Cutman were another one of the excellent discoveries I made at Fest in 2011. A year and a half later and I'm still working to catch up with all the awesome bands we saw that weekend. I was really keen to see Run, Forever on the Friday, because I'd just started listening to them and thought they were ace (more on that here) and thought it might be worth getting there a little early (I had no idea what size venue they were playing and queues at Fest can be killer). As it happens, there was no need to get there early at all, but it did mean we had the pleasant surprise of seeing Cutman.
The description on the Fest app compared them to Quicksand and probably mentioned something about riffs. Not a lot of bands that weekend were big on riffs, so it was nice to hear some. Sarah and I were both equally impressed by Cutman and both picked up copies of their LP afterwards (which they were throwing in free t-shirts with too). We then watched Run, Forever and I had a great time. Sarah thought they were quite good, but left before the end to catch some other band she was keen to see and I stuck around to watch The Great Explainer. All in all, it had been a pretty good couple of hours in The Laboratory (I also saw Small Brown Bike, Samiam, Bouncing Souls and Hot Water Music that day. Friday was a good one).
Anyway, this record was one of the first I played when we got back from Florida (I think Restorations was the very first one) and it's as great as they were live. Heavy, riffy, aggressive but with some huge tunes. You can see the Quicksand comparison, but I'd say they're heavier on the most part. Personal favourites are Bad Party, The Clinic and The Universal Law of Tonnage.
The record itself is pretty nice too. I can't begin to describe the colour (partly because I'm colour-blind, partly because there's a lot going on on that disc) but I'd guess at sea-green/turquoise/blue? The descriptions of the colours on the record label website are equally vague. I can't remember what colour Sarah got, but I remember she was jealous of this one. The sleeve is also strange - the front is simply the wrench, and the card with the album title on sits behind it. The pictures below might help explain this.
I find it funny sometimes to think about the coincidences that lead to you discovering some bands. If Cutman hadn't been playing immediately before Run, Forever I may have never heard them, which would have been a shame. But you can go back further: if I hadn't met Sarah at that Walter Schreifels gig, I probably wouldn't have been at Fest in the first place, and if I'd not gone back to university I wouldn't have even been in Kingston to go to that show. I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make here, but it's nice sometimes to appreciate that these coincidences did work out the way they did. Maybe there are other bands I've missed out on because of various choices but, fuck 'em, I'm very happy with the bands I have heard. And, hopefully, if they're any good I'll come across them one day.
Format: 12", insert, a4 insert
Tracks: 11
Cost: £6.20 new
Bought: Fest
When: 28/10/11
Colour: Blue/green?
Etching: none
mp3s: Download
