OFM @ The Priory

OFM LIVE REVIEW

Friday March 20th
The Priory ~ Doncaster

It seems a lifetime ago that I first saw OFM play; It was at Spider’s Web in Doncaster and they totally blew me away. At the time it was bigger-is-better mentality, bands were doing everything in their power to split the eardrums of their audiences and being as outrageous as possible – add to that the fact that this was a battle of the bands, and it seems even stranger that OFM were singing pop songs!

Since that introduction to OFM I’ve been witness to many shows since but they’ve never lived up to that first encounter. Until tonight. OFM take the stage, “If we appear to be drunk… there’s a very good reason for that”. OFM do not have tight jeans, (heaven forbid!) they do not have the ‘hair’, they do not subscribe to any current ‘trend’ or ‘scene’ and it is so refreshing to see.

During the first chords of Industry, it is glaringly obvious that OFM are an accomplished gang of musicians; gang is an important word here, it’s always gutting to see four people on stage that you know won’t even share a beer after the gig – OFM won’t be that band, OFM will be tearing a crate apart in 40 minutes time.

I’ll get the obvious references out of the way; Pavement, Matador Records, Weezer, Guided by Voices etc. They do still have the college alt-rock style that they’ve always had but they now have much more than that with elements of classic British pop creeping in, The Kinks, Roxy Music, with Squeeze being the most obvious. Songs like ‘Incredible Moves and Combinations’ highlight what well-crafted songs OFM are now capable of – gone are the obvious 4/4 indie choruses, instead replaced with complex layered harmonies and complementary dual guitar frettery. This takes UK songwriting full circle as I’m sure that these same groups from the 60s/70s had a big influence on the US alt-rock fraternity.

Tonight’s short, six song set (5 bands as part of Doncaster Music Week’s Raw Talent ‘showcase’) is made up of primarily new material; new material from their recent 19 (yes, nineteen) track session for a forthcoming double album. The album was the last offering from Darren Feris at Analogue Recordings and finished and mixed at Higher Rhythm. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing this and it is sickening that a band can write that many songs that are so consistently good!

OFM are great tonight – OK, they’re drunk – but not many bands can have that much fun with their friends and play their songs that well sober, never mind the level of lubrication we are witness to here. John Fell joins them on guitar for a song as, by their own admission, they’d added so much to some songs during the recording they needed extra members to do them justice! The songs tonight could be criticised for lacking the urgency of earlier incarnations but OFM were on form tonight: tight, well written songs, played by a bunch of mates – it doesn’t get any better.

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