CityLife

The Sunshine Underground DJ set

By Katie Storey

DID I miss something? Or has no-one in Manchester heard of The Sunshine Underground?

Admittedly I'm a newly initiated fan.

But after hearing that they had being tipped to trample all over paint-by-numbers indie bands following the 2006 release of their debut album Raise the Alarm - I would have thought at least a small hardcore of fans would have turned out to see them in a city that's famous for spawning the Hacienda generation.

Ok, so they left their guitars and drum kit behind and two of the band members (bassist Daley Smith and drummer Matthew Gwilt) to swap the stage for the DJ box.

But this was a chance for The Sunshine Underground, a self-described party band, to strip down to their roots and play their favourite tunes.

Don't get me wrong the place was packed, but it could have been any given Friday night at any Northern Quarter venue

The revolving door of punters lined up in front of the stage gawping like characters from a Guess Who board at yet another set of forgettable indie-support-bands doing the rounds.

Stepping behind the decks frontman Craig Wellington and guitarist Stuart Jones prepared to drop their first track before kicking into their set, but as the familiar heavy drums and sinister riff of Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode sounded out the dancefloor emptied as the crowd headed for the bar.

With a playlist that skipped from fresh-faced Friendly Fires hit Paris to The Prodigy's retro rave tune Charly, dropping in guilty pleasures in the form of Kiss by Prince and Tainted Love by Soft Cell, flipping back to Trainspotting's cult anthem Born Slippy and  Beastie Boys' Sabotage, stop me if there's something I've forgotten, it wasn't long before the resident musos were lured to the dancefloor. 

Named after a track from the Chemical Brothers' 1999 album Surrender and with the obvious dance elements to their own songs it would have been easy to presume that The Sunshine Underground's set may have stuck to a formula, but that wasn't the case.

And despite their continual comparisons to nu-rave their wasn't the sound of a Klaxon all night. - proving through their influences that they're a band who refuse to be stereotyped as psychedelic or simply indie-dance. 

So for anyone who has any of the above listed on their iPod, it probably wouldn't hurt to give The Sunshine Underground a chance, with fan's favourite 'Put You In Your Place' still whipping up riots fours years after it's original release.

Preferring to steer clear of mainstream venues playing quirky underground clubs and staying true to the house party ethic their new EP is set for release in November and their muchly-anticipated second album is expected to be launched next year  - it might be time to help The Sunshine Underground raise the alarm.

Reviewed: Sun, 06 September, 2009

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