The Xcerts + Kagoule + Hyena @ The Sunflower Lounge, 30th November 2014
Tonight, I was supposed to be seeing Protest The Hero in Wolverhampton, but after listening to the brilliant new Xcerts album There Is Only You repeatedly over the course of November, I changed my mind. I also saw this as a great opportunity to see The Xcerts in a venue as intimate as The Sunflower Lounge, because there is no doubt in my mind that this band has all the capabilities to become massive.
Up first are Birmingham natives Hyena, already the tiny little basement room is suitably full to witness an impressive set. Despite missing a member due to illness Hyena possess a hugely powerful sound, which combines a nice mix of garage rock and obvious grunge influences. With some impressive Queens Of The Stone Age style riffs and pounding drums, as well as some nice hoarse vocal work, Hyena are definitely one to watch in the next year.
The amusingly named Kagoule are up next and despite not looking like the happiest bunch, they do play some interesting and entertaining music. Their 90’s alt-rock influences are certainly not lost on the crowd tonight, as the majority of the room is bobbing their head or tapping their foot along to even the most erratic drumming, provided by the brilliantly named Lawrence English. Despite obvious influences from bands such as Nirvana, Fugazi and Pavement, there is also an element of their sound that sounds a lot like The Pixies. They display some impressive dynamics, jumping from discorded heavy riffing straight into quiet verses. It’s a very accomplished and very entertaining set from what is still a very young band. There is no doubting that this band has a promising future, I just wish they would look a little happier to be playing.
The Xcerts kick right off with the opening song off their cracking third album ‘There Is Only You’, ‘Live Like This’ already demonstrates what direction the band have gone with on their new album. Its poppy sing-along chorus and song structure are combined with meaningful, well thought out lyrics, which means it is more than just a pop-rock song. This is the same story of all the songs that they play off their recent album, catchy as hell pop songs but delivered with such heart and emotion that is hard not to admire. Frontman Murray Macleod has an unmistakable voice, with a strong Scottish accent and a certain poignancy which adds to the bands distinctive charm.
The band’s hour long set seems to be over before it has started, as despite having three albums of material to choose from none of their set seems to be filler. Also, despite some problems with Murray’s ear pieces he carried on admirably, even admitting, after a brilliant rendition of new single ‘Pop Song’, that he couldn’t hear a word he had just sang. He was quickly assured that he sounded great by the crowd and by his bandmates. While the newer stuff is very well received it’s the older songs that the crowd really loves, particularly a heartfelt one man rendition of ‘Aberdeen 1987’ which sees Murray step away from the mic at one point just to sing along with crowd, it’s brilliant to watch. They finish with a huge sing-along of ‘Slackerpop’ which sees the whole room singing ‘I’ll be your man; I’ll be your mannequin’.
‘’The last time we played Birmingham, we played to literally five people, so this is incredible’’ admits Murray before leaving the stage. It is obvious throughout the set that The Xcerts are incredibly grateful for people coming to see them tonight and I’m sure I’m not the only one in here who thinks that this might be the last time to catch such a brilliant band in such a small venue. It is obvious that this band has the potential to be huge.
Review: Francis Sebestjanowicz
Photograph courtesy of Xcerts PR/Facebook