Sunday 22 March 2009

Mistaken for Strangers @ The Sugarmill 20th March 2009

Review by Charlotte Lunt

Photo by Daniel Finn

In what was their first outing as a trio, Mistaken for Strangers took to the stage at the Sugarmill on Friday night to support The Fears as part of the Tremelo Rehearsals showcase. From the outset it was clear that they have no intention of following the well trodden steps of Gallagher-esque indie rock that appears to be so popular at the moment. Their first song ‘One step Closer’ was a solid number and was well received by the audience, eliciting the first cheer of the night indicating that they are building a good following.

The slower track ‘It won’t be long’ was where the group appeared to find their feet for the night and allowed Dan Cooper to prove his worth as the group’s frontman with clean and sonorous vocals. With sound performances by Tom Walley on guitar and Neil Goodby on drums they pack an admirable punch and presented a collection of songs full of potential and self belief.

Clearly winning the audience over with their performance the group charged through the half hour set going from strength to strength, and soaring through ‘Any day now’, well within their comfort zone and enjoying the reaction they were receiving.

It looked like their set was going to be prematurely cut short due to earlier technical difficulties, but the audiences significant disapproval about this bought them a reprise; and it was this that confirmed that there is far more to Mistaken for Strangers than meets the eye. ‘Only the World’ was the most accomplished performance of the night, and revealed a glimpse of what may be to come from this trio, both musically and from their performance.

Whilst it is difficult to identify specific tell-tale influences in their music, suffice to say that they are a well on the way to finding a sound that is their own. They are clearly not content with simply belting out good tunes but engaging with people and performing crafted songs. With a great foundation laid in their work to date it will be interesting to see where their journey takes them, and will be well worth catching a performance or two on the way.

I have it on authority from the band that their current line up is a work in progress, as they are currently auditioning for a keys/synth player to complete their sound. Anyone who is interested can contact them directly through their myspace.

www.myspace.com/mistakenstrangers

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