GIG REVIEW: London Grammar @ Rough Trade East, London, 10-09-13

As one year ends and another begins, after all the End-Of-Year lists have circulated and the big breakthrough acts of the year before have been noted and shelved, impatient music fans such as myself are already looking for that big band, artist or track that's going to define the year that follows. As 2013 dawned, all of 7 days passed before a band called London Grammar had a song going viral so quickly it made our heads spin. It was a sparse and beautiful song that took the internet's breath away, and the song was called "Hey Now".

Cut forward 9 months, universal acclaim and a handful of EPs, and this very band have already created a simple but gorgeous debut album. My friend accompanying me to this exclusive and very small Rough Trade mini-gig commented just how quickly the record had come around. But, in a world where hype for a record raises expectations to the point where a band is destined to disappoint no matter what, The Grammars have the right idea.

Because the fame and success has clearly had no chance to hit them - and judging by the performance tonight, thank god. The band shuffle on stage unfashionably on time just after 7pm, with shy, modest looks on their faces, and they converse with the crowd as if they would converse with guests at a friend's wedding. It's the self-deprecating comments and awkward personal admissions of singer Hannah Reid that make the siren calls when she opens her mouth all the more enchanting.

The band as a whole are humble and largely still onstage as they make their way through a half hour set of their best known material, but because of what the three can do together, they still manage to exude extraordinary stage presence. Not even the crackly, bass-heavy speaker system of the record store can detract from the raw beauty of London Grammar's music.

The tracks take on a life of their own in a live environment, and benefit from being based around the simplest of arrangements. "Hey Now" becomes an extended free-space for the track's simple but haunting motifs, and "Darling..." and "Metal & Dust" triple in size, becoming bonafide indie rock anthems that wouldn't shame U2 on an arena stage. Dot skips from drums to keyboards to drum machines, and Dan's guitaring is loose and with feeling, as Hannah lets her truly phenomenal, deep voice soar through the tinny halls of Rough Trade.

The crowd is quiet but supportive and uncharacteristically warm for a London crowd. The applause is genuine, enthusiastic and unforced; there's a genuine feel of support and love for the band, rare for one so young. Before "Strong", probably "Hey Now"'s biggest contender for London Grammar's signature tune, Hannah sweetly requests the audience sings along, and jokingly lampoons them afterwards for not doing so. But what she doesn't realize is, that the audience was just too damn in awe to do anything to drown out what was coming from the band themselves.

It has been a real honour to be at such an important gig for the band, their first live gig post-debut release, and witnessing the first step towards a long and successful career. It's nearly always a risky move to predict big things from a band in the long term, but judging on this performance tonight paired with a belter debut, it's a bet I'd be willing to make. What was most exciting about this evening is that this feels like the mere beginning - in 9 months and one album, we've only seen a hint of what this glorious trio can create together.

As great as If You Wait is, it's albums number 3 and 4 I'm most looking forward to.

Setlist

Hey Now

Darling, Are You Gonna Leave Me?

Wasting My Young Years

Interlude

Strong

Metal & Dust

- Joe Copplestone, 11/09/13 (Photograph by Joao Vasconcelos)

TOP 10 TRACKS OF FEBRUARY 2013.

10
"Attracting Flies"
AlunaGeorge

GivePopAChance said...
"AlunaGeorge continue to elude genres whilst sounding effortlessly cool and current, and the crumbling beats and battering ram synths of "Attracting Flies" are no exception." READ MORE...



9
"So Close"
Kidnap Kid feat. Sinead Harnett

After a stunning yet mysterious debut on Disclosure's "Boiling", Sinead Harnett returns with a similarly subdued tune. The consistently tasteful Kidnap Kid drops subtle and unusual balearic chords, with just enough ambiance to still please his underground house fans, and Sinead's songwriting takes centre stage. Unlike the distant reverb-laden ad libs of "Boiling", the chorus of "So Close" is full of positive energy, uplifting and warm, and unlike on the Disclosure number, Sinead makes the track her own with her lullaby tones.



