Rock Sound Magazine / Club Fandango Xmas Show: Haunts

Club Fandango is almost an institution in Camden for avid gig-goers, showcasing some of the best and sadly some of the most unremarkable indie bands around at the smelly Dublin Castle.

Tonight, it’s their joint Xmas party and it's an interesting mix of both. Among them are Hunting The Minotaur - an angry and schizophrenic punkish outfit whose sound is a promising pop-rock-emo crossover topped with the lead singer’s trebly punk squeal - and Enjoy Destroy, who are sure to receive top reviews from the likes of Tame And Lame Weekly. Enough said.

The headliners are London boys, Haunts, who despite not displaying their songs at their juiciest on MySpace, deliver a passionate yet short live show. They kick off with ‘London’s Burning’, a proven crowd pleaser that starts out flirting with the darker sides of rock (matching their nearly-but-not-quite all-black goth apparel) and dissolves into glammed up pop. Also worth a mention is the ominous bass playing that sounds proper evil at times and the lead singer’s mature and rich voice, an instant charmer.

Next in line is a real rocker. ‘Live Fast Die Young’ is indeed fast and the band does a little dance with their feet when vocalist and guitarist aren’t fighting for space on the small stage. There is no playing around with the bassist, however; he is damn seriously into it and moves and plays like a true metal head. Elsewhere, Haunts explore other musical grounds and play a glam pop number that evokes Prince thanks to the vocalist’s voice and synth playing. An erratic set, you may think, but it was in fact engagingly eclectic.



Camden Dublin Castle, London, 9th December 2008.

Written by Will Furtado.