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Following a promising first gig from The Get Up – who run the popular Android club night – Idiot Pilot crash-land to give Liverpool a piece of their small-town minds.They’ve come all the way from Bellingham, Washington (“the smallest black dot on the map” according to lead-vocalist Michael Harris) – and how have the great and good of Liverpool welcomed the American duo? They’ve broke into their van and nicked their laptop. Understandably Harris and his co-Pilot Daniel Anderson aren’t happy.
It becomes quickly apparent though that the two teenagers’ simply channel such anger into Idiot Pilot rocket fuel. No sooner have they opened up with a swathe of electronica from their surviving lap-top, then they violently veer into a breezeblock of screaming guitar thrash. Described as ‘post-hardcore’ ‘pre-gig’, Idiot Pilot leave no doubt which is the ‘post’ bit and which is the ‘hardcore’ bit. Their uncompromising melding of Squarepusher or Kid A-era Radiohead influenced experimental electronica with pummelling Emo-esque guitar serves a dual purpose.
Firstly, Idiot Pilot obviously have a mountain of teenage spleen to vent – exemplified by Anderson’s primal screaming – as they rage against their Nowheresville frustrations. But the pair’s anti-social sonics also aims challenge musical expectations.
As Harris says, “Basically, music needs to change. We’re just willing to go to the extreme to make that happen.” As interesting as this is, their unrelenting formula is understandably difficult to stick with throughout. With the nuances of their lighter, electronic element lost a little in their live set, Idiot Pilot struggle to offer the listener enough to cling onto as the initial aural assault wears a little thin. However, closing track and current single 'A Day In The Life Of A Pool Shark' stands out as an experiment gone right. Harris leaves with the parting plea to, “kick your friends in the genitals if they think stealing is cool”. A ticket to go see his band may suffice.
