1/1/1983 Sounds
Tears Are Not Enough The Cry: Bath, England
A group like the Cry are, in some respects, not the easiest of combos to review. With two ex-members of the Cure (bassist Simon Gallup and keyboardsman Matthew Hartley) in their ranks, it’s natural that you end up looking for comparisons, accentuated by the fact that a good number of the people who showed up for this gig arrived with precisely that reason in mind.
I can honestly say I tried to be objective, but it wasn’t easy. Features like the monosyllabic name, the ‘Robert Smith’ angst-ridden whine of singer Gary Biddles and the overall Cocoon Music basis of the songs meant that the Cure connection was never far away from my ears and my mind. And really, such subject matter as sweat, tears and blood on the road didn’t help much either.
This was the Cry’s first ever gig so some allowance could be made for that. Their set started slowly, both the group and the audience taking a couple of numbers to warm up. ‘The Collector’ showed some promise with it’s oddly phrased jangling and cutting guitar lines, and when Simon Gallup took over vocal duties for ‘The Ring’, there was a bit more bite in the music. But the overall mood never strayed far from a flatly-paced plod, nor explorer any wider dynamic possibilities: it seemed to be a case of drum-machine domination.
I understand that the Cry are off to Europe for some other dates so perhaps some of the present faults can be ironed out... but on this showing, I don’t see much potential to exploit.
