Review: Flowerpot, the Lanes

Flowerpot describe themselves as a grunge outfit, which is misleading because they’re more than that; they also refer to themselves as alternative and that’s far more accurate. Not necessarily in genre terms but rather that they’re an alternative to a lot of young bands on the scene. They haven’t hopped on to a fashion police approved bandwagon, they don’t slavishly ape the stylings of their influences and they write and play refreshingly hefty modern rock. Before they hit the stage though, the excellent Department S provided a groovy appetiser in the form of a splendidly paced set of sixties & seventies soul, funk and rock. And a tip of the bipperty-bopperty hat to them for the Bowie tunes.

A great sound for the band meant that opening number Get to You came over loud and clear: perfectly illustrating the Flowerpot sound: a stop / start aesthetic coupled with a couple of nifty time changes wrapped up with a killer chorus. There’s variety to their originals with the atmospheric Roulette contrasting with and complementing Loser Girl, with its rattlesnake surf riff kicking out the jams. The guitars are heavy, but not metal, the rhythm section supple and inventive – so no bashed out perfunctory “will this do” beats; and there’s a cleverness to the song structures that brings to mind QotSH, but without some of their (at times) overpowering artifice. 

The set included some covers – a Kerrang! friendly version of Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor got the crowd moving, but covering the latest single by (probably) the most successful pop artist in the world showed some balls, and following it with a cut from (arguably) the biggest mainstream rock band on the planet indicates cojones that King Kong would envy. Nonetheless Adele’s Hello got the full on rock treatment, transforming the pop into rock in no uncertain terms; and Muse’s Hysteria managed to sound as epic as the original despite the lack of giant laser firing robots on a rotating stage built from UFO parts and stealth bomber spares. That said latest cut Over Rated is a killer and one hopes the band are gonna be coming up with a few more like that and will drop the covers.

The all too short set finished with Precious Little Lies, building to a terrific crescendo that clearly exhausted the rhythm section, who required liquid refreshment before the band delivered a prime slice of “cheesy rock” with a punky take on I Believe in a Thing Called Love. This leads us back to the original premise that Flowerpot are an alternative – what other band seeking fame and fortune (and critical approval) would cover both Nirvana and the Darkness? Their next major show will be at the Hobbs Fashion Show, make sure you’re there for the brand new dance. Beep Beep.

Photo Credit: Liam Spear