Simon Rushworth
@ Newcastle Legends, November 12 2010
The Legends glow stick masses pulled out all the stops to receive electronic music producer, self monikered Noise Bastard, Faderhead on a Tech Noir Friday night. Complete with crazy and colourful hair, UV, flashing lights and cyber-wear this crowd was raucous and ready to dance.
Hailing from Hamburg, Faderhead hit the stage at Legends with a simple set up of two guys and two laptops for their second UK show promoting the new album Black Friday. Fully charged on energy drinks this industrial dance twosome were ready to rock. And they nailed the familiar (yet repetitive) EBM sound guilt with a Euro-pop edge.
The crowd were geared up from the off as Faderhead erupted onto the stage in a straight to business attitude with heavy backed bass and drum styling of catchy tuned Electrosluts Extraordinaire and Destroy, Improve, Rebuild.
Singer Sammy has got both the look and the attitude, leaping around onstage with endless high energy and his current laptop support – Marco Visconti – had the time of his life mixing up the backing breakdown of synths and beats.
Escape From The Machine and Baby Firefly – both melodic and catchy with heart pounding kicks – are slightly reminiscent of German rockers Rammstein but without the pyro.
The crowd fully engaged with glowsticks to the danceable yet heavy and fast Dirtygrrrls/Dirtybois – Faderhead were loud and clear but kicking out cheesy techno synths. The German military sounding TZDV or Tanz, Zwo, Drei, Vier compelled the audience to partake – unleashing their energy in a show of pure dance fury.
Sammy’s voice is powerful and almost ballad-like for some songs but it’s ramped up to a Nine Inch Nails growl in others – Faderhead destroyed the dancefloor for this Tyneside audience. Think of them as the love child of Erasure and Depeche Mode with Trent Reznor as the industrial Godfather and you’d be there!
Louisa Kouzapas