Review of The View at The Academy, Dublin – April 13th 2011
Review by James Hendicott
Snaps by Natalie Byrne
Raucous and often lyrically incomprehensible, Dundee’s ‘The View’ have taken debut album ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’ and hit single ‘Same Jeans’ big-selling status and run with a minimally varied style more than most would have thought possible. The reason? A reputation for wild, rasping live shows and partying harder than even the distinctly lad-ish fanbase down the front can manage, show after show.
Tonight is no different. Stood in front of the play-block logo for their latest effort ‘Bread and Circuses’, The View look just a short step from the iconic Doherty, flippant and slurring, and throwing back beers between almost every track. The crowd responds in kind: the heart of the dance floor quickly descends into the kind of near-riotous atmosphere that has security running around lecturing punters for launching countless glasses of beer across the fronts rows. You might not be able to understand 90% of what The View are rambling on about, but they create an atmosphere that positively wallows in out-of-control rock and roll, even if they can barely half-fill the venue.
Musically, there are some surprisingly clever asides to be had. The odd moment of ska-influence and some sharp post-punk guitar solos stand out amongst the more stereotypical off-the-peg indie, with ‘Skag Trendy’ and ‘Shock Horror’ offering the quirky highlights. The more general style of The View, though, remains the same: indifferent and feisty; a band that perform for themselves and not their audience, but in doing so produce the kind of well-meaning but slightly over the top reception that has even the band cracking a wry smile.
Cries of ‘The View, The View, The View are on fire’ echo around the building for the duration, but it takes the odd moments of genius to shine through: ‘Same Jeans’ – for all the varied alternative twists they band are capable of – is still a massive high point, while plenty of album tracks seem to merge into each other. For a band that invoke such passion, and seem to rock out like the genuinely mean it, The View are a touch indistinct and disappointing overall. The problem? So many lyrics lost to that super-speed, garbled form of singing, and a few too many down the front convinced that letting loose at a gig involves soaking the entire crowd and generally acting like an aggressive, obnoxious fool, which does nothing for the atmosphere. Would we watch them again? Sure, but perhaps in front of a festival crowd, rather than their own. Shame.
