Two Door Cinema Club Live at Dolans 02/02/2010 REVIEW

The sight of a packed venue on a Tuesday night would excite any business man during these "R" times. The attraction that sees so many young and old (Mainly Young) trawl into this warehouse tonight is the hottest new band in Ireland at present. Tickets had been selling like hot cakes and the gig even had to be moved from the cosy small upstairs number to the massive downstairs warehouse. This is not all media hype though, as the band has shown with their brand new album release "Tourist History" as of last Friday 26th February. I got an advanced copy of the album a few weeks back and I found it hard to keep it off the iPod and I’m sure this will be the case for some time to come. Two Door Cinema Club’s infectious tunes are just a complete instant pleaser to the ear and soul. These three guys are from Northern Ireland; Bangor to be precise, and the lead singer’s voice clearly has that classic northern Irish twang which adds an endearing quality to the record. If you asked me to compare them to another band I would say a pop-ier Bloc Party, but they are much more than this. Whilst echoes of their influences emerge throughout the record, they have forged a sound which stands on its own. Their sound references many spectrums of indie pop music with touches of Arctic Monkeys to Belle & Sebastian throughout their record. Their album is a joy to listen to and just puts you in a great mood for the rest of the day. Lasting only 33 minutes the album has you baying for more; I was delighted to see them down on the bill for Dolans and by the looks of this crowd, so were many others. The guys have been making waves in the music industry for awhile now, being on most people’s lists of "Ones to Watch in 2010" one such list being the excellent "BBC's Sound Of 2010 Poll". I don’t pay much attention to these lists as they just hype up some rubbish act that had one particular song with a half decent riff. Two Door Cinema Club released an EP called “Four Words to Stand On" in January 2010 a taste of what "Tourist History" was to become if you like. This EP was met with major praise and it’s easy to see why. The stand out track for me on their new album is "Undercover Martyn", which was included in that EP. This is the type of song that would have record producers and critics breaking down the door looking for more. It sucks you into their electro-pop indie world and you just want to stay there all day. Tonight sees their first date of 6 on an Irish mini tour which takes in the sights and sounds of Galway, Belfast, Dublin and Derry. First up on stage tonight sees another band from Bangor. Funny, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone from there, but tonight I will witness eight Bangorites. The band interestingly named Kowalski played a short but sweet set of four songs including one not even named yet. The band has clearly been gigging for quite some time due to their tight sound. The lead singer has a very soft tone, and I could describe them as having the melodic qualities of a mishmash of Travis, with hints of an old limerick band Woodstar, but injected with infectious pop beats. These songs mainly came from their new EP "Take Care, Take Flight". Head over to their MySpace to check them out for yourself, sample a few downloads and say hi! http://www.myspace.com/wearekowalski Kowalski Set List : I Do Navigate November New Song Phil Cansus Take Care, Take Flight Get Back Next up are the Two Door Cinema Club trio joined by a new fourth member purely to man the drums perched up behind the lads. They seem very young and are clearly way beyond their years with the record they just brought out. They get stuck in straight away playing the first track off their debut. The warehouse was nicely packed now, as the overspill made their way up to the balcony. It wasn’t jam-packed but very wise to move it from upstairs to here. They then play my favourite from the album "Undercover Martyn", it seems like they are playing hit after hit but that’s just the way the whole album works. Much to my delight, (and to the obvious elation of the number of dedicated fans who have already memorised the lyrics) they play the full ten tracks from the album. They also included two non album tracks "Kids" and "Costume Party", The latter can be downloaded here http://twodoorcinemaclub.com/ They go off for a bit (approx 10 seconds!) then come back on and blast into “Come Back Home” before playing the crowds highlight of the night "I Can Talk", and then head off to get on with the rest of the Irish tour. It’s very satisfying to witness a young band live up to and beyond the hype. After this mini tour this will be the last time you will be able to pay 10 bucks for a Two Door Cinema Club gig, Cheers for a great night! Two Door Cinema Club Set List : Cigarettes In The Theatre Undercover Martyn What You Know Do You Want It All? Something Good Can Work This Is The Life Kids Costume Party You're Not Stubborn Eat That Up It's Good For You Encore: Come Back Home I Can Talk