CityLife

Alchemy possess brains and rock brawn

CLASS ACT: Alchemy

FOR most schools and academic institutions, the summer months usually signal the start of a well-deserved break.

However, in the case of Manchester band Alchemy, the pursuit of knowledge is always an on-going concern.

Forget whatever Alice Cooper claimed, school is most certainly IN for the summer of 2009.

Arriving in a Manchester bar on a warm summer’s evening, the Manc heavy metal four-piece resemble their very own miniature school of rock – all of the members dressed in smart shirts, matching ties and sporting studious expressions.

And what is top of Alchemy’s academic curriculum? Today, much like every other day, it’s advanced lessons in how to slay the Manchester indie scene.

"We’re the ultimate rock geeks,” declares Alchemy’s singer and songwriter, Simon Wright.

“There’s something almost academic in the way we approach playing music. If you’re not top of your musical game, then you shouldn’t even be playing in this band.

"With so many indie bands around today, there’s this mentality of ‘Oh, let’s learn three chords and then start a band’. With this band, it’s all about really showing off our musicality. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to impress.”

With their matching uniforms and cerebral rock manifesto, Alchemy – singer Simon, joined by guitarist Joe Bushell, drummer Dan Cooper and bassist Richard Harland – have firmly pitched themselves as Manchester’s very own thinking man’s rock band, or as the band themselves put it, ‘Manchester’s premier rock nerds’.

But for all their unashamed nerd factor, Alchemy are most certainly not the sort of stereotypical geeks who get bullied easily and skulk away quietly in the corner of the playground.

Ramones

Rather, Alchemy are Manchester’s premier self-appointed ‘rock behemoths’, a band who deliver brains and brawn in equally devastating measure: the brains courtesy of their monolithic metal anthems (think At The Drive-In had they ever gone stadium rock); while brain matter is displayed in their intricate, progressive rhythms and song structures, the sort of head-warping musicality which makes Muse look like The Ramones.

Alchemy then – they are most certainly big, and they’re not ashamed to admit, they’re also darned clever.

“I think the biggest problem with so much British music is how much it has dumbed down,” argues Simon.

“Where are the bands who want to challenge and show some musical ambition? Whether it’s Lily Allen or The Courteeners, there’s still this idea of musicians trying to peddle the most mundane things and pass it off as art.

"Does anyone really care what The Courteeners sing about? It all goes back to bands being so studied and convincing themselves that they’re actually doing something alternative. But in fact, they’re actually offering something unimaginative and conservative.”

In fairness, any band who possesses a full-time British Aerospace engineer (in guitarist Joe), and an aspiring Hunter S Thompson-style gonzo writer (in Simon), was never ever going to form a run-of-the-mill indie rock band.

Forming just over a year ago via ‘Musicians Wanted’ adverts and bonding over a love of ‘early nineties metal and grunge’, Alchemy’s sole manifesto is to “bring some noise, intelligence and imagination” to the Manchester music scene.

It’s a lofty mission, yet Alchemy are a band whose greatest talent is in carefully balancing their ability to rock hard with their fondness for outright ostentation.

Spinal Tap

Well aware there’s a fine between Spinal Tap pomposity and Muse-esque levels of musical epicness, Alchemy use this delicate balancing act to their advantage.

Their jaw-jutting live shows are a perfect balance of noise (“some venues have actually told us to turn our guitars down!” exclaims Simon), aggression and the sort of OTT bombastic rock spectacle which leaves audiences exclaiming ‘can they really get away with this?’.

“It’s a fine line isn’t it?” considers guitarist Joe. “As a band, we’re well aware we can take things too far. But we’ll never go the whole Spinal Tap route and start bringing druids and Stonehenge props onto stage. But there’s no harm in challenging your audiences.

"We’ll never be a polite band and settle for being background music. We want to make an impact on people who’ve never seen us. Even if there is a risk of us looking a bit daft.”

Which is certainly good news for all us Manc music fans who would rather see our rock bands aim high and fail gloriously than actually succeed in calculated (but horribly conservative) fashion.

Alchemy might be asking perhaps a little too much from their audiences, but what they’re offering is plenty already: brains, bravery, a complete lack of self-consciousness, a couple of classic metal anthems, and bucket-loads of ambition.

And frankly, ambition does not get any grander than the band’s plans to hook up with their dream collaborator.

“There’s no way it’ll ever happen,” smiles Simon, “but we’d love to work on a track with Lady GaGa. She’s brilliant, the best thing to happen to pop music for ages.

"Obviously, we sound nothing alike, but we both share a sense of not being afraid to look stupid or absurd. And frankly, isn’t that what music should be about?”

Alchemy then – never too cool for school, and most truly, top of the class.

Alchemy play the Roadhouse on Saturday, July 25. For more info visit – myspace.com/ukalchemy.