Live Review Baddies 
The party post-punkers come to The Cockpit
Live Review: Baddies
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Given the current crop of electro-embracing pop acts dominating the charts (much of which should already be consigned to some secret disco dustbin located somewhere near George Clinton’s home planet and incinerated as recompense for soiling the good name of actually decent dance bands everywhere), it’s refreshing, if a little untimely, to see a spunky post-punk band like Baddies, complete with Gang of Four rhythm breaks, Futureheads-style vocal rounds and Devo-esque punctuation.
Hailing from Southend (home of fellow intriguing throwbacks The Horrors), the band are immaculately presented in matching blue shirts and high-rise hairdos, looking like a neurotic geek squad of angry neuroscientists who’ve just been blasting loud rock music into the ears of defenceless lab rats. At least that’s what they’d have you believe, because the band isn’t nearly as threatening as that. Except maybe the slightly unhinged, wild-eyed front man Michael Webster, who pounds his chest in true David Byrne fashion to the band’s eager, frenetic set, with kooky twin brother Jim pounding the drums in a suitably robotic and kooky manner.
Whether the gimmick will work over time is an issue that many matching-suit bands have had to confront (remember The Hives?), but thankfully their songs are strong, particularly the really poppy tracks from their debut album Do the Job - tracks like ‘Battleships’ and ‘Open One Eye’, which not only display their distinct ear for a good hook, but also a talent for harmonies that instantly puts them in a category much slicker than your average. The Leeds crowd, though not overtly hostile, are still hard to move despite the band’s best efforts, and you feel that perhaps their sound would be better expressed in the sweaty confines of a drunken house party rather than a much grander stage. But Baddies are through being cool, and as such are a much welcomed, light hearted proposition.
The Baddies played The Cockpit on 7 October
Posted on Thursday 8th October 2009
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