On record some overly polished production has threatened to reduce Sound Of Guns into a hollow shell. There’s something suspiciously unbelievable about their bravado and insistence to make everything as massive as possible. If you can, see them live: preferably as close up as humanly possible. Frontman Andy is an absolute star waiting to happen.
From the moment he struts on stage wearing a leather jacket and carrying two beers you can’t take your eyes off him. He acts like Mick Jagger fronting The Ramones. There’s an air of casual indifference that all great front-men possess but you can tell that deep down, this man won't stop until Sound Of Guns are the biggest band in the world.
There could be a risk of him turning into a walking cliché (he looks like the diagram of a perfect rock ‘n’ roll star that major labels must continually refer to in board meetings). However he possesses one of the strongest and most powerful voices to lead a British rock band in years. He carries choruses the size of cathedrals off with absolute ease.
Latest single Elementary Of Youth is played early with an aggression the recorded version never captured. While on paper the lyrics are about as appealing as a dead duck, to observe the ferocious intensity Andy belts them out with, you can’t doubt this band’s intentions. By the start of their third song he’s really having fun: attempting to take a photo of the front rows with limited success. He wants to leave an imprint on every single member of the audience, making the room as small as possible. And as the crowd swells startlingly quickly, it feels as if that’s exactly what he’s doing.
He sings Collisions from the pit in front of the stage giving unwavering eye contact to the audience. The song itself starts off sounding like Eye Of The Tiger an ends with an “oh-oh-oh” refrain not dissimilar to the bass line from 99 Red Balloons, this band really doesn’t do subtle. Between songs banter is kept to a minimum, instead Andy paces up and down on the monitor stacks, waiting impatiently for the band to release his leashes. When the pace slows with a new song that introduces a synth backing track and enormous Sit Down style drumming, Andy sings it looking up at the stage lights like a werewolf transforming in the full moon.
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By the time he’s singing the chorus of debut single Alcatraz from the speaker stacks at least twelve feet up from the stage, people are using their camera phones to take pictures of a support band the majority of them hadn’t heard of before tonight. That’s how sure people are that they’re witnessing a true star emerging.
He ends their set dishing out high fives to an eagerly receptive front row. It’s an astonishing display of confidence. Sound Of Guns have written some of the most unashamedly epic and commercial British rock songs in years. It works perfectly in a rowdy, sweaty setting when confronted with their fire-ball of a front-man. Whether it makes as much sense on record however, is another point entirely.
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