The journey from Edinburgh to Glasgow in the car had been somewhat trying. It had taken twice as long as it should and there had been a lot of grinding of teeth. But within a few minutes of Indoor Foxes taking the stage, it was all worth it.
The band is the project of Martha Barr, a woman with star written right through her like a stick of Blackpool rock. Having begun as a bedroom project, the Edinburgh artist has bewitching stagecraft, charisma galore and a fine set of pipes. Most importantly, there are the songs to go with it all. They open with ‘White Rabbit‘ (no, not the Jefferson Airplane track) and very quickly it’s clear why you should always make the effort to catch the support band. Thing is, it’s not remotely difficult to imagine them headlining bigger venues and playing festivals. When she tells us ‘you’re a fucking incredible crowd,’ it’s flattering but also a sign of someone who knows how to work a crowd. The debut EP Sadolescence (sic) was released a few months ago and we also get other highlights from it, including ‘Maggot Brains (and many other names)‘ and ‘Church Music‘ which is apparently our chance to dance. Thing is, Stereo is pretty packed so there’s not a lot of room to do so, but I’m already trying to work out when I can see them again. In fact, the only thing I can find to fault is the drummer’s moustache (and I’m sure he is a lovely bloke, anyway!) Otherwise, a pretty great set.
Although Villanelle frontman Gene Gallagher has been writing songs “for as long has he can remember,” the band only came together at the start of the year, and as well as Gene features Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass) and Andrew Richmond (drums). Presumably they are named after the character from Killing Eve. The band have had a fair amount of coverage, which is quite something for a band who have not yet signed a record contract, but find themselves on the opening night of their first headlining tour, with the gig sold out.
So while that means there’s no music to stream beforehand, there’s videos from various gigs on YouTube (though interestingly, I note a video purporting to be a complete set of this gig has already been taken down – perhaps it is possible to maintain a mystique of sorts in this day and age?). I can’t hear many of the song titles but ‘Hinge‘ gets an airing tonight (I’m pretty sure) and it’s been one of the titles that’s been talked up.
The band have a lot of 90’s influences, but it’s not just Britpop – there’s a fair amount of grunge and even hints of shoegaze, rather than an out and out attempt to recreate, say, My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive. Young Gallagher certainly looks the part of a star, and the band have clearly gelled well in their limited time together. He has enough self-belief, without coming over as cocky, which can be a a difficult line to tread. There’s a definite rocky feel to proceedings and it’s music that’s played with passion, though I feel many of the songs are still taking shape. That’s not a sin in itself, after all, many comedians and writers will share work in process.
What, of course, may impact on this band is family connections. What I’ve deliberately avoided saying until this paragraph is that Gene is the son of none other than Liam Gallagher. Whatever your views on Gallagher senior, it’s hard to completely erase this detail. But what I hope is that the band will get the chance to develop on their own terms, without having ridiculously high expectations to live up to, or the snide cries of ‘nepo babies’ from those well balanced people with chips on both shoulders (God forbid any one should wish to follow their parents in any form of the arts. If we are going to challenge snobbery then we must challenge inverse snobbery, too). There’s promise here, so let’s acknowledge that, and move on without the pressure.
