Spector with Gabriel Bruce and Violet @ Clwb Ifor Bach

Back to the welsh club it was for me with my first foray into watching live music since a disappointing Mystery Jets gig a month ago. Spector were the headliners with support from a man called Gabriel Bruce and Pixie Geldof's Violet. I did not listen to any of these bands before arriving.

Violet had just started when I arrived, the thin crowd lining the wall in an arc around the performance. Immediately I was hit with the sense I was watching an off shoot of the prevelent Lana Del Ray theme of being slow and 'sultry'. Slow and sultry is not interesting and it isn't intelligent or arresting music. Each song was a ridiculously slow climb to nothing much at all - like a rollercoaster building half way up a slope and then falling backwards in slow motion. A lot of tracks were not bad but they sounded a lot like songs you would find on an album that, although not bringing the album down at all, they do not add anything and you are going to avoid putting them on any of your playlists. With the musical theme very much focused on Ms. Geldof and her attentive lead guitarist, it was no surprise that with the departure of both the bassist and the drummer, the sound of the band suffered a complete absence of change. While understated and ignored instrumentalists are a staple of good music, you are still supposed to be able to tell when they have wandered off on a beer run. 

Then a man called Gabriel Bruce came on, along with two backing singers and a man with a laptop balanced on a keyboard. And after coming on, revealed that the collective was very good. My only real gripe with this act was the way that he was dancing and singing next to the computer made it look startlingly like I do when tidying my room and listening to music. I know they say dance like no one is watching, but still, calm down slightly. Also, the amount of energy he was putting into the performance was leaving him rather out of breath. But energy was one of the key, excellent elements of the performance. In complete contrast to the nothing-happens style of Violet, Mr. Bruce and his merry band put forward a thoroughly entertaining mash up of overwhelmingly 80s sounds with the processing power of a high end Apple Mac. Mentioning the influence of the 80s is key here, it was all over every single sound. From Tears for Fears to Madonna, and from David Bowie (thanks in a big way to Mr. Bruce's voice) to the contemporary mastery of the very 80s melody of Chairlift. It was super fun, both on stage and in the audience and I can heartily recommend seeing him perform live. In case you are going to listen to his stuff on Soundcloud/Tumblr, bear in mind that the live performances come with a lot more energy and enthusiasm - turning soft tracks into dance-y triumphs. 

Now, I had not really heard of Spector at all before this week but on announcing my evening's plans at work I was promptly informed that Radio 1 had taken a liking to the lads, and I do slightly remember the appearance they made on the Sound of 2012 poll. This had me in some considerable dismay. The only radio station I really listen to at all is BBC Radio 6, because it is the one with all the alternative, cool stuff on and, in my opinion, numbers 1-5 have completely sold out. (I don't actually listen to much radio at all and have no idea what I am talking about). With the information that had just been provided to me I was resolute in the conclusion that I would not like this band at all, the populist arseholes. 

Now, this was not the correct attitude to take. They were reasonably spectacular and I applauded (out of genuine pleasure, not awkward obligation). 

It would be foolish, and near impossible, for me to talk about Spector without mentioning the White Lies. Regardless if it is just because I have been distracted by the lead singers voice or if it is actually an astute observation, but they sound remarkably similar. Loud indie rock being the name of the game, this is not a big surprise. I am tempted to say that I think Spector could be better. They are definitely more fun and interesting, not taking anything too seriously and live, pretty engaging. Also, the lead singer proved just how important hilarious stage banter can be in getting a crowd really up for making a proper gig atmosphere. 

In summary, if you are looking for only-very-slightly-formulaic indie rock and roll, I would be hard pushed to find many bands I would recommend seeing live more than this one. Looking forward to the album, as well.