Reviews

Subtly sung phrases and sublime, meandering tunes transport you out of the low-lit grime of the Night and Day and into the bright sunshine of a fantasy land of innocence and light. It’s a perfect escape from the rain and perpetual dusk of mercurial Manchester.

The obvious chemistry between the two is essential to the mesh of the music. They harmonise well, as on the euphoric ‘Me and You’. Clever couplets like ‘stick me to you… nature needs no glue’ prove that the words are also carefully considered.

There’s innovation in abundance too. Third song ‘When I Go’ is played on a novel instrument of bottles suspended from a frame. It’s a traditional folk song about marriage but has a wider, grander feel. Elsewhere, Becky’s standing percussion gives real drive to the lolloping guitar.

Cuteness can be nauseating in vast quantities and it is the subtlety and nuance of both music and lyric that make Slow Club sound fresh. For all the warm sentiment of the White Stripes’ ‘I Can Tell That We Are Gonna Be Friends’ washing over their music, there are other, equally important elements: the rolling country of Bright Eyes minus the painful introversion of Conor Obesrt; the electronic-tinged folk of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci on ‘The Blue Trees’; the fun of the hoedown; even the soar of Arcade Fire.

It would be very easy for Slow Club to stray from their dreamy meadow into the badlands of the surrounding fields: the garish, false colour of kitsch in one direction or the sugary self-awareness of twee in the other. Thankfully, the twosome deftly skirt around those treacherous territories.

The last song is called ‘Shakedown’. Not many of the crowd take part in the invitation to dance but it’s not for want of trying on the band’s part. It is music that takes you somewhere. It’s part county fair, part their native suburban Sheffield, and all magic.