We last saw Maria Somerville in a support slot with My Bloody Valentine last year and, in spite of playing to an enormodome filling up with punters getting their pre-gig beers in and adjusting their earplugs awaiting the loudest band in the galaxy, she managed to grab the attention of the audience – no mean feat – and I made a mental note to catch a headline show.
So here we are in Leeds, always a treat to visit the friendly, inclusive and convivial Brudenell. As ever, even on a rainy Monday, it’s a hive of activity. Students and locals mingle in the public bar, there is a boisterous free gig on in the front room, and in the community room support act Nashpaints is getting a more rarified and studious atmosphere going. The audience are, thank goodness, in listening mode. Nashpaints is a solo act (Finn Carraher McDonal) who has been getting rave reviews from the wonderfully verbose reviewers at Boomkat who assure us “mad hype on this one”- and while his rather understated performance with guitar and laptop isn’t exactly ‘The Who Live at Leeds’, musically it’s an intriguing mix of Panda Bear looping, Durutti Column guitar figures and MBV style melodic noise. Great album too – have a listen.
Maria Somerville is in 3 piece formation tonight with a drummer and hooded bass player – the lights are, and remain white, static and backlit so the focus is on silhouettes rather than Maria and her band. Mood set, we swing into some slow burning drones and feedback before gradually getting into ‘Garden’ from new LP ‘Luster’. My first thought is how much I like the driving bass playing from the hooded figure – it puts me in mind of The Cure ‘Disintegration’ era. The reverb drenched vocals and shoegazey guitars are all present and correct – however, what sets Maria and her band apart is they do it brilliantly and there is enough edge, personality and intriguing melodicism to reel you in. It helps that Maria has an appealing voice – perhaps informed by her interest in Irish traditional music and Folk. She can also deftly switch from some splendidly loud Loop or Spacemen 3 style fuzz pedal bliss outs, to hushed ambient vocal pieces with minimal backing that remind me of Grouper or Cocteau Twins, to just getting down and working with Fx pedals and loops and conjuring up some soundscapes.
If anything, the band are a bit of a power trio and much more amped up than on the more ambient and dreamy ‘Luster’ album and I really like the sound they make together – the live experience is different to the record but – let’s boil it down to this: Expansive, immersive, smart and tuneful – get into Maria Somerville.
My Bloody Valentine are on a short tour, their first in 7 years and if I’m not mistaken this is their first time back in Manchester since 2013. Famously MBV are not known for their productivity. To put this in perspective, since they were last in town, the musically incontinent antipodean psych-rockers, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have released 27 studio albums. MBV have teased new EPs, or a new album but nothing has emerged since. So why are they here?. No new music, not even a reissue (they’ve done that – a few times). Maybe something was planned to coincide with these dates (it wouldn’t be the first time). But here they are anyway and it’s a chance to give this uncanny and massively influential music an outing, and judging by the number of younger folk in the sold out venue, a chance for new fans to experience MBV live for the first time. Make no mistake they ARE a big deal – and to a new generation of Indie pop crazed youngsters, they are as significant as The Velvet Underground or The Stooges or The Ramones were to MBV. This gig sold out within minutes.
Before all that there’s a support act and a chance to scout out the vast and confusingly branded Factory International Aviva Studios Warehouse as it currently known. It’s not designed exclusively for gigs – It is a multi-functional performance space that can be fitted out for all manner of theatre and art productions. For gigs it can transform into – er – a massive 5,000 capacity room – double the size of it’s nearest rival for standing only (Manchester Academy) and effectively a giant black box with a stage at one end (disappointingly low considering how much ceiling there is – the sight lines are poor for anyone under 6 foot). Bands could do more with this space but, especially if they’re touring regular enormodomes (as MBV are) it’s not really feasible to rearrange their setup to make the best of the Warehouse. The sound is really good though, the vibe is relaxed and I’m pleased to catch most of the support set by Maria Somerville without a load of blokes chatting and buying their pre-gig beers.
Hailing from Galway, Maria is signed to 4AD and has a striking and imaginative new record ‘Luster’ to promote as well as an excellent EP of remixes including one by post-rock legends Seefeel which you should stop reading this and go and listen to right now:
I’m really taken with her short set which switches between more strident, grungey shoegazey noise, delicate ballads and feedback drenched outré-rock. Maria is touring in her own right next year and I will definitely go see a full show.
