It
does warm the cockles of this cynical old muso’s heart, I have to say, when a
band takes the step up from intriguing support to fully fledged headliners in
their own right. I’d caught Brighton’s young 4-piece Thyla a couple of times
before; firstly when their personality (particularly that of vivacious vocalist
Millie) shone through a murky mix as support to the late, lamented Inheaven
(gig 1,070), then a more coherent and very promising set with Rolling Blackouts
Coastal Fever last October (gig 1,107), so they were about primed to jump on my
Dance Card in their own right. Their sonic template falls into various rooms in
my wheelhouse; dreamy ethereal shoegaze, more early Ride-ish wall-of-sound,
some Pixies proto-grunge stomp, all overlaid with hooky memorable
harmony-driven choruses. Another band to join the likes of Desperate
Journalist, Basement Revolver et al in taking that post-punk guitar-led sound
and putting their own spin on it, could they cut it as headliners in their own
right?
I
grabbed a ticket for this Autumn tour quite early, revelling in the opportunity
for a rare return to one of my 80’s/ 90’s fave haunts, the Jericho Tavern.
After a false start to drop Logan’s Diabetes scanner off at his evening club, I
however remembered that Oxford Jericho Tavern has one big drawback, being that it’s
in Oxford! Stuck behind a lorry for most of my journey there, I then found
“Road Closed” signs into Walton Street, picking through tiny side-streets to
the venue. Then, the usual parking-mare ensued, and I exasperatedly dumped the
motor down a not-so-nearby side-street, thereby missing all but the last half
number of hushed folky opener Aphra Taylor, who finished earlier than her
scheduled 8.30. Bah! However, next up were locals Ocean Ruins, in front of a
score of early punters. Openers at that Inheaven Reading gig, they’ve come a
long way since that passable but hesitant performance; a lazy droney opener
with hints of Galaxie 500 gave way to some more upbeat and spooky, moody
material, with some angular backbeat drums from an impressive sticksman (a new
guy, apparently) and some driving choruses. The female vocalist this time
sounded more confident, her slightly nasally warbling voice more to the fore,
and I enjoyed the likes of “Broken Toys” with its’ quiet/loud grungy vibe and big
chorus, and the driving rockers of set closers “Tokyo To Mexico” and “Love
Drunk”. Overall, a quantum improvement since my previous viewing, and now a
band I’d certainly check out again, a point I made to them afterwards.
Chatted
with Thyla’s bassist, who remembered our Pixies-centred chat after the RBCF
gig, before he set up with his bandmates. Shortly after 9.30, Thyla took the
stage to little fanfare, in front of a bigger and more engaged crowd, opener
“Only Ever” bathing us in washes of shimmering guitar sound before dropping
into a dreamy mid-paced number with “Dreams Burn Down”-esque haunting guitar
licks. “Blame”, next up, was a more driving and dynamic rocker, with a lengthy
note impressively held by pocket dynamo vocalist Millie, smiling and buoyant
throughout the set. “Candy” featured a strident and bratty choral hook,
building to a grungy and noisy crescendo with swathes of Bob Mould/ MBV noise,
but new single “Lenox Hill” was for me the set highlight, a well-constructed
and streetwise slice of Belly-esque dreampop, and a likely shoe-in for my “Best
Of 2019” CD… if I get it downloaded in time! A later “Biting” was a moody
Pixies-ish death march, and as the quickfire 45 minute set drew to a close,
“Blue” featured a fine growling intro and excellent backbeat drumming. Throughout
the set, though, Millie was the main focus; bouncy and enthusiastic, despite
her huge boots (!); this girl can not only sing, but has onstage charisma to
throw away, and I repeatedly found my thoughts drifting back to another similarly
charismatic blonde who I saw perform 4 times on that very stage, namely Fiona
of The Parachute Men… My only quibble was that her voice wasn’t as far up in
the mix as I’d have liked, leaving us a little bereft during her frequent
off-mic excursions. But hey, this was a cracking little gem of a set from a
band who’ve come on in leaps and bounds, and firmly grasped the nettle of
headliner status. OK, the influences may be easy to spot, but they’re mixing
them up and making something of their own. Nice work!
A
quick chat and pics with the band afterwards before a much easier egress out of
the city. Splendid set from Thyla, though, a young band well and truly – and
deservedly so – on the up!
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