For the past few months I’ve been starved of good, live rock music but saturated in Brexit stupidity. It’s a shame and very disappointing that so many of best musicians have remained silent on this prospective Brexit disaster, and the seemingly relentless march of the far right. This harms us all, including musicians who need full freedom of movement in their nearest overseas markets. Lesson over…

I have to declare that I know just one of the bands performing tonight after having heard and read about The Struts which really sparked my interest in covering this show in Manchester. But first the junior support act Kyle Falconer.  After five hit albums, a Mercury Prize nomination and countless sold-out shows with The View, the band’s frontman Kyle Falconer releases his debut album.

A raw and honest collection of songs, much of the record finds Falconer exploring a tumultuous time in his life. The majority of the songs cover a period which commenced when he entered rehab in the summer of 2016, right through to the present day where he’s now embracing a new life and outlook as a father. Plenty of influential names have recognised Falconer’s talents over his career to date. He performed on Mark Ronson’s hit ‘The Bike Song’ and also joined his live band The Business Intl. for some memorable performances which often included their take on the Amy Winehouse / Zutons classic ‘Valerie’. Ronson and the legendary producer Quincy Jones also teamed up to provide a testimonial to support Falconer’s application for a visa for him to be able to work in America.

Kyle Falconer was a founding member of The View, the band signing their first record deal when he was just 18-years-old. Their debut album HATS OFF TO THE BUSKERS went straight to #1 in January 2007 and was later nominated for a Mercury Prize. Two of the band’s subsequent four albums also hit the Top 10, and they also released an unorthodox ‘best of’ in the shape of SEVEN YEAR SETLIST.

The Show

Falconer backed by drums, guitar and bass showed his extensive musical experience with a confident and fluid vocal performance. Vocally, he skillfully covers the range while his stagecraft and song-writing underline his quality. This was indie, laced with strong melodies and a hint of country rock. My only criticism was the band’s sound management which had me straining to comprehend what was playing. The Struts later proved that Manchester’s Academy is capable of producing great sound.

Next Up came a somewhat more athletic, animated band called King Nun (I wonder what this name means…).

The Band:

Theo Polyzoides - vocals
James Upton - guitar
Nathan Gane - bass
Caius Stockley-Young - drums

This year they’ve really been given their time to shine in their live performance, a highlight being their great sets at Reading and Leeds, “it was a fantastic experience just to get to that place that you always keep hearing about, it was really nice to be behind that curtain,” Theo explains, adding: “Everything’s still very new to us, playing festivals is very new to us, so it was a really nice place to find our feet.”

“I remember going when I was 16 after finishing our GCSE’s and it’s the first time away from your parents, it’s really nice to have done that from both sides now,” Caius offers.

It’s not just Reading and Leeds that they conquered however, after playing The Great Escape for the first time this year, they’ve now been announced in the festivals ‘First Fifty’ for next year. “We are extremely grateful to whoever made that decision,” Theo tells us. “It’s just such a great experience,” adds Nathan, “it’s nice walking through the street and bumping into so many other bands, it’s just such a good time!”

Having recently played the warm up show alongside Ten Tonnes, Freak and Coventry’s Feet at Birthdays in London, not to mention DIY’s class of 2018 gig and DORK’s Christmas Party this month. Not only that but they also recently joined indie heavyweight INHEAVEN and infectious newcomers Bloxx on tour; it might be the end of the year, but it’s proving to be quite the beginning for these London lads.

When it comes to an EP release, they’re keen to keep things close to their chest, “we have made something and it might be an EP,” they all laugh. “We’ve recorded something, we’ve spent a lot of time on it… we’re going to spend some more time on it, we’re incredibly proud of it.”

The new album is called MASS which is about to be released in October 2019.

The Show

With a set largely drawn from the band’s latest debut album, leadman Theo led the charge in front of an appreciative and enthusiastic audience. I’ve yet to hear any of the band’s music but the opening salvo including the emotional ‘Chinese Medecine’ provided the justification for this band’s popularity and (seemingly) large fan base. Theo’s voice stretched to an effective falsetto but throughout the set that saw a leadman become more and more extrovert, sound management did the band no favours. Besides the great leadman, credit must go to his other players and especially Caius on drums who’s work provided a rock solid foundation to songs like ‘Cowboy’ and the cutely named ‘Low Flying Dandelion’.

Punkish, heavy rockish and passionate as hell describe this performance, spoiled only by poor sound and at times a little over-exuberant Theo who eventually ended up topless.

Setlist

Transformer#
Chinese Medecine#
Heavenly She Comes
Cowboy#
Bug#
Black Tree#
Low Flying Dandelion#
Mascara Runs#
Speakerface
Hung Around

# = From New MASS album