Review: Practical Lovers Single Launch – The Chameleon – 14 March 2014

It’s the PRACTICAL LOVERS single launch, and as the room warms up, and people begin to congregate in front of the stage, the audience is treated to the Clockwork Orange soundtrack, which I can’t work out whether fits or not, I’m going to say it does. The quirky, off kilter classical music is interesting, and suitably alternative and the pieces which are electronically altered fit quite nicely with the four bands about to take to The Chameleon stage.

As the first act RAINBOW DOWN began to perform, the room began to fill, not just with people, but with the intensity of heavily layered angsty synth pop. Sweetness kicks off proceedings explosively, with passionately performed vocals taking main stage over a dense, desperate and dark pop backing track. The emotion in the performance is obvious, with the amount of movement and dance on stage, and is engaging and entertaining. Pollyfiller begins more sparse, with a different feeling, but still retains the angst which Rainbow Down portrays so well. During the chorus the backing track expands, allowing space for the synths to fill the gaps. The density of the music is powerful, and barely gives you time to think, you can only feel it. Floating F**king Fading has a more traditional pop feel, it’s a change of pace, but still retains the desperation in the tone of the music, and is alternative in terms of lyrics and delivery. Next up is a techno number, for which Rainbow Down encouraged the audience to move forward, and to dance to. The backing track on this one is punchy, with prominent hi-hat beats pulsing through the thickness of the synths. After this number he navigates through a few more original pieces, each one well performed and passionately delivered, before ending with Hammered, a song about not knowing what happened the night before after a few too many. Opening with a repetitive, interesting melody crafting the lyrics “What the f**k happened last night?”, it commands the audiences attention. It’s a dark song to end on, with a heavily bass driven backing track, but it works well, and the outro is a repeat of the intro, which boxes the song, and gives a nice clean finish to a very raw and passionate performance.

I AM LONO follow, opening with Grey Kraut, it continues the angst-pop theme of the evening, with the lead vocalist going for it on keys, whilst the guitarist provides a great rhythmic backdrop for the passionately delivered vocals. During the chorus, lead vocals switch from the keyboardist to he guitarist, which adds texture, and their vocals really complement each other. The keys and backing drops at tactful moments n the track, which makes them really poignant when they return, and gives the song extra movement. Leland follows, and the electric guitar is swapped for a bass, drives the song with repetitive melodies, which are drilling and mesmeric. The keys work well with the bass, as they contrast the low tones with higher pitched melodies, and it fills out the song, making it intense and emotional. Only Love continues this theme, and the intensity of the track is enhanced by low chords being played on the keyboard which are given movement and agitation by the heavily strummed guitar. The vocals are well controlled, and even when the vocal style is shouty it’s still excellently delivered and well thought through, enhancing the music further and giving it the desperation which works so well. The next song, In Silence, reminds me off a lively, layered and ferocious version of The XX. The sounds are similar, but I AM LONO is edgy and has heartfelt, passionate vocal deliveries, with music which pushes forward with force. Too Bright kicks off with an intense keyboard melody, focusing on only a few notes, it’s paranoid pop at its best. It gives way to gorgeous, deep vocals accompanied by baggy bass drums in the backing track, which makes the song feel spacious but busy too. The occasional return of the keyboard melody is tactful, and shows a careful consideration to the structure of the entire song. On stage, they’re both engrossed in their performance, and are active, but not so much that it’s distracting from listening to the music. They end their set with Everything Is Made Of Fives, a heavier, darker track which has more weight to it. The rhythmic vocals are focused around just a few notes, which adds to the track, giving a feeling of being stuck. The layered, higher pitched drones in the backing track provide an effective musical method of creating discomfort, but it’s not unpleasant, it’s actually very powerful. They end on a strong song, and I have to take a good few moments to breath and relax before the next act, who are what the evening is all about!

