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At times, being in a band must be soul destroying. Especially when you’re a support band, playing to a deserted venue, on stage almost as soon as the doors open and playing to a crowd more concerned with their first drink than the music. Such was the predicament facing Swedish five piece Love Is All. “I like this place, it has a nice echo” quips permanently perky front woman Josephine before the band ripped into a set of snappy punk funk. While on record Love Is All’s sound can perhaps be too cluttered, live everything falls into place. The ramshackle nature of the band works to their credit, with groove heavy tracks being blasted out non stop. Saxophonist Fredrik infuses the band with a soulful touch, though the same cannot be said for his comically bad dancing, which give the impression he’s going to fall over. Luckily, the band keep standing and head off stage with the audience realising they’ve had a real treat.
While Love Is All are mainly (and sadly) unknown, The Holloways are established enough that they’re headlining this venue in two months time. ’So This Is Great Britain’ quickly got a small hardcore following bouncing around, though the majority of the crowd remained statuesque. For all The Holloways energy and admirable stoicism in the face of a variety of technical problems, the reality is that they’re not a great band. The closing double punch of the chirpy ska of ’Generator’ and the messy ’Fuck Ups’ was great, tunes that even the most hard hearted person will smile at, dance to and pogo to. If only the earlier portion of the set had been as good. Instead, a parade of tedious by-the-numbers material was produced, horribly generic stuff that all merges together. The Holloways may be a rising band but this showing suggests promotion to the big leagues could be beyond them.
The same might be said of The Rakes. The fact this gig was downgraded from the larger Barrowlands was not a good sign, and one that perhaps reflects The Rakes' standing in the world of indie, that of a band scrambling for the top but having to content themselves with a spot at the second table. However, they do have some things to recommend them. Front man Alan Donohoe’s dancing may be well known by now but his jerks and quirks on stage are captivating to watch. He appears almost neurotic and paranoid, both body and eyes darting around as if there is an unseen attacker waiting to pounce on him.
That nervy unease is in the band’s aural output too. There’s a crackling tension to most of Matt Swinnerton’s guitar work, evoking any post punk artist you care to name. Meanwhile, bassist Jamie Hornsmith is the backbone of the band, many songs being kept steady by his wiry bass lines. The set draws evenly from both their albums, material old and new mixing comfortably. Newbie ‘When Tom Cruise Cries’ stands out, sounding almost delicate. When the tension finally pours out and the band let go, it’s in the form of the stomping ‘Strasbourg’ or the valedictory rush of ‘Work Work Work (Pub Club Sleep)’.
However, The Rakes sound is often far too blunt. ‘All Too Human’ loses all its melody, becoming a right dirge while ‘Suspicious Eyes’ suffers the same fate. Too many times the songs seem to be rather directionless, muddling by rather than soaring through. By the time an anti-climatic ‘The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect’ ends proceedings you can’t help but think the Rakes are an average band in all ways. Love Is All’s earlier panache certainly stole the show, with both The Rakes and The Holloways left in the shade.
