Music Critic Charlotte Prentice-Gardner praises University of Birmingham’s very own Melts the Band ability to spread a love for brass and jazz to students
Nestled within the pub, unbeknown to non-locals, is the Dark Horse’s own music venue. It’s taken three years at university for me to discover this place, and that can be accredited to Melts the Band who played there on Friday 26th November. Despite not knowing the venue personally, all the local bands playing that night drew a healthy, vocal crowd, and we queued for about 15 minutes to get in.
One of the latest bands to emerge from the University of Birmingham, Melts the Band call themselves a fusion of acid brass/jazz, and they did not disappoint. Onto the stage they squeezed an 8-man ensemble, featuring a tuba, trumpet, two saxophones, drums, keys, guitar and trombone. By the time they had arranged themselves, they were elbow to elbow, saxophone to saxophone. Despite this, later they miraculously welcomed on yet more performers, and there were bellowing cheers as these were members from the other jazz supporting acts, Blonde Jezi and Tasting Notes.
The performance commenced with a firm favourite, ‘Feel Good inc’ by Gorillaz. Until the chorus dropped, I did not recognise it was a cover, likely a result of being so completely mesmerised by all the instruments at force, as well as the shoving crowd. After three support acts and a decent amount of beer, the audience was understandably rowdy, especially as many of them were loyal, course friends. Anyone who knows the crazily popular, Jazz Funk Soul Society (JFS) nights at the Indie Lounge, Selly Oak, would recognise all the members.
My personal favourite of the night was ‘Space Jam’ – one of their original pieces, because it was so bizarre.
The performance felt organised, with an interwoven set order of covers and band originals. My personal favourite of the night was ‘Space Jam’ – one of their original pieces, because it was so bizarre. Unlike other songs they had played, this one had the added texture of extraterrestrial samples, conjuring images of a spacecraft breaking into outer space. Although not as ‘boppy’ as other moments of the night, the juxtaposition created between this vibe and a cover of ‘You & Me’ by MEUTE that followed kept the audience’s attention captivated. It made me think that perhaps the key to bringing brass to a younger audience is to show its flexibility, and thus coolness, like this. In the moment, it was difficult to see how any trendy 20-something would not appreciate brass, as the boiler-suited-and-booted lads swayed to the beat, with orange stage lights reflecting off their tinted John Lennon sunnies and shiny instruments.
they were evidently extremely talented improvisers
As the night grew on, Melts the Band treated the audience to head-nodding covers like ‘September’ by Earth, Wind and Fire and ‘Killing in The Name’ by Rage Against The Machine. It would have been nice to hear more original pieces from the band, as they were evidently extremely talented improvisers; there were no secret, white sheets of music anywhere. But understandably, they are new on the block, and it can be assumed that a band formed on campus will be balancing uni work too. It is lucky they are mainly 2nd year students, suggesting that in another year there could be some iconic gems from this band.
The only major downfall to the night was technical. In particular, one of the supporting acts, Sensible Music, although having good intentions, had multiple sound issues. This served as a reminder that all the bands are still in their teething stages. Saying this, each act, especially Melts the Band, engaged the audience with a surprising amount of charisma- telling jokes and welcoming guests on stage. It would have been better if they had have verbally introduced each song and incorporated some anecdotes, in order to help the audience remember their tunes and make the performance feel more accessible to the less jazz-educated. Equally, it would add personality to the band when, having so many members, could be mistaken for another orchestra. A final wish would be for a bigger venue to be able to see all the members properly, but ultimately this is a credit to the band for selling out multiple times. Melts the Band is clearly a local band to watch.
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