Glasgow’s King Tut’s is in for a future-bound blast from the past tonight as Madchester hurls its way into the 2020s with a night of indie nostalgia from three acts signed to independent label Spirit of Spike Island.
J Fender, frontman of tonight’s headline band, Afflecks Palace, originally set Spirit of Spike Island up as an online clothing store but the spirit spread to encompass a record label as a means of releasing the band’s records, and continued to spread to signing up promising talent with that baggy soul at heart.
VEGA RALLY
Solo artist Vega Rally is first up tonight, his soaring beats setting the tone for the evening and making one hell of a noise for one man and his guitar. With no backing band, just a laptop and set of loop pedals, the multi-instrumentalist tells us he pre-records all his music in his bedroom. He opens the set with first single Infinity ’93 with it’s Happy Mondays-inspired groove harking back to Wrote For Luck, his vocals leaning more towards Ian Brown. The song’s self-assured lyrics promise that anything’s possible and it looks like for this young musician, anything really is.
Last single Come Out N Play follows, as the crowd really get into their groove. Any Stone Roses, Oasis or Kasabian fans will find this number hard to resist while a swirl of The Charlatans surges through the heart of Back At It Again.
His infectious sound is a winner, with some bloke calling out “you’re a f***ing legend, big man” which isn’t a bad status for a newcomer in their early twenties and it’s evident that there’s a great appetite for Vega Rally’s majestic spin on this Madchester melting pot. Oh and he writes and produces all his work too, the smarty pants that he is. Great stuff!
PASTEL
Five-piece Swansea act Pastel are soaring their way to success after featuring in last autumn’s Pretty Green advert, leading to the golden ticket of a support slot for Liam Gallagher at Knebworth in June.
Tonight the setting’s a fair bit more intimate, with a capacity of 300 which is in some ways more tricky, with rhythm guitarist James Yates earlier telling me “With small venues you can see people’s expressions, you can see them standing there not giving a f***, disinterested, mouthing to their mate ‘this is shit’.” But in all honestly I don’t think anyone is thinking that tonight, these guys doing no wrong at the moment with their haze of uplifting shoegaze melding with a baggy vibe that echoes the spirit of the other bands on this evening’s bill.
Fronted by James’ cousin, Jack Yates, whose vocals resonate from behind his whirl of curls, it’s guitarist Joe Anderson, bassist Liam O’Shea and drummer Rhys Wheeler who first take to the stage. The Manchester-born Yates boys eventually appear to a cheer, clutching onto water bottles and oozing a swagger reminiscent of the Gallagher brothers as their bandmates and no doubt manager, J, cast watchful eyes on them. Good luck reeling in that pair guys, they’re clearly ready for the old-school world of rock ’n’ roll!
Run Rabbit Run is first up, propelled by Liam’s driving bass as Jack grips the mic stand like it’s considering making a run for it too. Although Pastel’s music is a nod to Madchester, Jack tells me earlier, “that was a different time really, we’ve got to build on what we’ve got and I think it’s just about paying homage to that” and their sound is more in line with Ride, The Verve and The Charlatans. Running On Empty sees James swaying to and fro in slo-mo and I’m not sure if the spirit of this Yates lad is even present. But he emerges from this precarious episode for the chiming reverb and gliding melody of new single Escape, which takes inspiration from “Acid mainly”, according to Jack, who says earlier “it’s just about a good trip, a bad trip, a funny trip.” This is followed by last single, Isaiah, a mesmerising masterstroke of uplifting shoegaze, Joe effortlessly creating a shimmering guitar glaze that falls into space, hypnotising the audience in a dreamlike atmosphere. To take a Liam Gallagher-favoured adjective…celestial!
There’re a couple of new numbers, in anticipation of the upcoming Isaiah EP and future album release, finishing with last year’s Deeper Than Holy, title track from their first EP, the fan favourite swerving towards The Verve with an edge of Oasis. The Yates boys saunter off, leaving the other three to complete proceedings with Rhys ending on an extended battering of the drums. If you’ve not checked out Pastel yet, careful you don’t get left behind!
AFFLECKS PALACE
The final dash of Madchester spirit comes from headliners, Afflecks Palace in all their baggy glory, spinning the audience into a psychedelic daze. Most of the crowd have been present since opening act Vega Rally took to the stage, which illustrates perfectly the demand for that late ’80s/early ’90s vibe. It also means a fair few have downed a fair few, adding to the boisterous and buoyant atmosphere. It’s bloody roasting in here but J Fender is defiant, sporting a bucket hat and denim jacket as he finally takes to the stage after zipping around the venue all night, overseeing his flock. He’s still got shedloads of energy and is clearly in his element along with guitarist Dan Stapleton, bassist Pete Darling and drummer Pete Redshaw who look so at ease up there on the compact King Tut’s stage.
They kick the set off with This City Is Burning Alive and its searing Smiths-esque riff, while the bruising bass and kaleidoscopic surge of Carpe Diem, also from first album, What Do You Mean It’s Not Raining, brims with positive energy, intoxicating the crowd. The addictive funk of latest single and Fatboy Slim classic Praise You gets a rollicking reception and new song I’m So Glad You’re On Ecstasy has its first public airing, J telling us it’s off their new album due out next year. Last up is debut single, Forever Young, its revolving riff building up a fuzz of nostalgia as the jubilant audience, many old enough to be reliving the Madchester dream, drift back to a time when they did indeed feel forever young. There’s no doubt the spirit of Spike Island is going to be lingering for a good time to come!
With Spirit of Spike Island signing a new distribution deal, we’ll hopefully see their records in the shops very soon. In the meantime you can shop the spirit here, https://www.spiritofspikeisland.com/. Oh and they do a fine selection of t-shirts too!
Check out our interview with Pastel >>
Words: Shirley Mack @musingsbymarie
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography