Wild Beasts find themselves playing in Glasgow tonight as part of Topman CTRL music series, tonight’s event being curated by French electro-popsters Phoenix. The show has been cleverly grafted onto the front of a full UK tour that starts in Edinburgh tomorrow. However, this late addition to the tour has been detrimental to the turn out with many fans having purchased tickets to the Edinburgh that went on sale months before tonight’s announcement.
Support this evening comes from local art punk talent Paper Planes, who are visually increasing in confidence with every show they play.
Leeds based Wild Beasts come to Glasgow with praise being heaped on them from all angles following the release of highly acclaimed second album Two Dancers. The bands interchanging of vocals, from guitarist Hayden Thorpe’s unmistakable falsetto to the more classic indie rock vocals of bassist Tom Fleming, keeps the crowd more than interested as the band cruise through a set infectious indie rock tracks occasionally touching the edges of glam.
Last single Hooting & Howling is the set’s stand out, as the band continue a tradition of strong singles, the building anthem does not as Thorpe’s looping vocals digs deep into the listeners conscience.
On the whole tonight the band seem eager and raring to go on their new tour, but despite tonight not setting the tour alight it acts as a solid beginning and the Beasts do nothing to discredit themselves (well aside from Thorpe’s awful denim waistcoat!) Or Phoenix for that matter.
Wednesday 30 September 2009
Friday 25 September 2009
Fuck Buttons @ Stereo 24/9/09
A couple of days before tonight I suffered a slightly awkward moment upon purchasing a friend’s ticket for this evening show. Uttering the words ‘Fuck Buttons’ drew a quizzical expression from the ticket agent along with embarrassed giggles from a group of young girls. However, if these people had experienced the music of Fuck Buttons I’m sure they’d reverse their reaction, either for that of absorbed amazement or sheer terror, as Fuck Buttons are one of the most complex sounding electronic acts to emerge from the UK in recent years.
The Bristol duo is not the most visually stimulating as they bop up and down in relative darkness, still the ear busting noise created more than makes up for the lack of visual entertainment. At time the sound is almost apocalyptic when they power through tracks from brutally brilliant debut album, Street Horrrsing, as they push the audience’s ears to the verge of self-destruct.
The show tonight also gives a preview of second album Tarot Sport, for those who have not already experienced it. Tarot Sport, released by ATP Recordings on 14th October, sees Fuck Buttons walk a much more accessible path than their previous work, but still the complex collage of sound remains only in less scary, yet not necessarily better, mould.
Benjamin John Power and Andrew Hung’s sound that holds a majority of a jam-packed Stereo crowd affixed in some sort of awestruck wonder. The band may not bring any real entertainment for the eyes, but are both physically as engrossed in their sound as their audience are. Once the show is finished it takes a good minute to remove yourself from the trancelike state forced open you by the sheer force of noise created, a force the duo should take a huge amount of credit for creating.
The Bristol duo is not the most visually stimulating as they bop up and down in relative darkness, still the ear busting noise created more than makes up for the lack of visual entertainment. At time the sound is almost apocalyptic when they power through tracks from brutally brilliant debut album, Street Horrrsing, as they push the audience’s ears to the verge of self-destruct.
The show tonight also gives a preview of second album Tarot Sport, for those who have not already experienced it. Tarot Sport, released by ATP Recordings on 14th October, sees Fuck Buttons walk a much more accessible path than their previous work, but still the complex collage of sound remains only in less scary, yet not necessarily better, mould.
Benjamin John Power and Andrew Hung’s sound that holds a majority of a jam-packed Stereo crowd affixed in some sort of awestruck wonder. The band may not bring any real entertainment for the eyes, but are both physically as engrossed in their sound as their audience are. Once the show is finished it takes a good minute to remove yourself from the trancelike state forced open you by the sheer force of noise created, a force the duo should take a huge amount of credit for creating.
Friday 18 September 2009
Times New Viking @ Nice n' Sleazy's 17/9/09
Thrashy alternative three piece Times New Viking return to Glasgow for the fourth time, their second headline slot, after audience raising support slots with No Age, Los Campesinos! and Crystal Antlers. The Ohio three-piece is thriving on tonight’s proceedings blasting through a set of minute and half lo-fi gems. Tonight’s show acts as a preview to the unreleased LP, Born Again Revisited, which is on sale tonight but not due for full release until next week.
The view from the side wall of the Sleazy’s basement obscures the vision of the full band, but does elevate somewhat so at least some vision is thrown in with the sonic experience. Still the tight setting the venue provides is ideal for TNV’s lo-fi sound. Despite the visual obstacles it is only guitarist, Jared Phillips who remains out of vision. Keyboardist and dual vocalist, Beth Murphy’s dream fuelled sway remains in full view creating an audience focal point, as she delivers the sweeter melodies coming from under the layers of fuzz the band project.
This fuzzy sound is now an ever present with TNV both live and on record. By others accounts the band used to hone a much cleaner sound, but their current output cannot be argued with on its quality alone.