8
"XTC"
LIZ

GivePopAChance said...
"This will be, without doubt, a cheesy dated mess to many people, but it's an ultimate retro R&B guilty pleasure for me." READ MORE...



7
"Make A Little Room"
Al Lewis

In the wake of Ben Howard's sweep at the Brit's, it bodes well for a lot of folky British singer songwriters, but there are few as deserving as Welsh sweetheart Al Lewis. There are no awkward metaphors, no pretense, just classic, relate-able songwriting. The flecks of country in the upbeat tempo and cutesy female backing vocal only add to the charm of this modest, clean cut love song.



6
"Falling"
Haim

These girls are so 80s pop/rock that many bands would shy away from their gutsy vocal hooks, shamelessly funky basslines and twinkling synth, but their sheer Fleetwood Mac brand of cheese is to be admired if anything. Even the closing hook of "Never look back, never give up" is forgivable  as these girls stand by every overly confident hook they write and pull them off with panache. And god damn it, "Falling" is catchy.



5
"Sloe Gin"
Dream McClean

GivePopAChance said...
"Over a stumbling, drunken beat and head-swirling synth line, Essex rapper Dream McLean woozily tells partially-blacked out tales of "drinking sloe gin too fast"." READ MORE...



4
"London"
Official-O

So much goes on in the gorgeous yet harsh "London", that it's hard to pinpoint one particular sound Official-O, or "the artist known as Ofe" as his website cryptically states, was aiming for. The vocoders are straight from James Blake's debut, but Ofe's voice is from the Alex Clare school of gritty soul. Every sound, including the optimistic, sunny piano chords and thunderous drums and deafening wall of vocals at the climax, all form a perfect soundtrack to the hectic streets of London. And to anyone who's ever lived there, the sound is crazy but beautiful.



3
"Chocolate"
The 1975

The 1975 simply have to be the next big indie band. There's a level of rebelliousness that a lot of the pretty indie boys of 2012/2013 have eschewed in exchange for a more twee sound, and right from their anthemic lead single "The City", The 1975 have been anything but quaint or twee. These boys tell stories of fumblings in the backs of cars, being young and being stupid. "We're never gonna quit it, never gonna quit it no" yelps their (utterly gorgeous) lead singer, and guitars jump around in a gorgeous tapestry. The pulsing drum machine that is exposed towards the end of the song emphasizes the message even more. There's no point of being a mopey indie band when you can be one that lives for the party.



2
"Retrograde"
James Blake

GivePopAChance said...
"New single "Retrograde" is a total relief, a revelation and a triumphant sign that Blake is no mere BBC Sound-of-year flash in the pan. A seemingly complex acrobatic vocal hook becomes somehow unforgettable by the end of the song, and Blake's voice seems confident and utterly heartwarming." READ MORE...



1
"Metal and Dust"
London Grammar

When a track like London Grammar's (already song-of-the-year standard) "Hey Now" comes along, there's no doubt that there is something really special there. The question is, is it the band that's special or just the song? The Naked and Famous released the epic, heartwrenchingly perfect indie anthem "Young Blood" in 2009, but followed it with an album bogged down with almost exclusively uninspiring synth rock = THE SONG. On the other hand 80s goth-pop revivalists Hurts' released their seminal, timeless song "Wonderful Life" around the same time, and followed it with a benchmark album full of timeless songs; just look at "Stay" or "Blood Tears and Gold" = THE BAND.

As you might have already guessed by my placement of London Grammar at the top of both my January and February lists, you would be very accurate in guessing that London Grammar, two songs in, look like they belong to the latter category  "Metal and Dust" has all the sparkle that made "Hey Now" so spellbinding, the mesmerizing vocal, the sparse, perfect guitar parts, but whilst "Hey Now" was infused with a longing and melancholy, "Metal and Dust" replaces that with a fire and a passion. "We argue we don't fight, stay awake till the middle of the night" chants singer Hannah Reid, and the youth in the band shines through more here than on the drifting loneliness of "Hey Now".