It’s fair to say MBV have always been a tricky proposition as a live band. To try and recreate their music, particularly from 1991’s peerless ‘Loveless’ onward (which makes up half the 19 song set) has always required pushing the boundaries of what technology can do – particularly at the intense volume levels that they notoriously insist on (free earplugs are available). It is a balance of sweet, delicate and vaporous melodies versus total obliterative noise, arsequake bass and thundering rhythm. Incredibly difficult to pull off and one wonders if the pathologically perfectionist Kevin Shields is ever truly satisfied with what they can achieve on stage, in the moment without endless studio tinkering. But he’s here, they’re here – let’s see it- and hear it – VERY VERY LOUD.
Part of the appeal of MBV was, like The Velvets, they always looked the part- like A Proper Band – a not a ‘lad band’ either – a band of cool boys and cool girls. On stage is the same line-up since 1988 – the one that was on the front of NME and Melody Maker and on my student digs wall – looking effortlessly hip and somewhat slightly dazed – Colm Ó Cíosóig- at the back clattering the drums as only he can, Debbie Googe stays close by Colm – locked in, driving the music on – operating heavy machinery while maintaining the scaffolding for Kevin’s wayward wall of sound. Bilinda Butcher lurks on the opposite side to Kevin, killer heels, inscrutably cool and seemingly unfazed by the sonic mayhem emitting from his corner. Shields, as ever, has a vast bank of amplifiers teetering behind him and wanders in front of it looking like the proprietor of a particularly chaotic guitar shop. Everything has to be just so. More of this later.
The opener ‘I Only Said’ suffers somewhat amid a gloopy mix while the state of the art PA and music technology tries to make sense of the amount of sonic information pouring off the stage – however, once Colm clicks the count in for ‘When You Sleep’ everything bursts into technicolour. It is loud, as per, but it’s not just noise and waves of guitars – there is a really hefty bass and kick drum. You can dance if you want to.
Unlike previous occasions I’ve seen them there is one key new element… the vocals are almost audible over the wall of guitars. Not so much that you can hear the words (you can’t really hear them on the records either) but enough that we can hear Bilinda and Kevin softly cooing to each other whereas previous performances have been almost instrumental as sound engineers wrestle with the volume balance on and off stage. You can sing along if you want to.
Even MBV can’t work miracles but when it works, it really works. The (new) light show and the vastness of the venue and the mostly excellent sound system make this immersive as it can be. ‘New You’, a perfect pop moment from their 3rd LP provides some light relief and there are even harmony vocals. ‘Thorn’ and ‘Nothing Much to Lose’ showcase the more freewheeling, scuzzier period when they were no less innovative but more ‘pedal to the metal’ and sound suitably immense – full of dynamics.
When it doesn’t work they fail admirably – ‘Who Sees You’ is an overlong and ungainly mess. ‘To Here Knows When’ – one of the most extraordinary and hallucinatory records you will ever hear is gamely chased around the stage but they fail to capture it’s elusive beauty – eventually drowning under a mudbath of atonal guitar Fx. Hats off for trying though (and by the way Kevin has a new hat perched on his long gingery locks- which makes him look a bit like either Noddy Holder or Ian Hunter).
‘Soon’ is dedicated to fallen Stone Roses bass player Mani (Kevin’s bandmate during the 00s when both joined Primal Scream – Mani nicknamed him ‘Bagpuss’) and sounds spectacular with the underpinning Balearic beat right up in the mix making things get very baggy indeed..and then half way through the power goes in Kevin’s corner. And suddenly the gig has crashed. Switch it off and on again…
We can still hear the backing track and I wonder if they’re going to riff on the Andy Weatherall mix until it grinds to a halt. A small battalion of technicians flock around the stage while Kevin, very quiet up till now, somewhat surprisingly takes it all in his stride chats to the audience and talks about the state of the world for a bit like he’s at an open mic night. They get the power back on and have another bash at ‘Soon’ and it cuts out again almost in the same place. There’s a long break while they try and get his vast rig of amps and gizmos to power up again and – as they scurry around trying to get all this…stuff…to work I find myself wondering what it is really for… is it a pose, it it a wind up? Is it just part of the t’s and c’s…the notoriously hermetic Kevin will tour but there are strings attached, and cables, and plug and pedals….a tech spec that is the stuff of nightmares for the people behind the scenes but – maybe that’s what he needs to get him on stage and ‘feeling it’ and creating all the control he needs over his frequencies I guess. Who knows.
