Lecorum at Dublin Castle, London By Rachel Sanderson

One band who really caught my eye when browsing myspace was Lecorum. Having closely watched their progress over the last 6 months since they formed, I thought it was about time to get down to a gig. Seeing that they were playing just 5 minutes down the road from me, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity.

Arriving at Dublin Castle always fills me with a strong sense of occasion.

Not that I've particularly had hundreds of memorable experiences there, it just has one of those friendly atmospheres so rare for a venue so famous. I arrived as The Cartel played their last two songs. These boys from Portsmouth had brought a fair crowd to watch them play, although it's fair to say that most of their audience seemed to be made up of family. Not so cool, guys. Still, it looked like they could belt out a tune. Having watched them for such a short space of time it wouldn't be correct of me to judge them either way - in short, they put in an enjoyable performance.

Their strength seems to be the bassist, a tight performer with a good stage presence. Vocally they were left short however; in all honesty the guitarist to the right seemed to be the better singer. Get rid of the guy with the barnyard owl on his head, lads. Still, one to watch out for. Lecorum kicked off their set with a brand new track, a real belter. Displaying all their strengths in the context of a radio friendly pop song, it really is a cards on the table moment. Vocally they excel. Lead singer Chris Howard's voice shines through beautifully, with a tone I am unable to compare to any other.

The drummer is one of the tightest I've seen, never mind just on the unsigned circuit - what also impresses me is his emphasis on putting on a show. Pianist Damien is fantastic, with his octave based melodies combining exceptionally with the guitar. The bassist seems to be happy to take a back seat, not putting a foot wrong, and with excellent harmonies. Lecorum's set is consistently interesting, and these guys are no one-trick ponies. A beautiful instrumental on guitar and piano leads up to their standout track Connected?, a quite frankly stunning piece of songwriting and performed even better live than recorded.

Performing a few slower tracks, including the outstanding Since Yesterday (a future number one if ever I've heard one) they left truly on a high with the powerful Down and Tired . With a name like that you'd expect a slow, depressing finale, and you wouldn't be more wrong. The song is split in two - the first half showcasing their excellent use of dynamics with a highly melodic verse and epic chorus, the second half being instrumentally led and displaying their musical ability in abundance.

It's pleasing to see such excellent musicianship not misused - it's clear these guys have it all, yet there's certainly no ego involved. It really is no surprise that they've shared a stage with Orson, The Automatic and The Sunshine Underground. If Lecorum aren't signed this time next year, I'll eat my neighbors' horse. In the words of Dublin Castle - 'well done guys on that piano pumping indie rocking artistry'. 5/5. www.myspace.com/lecorum

Read the biog here: /music07/bands/286656860_lecorumbiog.html

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