The Herms / My Life is on the Line
Hemlock Tavern
March 13, 2004


Review by Squid

The joint was packed for My Life On The Line. Packed! Though initially there were quite a few chatters at the back...Hey, a party's a party, right? Luckily, things settled down just in time for us to appreciated the every second of cello, violin, and vocal. MLIOTL is simply Beautiful stuff, with reflective melodies that can pop with crashing guitar at just the right moments. Squid thought of a cross between The Ladybug Transistor and Thee More Shallows. Grab one of their EPs, coz it's free!

So Beth Lisick alluded to the fact that more folks should've been paying attention to The Herms at the Noise Pop Kickoff Party. We heartily agreed. Squid and Daz worked themselves into a frothy frenzy trying to build comparison for folk who ain't seen them: we started with Mark E. Smith vocals and Bauhausy playing. Then any reasonable comparisons were blown to hell coz bass player was just fueling the whole deal with some serious Gang of Four-esque schwinging. PiF's Scottish Special Correspondent Graham Mitchell nailed it when he proclaimed, "they're wonderful. I always wanted Josef K to reform, but now they don't have to. Hurrah!"

Suffice it to say Ms. Lisick would've been pleased with the full house of pogoing misfits, Squid and Daz included. If you missed them again last night, you also missed your chance to boogie with Ajax. He was a charmer on the dance floor, he is. Word to Ruzsx, and Virgil better have gotten good photos, coz he was more sober than the rest of us!


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