Eventually it all crackles back to life – just in time to complete the set but there’s a sense of the spell being broken as they launch into an endlessly churning, almost feral freak-out of ‘Wonder 2’ and the traditional closer of ‘Feed Me With Your Kiss’ and ‘You Made Me Realise’ which infamously has the white/pink noise middle 8 that can go on indefinitely.. it might still be going on for all I know – reader, I had a train to catch. I hope I didn’t break anyone’s reverie as I made my exit – I was enjoying the noise bath too.
So, as ever, a mixed bag of mayhem ranging from totally thrilling to totally frustrating but never less then totally unique. It was on a far bigger scale but similar to if you’d seen them in a scuzzy Indie club or Camden pub in the late 80s. My Bloody Valentine are MY BLOODY FUCKIN’ VALENTINE and we should treasure them while they exist – especially for the younger ones in tonight who really did get the authentic experience – and who knows when some of them might form a band too…put me on the guest list if you do.
Regular readers will know we’re big fans of the Mood Swings night at Yes Basement. You get 3 or 4 bands for less than a pint of lager at that overpriced, overcrowded Bingo Hall on Peter Street. Expect contrasting styles of music but all carefully curated by the promoters (Now Wave), everyone gets 30 mins to do their thing like an old school 60s package tour, and chances are you’ll see artists who will be headlining bigger venues before too long
We arrive in time to catch Child of Prague. Six musicians from Dublin, shared vocals, guitars, violin and Saxophone. There’s a folky, traditional angle to their sound (they play their version of an old Reel at one point) but they have a solid rhythm section behind them that roots them firmly in the present with just the right amount of fizz – think maybe early Fairport Convention when they were still on their holidays or Mercury Rev before they headed for the Catskills. They’ve got a knack of turning in wistful melodies, not a million miles from Prefab Sprout and the mixture of instruments – Sax, violin, harmonies, spiky guitars and fluid drums makes for a really appealing brew. Smart music, elegantly played. Typically for Mood Swings we’ve already seen a massively accomplished and enjoyable group and we’ve barely got started.
Next up, all the way from Texas are Teethe who transform the mood completely. I’ve seen them before and something about them chimed with me – and they’re seriously immersive tonight . They’re brooding, intense and play with the lights down low which fits their slow burning but propulsive music. They’re in the ballpark of Mazzy Star or Spiritualized – Deceptively simple riffs and hushed vocals that suddenly explode into fireworks when you don’t expect it. There’s no communication with the audience, heads firmly tilted towards shoes, the bassist/singer hides in an unlit corner of the stage and concentrates on the performance. Nothing to break the spell. They mean business and it works. Ambient loops and drones fill the space in between songs while the guitarists tune up so it’s hard to know where songs end and begin adding to the disorientation. Intense, spellbinding and and thoroughly engaging.
The last mood swing comes with the arrival of Adore. Another Irish group, this time from Sligo who transform the room again. Adore are all about high energy, punky pop thrills however think more Buzzcocks, The Damned or ’12XU’ era Wire than Gr**n D*y. They have a super amped up 1978 sound and the stage is full of movement and excitement that doesn’t let up, apart from a brief moment where they play a tune on an Omnichord (which has to be strapped to one of those floor signs they put out to warn you of a spillage as a makeshift keyboard stand) which puts me in mind of Stereolab.
Frontperson Lara is funny and engaging and the band are well drilled and know how to ‘mach schau’, rock out and knock out a set which would probably wallop the arse of a PsychFest as much as it would old punkers at Blackpool Rebellion. High velocity F-U-N. They’re as bouncy, tuneful and energetic as Teethe were dark and brooding and C.O.P were cerebral and scenic. All the bands exhibiting brilliance in a totally different medium. So there you go – all this for 6 quid! A fantastic trio of bands and I can’t help thinking we’ll be seeing more of all three
We’re back on a (yeah yeah) industrial estate in Salford for the 2nd time in the past week on a particularly rain-lashed mid week night. Hotline TNT are here, all the way from New York City and something tells me I’m into something good. They’re a few albums in but their new one ‘Raspberry Moon’ grabbed my attention. It is billed as ‘New American Shoegaze’ but what I’m hearing is more aligned to the grungey but sunnyside-up sounds that were adjacent in the imperial 89-92 era – the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur JR… think Swervedriver rather than Slowdive. Big guitar sounds, big songs.
