Unsigned: The Nouvelles @ Course You Can Malcolm, 31/01/09

THIS WEEK Course You Can Malcolm (myspace.com/courseyoucanmalcolm), the club night that’s in the afternoon and at the wrong end of the tram tracks, hosted a local band they’d been trying to land for ages.  The Nouvelles are one of those unsigned bands that seem to garner praise left, right and centre from all sorts of big names, while still remaining a relatively well-kept secret.  The lads boast an array of rock ‘n’ roll fans including The Verve, Shaun Ryder and Guardian/NME journalist David Sue.

Currently splitting their time between Manchester and Belfast (lead singer Jacko’s hometown), the band have gone through three different line-ups in the 18 months they’ve been together.

They open the set with ‘Not What You Were’, before storming into new tune ‘Room 316’. In between tracks, frontman Jacko’s dialogue with the crowd has a somewhat political slant.  Everyone hates musicians getting political (yeah, fuck you Bush!) but Jacko’s rants seem more genuine. In fact, he confirms his qualifications after the gig when he tells us about his former job – as a conflict specialist during the Northern Ireland peace conflicts.

The next song, ‘Cherrybomb’, is set to be released alongside ‘Room 316’ later this year with the help of one of the many small indie labels that have approached the band.

The Nouvelles next play Manchester on 28th March @ Night & Day.  In the meantime visit myspace.com/thenouvelles to listen to their tunes.