“If it’s not Twerps it’s not for me,” a friend of mine is fond of saying before putting the self-titled debut album on to repeat play. Friday night proved this statement true and Twerps went very close to overshadowing the headliner, who had ignored the age old rule of only booking mediocre support acts to ensure they look good. They delivered a beautiful set of muddy, muddled jangle pop. I fear they will never be famous but they will always be quality, the upside is if they never make it big they will continue playing the Corner. The crowd, all high-fringes and beards, were certainly grateful, welcoming the new material that the band tried out. Quality stuff.
Loose but not lazy, Dick Diver’s brand of guitar-pop is a summer road trip, arm hanging out the window as you head to the beach. They are all in 100 other bands but when Rupert Edwards, Alistair McKay, Steph Hughes and Al Montfort get together they are more than the sum of their parts. Dick Diver are just getting better and better, Calender Days is an even stronger album than their first, New Start Again, and they play it brilliantly live. The scruffy, shambolic vibe of their playing, almost casual, with alternating vocal duties, induces a dreamy, hypnotic relaxedness and their set barrelled by in the blink on an eye. Head Back was a standout, Al Montfort has toned-down his front man act from Golden Plains, letting their songs rather than his swagger be the centre of attention, and his bodgie, blowie sax solos are a highlight. Anyone that sings about Wobbies World and Gumbaya Park is okay with me, they have only just released their second record and I can’t wait for a third. If it’s not the Twerps and Dick Diver it’s not for me.
JACK FRANKLIN
LOVED: The lineup.
HATED: Nout.
DRANK: Tins of Guinness.