The most vocally active member of the band comes in vocalist and drummer, Adam Elliott who throws chat at the crowd through out the set, some of which goes over the crowd’s head, some is amusing, most is about drugs. Elliott introduces a large amount of songs with reference to drugs: ‘this song is not about drugs’, ‘this song is about drugs’ and ‘this song is about taking drugs in a museum with your girlfriend’. Still every bit of the drummers stage banter is treated with warmth. Finishing the set, Elliott announces ‘we love your city’, a sentiment the crowd tonight would happily throw back on the band that have treated them with a set as superb as it is raw.
The view from the side wall of the Sleazy’s basement obscures the vision of the full band, but does elevate somewhat so at least some vision is thrown in with the sonic experience. Still the tight setting the venue provides is ideal for TNV’s lo-fi sound. Despite the visual obstacles it is only guitarist, Jared Phillips who remains out of vision. Keyboardist and dual vocalist, Beth Murphy’s dream fuelled sway remains in full view creating an audience focal point, as she delivers the sweeter melodies coming from under the layers of fuzz the band project.
This fuzzy sound is now an ever present with TNV both live and on record. By others accounts the band used to hone a much cleaner sound, but their current output cannot be argued with on its quality alone.
The most vocally active member of the band comes in vocalist and drummer, Adam Elliott who throws chat at the crowd through out the set, some of which goes over the crowd’s head, some is amusing, most is about drugs. Elliott introduces a large amount of songs with reference to drugs: ‘this song is not about drugs’, ‘this song is about drugs’ and ‘this song is about taking drugs in a museum with your girlfriend’. Still every bit of the drummers stage banter is treated with warmth. Finishing the set, Elliott announces ‘we love your city’, a sentiment the crowd tonight would happily throw back on the band that have treated them with a set as superb as it is raw.
Friday 11 September 2009
Sunset Rubdown @ Stereo 10/9/09
The advertisement poster for tonight’s event reads ‘Sunset Rubdown featuring members of Swan Lake, Wolf Parade and Frog Eyes’, a fact that band leader Spencer Krug is clearly wary of pointing out that they are all him. Still it is obvious Krug is the leader of this Montreal five-piece, he strikes an imposingly confident figure as he confirms this is a Sunset Rubdown set and not any of his other alter egos. The frontman’s presence strikes a stark contrast with the rest of the band as they take step back and let Krug lead the show. Co-vocalist / keyboardist former Pony Up! Camilla Wayne Ingr is the only other member remaining in the constant spotlight cutting a rather more timid figure in comparison to the muscular flexes of Krug.
Sunset has been hailed as the outlet for most of Krug’s more adventurous outings, however by the strength of their records and tonight’s performance they can easily compete on quality terms with his more famous projects. The set starts on a atmospheric note as the band lay out a lush full sound before Krug crows into ‘The Empty Threats of Little Lord’ ending on a scratchier note as the singing hisses ‘you snake’ at the end each line of the last verse. From this point the band never drops in tempo, often jumping into bouts of double percussion, as they cut through a set featuring a heavily from the outstanding new record ‘Dragonslayer’ probably the most accessible to date under this alias.
The hugely talented Krug also proves he can inject a bit of humor into the proceedings as he shares amusing tales of their overnight ‘cruise’ from Amsterdam, before proving he isn’t perfect after all as he embarrassedly forgets the names of tonight’s support acts, local based Mitchell Museum and North Atlantic Oscillation. However they recover from this minor setback and end the set emphatically as they finish off with two tracks from 2006 stand out ‘Shut Up I Am Dreaming’, starting off with the triumphant ‘Stadiums and Shrines II’ before ending on a softer more ambient note with beautifully constructed ballad ‘Us Ones In Between. As the band leave the stage to an rousing reception it is clear that Sunset Rubdown have gone some way from just being a Wolf Parade side-project, and here’s hoping this their first visit to Glasgow wont be their last.
Sunset has been hailed as the outlet for most of Krug’s more adventurous outings, however by the strength of their records and tonight’s performance they can easily compete on quality terms with his more famous projects. The set starts on a atmospheric note as the band lay out a lush full sound before Krug crows into ‘The Empty Threats of Little Lord’ ending on a scratchier note as the singing hisses ‘you snake’ at the end each line of the last verse. From this point the band never drops in tempo, often jumping into bouts of double percussion, as they cut through a set featuring a heavily from the outstanding new record ‘Dragonslayer’ probably the most accessible to date under this alias.
The hugely talented Krug also proves he can inject a bit of humor into the proceedings as he shares amusing tales of their overnight ‘cruise’ from Amsterdam, before proving he isn’t perfect after all as he embarrassedly forgets the names of tonight’s support acts, local based Mitchell Museum and North Atlantic Oscillation. However they recover from this minor setback and end the set emphatically as they finish off with two tracks from 2006 stand out ‘Shut Up I Am Dreaming’, starting off with the triumphant ‘Stadiums and Shrines II’ before ending on a softer more ambient note with beautifully constructed ballad ‘Us Ones In Between. As the band leave the stage to an rousing reception it is clear that Sunset Rubdown have gone some way from just being a Wolf Parade side-project, and here’s hoping this their first visit to Glasgow wont be their last.
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