I Am Kloot are one of those bands you feel you should get into because such luminaries like Elbow’s Guy Garvey stress that you do. So I went and checked them out and found a disperate performance.

Date: April 30, 2008

Venue: Rescue Rooms

In the North West, there’s a strong brethren of bands who work tirelessly to supply our ears with trusty indie-rock. Elbow are the fore-fathers of this scene; The Courteeners are the newbies; I Am Kloot sit stealth-like somewhere in the middle of this Manchester hierarchy.

And it’s a travesty that so few are party to their existence when John Bramwell and his cohorts peddle such a beautiful blend of bitter-sweet retro stylings coupled with some genius northern storytelling.

But there is a problem. Live, their trad-rock comes with an attached indolence which only serves to bore the less discerning. There’s plaintive beauty in these nuggets for sure, but their lack of verve means that most attendees have become worryingly detached from the spectacle.

It becomes an encumbering concern for the band and Bramwell’s garrulous mid-song patter does little to boost enthusiasm (directing the dreaded ‘C’ word at one unfortunate lady didn’t exactly help matters either, even if it was semi-jocular).

To their credit, they do exhibit upbeat songs that resemble Manchester stalwarts James in their prime, while the bass-crunching Life In A Day is the big finish they desperately needed.

But while these songs showcase the previously inconspicuous vivacity which the band possess, their paucity is the issue tonight. In the grand scheme of things they deserve better recognition for what they do but, unfortunately, we deserved better from them too.