Natasha House observes local boys The Departure outplayed and outshone by the bright conceptual haircuts and indie perfection of our American hosts, The Killers.
21/07/2004
A prophet is never appreciated in his hometown, or so said some famous Biblical guy. Unsurprising then, that when asked if they were excited about local boys the Departure, the resounding silence of the sold-out Northampton Soundhaus crowd was barely cracked by a couple of doleful cheers. Uproarious applause for the Killers soon identified which name sold the tickets. Maybe that has something to do with said local boys’ reticence to play local gigs or take advantage of local radio support, preferring to cash in on the Holy Trinity of Steve Lamacq, Jo Whiley and (after their super-signing to the label) Parlophone’s PR moguls to get their name known.
Fair enough, but even the Prodigal Son had to come home eventually, and so the Departure had a lot to prove even if half the crowd didn’t know it yet. The ensuing set full of intelligent 80s New Wave-style guitar pop owing a little to Joy Division and a lot more to Interpol proved they have their bubble-wrapped Franz Factor (forthcoming single ‘You’ve Got It All Mapped Out’ plus white Winklepickers) to compliment their five-album deal. No wonder the blessing of their fellow countrymen was low on the agenda.
The Killers, on the other hand, came 4,000 miles to show us how Indie should have turned out, had it not turned into the sound of a bunch of curly-mopped Northeners whinging into their Wallabies. The irresistible charm of the Las Vegas quintet’s Indie disco rock quickly took over even those most Conceptual of Haircut and most Uber of Cool.
From over-earnest anthems like ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ and ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ to the pop-perfection of ‘Mr Brightside’, The Killers have managed to rescue the remnants of British Indie, inject it with a truly ridiculous American optimism and drag it leagues across the Atlantic in order to save our poor garage-rock fatigued souls. And thank God for that.
Relevant sites:
http://www.thedeparture.com
http://www.thekillers.com
Report by Natasha House for Crud Magazine 2004©