Amplifier & Mojo Fury

Manchester Academy 3,  11 December 2011

What better way to end a live review year than by seeing two bands who feature strongly in our Best Albums of 2011. Guitarist/vocalist Sel Balamir formed Amplifier with drummer Matt Brobin and bassist Neil Mahony in the early 2000s in the shadows of post-punk mecca Manchester. But the band has more in common with such hard rock legends as Led Zeppelin, the Who, and Silverchair than they do with Morrissey and Marr. The band made their self-titled 2004 debut on the Music for Nations imprint, and followed it up with The Astronaut Dismantles Hal in 2005.

“The latest album ‘The Octopus’, a gargantuan, spellbinding two-album journey sets Amplifier up as forerunners of a new approach in alt/progressive music. Ditching the stereotypical and often parodied sprawling excess of the past, but retaining a prodigious talent and a refusal to be bowed by perceived convention, they forge not just a new path for themselves, but spearhead an approach which has seen alt/progressive music have a vibrant new life breathed into it.”

Mojo Fury is an alternative rock band from Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The group came together in 2004, originally as a 3-piece. That line up featured Michael Mormecha (vocals and drums), James Lyttle (guitar, vocals and keyboards) and Ciaran McCreevy (bass guitar). Over the following few year, the group independently released a number of EPs - ‘Mojo Fury’ (2004), ‘Untitled’ (2006) and ‘Visiting Hours’ (2007).

In 2009 the band decided to recruit a drummer with Mormecha picking up a guitar in the process and fronting the band. In the intervening years, the band has seen drummers come and go but Gerry Morgan is the current stick man.

In 2010, the band released ‘Deep Dish Tank’ in April followed by ‘The Mann’ in October. These two singles whetted the public’s appetite for the band’s debut album which was being finalised. One final single, ‘Colour Of The Bear’, was released in February 2011 before the release of the ‘Visiting Hours Of A Travelling Circus’ album. In addition to fronting Mojo Fury, Michael Mormecha has also played with Red Organ Serpent Sound and Pat Dam Smyth And The Glue. If this wasn’t enough, he has also found time for his own side project - Clown Parlour.

Mouth-watering or what! The only real disappointment was that the bands had to perform in the smallest and worst Manchester Academy venue which is not really suited to amplified rock bands. Mojo Fury struggled to match their studio sound in this venue although certain songs did hit the target including ‘The Mann’ and ‘Deep Fish Tank’. A case of right band, right songs, wrong venue.

And the same could be said for the stars of the show, Amplifier. The band’s latest 2-hour conceptual narrative album deserved much better. Nothing wrong with the band’s performance (which was excellent) but an album like this needs a video backdrop to give context. And therein lies the problem with performing The Octopus album live - the venue, limited song choice, staging, acoustics etc.

Despite the inherent venue issues I was able to assess the quality of both bands for the first time following their 2011 album triumphs, and I was not disappointed. The venue was packed for them and the audience response could not have been more enthusiastic. Both bands offer distinctive sounds, wonderful song-writing and ability to perform up there with the best alternative rock bands. The only thing which could hold them back is the lack of national radio airplay, which considering the material is nothing short of criminal. I want to go see them again but in a larger/better venue, maybe supporting some major act.