Ver’ Hotline are hard gigging band who have earned their stripes around the US and beyond, and as soon as they strike up their set it shows. Unlike some current bands in their ‘milieu’ they aren’t afraid to crank it up and let rip. There’s a lot to be said for confidence and a bit of swagger, you can feel the relief – nobody’s going to have a wobble if they break a string or fluff a note – they’re going for it. There’s no great experimentation going on, but that’s fine because they’ve got some great songs, a deft way with a build up, a drummer who can swing from metronomic to Who-esque fills and a load of bounce. Not that this is meat & taters grunge rock either, underneath the energetic fireworks there is a precision and craft and they have a way with melody – check ‘Lawnmower’ or ‘Dance the Night Away’ off the the new LP you’ll see what I mean.
Such is the confidence and ease with which they entertain us I start to wonder if they’re one of those bands that might go past the 2 hour mark and ‘do a Yo La Tengo’ – but in fact it’s a short, sharp set and after 45 mins they’re off – quick blast through 2 encores and away. Perfectly pitched, heart-warming and downright fun.
We reported from Seefeel’s spellbinding in peformance in Manchester last year (read all about it here) and since then there has been more activity, not least a stunning reissue of their early EPs collected along with the legendary Aphex Twin remixes as ‘Pure Impure’ which means their incredible back catalogue is pretty much all ‘back in print’. To celebrate, Mark Clifford has created a solo, audio-visual show for a short tour effectively doing Seefeel ‘In Dub’.
Support tonght comes from Crimewave who we saw recently in Manchester and his heavy monster beats land very well once again, channeling The Young Gods, Meat Beat Manifesto and imperial phase Hip Hop coupled with vocals and layers of guitar fx.
There’s a modest sized crowd in by the time Mark takes to the stage. It’s Sunday, its the end of Half Term and to be fair a Laptop/Mixer performance isn’t much of a spectator sport. What made Seefeel truly special is they were (are) a group that brilliantly blurred the line between purely electronic/sampled music and band performances to the point where it’s hard to pinpoint who is playing what. Without Sarah on vocals, Mark on guitar, live bass and drums it does just become – someone with a Latop and some knobs to twiddle – albeit that someone is responsible for some my favourite and most treasured music. But I’m here for it and the faithful are here for it too.
The visuals are curiously minimal too but based on a simple but clever idea – A camera pointing at the stage and repeating the absence of anything other than the edge of the Mixer table – using infinity and video feedback chaos to create patterns and interference – I can’t help thinking it would have worked better if Mark had stood centre stage and give the camera more information to deal with but it’s strangely effective and fits the musical theme. It’s one that is crying out for a more immersive venue space where you could really go to town on it.
There’s no faulting the majestic music, as Clifford pulls up recognisable themes from the early EPs and the ‘Quique’ LP, goes rogue with the FX and gets into to remixing on the fly – deconstructing the tracks as he goes, pulling focus on sounds that are familiar from the originals – snatches of vocal or eerie washes of guitar and pushing the beats and basslines into the heavy dub zone. It’s great to hear and makes me think a whole LP of Dub remixes would be very welcome or even just some soundboard recordings of these shows – just dropping that hint right there.
So as wonderful as the music was – it didn’t quite work as a performance tonight. In a smaller venue or maybe presented like one of those ‘Boiler Room’ sets where people get in amongst it and watch the artist at close quarters it would have been much more engaging – in a underoccupied gig venue on a sobering Sunday night in Leeds, not so much.
It’s a warm balmy evening and so even though it’s Monday there’s lots of people enjoying the last rays on Stevenson Square (you take your beer garden opportunities when they arise round these parts) but that hasn’t put off a decent crowd descending the steps into the grotty but welcoming Soup cellar – amid the scuzzy, graffiti strewn vibe (CBeebies GBs I call it) the aircon is on, the vibe is cool and slightly damp – and there’s some suitably summery rock action going down.
