No press / guest list, no cheepies, I’m here as a regular fee-paying, advance ticket purchasing punter tonight, and for the very simple reason that this gig was going to be too good to miss. Post War Glamour Girls have had me tingling from the moment I heard their debut single, ‘Spitting Pearls’ some three years ago. That alone was enough to make me leap from my chair and demand to see the band live at this very same venue where they’re now launching their debut album. They’ve gone from strength to strength in the intervening time, and have made giant leaps in a very short timespan. From being ‘promising,’ they’ve proved themselves to be one of the most exhilarating bands around, their triumphant Live at Leeds 2013 sets being just one of many highlights. So, to hear ‘Pink Fur’ in full, on home turf, in the country’s best venue, with a bunch of the scene’s luminaries on the bill and in attendance...
Stalking Horse, the current musical outlet for former This Et Al from man Neil Widdop made for a fair support, and playing with a full band lineup certainly brought depth to the songs. Yet for all the ideas, there was a sense of something lacking. Dept M’s Owen Brinley’s presence on guitar didn’t help, appearing rather incongruous and a shade affected up there in his sharp coat, scarf draped just so, and of course, those headphones. Moreover, confined to a small space behind his keyboard Widdop didn’t really have much scope to really command the stage. Still, as I said, a fair support.
Post War Glamour Girls, on the other hand were truly superlative. By setting out with the ambitious task of playing the new album from beginning to end, and bolstering the band with numerous other contributors (the four-piece had swelled to a baker’s dozen by the end of the set), it felt like an event. And nothing says ‘album launch’ like actually playing the album, instead of a standard set with a album tracks interspersed with old favourites and the predictable ‘big single’ encore or whatever. PWGG don’t go near the old favourites anyway: no danger of ‘The Trawlerman’s Code’ or ‘Spitting Pearls’ appearing on the setlist. Nope, it’s all about the new favourites, especially tonight. Of course, a set like this only works if the album’s strong, and thankfully, ‘Pink Fur’ is all killer and no filler, its sequencing pitched perfectly to change the pace and mood at just the right points.
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The volume’s up but without discernible loss of detail and the band are tight: what’s more, they’re revved up and really rise to the occasion, prompting James to remark that it’s probably the best gig they’ve ever done. He may be right. They crackle: he spits and snarls and growls his way through his idiosyncratic dystopias and wrestles with his demons, real and imaginary. Alice’s clean voice provides the perfect counterpoint and this dual interplay is but the most prominent example of the band’s many contrasts.
They roar in with ‘Sestra’, and are straight into ‘Little Land’ before ‘Red Terror’ arrives in a flurry of fury. ‘Stolen Flowers Rust’ is a raucous stomp, ‘Service Station Blues’ brings the swagger and ‘Light Bulb’ is illuminating (ok, sorry). Louisa Osborn of goth-pop duo The Witch Hunt and another feller join the band to add extra percussive force and as the set progresses, so the number of bodies on stage expands (the Stalking Horse guys are up there as well) and so does the sound. ‘Jazz Funerals’ is the most urgent-sounding I’ve ever heard it played, and it all climaxes with the sweeping, multi-faceted, multi-sectioned ‘Brat’ which is nothing short of scorching. What more do you need? You need to see this band, is what.
Post War Glamour Girls Online
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