By Monk
“And now for something completely different…” The immortal words of Monty Python ring true this evening, as I step out of my comfort zone, as I decide to move away from my beloved metal and into the world of psychedelic indie pop with the return visit to my favourite local venue by the charismatic former Ed Zealous frontman Andrew Wilson and his current band, otherwise known as the rather appropriately monikered Drew Makes Noise.
I must admit that I feel a bit sorry for Bangor songsmith Sam Wickens, as he looks rather isolated between the stacks of keyboards on either side of him, with just his battered acoustic guitar for company. With the crowd still making their way into the venue, his fragile songs are initially equally isolated amid the din of the all-too-important shouted conversations from those gathered at the back of the room.
However, the room slowly begins to fill and people move forward to appreciate, and bathe in, his laconic, psalmic eulogies characterize an evocative set played from the heart. I’m not normally into this sort of shoegazing retro-folk, but it was an engaging and pleasant performance from an undoubtedly talented and genuine songwriter.
Deeply aware of a personal curfew (I’m due to start the third of nine night shifts in a row any minute), it’s with a sense of relief that I watch our headliners eventually take to the stage, a quarter of an hour behind schedule. And, after another few minutes of last minute checks, it’s time for what turns out to be a fairly brief set of psychedelic indie-rock infusions.
An early highlight is ‘Satellite‘, which possesses a heavier New Romantic feel coupled with post-punk semantics, while new single ‘Secret To Life‘, debuted tonight, delivers Talking Heads-style alt-punk vibes with a synthwave backing and stabbing guitar, vocal and main miens.
Drew himself has one of those voices that is hard to categorize, switching from the aforementioned post-pop, alt-rock and psychpop grooves to a rich, piano-led ballad, itself reminiscent of a melancholic Biffy Clyro. Later, there are touches of Thin White Duke-era Bowie, while the spirit of Byrne continues to look large over the stage.
After just 31 minutes, Drew announces “the last song”, but what better way to sign off than with the gloriously OTT, synth-led proggy slice of vintage power pop that is ‘Let’s Break The Night In Love‘? None really. It may have been a brief set, but they do say that short is sweet, and tonight was definitely that.
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