First up, from Leeds, Tulpa who I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing before. They’re a four piece and I’m immediately taken by their sound which has some bendy Kevin Shields guitar noise mixed with post-punk dynamics and, importantly, catchy and memorable melodic drive. What really gets them extra points is they do something too many young bands shy away from – they aren’t afraid to get a good head of steam going and keep it locked rather than switching to the next song. Tulpa let the instrumental sections of the songs go round a few bars to give time for some nice, grungey riffage and let the twin guitars ring for a bit – not to the point of self-indulgence or (god help us) ‘jamming’, but long enough to have impact and reel the listener in. It works and they have the audience right on side. They’ve got some great material, they’re cool, they play with quiet confidence and verve. My guess is next time I see them they’ll be headlining – they’re very good indeed.
Up next, from LA, Peel Dream Magazine. I’ve been very much enjoying their records and this is my first time seeing them live. Their music takes some cues from shoegaze, dream pop, Avant pop and the smarter, quirkier end of the American songbook (Van Dyke Parks for instance). It’s very cleverly produced, enigmatic and quietly remarkable. They have some obvious influences, they clearly have spent a great deal of time poring over the back catalogue of Stereolab (seems a reasonable way to spend your time) – but they do it in such a way that they add a whole new dimension of their own. I like it when I hear an artist reimagining music I grew up with in their own image and taking new steps those artists didn’t take. PDM have a habit of homing in on elements in music that I really like that makes me think “oh you’re hearing that the way I hear it”. PDM are so good you can imagine them being cited as an influence by future artists. That in fact, is how Pop history works kids.
I do wonder how they might translate their elegant, multi-instrumental music in a low-budget live format. With the best will in the world, I doubt it would be financially viable for PDM to bring a vibraphone player (never mind said instrument) on a short European club tour. The answer is to take the songs and reframe them for a 4 piece guitar band – and it works a treat. They do use a bit of ‘track’, just to add some keyboard backing which the drummer fires off from his pads. Much like High Llamas (who they don’t imitate but share some musical DNA) the songs are good enough that they can stand up with a basic band format. This gives a different spin on the songs compared to their records – in fact PDM positively rock out at times, particularly when leaning into their earlier, louder songs.
There’s a really good crowd in, in spite of the not entirely Pop-friendly Monday night and outdoorsy weather. PDM leader Joseph Stephens is a man of few words, and has said he doesn’t like gigs where people are talking. Fortunately tonight, in our musty cellar underneath the Northern Quarter people are getting into it, we’re all on the same page and, for both bands it’s very much a Listening Room.
The Devon / Sheffield crossover Dream pop combo delight a Wednesday night crowd in Manchester
Support comes from Shaking Hand who I’ve already seen at one of the excellent Hot Take band showcase gigs at Yes Manchester. They strike up an unhurried, circular groove and there’s something immediately appealing about them as the venue fills and people gather to listen rather than ignore, as can happen with supports. We’re in good hands with this unassuming 3 piece – guitar / vocalist playing distinctive weaving guitar parts, a drummer pattering away with jazzy flourishes but with a pleasing kick, and a bassist who frequently doubles as a twin lead – playing the higher register of the instrument. They have a post-rock edge to them, a little bit of Slint or early Tortoise perhaps, or the fabled Leeds band Hood and while the pieces they play are enjoyably drifty at times – they aren’t averse to wrong-footing us with a sudden tempo change, a burst of noise, a scrape of strings here or a cheeky rhythmic curveball there. They wear their guitars well, they play studiously but with a confidence that suggests they know how they good they are- I like them a lot and, judging by the applause, everyone else does too. There appears to be no recorded material available but hopefully they’re busy in a studio somewhere bottling that magic.
On to the headliners. I’m a bit behind the curve with Pale Blue Eyes but Piccadilly Records piqued my interest and I’ve been enjoying their latest record ‘New Place’ which it turns out is their 3rd album so I’ve some catching up to do. For a band who trade in dreamy, shoegazey pop they have a disarmingly chummy and light hearted air about them – in fact their footwear remains un-gazed at and they spend most of the time looking and grinning at each other and the audience – it turns out PBE here to have a good time and so should we.
