feel however, their set was quite short, so I came home and had a wee listen to the 3 tracks they have uploaded on their My Space site (http://www.myspace.com/freeview).
The first track 'What's My Pill' reminded me of the bands energy that night and may well be the grungy track that helps them on their road to success.
The first thing I noticed on this track were the vocals, they reminded me of someone, but it wasn't until the 3rd track, (my personal favourite) Somethings Got To Give, that I realised the vocals were similar to those of Chris Cornell from Soundgarden, only a little deeper.
The intro was what caught me on Somethings Got To Give, the bass and guitar were so so good, I must have played it about 6 times, then thought the best thing to do was just put it on my ipod.

So, if like me you wished you had been part of the 'Seattle Music Scene' in the 80's/90's when Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and the rest of that mob were belting out the best of 'Alternative Music', then get along to see Freeview, one of the bands who are making a good name for the 'Glasgow Music Scene'.
- www.jockrock.org

And so, half way through the evening, Freeview arrive on stage complete with instruments and drunken staggers. These lads are drunk but they're certainly capable of putting on a good show. Freeview are brave though because they're playing to an unknown crowd at the other end of the UK. Without their Scottish following, the room appears a little empty and lacking the support that Freeview deserve.
Their music is as wild and energetic as the bands who have played previously, but there's a tightness about this and the feel that Freeview are bigger than the venues they're playing at the moment and they're easily one of the most professional sounding bands playing today. Talented and a pleasure to watch despite the amount of alcohol consumed, they deliver an unyielding blend of melody and heavy guitar work. The elements making up this bands noise are balanced and manipulated effortlessly to allow those roughed up vocals to soar above. The equipment might not be doing them any favours tonight, but Freeview couldn't care less. They know that they're big enough to rise above such petty problems and by the time their second song is through the crowds reaction has increased.


By the time Freeview pull out the ace- the stunning 'What's My Pill?', their crowd is a little more responsive although nothing compared to the dancing that occurred during The Dirty Great's set. Freeview's music is darker though and offers the audience something a little deeper to think upon. On record 'What's My Pill?' is a brilliantly addictive song and their live rendition is not a letdown. Heads are nodding, feet are tapping along. It's a reserved reaction, but for a band who've not begun to break the south of England, it's a start- and a promising one at that.

Rating - 12/13

- www.roomthirteen.com

Rating 12/13

The Scottish music scene has received a rather large shot in the arm courtesy of Franz Ferdinand and others. Glasgow's Dead City Riots seem to be riding that wave. Formally known as Freeview, they plugged away scoring gigs with everyone from Biffy Clyro to Kasabian. With debut album Always Is Never The Same being released on up and coming record label Casket Music, the Scottish quartet are sure to get the coverage they deserve.

Opening with the abrasive 'Kerosene' there is a jarring garage rock edge of Seattle's own Mudhoney and dirty groove of MC5. Vocalist David Cunningham has an impressive set of pipes on him. 'Whiskey Summer Junkie' sounds like a cross between We Are Scientists and Stone Temple Pilots – an odd combination but it works. 'Say Nothing' has the loud/ quiet dynamic of Nirvana.

'What's My Pill' has the down and dirty sound that dates back to days that Dead City Riots where still known as Freeview. 'Control' has the Queens Of The Stone Age sound (the vocals seem a like but the song is a lot more danceable). 'Something's Got To Give' has the grace of a Pearl Jam song. Guitarist Paul Clark is versatile in his playing and making songs this damn catchy. Rhythm section Cameron Smart and Chris Coll gel well with each other. Closer 'Real Time' is a bluesy acoustic number that releases the steam of the rock n roll groove carried through the album.

The word grunge maybe a swear word to some but the blend of the Seattle sound mixed with mid 90's hard rock and touch of punk translates well to record. Its upbeat whilst being raw at the same time. An awesome piece of home grown alternative rock that takes props from the past without trying to imitate them ridiculously. These guys are gonna be huge.


- www.roomthirteen.com

Rating 4/5

It'd be easy enough to tarnish Dead City Riots with the same ol' post-grunge brush that's tainted so many up-and-comers of late. The squealing riffs, the thudding drums and the overly pained vocals... hell, this might as well be Pearl Jam. But no, for DCR offer up much more than your everyday post-high school band. Formerly known as Freeview, the quartet batter and bruise their way through 12 cuts of melodic rock goodness - and with comparisons abound to the likes of Audioslave and the aforementioned PJ - these guys seem to be cutting from the right cloth, for this is extremely good stuff indeed.

Musically the album flits from one end of the spectrum to the other - bruising rockers 'Bridge Jumping' and 'Whiskey Summer Junkie' sit aside aping power ballads like 'Something's Got To Give' and 'Say Nothing' - the kind of stuff Nickelback would be making if they weren't so goddamn awful. Whilst most will find the bands platform largely generic, there's something about frontman David Cunningham's vocals that just sells it. Achingly subtle one minute and nigh-on pissed off the next, Cunningham's range - whilst reminiscent of Eddie Vedder, and at times, Chris Cornell - is the ultimate factor behind DCR sitting above their fellow UK hopers.

Live favourite 'What's My Pill?' makes a reappearance from the bands previous EP - a brutal little number, the crashing drums and wailing guitars make for what can only be termed as the musical equivalent of a train wreck, and with the likes of 'Control' and 'Pass It On' filling out the disc more than adequately, Dead City Riots have a debut release to be very proud of. Very proud of indeed

- www.rockmidgets.com

Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhh……………….now this cooks! Right from the opening immediacy of "Kerosene", you are hurled headlong into a wickedly driving, fast-paced set of songs that made me want to forget typing this out and just leap about the room doing air guitar. The sheer energy that this band unleash is absolutely addictive, and the fact that they can write some incredibly strong songs, too, is nirvana itself. Speaking of Nirvana – neat link, huh!!! – there's more than an element of that band's grunge trademark to this, while their vocals and style provide a follow-up that is pure Foo Fighters in many places on the album, a shining example being the amazingly commercial rock action that is "Whiskey Summer Junkie" while "Say Nothing" slows things down and becomes more of a Pearl Jam styled smoulder, with vocals that aren't a million miles from Vedder, but they add an extra layer of emo-quality passion, as the song then takes off and follows that path to perfection, the whole thing mixing Foos and emo, positively seamlessly. It's so good that you simply have to listen to all of it in one sitting – song after titanium strength song pours out with a sense of arrangement and immaculate production that brings the best out of the band's abilities all round. "Bridge Jumping" is a song that the Foo Fighters would have killed to produce a year or two back, as it simply hammers into your skull with the commercial intensity that only the best rock writing can provide. There's so much adrenaline flowing here, you'll not sit down for a week once you've played this album, and the feeling you get is so invasive, that there should be a government health warning on the thing to prevent you from overdosing on it – yeah, it really is THAT hot. Think I'll give it another go – I can take it – I won't get hooked – maybe……….. fan-fuckin'-tastic – this could be album of the year in my books – it's certainly up there with the best of them – you HAVE to buy this album

- Dead Earnest

Rating 7/10

Assured post-grunge collection that matches the seductive melodic maturity of prime Foo Fighters with the dramatic dynamism of full-tilt Placebo, 7/10 - Classic Rock Magazine