Venue:
Soup Kitchen, Manchester
Date: 29/05/2019
This Swedish trio have been treading the boards for a while. Their new one ‘Are You A Dreamer’ is a cracker. Their influences are writ large – and admittedly somewhat well worn – 60s Soundtracks, psych, library music. The most obvious comparison is Stereolab in their more playful mode, or Broadcast before they went down the occult wormhole. However, they do it so very well and on this new record they really put their own stamp on it and have a melodic warmth and openness to their sound which is very appealing. On stage they have no rhythm section, relying on the beat and bass looping on a sampler which is somewhat of a hindrance but I guess born out of financial necessity for a touring band playing tiny venues. I find myself moving closer to the stage – everything else is played live so lovely twangy/vibrato guitar, the vocalist has a couple of synths and another keyboard player has a Moog connected to some analog FX and a Mellotron (well a digital version of same which does a very good impersonation of that classic Flute sound etc) with echoey vocals floating on top. Each track begins with the band calibrating and finding the right sound on their respective equipment, striking up the right drone before they launch in – and it’s enjoyable to watch them interact and try and keep the wayward machines in tune. They smile a lot. The music is all about atmosphere and mood and it just seems to work perfectly tonight – there’s a bit of magic in the room.
The audience:
Engaged, respectful and very appreciative.
It made me think..
Gigs like this remind why I regularly venture into town on rainy night, braving public transport after a Spice Girls gig at the Etihad, to stand in a grotty gig venue with the Trainspotting style toilets and a plastic pot of lager in my hand. They play Lewes on 30 May and the Shacklewell Arms in that London on 31st – go see ’em.
Lauren Laverne played a track by them the other day which sounded very good. Thanks to your review I will try and get to see them on Friday in London
I’m very grateful to you, Dr Volume. You venture out into the wilds to watch bands I’ve never heard of and report back so beautifully. You go to these shitholes so I don’t have to. I salute you.
My pleasure Tigs and of course You listen to, and write beautifully about modern Pop and R&B music so I don’t have to!
Sounds interesting – also saw their music is (one of the dwindling breed) on EMusic
Exactly what I was going to post! My annual comes up in 6 months, and will be off then I feel unless it is radically refreshed.
My major gripe is not so much the shrinking of the pool so much as the way, lately, you identify something such as the above, pop it into your “save for later” list and, when you go back, credits refreshed, a month or two after, it’s already vanished.
Like you, mosely, I’ll be off once my year’s up..
I dropped out last year after many years for the same reasons. I don’t miss it. Switched to Bandcamp for downloads mostly. Everything else is from record shops.
They are from Malmö, which may explain why I have not heard of them.
Googled. They have done two film soundtracks.
Vampyr – Dreyer’s 1932 horror film
Polanski’s The Tenant for a film festival in Spain.
It all sounds extremely promising.
If the Soup Kitchen is too grotty for you, why not pop over to Paris at Midsummer and see Death and Vanilla for free at the Institut Suedois?
https://paris.si.se/agenda/fete-de-la-musique-midsommar-concert-lfsm/
Also on the bill are another Swedish combo, Hey Elbow, who sound promising.