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Last week, the editors here at MoveOnUp were lucky enough to attend the finale of Cardiff University’s Live Music Society’s Battle of the Bands. Featuring local student bands: The Poached, Baronette, something about dinosaurs and hello! indigo (in order of appearance), the night was geared up to be a spectacle and here’s how it went down...
To kickstart proceedings we were treated to The Poached and their wonderful indie rock set. A relatively new band compared to the competition but certainly not showing that much in their set - the quintuplet certainly impressed the crowd and would make for a great opening support act for any indie band performing in Cardiff. What particularly impressed me was the vocal range of the singer Dara as well as how put together their whole set was featuring a range of songs from originals to Foo Fighters to Arctic Monkeys, but all working very well on the night. Although there was a mishap starting one of the songs, this happens to bands of all experience levels and even though they didn’t win on the night, if they play their cards right they certainly could make waves in the local Cardiff music scene and beyond.
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the.poached/
Following that impressive set, Baronette took the stage with big boots to fill. Winners of heat 3 against Reports of Animals, Dual Park and Groove Institute, the rock band certainly lived up to their instagram bio “loud”. Technically probably the best band, especially the electric guitarist (which you can see a rendition of my reaction to some of his solos below).
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In all honesty, it was probably not the right crowd for the band on the night. However, that being said, the energy was certainly there from the band with some excellent crowdwork from their frontman with their keen fans. It’s a shame not everyone is a metalhead, but if you are one you will certainly love watching Baronette kill it live or streaming their stuff on Spotify (linked below).
Something about dinosaurs was up next, and no that’s not me forgetting their band name, they are called something about dinosaurs! On their instagram they may still be working out what that something is but they certainly have their sets figured out, with a considerable amount of originals with clear backstory behind them as described by dual doorman and frontman Alister. The band certainly has the uniqueness to set itself apart from other indie bands with their unique sense of style, violinist and their drummer's crochet devil horns that catch the eye. With vibes similar to a mix of cavetown and modern baseball, I think they certainly could have a target demographic of fans if they keep at it and put their songs on streaming platforms.
Another kudos does also need to be given to Alister as the head of the Live Music Society for putting on the event for a great cause (TransAid Cymru), yet alone playing in it as a frontman; albeit with slightly disappointing results in the end as I personally did not win the fairy liquid prize in the prize raffle.
Finally, last but not least, winners Hello Indigo took the stage. Their class certainly showed on stage as you could tell that they have been altogether as a band the longest. With striking looks from hawaiian shirts to bright pink trousers to mullets and moustaches; if you were to see them in the street together you would definitely guess they were a band. Although their original singles were certainly very good (Be Mine being the standout), the part that sold me was their fantastic rendition of Valerie by Amy Winehouse. Perhaps partly aided by the song being a cult classic; Valerie certainly got the crowd going, but that is not to say that the band did not play it exceptionally well, especially vocally.
On top of that, their stage presence was fantastic as well, and it goes to show that their experience playing in the likes of Clwb Ifor Bach, Depot and the Moon has matured their act over the years.
Again if you would like to check out their stuff the links are below, there is already an impressive range of tracks available on Spotify if you want to see what Battle of the Bands winners are made of!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helloindigouk/
Finally MoveOnUp would like to thank the Cardiff Live Music Society for putting on this event and showcasing so many amazing bands for an amazing & important cause. Here is a final clip of the night for you to enjoy.
PS: if there’s any artists/bands reading, feel free to get in touch with us as well on @MoveOnUpMusic on Instagram and you can feature here in a review or interview, the more coverage of local Cardiff, Leicester and UK music the better!
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