Words and Photos: Richie Yates
Chrome Manta Ray play hard rock. Its straightforward, its uncomplicated, its extremely enjoyable. There’s hints of Rage Against the Machine and they throw in a fair bit of eastern melodies. The band benefit from being very tight. The vocalist/rhythm guitarist loses a string mid set and opts to just sing for the remainder of the set. This gives lead guitarist an extra chance to shine and his tricky lead lines get extra clarity as the floor becomes his. Some great bass playing from and powerful tight drums keep it all on track providing a solid groove baseline for the band to jump from.
Ugly Jumper. The first band in ages that all I heard from on stage as they set up was a quick 1234 and they were suddenly off! No messing around, straight into a melodic punky thrasher of a track. They continue with equal upbeat and more considered songs. Some great guitar lines propel their melodies along and there is more than a little of the Cure in their sound. They are prepared to strip their sound away and slow it all down which allows some great vocals chance to rise above the frenzy. Great songs, well played and a band that understand what entertaining the audience is about.
The main event, and a bit sad too. This is Last Reserves final gig after 10 years. I think we’ve been watching them for most of that time too. We may have a bias here as we’ve been drawn repeatedly back to see them simply because they are (were) a great band.
In some ways its Siouxsie Sioux on vocals backed by Motorhead, a simplistic way of summing up the band but when the lead guitar hits it and the vocals are in your face its an easy comparison to make. The songs cover anything from mental health issues to liking girly pink things and lyrically have always had a maturity that made the band stand out. Entertaining explanations of their songs meanings, often scorchingly honest in their description, litter the set between songs.
They get a genuine cheer and call back from the jammed audience at Outpost for an encore and revel in it banging out one last fast and loud chunk of music.
Links:
Last Reserves:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LastReservesBand
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/lastreservesband
Ugly Jumper:
Bandcamp: https://uglyjumper.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100091264003738
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uglyjumperband
Chrome Manta Ray:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chromemantaray