On stage, Switches, the latest British born and bred foursome to grace our fair shores, can be a bit confounding. The band veers from influence to influence at a moment’s notice and revel in confusing audiences with both exactly who they are as well as who they aren’t.
Switches could be aiming for young Albarn/Coxon territory, if it weren’t for a lack of organ grinder interludes and Madchester psychedelia. At times, Switches could be channeling a distinct T. Rex vibe, but for the lack of feather boas. And were they to employ a bit more neon, some roller skating anthems, and bigger curlier hairdos, one might even explore a possible ELO connection somewhere within all the wooohoos and ahaas. In fact, Switches sometimes even evoke delicious American (gasp!) radio pop rocks (imagine everything from Cheap Trick and Big Star to Beck and Phantom Planet). But the Paul Weller musical and sartorial styling will make sure you never confuse them for anything other than Brits.
But for all the things that Switches are not, though, their fans can hold on to what they definitely are. They are a group of musically zealous blokes sifting through the rock music canon with aplomb. They are hook strapped youngsters hitting on all pop cylinders, seeking their own road to immortality. They may not know exactly whom they are, what they sound like or where they will end up, but in true rock and roll fashion, they are definitely going to have a ball getting there.
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