PRACTICAL LOVERS take to the stage, with much enthusiasm from the audience, and open their set with a classic of theirs; Textbook Romance. The bass kicks off the track with it’s catchy, rising melodies which are livened up by the rhythm in the backing track. The liveliness of the song, and the upbeat melodies are a change of pace from the former bands, and although the lyrics and premise of the song are sadder, it’s very danceable, especially with the addition of the synths in the backing track. The lead singer is hugely passionate about the music, and the emotion is bursting out of him with his aggravated, intense stage presence. Inside Job follows, which feels tortured with the repetitive melodies. The synths in the backing track add to this, by filling in headspace. The strummed, rhythmic bass pushes the song forward, and is well played as a lead instrument. Next up, they perform a Future Islands cover of Long Flight, which is more angsty than the original, with the deep, heartfelt vocals, it’s given new meanings. The bass continues to be a lead instrument, however also retains some of the expected features of a traditional bass guitar. The song becomes truly vibrant when the bassist ventures into the audience, but the dancing and adventures didn’t distract from the music, and they remained on form. Falling Down follows, where the repetitive vocal melodies seem to be stuck on emotions and memories, and the falling melody in the chorus reflects the lyrics. I glance behind me, and the crowd is dancing. It’s bittersweet and this evidently resonates with the audience who are enjoying the set. The song builds towards the end section, where furiously strummed bass and the intense synths completely fill the room with musical paranoia and angst. Restless is more fast paced, with rhythmic bass which is relentless, and feels entirely restless as the song would suggest. The lyrics are painfully honest; “If I don’t know myself, how am I going to bring someone along with me, what’s wrong with me?” again it focuses on the difficulties of love and the mind, and how they often struggle to work together. The song is short, snappy and over quickly, which again fits in well with its title. Put It Bluntly is less prominent in the backing track, which allows for the more raw sides of the two of them to come through, and without the heavy synthy overlays, it’s blunt, and honest. The rhythm is still strong though, which gives the song an inherently pop feel, and drives it forward. Next up, they announce that “it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for”, and after some audience banter, they begin playing the single they’re launching; No Reply. It’s spacious, with an echoey backing track, and baggy drums which are almost condemning, which suits the nature of the song, condemning the lead singer to his torment on receiving “no reply” to his advances. The feeling in the room is a great one, with Practical Lovers performing really well, and getting really involved with it, the audience is with them too, and it’s a great atmosphere. The vocals are deep and are complimented by the interestingly played bass, which seems to be influenced from the previous use of synths, and plays a disjointed, jumpy melody in the verses before switching to strumming in the chorus. It’s great to hear this experimental side of the band coming through too. The instrumental outro is very intense and desperate, with penetrative oscillating patterns which heighten the emotion of the music, showcasing the pain behind the song. The song ends both dramatically and playfully though, with random plonking on the synth from both the singer and the bassist, who are evidently enjoying themselves. The music warps and distorts into the final track of their set Never Again, which is a fantastic end to the set, and gets the audience going one last time. PRACTICAL LOVERS are fantastic live, and are entertaining, and afterwards you won’t know whether you feel happy or sad, but it’s worth it.

Wrapping things up are APRIL TOWERS, who definitely inject a dose of happy electro-pop into the evening, which gets people dancing and into the Friday feeling. Their set up is interesting, with three keyboards, guitars, and vocals, it’s almost like they have a fort of instruments on the stage. Opening with When The World Screamed, the lead vocals feel heartfelt, and a little vulnerable over the confidence keys and backing track. The vocal melodies are powerful though, and the vocals are well controlled. The higher pitched electric guitar passages over the intense synthy backing, which adds texture and direction, and works really well. Marisol follows with its distinct samba tones in the rhythm section of the backing track, but it develops and changes into a full blown pop song, but with a really chilled vibe. The vocals are strong, and remain so in the falsetto sections too. It’s easy going, with gorgeous expansive synths making the track feel spacious and relaxed, but still retaining a strong drum beat which makes the track entirely danceable. Electric Storms is next on the setlist, and with its varied and exciting sections, and switching between instruments, the pair keep it interesting, and the sections are very different, which gives the audience new elements to latch onto. They have a great stage presence, and have good communication between each other, and are obviously concentrating, but also very involved with the performance. Arcadia follows, which also flaunts the singer’s falsetto during the gorgeously dark bridge section, which is a nice contrast to the previous tracks of the set. The anticipation builds in this track, before it erupts into the chorus, and builds up the anticipation ready for the final track of the evening. Tell Aviv begins almost anxiously with the heavy, synthy drum rhythms, and a gradually falling melody in the verse. It builds to an eruptive chorus, with the melody dramatically rising in pitch for the line “We get so high when we’re together”, which is clever and also incredibly catchy. The guitar in the verses also sounds particularly good, and the keyboard layering in the chorus really recreates the romantic feelings of the song. It’s a fantastic, upbeat end to the set, and appropriately leaves the audience feeling in high spirits.

 

Review and photographs by Cassia Helme