Launching into choppy opener Barce-loner, Dinosaur Pile-Up look exactly like Nirvana. The drummer is doing his best Dave Grohl circa 1992 impression, all hair and arms flailing everywhere. Bass player Harry Johns supplies the goofy humour, spinning around in circles on top of his monitors and trying to whip up the crowd excitement. Lead singer and guitarist Matt Bigland spends most of the time static behind the microphone, spitting his fringe out of his mouth.
It really is a lot of fun. Their influences are about as subtle as a punch in the face but instead of dreary copyists that followed the grunge movement in the 90s, Dinosaur Pile-Up understand what made Nirvana so special. Although it was the drugs and depression that many outsiders latched onto, Kurt Cobain was always trying to write the perfect pop song before putting it through a blender of guitar feedback.
This is exactly what Dinosaur Pile-Up are attempting: the delight which Harry Johns introduces new single Mona Lisa with “You might have heard this on the radio!” highlights how their DNA is marked with a need for well crafted three-minute rock songs.
All the band revel in their respective roles as Nirvana imitators. Bigland sings most of the (quiet) verses in a subdued and introverted manner before unleashing his best ‘out of control’ Cobain thrashing at selected intervals. Johns tries to divert attention from his frontman’s wild intensity by handing out drinks to the front rows, trying to pin point the most drunk person in the room and continually evoking a sense of enjoyment (“We try and have as much fun as possible on stage”).
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It is undeniably entertaining, especially the run of new tracks from their freshly released debut album which are easily the most melodically accessible and interesting songs they have written to date. However the bands’ lack of individual identity soon drags after the twenty minute mark. Despite the increasingly rabid crowd reaction, you can’t deny that we’ve heard all this before (and not just from Nirvana, over a set of 45 minutes Dinosaur Pile-Up’s repertoire becomes noticeably one dimensional).
When the band announces “This is a quiet one” towards the end, you wonder if they’re being ironic. Instead it’s a welcome change of pace, even if the lyrics that concern feeling “tired of being alone” aren’t quite as incisive as they could have been. Dinosaur Pile-Up then close with an erratic rendition of Traynor which finds Johns on top of the speaker stacks beating up his bass while Bigland juices squealing feedback from his guitar.
The tradition of Nirvana is undeniably in safe hands here. Dinosaur Pile-Up provide one of the most enjoyable nights out available from a touring British rock group at the moment. However in order to become something truly special, they need to step out of the large shadow of their heroes.
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