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| The Past Tense - Photo by Paul Slattery |
We had a nice little excursion to Kingston-Upon-Thames on Friday to catch The Past Tense at the excellent venue The Fighting Cocks. The freezing temperatures outside were soon forgotten after a pint of superb Tribute ale and the friendly atmosphere in the bar. The Past Tense took the stage and proceeded to play through their as yet untitled, forthcoming album, give or take one or two songs. If this set was anything to go by it will be one of the albums of 2012 that's for sure.
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| The Past Tense - Photo by Steve Worrall |
Kicking off with their great single "Feeling Bad" they then play two songs I haven't heard before "Angel Face" and "Jimmy's Love Song" which are both superb catchy numbers. Singer Andy Norrie-Rolfe loses his guitar strap through his energetic playing but keeps on going. It's then into their classic "My Baby", which was featured on the Retrosonic Podcast Pilot Episode as one of my favourite songs of 2011.
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| The Past Tense Guitarist/Vocalist, Andy - Photo by Paul Slattery |
They play a cover version next, "Fighting My Way Back", then it's "Poison Arrow" which has a great chorus and then the night's highlight for me, the Ska-tinged "Nervous", which goes down really well with the appreciative crowd. This is a great track and would surely make an excellent choice as a lead-in single for the new album. The rhythm section of Ken on bass and Nuts on drums are very tight and keep the songs danceable and punchy. Sometimes they remind me of vintage Dr. Feelgood with Andy's chopping guitar and those great beats.
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| The Past Tense Drummer, Nuts - Photo by Paul Slattery |
Then it's "The Optimist" and it's time for "The Wolfman", one of their best tracks with its' great 60's Psych style guitar riffs and singalong chorus. Vocalist and guitarist Andy is an engaging frontman, although he really doesn't have any need to keep apologizing for his guitar playing, he should just bash it out with more confidence, he has nothing to be worried about. "Wolfman" highlights all that is great with The Past Tense, sharp power pop with a punky edge, a nod to the past whilst still sounding fresh and contemporary. They end on new track "No No Blues" which although a promising song, maybe lacked that immediacy to end a show on, especially following "Wolfman". Still, a minor complaint, which if they had had time to play an encore would have been forgotten.
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| The Past Tense Bassist, Ken - Photo by Paul Slattery |
So, definitely a band to keep an eye on, especially with the news of their forthcoming debut album which will be something well worth getting hold of. Good news is that I will be putting on another Retro Man Promotions gig at The Half Moon in Putney on Friday May 4th and I have invited The Past Tense to join up with The Jetsonics and The Len Price 3 for a repeat performance of last year's successful show. Details to be announced soon, don't miss it!
Here's one of my videos taken at the gig - "The Wolfman"
Keep up to date with news on The Past Tense at their web-site HERE.
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