Monday 01/08/05 Komakino, Battle @ Barfly, Liverpool

If Ash’s Tim Wheeler joined The Glitterati, the ensemble may well look a lot like tonight’s support, Komakino - and if all the indie bands around at the moment merged, they’d probably sound like them too. Not massively original, but poised, polished and pretty enough to be entertaining. Much head smacking, pouting and foot stamping was to be had from frontman Ryan as he led the Derby 5 piece through an energetic, engaging set full of catchy riffs and totally hummable melodies. The mainly sedentary crowd was peppered by a couple of over excited moshers, who loved the band so much they bared their bums in appreciation.

There’s been an almighty buzz following London band Battle as they tour the length and breadth of the country, and as they deliver their charming, understated but powerful set, it’s easy to see why. Initially gracing the stage a little shy and modest, the lads instantly relaxed and looked at home as soon as they picked up their instruments. Clearly deriving real pleasure from playing, their charismatic, no frills approach made for a great change from the usual posers on the block. Employing only a bit of funky blue lighting for effect, the performance is refreshingly simple, yet remains totally watchable as well as listenable. 

Later, the beautiful wanderings of delicate new song ‘Tendency’ proved utterly mesmeric, and the melodious Indie rockings of Isobel venture almost on epic. There’s something rather intriguing about Battle, although This reviewer at the ‘Wise can’t quite pinpoint what. Maybe it’s that we can’t work out how such a big, mature sound can come out of such a young band. Brilliant stuff.