Similarities between "Metal and Dust" and "Unfinished Sympathy" by Massive Attack can be made, but that is no mean feat, and by all means a huge compliment: the busy breakbeat that the track rides on, the majestic strings that envelop it, and not to mention the epic cut and paste vocal loop that cries out towards the end of the track. But once again, as with London Grammar's own "Hey Now", Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy" was a sad song, one that had a lot of emotion wearing it down, whilst "Metal and Dust" soars, totally reinterpreting the sounds it has been influenced by. If London Grammar can demonstrate such maturity, such range and such depth and range of emotion, skill and meaning in just two songs, there can be no other prediction to be made: London Grammar's debut simply must be the album of the year.

TOP 10 SONGS OF JANUARY 2013

10

"Move"

Mausi

A timelessly summery tune straight from the turn of the millennium, mainly thanks to an insanely uplifting, flailing synth lead. Remember Milky's "Just The Way You Are"? It's on par.

9

"No Problems"

Azealia Banks

Whilst Angel Haze's diss to Banks was kind of self-indulgent and overlong, we should be thankful she stirred the pot, because just desserts for Haze are served in the form of "No Problems", in which a rabid hip hop beat courtesy of Machinedrum serves as a platform for Banks at her calmest and most threatening at the same time.

8

"Deathwish"

Bebe Black

The La Roux-esque voice of Benga's "Icon" comes into her own with her debut single. First appearing on the free "Black Lion Sessions" EP last year, the organic and yearning songcraft "Deathwish" is so wonderfully performed by Black that it's hard to imagine it performed by any other singer, no mean feat for an artist's debut single.

7

"Turn Me Out"

Russ Chimes

Euphoric and life-affirming house in the vein of Tensnake, "Coma Cat" for 2013 if you will, this will serve as a highlight for many a summer festival.

6

"You (Ha Ha Ha)"

Charli XCX

GivePopAChance said...

"Taking on a quirky yet more-ish Gold Panda beat, Charli XCX does very little over the top, but it ends up working perfectly... further proof that she is London's answer to Lana Del Rey."

5

"No Strings"

Chloe Howl

GivePopAChance said...

"The warm and fuzzy indie-synthpop of "No Strings" mimics the bassline from "Pumped Up Kicks" but brings it to a teenage house party, where she tells of a typical 17 year old's battle between lust and love."

4

"Life Size Ghosts (Catching Flies Remix)"

Mt Wolf

GivePopAChance said...

"Catching Flies' take of the track brings the track into darker territory, without sacrificing any of Mt Wolf's cloud-gazing magic."

3

"Can't Handle The Truth"

JoJo

JoJo is fast becoming the female Drake, her latest mixtape being an honest, experimental, catagorically-relaxed half hour, ending in this gorgeous and frank ditty to infidelity from the point of view of the cheater. Just as gorgeous as her cover/response to "Marvin's Room".

2

"In My Arms"

Fryars

GivePopAChange said... 

"The main hook of "In My Arms" jumps playfully into the air with Garratt's gentle falsetto, as a piano hook lumbers humbly in the background, with barely-awake house flair."

1

"Hey Now"

London Grammar

GivePopAChance said...

"London newbies London Grammar bring the year's first classic song, a song thats poignancy and beauty is timeless."

London Grammar - Hey Now

As 2013 creeps in with a reflective sigh, London newbies London Grammar bring the year's first classic song, a song thats poignancy and beauty is timeless. Recalling the mid 90s days of trip hop, but with a freer, more airy agenda, singer Hannah (that's all we've got right now) has a deep, expressive voice with a heartbreaking sense of dynamics, beginning with a casually uttered "Hey Now", a throwaway, defeated greeting, that eventually becomes a yearning cry by the song's climax. A soothing rhodes carries the song behind when it is almost not there, before dubby drums pick up the tempo and Edge-esque guitars dart beautifully around like fireflies.

The photo that accompanies the song is a perfect image to represent it. A sunrise, or set, over a long road, one that leads into the city. "Hey Now" is a 3 minute and 27 second journey from the outside, at once shy and avoidant in nature, before unveiling secret desires and longings. For anyone who has dreams and hopes for the new year, this song is for, and about, them.

FOR FANS OF: Zero 7, Massive Attack, Portishead.