Live (Online) Part 3
Sucker Music Week Festival
Various venues
July 6 - 12 2020
Reporting team: Linn Branson, Izzy Butler, Steve Willcox
Concluding our coverage with the festival's last three days.
Friday
It must have been the Scots' day, as several acts come out repping music from north of the border.
Indoor Foxes, the solo synth-pop artist from Edinburgh, is the first of those as she offers a post-lunch set from a book-lined front room. Amped up and with a mic and laptop, the girl does good with a stand-up performance - in between hitching up her cargo pants! Singing a selection from her 'Wavy' EP, including recent sungle 'How Different We Are', she shows that with a cover of 'What A Wonderful World'. IB
Scottish chanteuse Hannah Slavin may not reside in Glasgow any more, but her soulful, emotive tones should make the city proud of this singer-songwriter. With her newly dyed pink hair, she sits under a skylight window, to flit across the out of sight keys in front of her, numbers like latest single 'Mac & Cheese', a song about the mental health challenges she faced following a break-up. IB
Little Indie has never really favoured X Factor alumni, and bar the occasional Harry Styles, has not sought to cover the 'get fame fast' acts that have emerged from it. KOOLKID slipped in without our registering that in fact this is 2016 contestant Ryan Lawrie (you can familiarise yourself with his audition here). The Glaswegian has certainly come on since then, having written for K-pop sensations BTS (earning himself a US and UK Number One), emerging this year as an atmospheric pop artist, and garnering multi-thousands of followers on social media along the way. With bagfulls of confidence, his Sucker set is a really good one. He includes his debut release '2 Soon' 'Feelings' and 'We're So Blind', peppering the upbeat and infectious jams with a "let's go!" every so often. Even performing a new track for the first time here doesn't seem to faze him, as he bops his way through; curly lockdown-grown hair repeatedly falling over his face. Definite teen appeal here with his Brooklyn Beckham looks and easy persona. LB
The Novus, due to perform last night, having succumbed to connectivity difficulties, pitch up tonight instead for an evening set. The first thing you notice is singer Connor Hill looking little like we are used to, his usual life-of-its-own wild hair tamed back into a bun, and his visage clear of the startling eye definition he favours, as he leads the full band set. The driving 'Moonlight' is the first from the Midlands' post-punks. Their challenging on-stage presence may be held in somewhat in this front room set-up, but with just released single 'Man On The Bridge' they allow their full reign of psychedelic riffs and catchy choruses to take prominence, while the single B-side 'Castaway' is more indebted to their garage tendencies. Closing with earlier single 'Darkness', its "You're lurking in my head" line is apt, when you come away with The Novus hanging around in yours. LB
Hannah Slavin
KOOLKID
The Novus
Saturday
Mitch from alt-indie punk London-via-Lincoln trio The Rills, alone in a house in Yorkshire with just a guitar for company, heads off with a new song he wrote just that week, 'Tell Me'. The singalong number with catchy chorus shows off his voice well. Older number 'