Live Review :: Lola Colt :: Gullivers, Manchester - May 2 2014

Live Review

Lola Colt

Gullivers, Manchester

May 2 2014

Words/Photos: Leanne Crowley

Lola Colt who were named after a Spaghetti Western, and tonight, in a capacity filled venue, they come on guns in full blaze. Opening on ‘Jaguar' with its full two-minute intro, tapped drum and Western style dual guitaring, it is soon apparent that Danish frontwoman Gun Overby is also getting her vocal guns out, as she mesmerizes the crowd on the cramped Gullivers stage.

‘Rings of Ghosts' and ‘Boom Boom Blasphemy' - a Colt fan favourite - follow, before lava lamp effects swirl on stage for ‘Driving Mr Johnny'. Bassist Jon Tufnell and the dual guitar work  of Matt Loft and James Hurst make the song a highlight of the set.

Playing to a clearly impressed crowd, next up,  the instrumental ‘Time to Burn' with its slow tambourine and drum start and the addition of an acoustic guitar from Gun, provides the movie-theme feel that works hand-in-glove with their name. It rolls nicely straight into ‘I Get High If You Get High', featuring more keyboard work  from Kitty and thumped percussion. The acoustic guitar features once more and the vocals are flawless in their execution. For someone who is by nature of het role the main focus of the band, there is a certain shyness Gun exudes when she addresses the crowd, that adds a certain charm to her persona.

On ‘Highway', where the band concentrate intently on making the vast amount of elements work as one, it is clear that they are intent on giving their all in the execution of their performance. There is a diligent tapped drum beat and very fast guitars once more and a little bit of the maracas thrown into the mix; ‘Diamonds', on the other hand, has a more melodic and haunting organ introduction, and an eerie cadence.

The set concludes with ‘Away From The Water', a lengthy sont which offers strong fast-paced guitar strumming from Matt, jarring tambourines and stomping on stage from Kitty, accompanied by a dual punch-packing drum beat. The added third guitar heightens the intensity of the sound produced and the final layer comes in the form of the vocals, some three-and-a-half minutes into the song. Filtering out to a triumphant end, leaves both band and crowd on a high. Lola Colt may still be something of a 'cult' band at this stage, but with the success of recent singles like 'Jackson', they are indeed looking like they intend to make their musical weapons the word.