March 22, 2000

London WC2 Astoria

...the songs have names, but no identities. Christ, they even make the feedback sound polite...

Ah yes, co.uk. See how the crazy rock'n'roll animals tap effortlessly into the zeitgeist. OK, they're gonna look stupid if they try and set up their own website but it's not about thinking ahead, is it? It's about keeping it fast, simple and making a suitable noise for young men to fall off skateboards to. It's a shame they can't even do that properly.

co.uk hate to be compared to Green Day, understandably. So let's get one thing straight - from the baggy shorts and dyed hair to the offensively inoffensive punked-up college rock - co.uk are nothing like Green Day. Not even remotely.

The Internet reference is entirely appropriate, though. There's that initial buzz - the feeling that the world is within your grasp. Quickly followed by the deflation of realising there's nothing there that you really need. There are brief moments of promise: the buzzsaw blast of 'Freakazoid' and 'Not Today' with its Elvis Costello melody steal, but elsewhere the songs have names, but no identities. Christ, they even make the feedback sound polite.

They jump up and down and quite possibly mean it (maaan) but they're so lacking in style, substance, attitude or wit (Welsh sheep-shagging jokes, for fuck's sake) you almost want to break down and beg Symposium to reform. Almost.