The band have toured with Slowdive and they share a love of using guitars and keyboards to create a sea bed for the songs to float on but they have their own distinct sound that is sparkly, upbeat and distinctly pop-tastic. Lots of major chords, and at times this sounds like ‘The Big Music’ – think Simple Minds in their early 80s pomp but also informed by Stereolab, and the locked groove of Neu! or La Dusseldorf – but just when it seems they might lean a bit too much into that well-worn trench coat – they pull out a moody, slower number or throw in a gorgeous chord pattern or bassline that has their own distinct stamp on it. They have art college roots – and drummer Lucy, it transpires wrote a thesis about Cabaret Voltaire – so, again, we’re in safe hands and these people know what they’re doing
There’s something very appealing and convivial about PBE – there is a husband & wife duo at the core (Matt and Lucy), who have relocated from Devon to Sheffield and the new record which is informed by upheaval and loss – and it’s hard not to be moved by the joy emanating from the stage – they feel like one of those bands that will inspire a certain amount of loyalty (I’m thinking of Sea Power who they’ve supported) and they’re going to be a bit of a regular fixture. I’m on board!
California 3 piece julie (lower case – obvs) have the pop-crazed youngsters moshing with their iPhones in the air like they just don’t care
julie have made quite an impression it seems and have a sold out tour of the UK ahead of them and I just make it in time to catch the unusually early start of 8.15 (which no amount of scouring the Gorilla or SJM ‘socials’ would reveal) so I’m in a narky mood as the loud strains of opera emanate from the empty stage as the capacity crowd gear up for julie. This had better be good.
It is good. The band take to the stage to a trouser flapping bass rumble and the crowd go absolutely nuts as they crash into the first tune ‘catalogue’ (lower case).
julie have acquired that inevtiable Shoegaze or Nu-Gaze tag but fundamentally it’s not the swoonsome Slowdive or Cocteau Twins that is the obvious inspiration here. It’s the scuzzier, Squatney, cheap cider-fuelled end – we’re talking ‘Isn’t Anything’ and ‘You Made Me Realise’ era My Bloody Valentine – hyperactive drums, waves of distorted guitar and bass – with a big nod towards Swervedriver particularly in terms of that mix of grungey guitars with warm, widescreen melodic washes – and the dissonant wanderings of Sonic Youth. Yes!
The stage is minimally set up, no backdrop just some big amps and white light and occasional strobes. The 3 piece line up in formation – bass – guitar – drums in that order – and while they don’t say much, julie deliver a physical and visceral performance. The guitarist Keyan and singer/bass Alexandria vanish quite often either to mess with their pedals or roll around on the floor or whatever. There are long periods of tuning up and re-setting which the band wisely fill with sampled noise and a chance for their unflappable drummer Dillon to loose off some mad freeform drum fills – raising the tension before the next big riff comes in.
The crowd is definitely a younger demographic although like me there a few veterans of the first wave of 90s Shoegaze but the pop-crazed youngsters are crushing down the front to enjoy a proper mosh – albeit with phones aloft which will make for some very shaky footage. There’s a telling moment in this video of a julie performance where someone does the very 90s thing of stage-diving – albeit the diver is filming themselves as they go down which will probably make for a great Tik Tok vid …kids today eh? That said I like this quote from Keyan in the NME which really endears me to them:
“If more artists focused on art and music and playing live rather than social media, they’d be just fine”
It was a literally a blast – very, very loud performance with tons of intensity and attitude and I suspect next time julie come to Manchester it’ll be New Century or The Ritz and don’t sleep on it when the tickets go on sale. They’ve clearly got what it takes to build up an audience and create a certain weirdness and mystique around themselves around them which is very difficult to to do in the 2020s. If they have one shortcoming it’s perhaps the adherence to that My Bloody Sonic Swervedriver template but I suspect they might have a change of direction up their skinny sleeves – and indeed those confrontational between-song noise-fests are an indication of how ready julie are to challenge and face-off their audience – suffice to say the kids seem ready to take whatever julie can throw at ’em.
Back in my favourite basement which, once again has been transformed into a sonic cathedral by some adventurous artists
First up, a nice surprise. Simon Scott, who by day is the drummer with Slowdive – now well into their remarkably successful 2nd act – but is also well established as an artist in his own right with a dizzying array of musical projects and soundtracks to his name. Tonight he performs as Three Quarter Skies who have a new record ‘Fade In’ to play to us. Shoegazers will be in familiar sonic territory however this is a much looser and more lo-fi proposition than Slowdive – Simon fronts a 3 piece band singing and playing guitar and electronics and he’s joined by a simpatico guitarist and drummer who whip up great billowing clouds of noise that reminds of those more exploratory groups in this field like The Telescopes, Spacemen 3 and also the fragile songwriting of the mythical Flying Saucer Attack. It’s loud, enveloping and rather marvellous.
