The Warm

The Hobbit - October 2005

by Louise Glyde

Four-piece The Warm simmered in the downstairs bar of The Hobbit on Saturday night. They specialise in rock ballads, their songs emotionally heavy with hard-edged guitars and tight drum beats to accompany them. Whatever else, it's obvious this band’s music comes from the heart. It smacks of tortured, teenage angst with some well thought out, emotive lyrics. The words were a snug fit for the ups and downs of the guitar riffs that flowed with the mood. The band are passionately involved with their music, emotion etched deeper on their faces as the set went on. Guitars played with vigour accompanied the swishing of hair and pounding of drum sticks. The lead singer's powerful, husky voice helped bring the songs to life. This meant the audience had the luxury of choosing a reflective or toe-tapping mood. However, their music just didn’t get the hairs tingling on the back of my neck. You would expect to hear a Warm single on the sound track of Smallville or Dawson’s Creek or some other American, teenage drama show. Their music is not unpleasant or badly put together, quite the opposite, but their 'torment in life and love' sound is not uncommon. The band work well together musically and their lead singer is a great front-man. As he exchanges witty banter with the crowd it is clear the band are capable of reaching out to people. Maybe if they pulled some new, faster-paced perhaps less gloomy subject matter out of the bag, more people would sit up and give this band the credit they are capable of achieving.