What do you do if you're a promoter struggling to sell tickets because the headline act just released a poorly received second album? In this case, arrange no fewer than three support acts including local favourite, Pins. I've seen them before, supporting Veronica Falls, and whilst they've been described as C86 revivalists, they're developing their own sound, complete with fuzz. The echo makes the voices sound dreamy, and the four Manchester girls were a very credible opener. I read with interest in this informative interview that the bassist Anna Donigan's musical journey has parallels with my own: 'I was in string quartets and orchestras and wasn’t really into popular music. I was confused – I was listening to Mozart and Debussy and finding something in that, but when I was 16 I bought Arcade Fire’s first album and I loved the instrumentation.'
Fear of Men started as an art project whilst lead Jessica Weiss was studying at Goldsmiths and needed to create soundscapes for an exhibition. They're a low-fi band, who like Pins make dreamy, shoegaze tinged pop, influenced by the Cocteau Twins. One word in the my conciousness was derivative, but Weiss was a charismatic lead, and they're effective creators of atmosphere. Yet by Spectrals' set, I started to question the wisdom of assembling three support bands with such a similar sound. They are the product of 22 year old Louis Jones, with his younger brother on drums. The tempo was predominantly slow and the sounds reverb. soaked. They were reserved, and with a lack of stage presence, failed to engage the crowd. I wonder if Best Coast's manager lacks confidence, fearing stronger support might undermine the main act.
Best Coast impressed me at Reading Festival last year, but since then they've acrimoniously lost a drummer, and engaged renowned producer Jon Brion. He polished and refined their sound on The Only Place, stripping back the fuzz to reveal a vacuum of invention. Live, the dichotomy between the old and new material was less evident as one undemanding short song followed another. NME panned that second album, saying: 'they’re going through the motions, with mechanical jangly pop and the wince-inducing triteness of Cosentino’s lyrics'. PJ Harvey has little to fear from Bethany Cosentino's literary talents, as she sings tritely about weed, cats, crushes and California. The short duration of the songs at least gave the opportunity to play plenty of older material in the hour long set, confirming my earlier opinion that their debut Crazy For You is stronger.
The material may be slight, but Best Coast are compelling performers. Bobb Bruno on the guitar has amazing energy, and the whole band sounded tight, the new drummer displaying plenty of bite. Bethany shows real passion, and her facial expressions are a joy to watch. She also engaged the initially reserved crowd with humorous conversation, and finally a group started dancing, and almost everyone clapping. The more introspective and languorous newer songs fell flat, yet higher energy numbers such as the closing Boyfriend finally gained my attention. Frothy surf pop hardly suits the grey skies of Manchester, yet numbers like How They Want Me To Be managed to raise the spirits in what had started to seem at risk of becoming a mediocre evening.
The Guardian posted a thought provoking article on the day of this gig entitled: 'Are you ever too old for pop?'. It's never been in doubt that I'm young enough at heart to enjoy exploring new music, yet a couple of hours into this gig, I did question my love of pop specifically. In the end though, the sheer joy of Best Coast's live performance shone through. My preference may be towards weighter or more rootsy material, yet I drove home in a more content state of mind than upon my arrival. Limited expectations worked in my favour, and I felt privileged to feel young enough to be able to appreciate four bands from the front of a fantastic venue.
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