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I covered this gig due to Cashier No. 9’s label. They are the new hot kids on Bella Union, the label that brought the world Fleet Foxes, My Latest Novel, The Dodos and, most importantly in my eyes, arguably for me the best album of the last decade The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads by Lift To Experience. With that track record in mind the chance to cover their brand new signings, and a band they have such high hopes for, was something I had to do, and I wasn’t alone. Cashier No 9 are the first band I’ve ever reviewed that were on-stage at 8 o’clock, first on the bill. Proof of the bands draw though was shown by the fact there was fifty plus people packed into Club 229, including radio legend Steve Lamacq, proof this Irish 5 piece are a band whose star is well on the rise.
So the big question is, is the growing hype justified? Hmm well yes and no, I can see why there is so much buzz around them, and I’m pretty certain within the next twelve months Cashier will be a band on many peoples lips, but for someone who thinks Lift To Experience made the album of the last decade they’re not really for me. Cashiers’ West Coast influence to their acoustic driven music became obvious from the first song of the set, as did the nagging memory of the last West Coast tinged Irish band The Thrills. Though it was a connection that faded a bit as it became obvious that Cashier No 9 aren’t as dull, boring and amazingly forgettable as Morrissey’s formally favourite Irish band. At their best Cashier No. 9 have a sound that incorporates traces of Software Slump era Granddaddy, glam Bowie filtered through west coast acoustics and if I was feeling charitable at least one song nears The Beta Band sonic experimentation, though the harsh side of me felt the song ended up morphing into a Charlatans tinged sub baggie.
Overall through Cashier No 9 reminded me of when I saw Coldplay years ago on one of their first tours. Undoubtedly a talented band destined for far greater things, but a band that just aren’t really my cup of tea. Expect lots of buzz about how Cashier are the Irish Fleet Foxes, or something similar, but really there not quite on that level, a more memorable Thrills is probably a better connection, the big question though is whether Cashier No 9 age better? As Cashier left the stage, so the crowd, including Mr Lamacq, left the venue, I sadly brought another pint.
The clever folk in leaving missed Jonny Cola and The A Grades I guttingly did not. If you’ve ever wondered what King Adora look like after a decade on the dole then look no further. Taking the worst parts of Mansun, The Warm Jets and Gay Dad to create a hideous sub second wave Brit-pop sound, somehow the bands name is the best thing about them. Tonight showcased two very different stages of a bands life, Cashier No 9 are a band destined for greater things, the other a band stuck in a time warp destined to be nothing more than a footnote in history.
