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MUSIC | Live reviews
Y E N E E W S N A R B
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POST-PUNK CASUAL SEX Mono, Glasgow, Tue 4 Mar ●●●●● POST-PUNK EAGULLS Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 7 Mar ●●●●●
Ahead of their debut at SXSW, Casual Sex’s UK tour brings them home to Glasgow for a messy one-night- stand – as if songs like ‘We’re All Here Mainly For The Sex’ didn’t already make that obvious. But the Glasgow crowd know what they’re letting themselves in for, encouraging singer Sam Smith’s showmanship. When drummer Chris McCrory invites them to come ‘into the splash zone’, they willingly oblige. Between Eno-esque guitar on ‘Stroh 80’ and a reggae breakdown on ‘North’, they know how to keep things musically interesting, balanced nicely with tongue-in-cheek humour, such as the ambiguous lyrics to ‘What’s Your Daughter For?’ and Smith dedicating title track of politically themed ‘Bastard Beat’ EP to George Osborne. At points, there’s an amusingly natural choreography onstage with Smith, guitarist Edward Wood and bassist Peter Masson, as their instruments move in unison with the beat, whether that beat is found in the funky undertones of ‘Nothing On Earth’ or jagged notes of ‘Soft School’. Despite their not-so-Google-friendly name, don’t expect these guys to stay under the radar for long. (Nina Glencross)
In this present age of musical conservatism, you’ve got to salute a band whose idea of video art involves fuzzy footage of a decomposing pig’s brain. Hearteningly, Leeds quintet Eagulls have just won an award for that very promo and taken their dark, mean and urgent post-punk all the way to the David Letterman show, when it’s meant for live consumption in low-roofed basement venues such as this.
Their terse set scores high on Banshees guitar reverb and Killing Joke intensity, which is good news for old-age goths. Overall, though, it amounts to a bit of an anonymous bludgeoning.
While most of the band members make little
impression in terms of stage presence, foghorn frontman George Mitchell at least has that angular, altered look of a performer who needs space to get something off his chest. There is a touch of Robert Smith’s anguished tone in his vocals, that’s when he is not simply bellowing out a song title over and over again.
Initially, he chides the audience for not reacting but, hungry for dynamics, they eventually get their teeth into ‘Possessed’. (Fiona Shepherd)
N O T R E L L U F T R A W E T S
BAROQUE POP RUFUS WAINWRIGHT Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Wed 5 Mar ●●●●● ELECTRONIC POP CHVRCHES AND SOAK Barrowlands, Glasgow, Sat 8 Mar ●●●●●
Rufus Wainwright may have dabbled in musicals, operas and orchestras but tonight he’s stripped back to basics – just the purity of one man singing at a grand piano. He sometimes switches to guitar, and is joined by his half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche on two occasions, but it’s the clear honesty of the vocals that sells tonight’s show. In Wainwright’s hands even the most modern of love songs – such as opener ‘Vibrate’ – is imbued with class and elegance. He has a wonderful self-deprecating charm that draws you into his performance. Dipping into country, gospel, pop and showtune traditions, his voice occasionally overwhelms these delicate arrangements, but for the most part, the lack of accompaniment means that tracks – including ‘Gay Messiah’, ‘Candles’, ‘Tired of America’ and ‘Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk’ – are packed with even more emotion. Naturally, the encore features his take on Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, a track covered so many times it struggles to retain any meaning, but this heartfelt rendition reminds you what a painfully beautiful song it really is. Sometimes less really is more. (Henry Northmore)
Quite how much of a good impression Chvrches have made upon their home city is illustrated by this, their ‘first ever show at the Barrowlands’, as described with pride by singer Lauren Mayberry, and a wonderful, confident show it is too. The music pounds like it should on a Saturday night, bass loops crunching up through the walls and pillars, even as Mayberry’s voice transmits the feeling of watching a John Hughes film circa 1987 into your mind on stand- outs ‘Gun’, ‘Recover’ and ‘The Mother We Share’. Against the neon-flared lightshow and backdrop, her physical and vocal petiteness complements the music in concealing a resolute character at its core. ‘Happy International Women’s Day!’ she beams at one point, to which an embarrassing, blokey boo went up from some corners. ‘Did somebody boo?’ she asks, rather brilliantly, ‘because I’m going to come out there and boot you in the cunt.’ It’s symptomatic of any band finding success early in their career that they can play their debut album in under an hour, but whose fanbase far exceeds their immediate peers, and it’s wonderful to hear Mayberry resisting any pandering to the idiots. (Paul Little)
ALT-POP BDY_PRTS Nice ’n’ Sleazy, Glasgow, Wed 5 Mar ●●●●●
‘We thought we’d only sold about 30 tickets!’ Jenny Reeve protests mid-set, but the venue is rammed, leaving little doubt that Bdy_Prts are the hottest ticket in town on this particular evening. Neither Reeve nor her partner in crime Jill O’Sullivan are strangers to the Glasgow scene, known as lead members of Strike the Colours and Sparrow and the Workshop respectively, but excitement surrounding this long-gestating union has been stoked considerably by the release of their excellent debut single ‘IDLU’. Following almost 18 months of scattered support slots, tonight marks their first headline gig and it feels like it has been a long time coming. Before any of that, the stage belongs to Wolf – the new project from Kim Moore (formerly of indie-pop troupe Zoey Van Goey). Moore takes the stage unassumingly with her violin and sets about methodically live looping strings and singing wearily over them – it’s captivating stuff and sets a high standard for tonight’s headliners to match.
Considering they’ve only released one
song, anticipation surrounding Bdy_Prts is exceptionally high. It’s clear they are still carving out their exact style, though, and tonight is a mixture of ideas. Mostly, they work their dual guitars and vocals into a kinetic re-appropriation of 90s alt-rock updated with stifled electronic rhythms – and reassuringly heavy on both volume and melody. Then there’s also a rendition of the first song they wrote together, a stark contrast with Reeve playing violin while O’Sullivan picks nimbly at an acoustic guitar. It accentuates the natural chemistry between the pair and the audience are always on board – the band banter and giggle throughout the night to ensure a lively atmosphere.
The preceding songs pale in comparison to ‘IDLU’ which surprisingly only earns a penultimate spot on the set list. The single, a masterfully lithe song patching together disjointed folk, electro-pop and swirling vocal harmonies, is delivered to a justifiably rapturous reception. Really, to play anything else as a finale seems a bold move but the new track which closes the evening meets expectations with a similar brew of contorted alt-pop magic. A few more songs as good as those two and it’s going to be tough to argue with the growing suggestion that Bdy_Prts might be something special. (Chris Tapley)
78 THE LIST 20 Mar–17 Apr 2014