We had heard a lot on the grapevine about The View. Hailing from Dundee, gigging since they were 15, with a growing reputation reputation for live performances. So, we put them on at a mini Subculture gig at The Worx photographic studios in South London.
To say they blew us away was a mild understatement. They were awesome. Absolutely superb live – with a set that ran from acoustic ballads to full on ear ringing guitar indie rock. All delivered with insightful lyrics, stand out melodies and a sense of them being incredibly close as a band/mates. They were a good laugh too, staying on for a beer and some good old fish and chips with everyone at the gig.
Doubtless, by the time you are reading this they will be well on their way to fame and fortune. One of the best UK bands since the Arctic Monkeys – don’t miss an opportunity to see them live.
Already building a fearsome reputation north of the border, where their gigs are known to attract 500 wild-eyed Dundonian acolytes, The View formed in the Dryburgh area of the city some 3 years ago. Named after the Bayview Hotel, the bar in which they initially rehearsed (they were subsequently banned from the premises for riding a scooter along the bar) the band signed to 1965 records in the spring of 2006 following the release of an extremely limited edition EP on local label Two Thumbs.
Decamping to rural Yorkshire in May 2006, the band nailed their debut album in two weeks flat with producer Owen Morris at the helm. With all superfluous detail cast aside, the band produced an album full of over-driven pure pop thrills. Fast and thrilling, and fuelled by an almost cocky first take attitude, the bands debut album is set for release in the autumn of 2006.
NME
You may normally associate Dundee with cakes but soon you will associate it with The View - named after a pub from which they are barred for riding a scooter along the bar. 'Wasted Little DJs' starts with brilliantly-dumb Towers of London-style riffola, then softens into a pristine exercise in loud inde-rock, all momentum, fat choruses, a terrific middle-eight that turns into an even better middle-16, and the kind of pedal-to-the-floor final 90 seconds that impels normal people to pogo. It bows out to a 'skreee' of feedback, and you become aware that you have heard the opening salvo of a band that are going to inspire weeping adulation.
NME - July 2006
The View finally release Wasted Little DJ's on 1965 Records. The track has been mixed by Oasis producer Owen Morris and fans will find it a little slower than they are used to hearing it in the live set. The single is out on 7th August and it has already received airplay in the daytime schedules of Radio 1 and XFM. This might just be the year for this Dundee four piece. IS Magazine - July 2006 After busking their way on to last January's Babyshambles tour, it would be easy to dismiss The View as Liberclones blindly bowing at Pete's altar. Yet while the dundee quartet have mastered the 'Shambles-esque' art of sounding like a shopping trolley tunefully clattering down the stairs of a council block, they're potentially special in their own right. Every song, from the frenzied grotpunk of 'Posh Boys Can't Play' to 'Skag Trendy' 'stale of designer addiction, is a wonky classic. They're rough around the edges, but it's easy to see why Bobby Gillespie and Noel Gallagher are fans. Going by tonight's snotty rock'n'roll glory, the rest of us will follow suit soon.