This is my 2nd time seeing Dummy, who headlined a ‘Mood Swings’ band night in this very venue a couple of years ago and I was very much taken with them and the many musical boxes they ticked with me. They’re back over from LA and getting toward the end of a pretty extensive few weeks schlepping around Europe and beyond. It’s fair to say they look completely knackered – but this doesn’t stop them putting in a brilliantly powerful and idiosyncratic performance – and like the Portishead album they borrowed their band name off – it’s hard to predict the musical ebb and flow they take us on.
Everyone has keyboards as well as guitars and drums so one minute we get Brian Eno style, ambient interludes and the next minute we’re into My Bloody Valentine guitar bending freakouts, the electro-glide of Curve or the metronomic locked grooves of early Stereolab, Broadcast or Yo La Tengo. On songs like ‘Unshaped Road’ they show that 90s Trip Hop influence as a sweet pop vocal rides over a killer bass riff that could be from Massive Attack. That’s not to say they are derivative or slavishly copying those artists – they have a unique style of their own and they knit a lot of different moods and sounds together and somehow make it all coherent – their track Blue Dada is a good example – it starts very much in that early 90s Too Pure era Stereolab Groop Groove but takes on a strange little life of it’s own and its that sense of surprise in the choice of melody and dynamics that sets Dummy apart.
https://youtu.be/_w8942xcHY4?si=ZQbvcSmusYLmyS9T
Tonight suggests that Dummy, as good as their records are, are a band that really need to be seen live to really get what they’re about – so if this hard working band come to your town don’t pass up the chance to see them bring the noise.
This is the (all lower case) deary’s first gig in Manchester and there’s a full basement and a definite sense of anticipation, I’ve certainly been looking forward to this one. It’s hard to talk about this band without mentioning their influences which, as part of the Sonic Cathedral roster, they wear loud and proud. Yes they do sound a lot like Cocteau Twins, Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine but really, by 2024 those bands have become as influential as Joy Division, The Cure, Can, Kraftwerk, The Velvet Underground, Love and The Doors were on previous generations of shy Indie kids. The fact is, a lot of young bands have embraced the pejorative ‘shoegazing’ tag and are running with it and making it their own – and unlike the 1st wave of shoegazers there are no NME journalists demanding they stop and be more like Guns N’ Roses (this actually happened).
Let’s just accept that the NME journalists and Ladrock cheerleaders lost – Shoegaze/Dreampop is firmly established as a genre – but a template and jumping off point rather than a set of rules (aside : I’m on a Canterbury Scene Facebook group which eternally ties itself in knots debating what is, and what isn’t ‘Canterbury’ like some creaky old arts committee deciding what can be allowed into the catalogue raisonné – it’s both tragic and hilarious – I suspect the same goes on with Shoegaze/Dreampop). In which case, it’s no good just having some FX pedals, nice guitars and ethereal vocals – it becomes about the songs and fortunately deary have songs to burn and melodies to melt your heart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-RgOyTrYlE
I’ve loved their two EPs so far their self titled debut and the latest ‘Aurelia’ are magnificent and we get highlights from both tonight. They also have presence and a touch of magic about them and as they start their set with the aptly named ‘Heaven’ and get into their stride there’s definite intensity to them which crackles through the room. Brilliantly, the audience is rapt and it’s one of those nights where there’s nobody nattering and everyone seems to be hanging on every minute – even when they’re tuning up for the next song as if we all know we’re witnessing something very special.
deary’s secret weapon is rhythm and the core of the group, Dottie & Ben are joined by an excellent drummer and bass player who bring that to the fore even more than on their records and it’s a joy to watch them at work – it reminds me of when My Bloody Valentine veered toward dance music on ‘Soon’ and maybe Massive Attack’s songs with Elizabeth Fraser – deary have yet to make an LP but maybe that’s something they might expand on. A stunning gig that flew by in a heartbeat – can’t wait to see where they go next.
