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Holy State, Turbowolf and Dinosaur Pile-Up at The Cockpit 2, Leeds

Dinosaur Pile-Up

If it were the case that bands enjoyed a linear progression from nowhere to somewhere then it would be hard to place where Leeds three piece Dinosaur Pile-Up were on the trajectory.

Filling the Cockpit's second room is not uncommon and undoubtedly DPU have done it by virtue of a strong following. Impressive immediately on first listen it is not hard to see why but just as the progression from local lads making good to national indie stars seemed to gape in front of them the band seemed caught like rabbits in headlights.

Holy State

This will probably not be a problem Holy State who are an earnest and not entirely bad outfit but lack anything like a signature or a stamp of originality. Thinking back to the first time one say Dinosaur Pile-Up one was taken by the clash of melody and grunge and how well Matt Biggland had been able to pull that off. Holy State's journey needs to get to the moment of alchemy where something unexpected occurs.

Turbowolf

There was something massively unexpected about Turbowolf who were Heavy Metal as if Spinal Tap and Steel Panther never existed. They rawk, and they do so unapologetically, and in a sea of indie gigs in an indie town like Leeds that is the hurricane surge of fresh air.

A band who seem to enjoy being on stage, who seem to enjoy playing guitars, who seem to have a demented need to make sure I enjoy watching them they are a blast. It is speed metal - I discover later - and it is massively good fun.

Fun being what seems to have drained from Dinosaur Pile-Up. The first half a dozen songs sounded like a man having a great time, liberated and with a guitar, and stand out on the night amid more ponderous and almost forced efforts. The album Growing Pains is more a difficult second affair than the fresh first and hearing the tracks from it ground through live has me wondering if Biggland will recapture the effervescence that marked those early song.

Until then, one fears, Dinosaur Pile-Up are stuck in the middle.