Your Heart Kills + Second Monday + 9 Months Waiting - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 09/12/05.

One of those nights where everyone decided to stay at home for whatever reason which always makes for a poor atmosphere but you can't fault the bands performance wise as they get stuck in. 9 Months waiting come from the emo/screamo end of the spectrum which is enough to put you off before starting and despite looking like they have been to the same emo school of guitar shape throwing as all the other emo bands they sound pretty decent, angular emo rock with melodic sections without being wimpy. They reminded me of a less dramatic At The Drive-In but they do try to liven up the place, though at times they verge on the irritating but the nice touches in the music just about outweigh the negatives.

With some of the bands complaining because their fans couldn't get in as they were under age for the pub the evening was in danger of becoming a wash out so it was just as well that Second Monday were outstanding, an emo heart with layers of thick alt.rock and a slightly more accessible sound and there is something to be said for a little substance over style. This impressive five piece hit a nice groove and beef it up with some keyboard action although there is a tendency to slip in some of those whiney emo vocals that annoy me so much. they have anice edge though and you kind of feel there is a big epic rock band just waiting to burst out in the future.

Your Heart Kills while still having an emo flavour are more direct and therefore more satisfying with a hearty dual vocal thing going on between a bear with a sore head and some light melodies. They have a confident full sound with those odd time changes just to throw you and delight the emo kids and while they are not up to challenging Second Monday they produce a solid set while not being spectacular.