Despite being from Manchester, Working For a Nuclear Free City don't have the disctinct "Manchester sound".
Band to watch: Working For a Nuclear Free City
From their band name, Working For A Nuclear Free City (WFANFC) probably sound like a bunch of hippies. But their diverse musical compositions and mind-blowing tunes prove that Phil Kay (keyboards, vocals), Gary McClure (guitar vocals), Jon Kay (drums) and Ed Hulme (bass), are more than just a free-loving, peace gathering bunch.
Yes, WFANFC are a band with diverse influences. The group have previously cited Bill Evans (jazz pianist), the Grateful Dead (60s psychedelic jam band), and The Chemical Brothers (British electronica) as influences. There's a healthy fascination for mixing electronics with traditional guitar and drum sounds combined with a bountiful dollop of psychedelia and relaxed vocals. All of these together make for quite an interesting sound.
WFANFC are an fascinating band. Clearly they don't like doing things the traditional way - they've spent most of their four year career in the States, gaining a cult following and critical acclaim. It is only now, after consolidating the American Market (normally something that British bands do after they have made it in their own country), they grace us with their presence.
But despite spending time abroad, these four men have stayed true to their roots. Like the Longcut, there is something distinctly 'Manchester' about them. They're a more cultured version of the nineties bloke rock that made the city famous for music, but they still retain the originality of a Joy Division record. While Manchester in the late seventies was a gloomy, largely industrial place, the Northern capital of the Noughties has become a cosmopolitan melting pot, a place for modernist architecture and gritty Northern culture to combine.
Businessman And Ghosts is their whopping double album (released in The UK last year), weighing in at 93 minutes worth of running time - that's twenty nine tracks. There are some ace songs, including 'So', 'England Part 2', and 'Kingdom', but twenty nine tracks of the same rock band can be too much for one sitting.
Nevertheless, this band is worth looking out for in 2009.
