If I were to give you a list that included: The Stone Roses; The Happy Mondays; Nirvana; Radiohead; The Stereophonics; Supergrass; The Doves; and Coldplay, you would probably think I am naming the next Glastonbury line-up or the corner-stones of your record collection. But apart from being a definitive part of modern indie guitar music, these bands all have something else in common: they've all supported James on tour. It's time to add The Twang to that list. Crash, Twang, Wallop...This has been some year for the boys from Birmingham. NME magazine started the furore in the winter by describing them as "Britain's best new band", and then they finished second in the BBC News website's Sound of 2007 poll.  | | The Twang |
The spring began with The Twang winning the 'Philip Hall Radar Award' at the NME's and continued with the band being championed by Janice Long on Radio 2 and both Zane Lowe and Jo Whiley on Radio 1. The first single 'Wide Awake' was released on March 12th, the album 'Love It When It Feels Like This' will be out June 4th. To cap it all off they've been featured on the BBC Birmingham website and were part of the 'Phil's future sounds' week on the WM Breakfast Show. Now, just back from their sold-out debut national tour, they were looking to impress. They did not disappoint. More than aimless | | The Twang, pic by Steven Gerrard |
Dedicated readers may remember last time we went to see The Twang the Academy dance floor was empty save a gathering of football fans. This time I had to push my tired torso through a packed crowd of all ages. Some of the older audience members were clearly there to see James and were unfamiliar with The Twang's music, but the band's unapologetic sound coupled with their clear humility to be performing to a home audience won the crowd over. 'Ice-Cream Sunday' showed that the dual vocalists give them not necessarily a new sound, but certainly a distinct one, whilst latest single 'Wide Awake' highlighted their ability to perfectly structure a rock-pop track for a noughties audience. The band exited to full applause and co-frontman Phil Etheridge offered "thanks for being kind", but even he seemed to be looking forward to James. Don't sit downForming in 1981, James have been around before most of the Twang were even born.  | | Tim Booth performing in 1994 |
The music press see the Mancunians' post-punk baggy indie of the early 1990s as exactly the type of blueprint their support work from. Yet the James sound was very different to The Twang, and it is testament to the Brummie boys that they shone in a gig that was all about James. When the band appeared the intensity levels doubled. They had not toured since lead singer Tim Booth left in late 2001, and the room was filled with a passion born of frustration from some who hadn't seen them in six years, and others like myself who had never had the pleasure of hearing this chapter of the indie bible. How was it for you?A James gig is like a good first date. To begin with, the two of you are not really on the same page and although there are so many ways it could go well, you don't really click. Then someone says 'something' and the other responds with glee. You have common ground, in this case the band's new tracks - so new Tim Booth read the lyrics from a pad - which I found comfortably Muse-esque in construction.  | | James in 2007 |
Suddenly you're staring into one another's eyes, the stars are filling the sky (or the big screen behind the band), and you realise, 'she's a star', you kiss, everything is perfect, your head is spinning to the harmonies that surround you. That's as far as I'm going with that metaphor, but you get the picture: it was very, very good. Bassist Jim Glennie, whom the band is named after, put it best recently when saying: "James has always been about pushing boundaries. Exactly what lies ahead is hard to say, but with the tour and then the new album, the future looks rosy for me and all James fans." | 
