Paper Sun and Hester Thrale @ the Point, 12/02/00

Both of these bands have, at some point, been compared to Radiohead. But this shows how diverse Radiohead can be, rather than the similarity of the two bands.

Hester Thrale deserved to be headliners tonight. They are one of the few bands that are everything you look for in a music group. Usually a band are either very musically talented or very entertaining. Hester Thrale manage to do both. The first thing that strikes you about Hester Thrale is their skill. Every member can play each other's instruments, and do so. They are also very confident, and now even joke about on stage. In short they've developed into the perfect gem of a band. All that is left is why won't someone sign them up?

On the otherhand Paper Sun are stuck in the angsty Radiohead phase. Every song sounds the same, with the gentle verses and loud chorus. In fact they are like Muse, but with a few more members and a bit taller. Although they are entertaining, they are quite average. There is nothing about the band which makes them shine out from among the bunch of 6th form bands that regularly occupy Oxford venues. Maybe that's why they are more popular, they are so much like the other bands, that it is easier to accept them.

So it's up to you to decide. Do you want to have the challenging and creative band, or the average, easy to listen to one?