Live Review
Purple Heart Parade + Great Ytene + Psyence
The Castle Hotel, Manchester
March 3 2014
Words/Photos: Leanne Crowley
Tonight's proceedings, hosted by Strange Days, showcases three of the nation's finest upcoming shoegaze/psych bands, all in the intimate venue The Castle, in Manchester's Northern Quarter.
First on the bill is Stoke five-piece Psyence, who offer ear-jarring riffs with heavily effected swirling vocals and an organ interlude. ‘Why Won't You Be Mine' offers a fast-slow stop-start tempo and a crazy drum solo from Joe Walsh, while the strong vocals from Steve Pye shine through on ‘Zebra' with a build in speed as the song progresses. New track ‘9 Tales of the Night' has a different feel and offers hints of reggae; the rhythm guitar of Ben Comley being the prominent influence. Stating that its "unusual to be in Manchester on a Monday night" they pass through ‘Yeti', ‘4:20' and ‘Dead Eyes' before rounding up on ‘Chemicals for Breakfast' which strongly exhibits the bass skills of Jamie Bellingham.
Next up come Great Ytene, who cite London as their home and are named after an old Anglo-Saxon term for a densely wooded part of the New Forest. Promoting their self-titled EP tonight, they open with ‘Away For Now' where the bass line of Jorge Stride dominates with the joint guitars of Leon Diaper and Tom Baker a side feature. ‘Hunter' is more melodic than the previous track and the vocals of Leon swoon and are reminiscent of The National at times. ‘Witch' provides a more alternative rock vibe with psych undertones, rather than it being the forefront of their sound; ‘Unknowing' and ‘Suburban Lights', with the thumping drums of Lewis Baker, round off the set.
Fresh off a hugely successful show in London, Purple Heart Parade are what you would call ‘psych without the synth' offering a mind altering twist on the tired concept of psych and adding a polished rock finish. Taking to the stage a little after ten, they start with new track ‘Blackout', which quickly gets the local crowd cheering and wooping in all the right places. The charisma of singer Peter Cowap is apparent immediately and, as always, he enchants as he jumps off the stage and out into the crowd. Moving into ‘Painting Pictures' is where the guitar work of Ryan Arnfield and the bass lines of Ste Woods really shine through. The dreamy feel to the song forcing the crowd to sway aimlessly whilst being drawn further into the music and the swirling vocals.
Fan favourite ‘Starlover Blues' showcases the drumming talent of Brodie Dickerson with its take on edgy psych and tambourine fuelled magic, add swirling vocals and the overall feel is reminiscent of that which made The Music famous back in 2002. ‘Spirit World', a PHP set staple, continues to grow in intensity every time it is performed; the guitar prowess of Sam Bugajski shining through the musical volume created. Two new tracks ‘Petrol' and ‘Moonlight Burn' follow, with the latter offering a more mellow feel than what we're normally used to from this band. An overall slower tempo but dreamy as ever, and enough to sends the crowd drifting off into other realms - until the drums bite hard and attention is snapped sharply back to reality. Rounding up their set with the intense and layered sound of ‘The Room', which as a fan favourite has everyone in the room rocking away as the set draws to a close.
Not a bad night for a start-of-week Monday. A little psych to get you through to Friday can never be a bad thing.
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