an id signal a thumping tortured hardcore mixture of noise that's hard to get "into", it's like a pickup truck ride at a pretty good speed over a dirt road absolutely filled with potholes with no sign of relief in sight. very hard and a bit bewildering, i can't help but wonder where they get their inspiration. the music is moderately coherent, but the vocals are all over the place - it's as if they enjoy being hopelessly lost in a nonsensical array of sometimes painful and confused oddness. definitely not for everybody, especially not for naturally happy people, there's not much joy here, except in the recognition of another horribly tortured soul (if applicable). not quite as hardcore into despair as "Bereavement", but still pretty down, with just enough rock to still keep you moving around some. logic dictates that they must be, but i'm not entirely convinced by the vocal style that they're having a pleasant time performing. the audience sure seems into them, i guess that indicates a fair amount of enjoyment of suffering around. Amos

The Darlings instantly recognizable as a pop-rock band, they can be enjoyed by any fan of live performances. not particularly distinctive but full of all-around noisy goodness. they have just a touch of attitude. they seem to be trying to reach something, but not quite sure what. it's certainly a nice, if somewhat rockingly ambiguous ride, though. some bits of uncertainty prevent me from fully mentally merging with their message though. a cross between them and "collective soul" would be fantastic. a few of their later songs showed pretty strong confidence, i'd love to hear more of that boldness. Amos Dan Lai

Queen Elephantine off to a slow but deeply rich start, they're all about populating the bassline with juicy tidbits of stoner love and fascinating variation to keep you solidly in their groove. and a wonderful groove it is. i thoroughly enjoy every sedimentary syllable they have to utter. they seem to have almost invented the mind of the stoner in all its cannabic glory, an absolutely blissful place to get lost in for an hour or three. not a whole lot of original melody here, but pretty much everything a slowly wandering mind seeks to encounter. they are the abolutely perfect accompaniment to couch-lock, leaving you wanting nothing but another plate of nachos. the band "tool" has a bit more creativity and variation, but queen elephantine is very stiff competition as far as keeping an awesome vibe going goes. i seriously cannot think of any way that they could possibly improve. they're like floyd without the legacy. truly a stoner's wet (if a bit cotton mouthy) dream. Amos Dan Lai

The Squawk Found myself slamming into the Squawk's debut at The Underground with songs that are halfway between deathmetal and punk - short short anthems of intensity and energy at an all time high. Perfect. Moshing to various songs with subjects littered with dedications to 'their boss' to birthday songs. Tight. Book The Squawk now. Joseph Dan Lai

The Nobody's An assortment of musical styles equals The Nobody's. Dramatic sort of flowing punk rap rock then moments of passionate keyboards then Beatlesesque moments. The singer tries hard, maybe a little too hard at times but no complaints musically as he sings in key! Majestic keyboard washes fill their last song, a Cantonese number. Interesting mix of styles, sometimes like they cant decide, other moments it works! I'd watch them again. Mark Emerson

Karat The only band at U44 with an 'entrance' donning afro wigs and the cute female singer with her blue wig - she's got great vocals! Reminds me of a japanese porno movie with schoolgirls - oh wait maybe thats the beer talking. Singer should have kept the wig on, she looked too normal once she took it off.... Musically very very funky with shades of Bee Gees. Karat are reviving 80s music! Possibly too funky for funk's sake! Mark Emerson Dan Lai

Synthetic Insemination This is the sort of band you can take mushrooms to! [Editor - please, no drug references] Drum machine with melodic funky grooves, the female vocalist alternating between playing bass and keyboards. Guitarist with effected vocals. Reminiscent of Morcheeba. With songs halfway between industrial and punk - thnk Bangles influenced by Nirvana. A very good band. Mark Emerson Dan Lai

Head Hunter Headhunter had a large crowd with people jostling to see this industrial goth band. Naughtily they played two covers but at least in was in their own style with Twenty Century Boy drawing a big round of applause. The Leslie Cheung cover was just weird. I'm so impressed with them for their dress sense, their makeup, their fashion sense, their music - I watched them once before in 2005 and think they have improved although I do miss the gas masks! Rosie Chan

Dan Lai

Above photos © Copyright 2007 by Willem Van Der Merwe
except photos of Forgot by Yan

Poster by Mike