So
I’m back on the road again! My first out-of-town gig since The Cure, on 7th
July (gig 1,095), actually formed part of an impromptu 2 nights on the bounce
as a late addition to the ol’ Autumn Dance Card; I’d been tempted by pastoral
Dutch indie-pop combo Amber Arcades on their own, headlining a short tour in
support of beguiling new album “European Heartbreak”, but this one then became
a must with the support addition of Basement Revolver. The young Hamilton,
Ontario 3-piece had produced what is rapidly becoming a 2018 favourite in their
debut, “Heavy Eyes”, a heady mix of slow-burn early 90’s post-grunge US
alt-pop, absorbing droney guitar and crystal-clear, pure vocals from young singer
Christy, so I booked up for a potentially intriguing double-header of
female-fronted indie pop!
Hit
the road at 7 for a deceptively quick drive down, parking up in a street space
virtually opposite The Exchange! That was easy, I thought, and subsequently
realised why, as the gig was utterly deserted! Whiled away the time trying to
find the gents loos – hint, there aren’t any, it’s just ladies and “all gender”
now! – and overheard Amber Arcades vocalist Annelotte limbering up her larynx
in the upstairs “backstage” room, then popped back in for showtime. Basement
Revolver took the stage at 8.15, sadly still at this point in front of a crowd
barely numbering out of the teens… understandable “first night nerves” were
subsequently initially on show from this young trio, and the mix was a bit too
bass-heavy from my house-right spot, but things soon settled down. Opener
“Baby”, a Madder Rose “Car Song” soundalike, was quickly followed by “Friends”,
a lilting, almost hazily lullaby number recalling Belly’s more tender moments.
“Wait” needed a couple of starts (“sometime I need to figure out how to play
our shit!” quipped Christy), but by now the band were hitting their stride, the
darker, more growly bass underpinning an almost Juliana Hatfield college pop
vocal delivery. “Johnny”, my clear favourite and a shoe-in for my “Best Of
2018” end of year CD, was pure and plangent, resembling fellow Canadians
Alvvays (a bit of a lazy comparison the band suffer from, according to Christy
afterwards, and honestly the only such number tonight!), but a thoroughly
absorbing, droney “Words” (preceded by Christy’s entertaining sales pitch of,
“we’d like to sell some merch as our bag was overweight on the way over!”) was
beefed up, menacing and the set highlight. A more stripped back “Knocking” saw
an exemplary vocal performance from Christy – the girl can sing, no messin’! –
and overall, this set ticked all the right boxes for me. Tuneful, charming,
absorbing and overall very lovely indeed!
A
chat with an open and friendly band at the merch stand, Christy earnestly
writing band names down as I mentioned their supposed soundalikes (the clear
Americana-tinged post-grunge of Madder Rose, the monotone slowcore growl of
Galaxie 500), then I popped back to the car with some merch before heading down
the front for Amber Arcades, on at 9.30 to a slightly bigger crowd (still way
less than half-full, though…). Another false start, as the guitarist left his
instrument backstage, then came back as he’d forgotten the backstage room lock
combination! D’oh! Opener “Simple Song” finally got proceedings started,
sounding more overt and dynamic than the rather polite, hazily drifting St.
Etienne-alike CD version, and “Right Now”, my favourite from their debut album,
was lovely and bouncy Summery pop. “We’re Amber Arcades… from the European
Union!” quipped Annelotte, resplendent in her de rigeur amber velvet pyjama suit, before a wistful, pastoral and harmonic
“Oh My Love” and a darker, more melancholy “Goodnight Europe”. The set then
meandered pleasingly and enjoyably along, touching on various styles (“I’ve
Done the Best” a jolly, almost fairgroundesque knockabout tune, and a solo
“Self Portrait” a poignant, 50s style heartbreak ballad) whilst retaining their
air of easy, pastoral dreampop melody. I do have to confess, however, that at
16 songs (including a 4-song encore which the band powered through, Annelotte announcing,
“I don’t want to play the game; actually, we have 4 more songs!”) the set
seemed a little stuffed and slightly overlong, and maybe a more concise 12 or
13 number set would have been better. Less is more, sometimes…
No
matter, this was still an enjoyable performance from Annelotte and her
white-clad band, the absorbing monotone rhythm of “Fading Lines” and a groovy,
set highlight “Come With Me” bookending the set perfectly. Fine stuff from both
bands, then, although I confess Basement Revolver shaded it for me tonight. A
quick chat and signed list from Annelotte before I hit the road, running into a
diversion off the M4 on the way home. Bah! Later home as a result, but worth
the effort to be back on the road again!
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