Speaking as a dedicated follower of the Sheffield duo, I can safely say I have been caught between the excitement that only a new album can bring and wanting to
Speaking as a dedicated follower of the Sheffield duo, I can safely say I have been caught between the excitement that only a new album can bring and wanting to keep them cocooned forever between the marvellous bookends of their first two releases.
2009’s debut Yeah So introduced the two as folky beginners, youngsters with old heads that continued, albeit with a slightly more grown up outlook on 2011’s Paradise.
With the imminent release of Complete Surrender, and an in-store gig at London’s Rough Trade East, it was time to see if what I had secretly been looking forward to for ages and hopefully witness was not only a fantastically put together set, but also if they had stepped up even further in the maturity stakes.
They didn’t disappoint. My two favourite people called Rebecca and Charles – along with regular drummer Avvon Chambers and occasional guitarist and Guillemots front man Fyfe Dangerfield – kept us waiting a whole minute (I know – an outrage!) before taking up their positions on stage at the rear of the best record shop in my universe to give the large assembly of fans a delicious taster of their freshly baked tracks.
The dusky, country-esque “Not Mine to Love”, wonderfully ethereal “Wanderer Wandering”and ‘60s heartbreaker “Suffering You, Suffering Me” were just three tracks from the new album but were the main offenders of receiving the most pin-drop silences and loud appreciation from the tightly packed stage area.
It should be frozen in time and adored by many
It was no surprise to see such an amassed group eagerly awaiting and thoroughly enjoying their entertainers. Slow Club are seasoned pros at the live game and when Rebecca addressed the crowd at the start of their set with a hearty “Hello!” we were more nervous than she was.
What I love most about their live performances (this is the third time I’ve seen them) is the execution of each track to utter perfection. The whole set tonight was proof that taking a break to work on and create new material brings a band together and the closeness of the two was pleasingly evident.
Their ability to just make it look effortless and free flowing is a real testament to a band plugged into a matrix and believing in – and achieving – something so precious to the ears it should be frozen in time and adored by many.
Putting my gushing to one side, what you need to know is this: a lot of bands like this materialise, pop out a few tunes everyone goes wobbly over and then fade out like a dead star.
Slow Club have, and still do, put in the hours to create not just tunes that sound amazing on an album, but beautiful recreations in a live setting. All that’s left to do now is to completely surrender to the fact that the week has already reached its peak.
Review and pictures from July 14 performance at Rough Trade East.
Have you caught Slow Club in action? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!
