LIVE REVIEW: InMe @ The Exchange, Bristol

For INME, Bristol was the start of a new chapter in their career. It was in the city just over a year ago that frontman Dave McPherson broke his hand, thus forcing merch guy John O’Keefe to step in on rhythm guitar. Fast forward twelve months and he’s now a permanent member of the band, who are starting their tour in support of upcoming seventh album Jumpstart Hope at The Exchange. There might be another gig going on in the newly refurbished basement room of the venue, but there are very few around who aren’t making their way into the main room for the first gig of the alt-rockers latest jaunt around the country.

“It’s always good to start a tour here, because I can go home tonight and pick up everything I’ve forgotten to pack!” laughs OXYGEN THIEF frontman Barry Dolan. The brains behind the three piece lives a mile and a half up the road and therefore knows how to play to the locals. He’s on fine fettle this evening, his dry humour causing plenty of laughs and when he divulges that Graffiti, Irony, Lists is about both the city’s questionable past and Brexit, the room is instantly in the palm of his hand. Not that it wasn’t there already; the anger and power emitted from a band who take as much from REUBEN as they do BIFFY CLYRO is enough to warm the throng up nicely, with Barry’s bandmates in bassist Neil Elliott and drummer Ben Whyntie locking in beautifully to prove a strong, rumbling foundation to Dolan’s formidable riffing. Most of tonight’s set comes from recent album Confusion Species, a rambunctious and politically-charged affair that provides set highlights in Uncommon People and Lost in the Post. It’s quite the transformation from the one-man, acoustic project that Dolan originally started, but the full-throttle attack they now possess is remarkable and will serve them well going forward.

Rating: 8/10

The sore thumb on the billing tonight is LEBROCK, who aren’t even in the same galaxy as their tour counterparts when it comes to their overall style and tone, let along ballpark. Capitalising on the recent surge in popularity of synthwave, the duo are part EUROPE, part HOTLINE MIAMI and all fun, the musical equivalent of an 80’s power fist grab. They are overblown, ludicrous and dripping in cheese but have no problems in turning back the clock in The Exchange a full 35 years with their catchy pop hooks and squeaky clean guitar solos. Singer Shaun Phillips doesn’t have the best of voices, hitting a few flat notes as he reaches the top end of his range, but his admission that he’s wearing in-ear monitors for the first time might have something to do with that. Outside of this, it’s a massive throwback that retains a modern edge, and the thunderous Only The Brave and finishing anthem Call Me threaten to make LEBROCK band of the night. If they went out tomorrow and recorded the entire soundtrack of the Rock of Ages musical, the results would, despite the wealth of talent that comprises the list, improve a lot of songs ten times over. Get them on a nostalgic AOR tour with JOURNEY, TOTO and STYX already!

Raintg: 8/10

From the moment that INME kick into Blood Orange Lake, one of the new tracks from Jumpstart Hope, one thing is evident – having no guitar around his waist has freed Dave McPherson up to be the entertainer he was born to be. The sole original member in the band is having the time of his life, from cracking jokes at guitarist Gazz Marlow at how he no longer has to push pedals to complimenting “polite” moshpits and group Pornhub sessions under the guise of ‘band bonding’. He even manages to throw out a “gimme some reggae!” during penultimate song Firefly, referencing the Axl Rose meme that made the rounds a few years ago. The band as a whole, though, are dominant from the off. The setlist is career-spanning and whilst the bulk of the sixteen songs are from Jumpstart Hope, there’s still time to throw out some rarities like Escape to Mysteriopa and a serious deep cut from Pantheon in I Won’t Let Go in amongst the more recognisable numbers like UnderDose and 7 Weeks. As for the new numbers, they sit nicely in the mix, lead single The Next Song sounding like it was written a good decade ago and thus fitting seamlessly in between tracks that have actually been around for that long.

Aiding them are a boisterous crowd that take every opportunity to sing as much as they can back at INME, who respond by cutting loose and cranking the energy up even more. With this being the first night there are a couple of very small hiccups in the likes of Marlow having to rediscover the correct guitar effects for songs and a slither of awkward silence in between numbers, but this will improve as the dates go on and when they’re actually playing, INME are unstoppable. They may have never been able to progress beyond small clubs like the one they’re currently performing in and that will always be a shame, however it makes for a more personal affair that suits them far better and that is what makes tonight so special.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Bristol from Serena Hill Photography here: