Published Work

Written for ‘No-TiTLE’ Magazine
DEAD DISCO single launch party
w/ The Clerks, Heads We Dance

Coco, Lower Briggate, Leeds
September 2006
Jessica Barlow


The night started off with me stood at a bus stop frantically looking for a pen, or any sort of similar instrument of which to write with. With no I idea where the hell I was going when I was just a mere spectator in the evenings plans, I now was reviewing the little shindig and had the task of getting my scatty and at this point rather panicked self to a little place known as Coco at the lower of Briggate.

Easily said and done, situated next to the newly refurbished Mission, Coco is nicely tucked away in the cobbled gay quarter at the lower end of Leeds. I quickly found it’s cute, cool and chrome ways urging me to spend more than I could on the very impressive cocktail list. Coco seems at this point a perfect little hide away for the launch party for single ‘Automatic’ from the trio Dead Disco.
Automatic, a perfect eltro-indie wave single, which can be compared to that ever so familiar sound of Blondie, is the last release on Fierce Panda Records, and in my opinion is definitely a high note to leave the panda with thanks to the Leeds lasses. The B side single ‘Too Late’ is worthy of a release on its own, continuing the ladies strong new wave sound. The EP is even blessed with a remix for the title single and enhanced with the Video to ‘Automatic’ which was directed by Samm of the Klaxons.

With all that under their belt before the night even began I was very much excited about shaking my arse and drinking excessively to celebrate this launch. The girls, Catherwood, France and Hesketh were headlining the night, for obvious reasons, accompanied by a Perisian/Mancunian based power indie/pop punk band ‘The Clerks’, and the newly established local four piece band ‘Heads We Dance’, who kicked off the party like a newly born mule with extremely large feet.

Heads We Dance, (and my god we did), played their first ever gig tonight and by golly gosh it was good! When they announced that they had been together for just FOUR WEEKS I nearly choked and ate my cigarette. And if that doesn’t explain how good these lads are then I don’t know what else I can try and eat that isn’t edible. HWD are a very healthy mash up of raw Killers and Franz Ferdinand with a massive electro synth feel. And it feels good. As first impressions go I don’t think that they could have hoped for a better one, I would expect to see these three guys and their girl, popping up all over the fucking place with more gigs up in the North, make sure you catch them before they start charging for their pins- which they were handing out like sweets.

Middle man The Clerks later powered out a song titled ‘The Fight’, and this was pleasantly received by the party people. It was raw and heavy yet still managed to keep and electro punk sound pumping. The male vocals of Max, think a very straight sounding Brian Molko, worked more than well with the female harmonising. From song to song male and female vox swapped around and mixed together, meaning that their sound kept bringing something new to the crowd through the set, and they loved it. Add The Clerks to your ‘things I like from France list’, tres bien!

Dead Disco closed the nights celebrations in true style. Their set which started with City Place, an earlier release on the Dance To the Radio label this year, followed by their new b-side song Too Late, and The Treatment which is unbelievably catchy and my personal favourite, was bloody brilliant! More of the set saw…Riding Low, Stop The Clock and the finale, single release Automatic, saw DD put on the best live performance that Elaine, aka Mama Catherwood had ever seen. Quote.

Their new release Automatic, is available on CD for 3.99 and Vinyl for 2.99 in Crash and Jumbo Records in Leeds, Amazon and on I-tunes to Download. Yet I doubt by the time you read this they’ll be any copies left, after the single and undoubtedly their whole set went down a storm!
Dead Disco’s stage presence is fun and full of life, and they really get into their music, I can see DD heading for the bright lights of stardom at an extremely nauseating speed. These girls look, sound and should be the part!

With what is becoming an era where female fronted bands are breaking the business with the likes of The Long Blondes, Metric and Be Your Own Pet hitting the indie scene running, Dead Disco are not going to fall flat on their pretty little faces!

Go buy Automatic, it would be a crime not to.

www.myspace.com/deaddiscohq
www.myspace.com/theclerks
www.myspace.com/headswedance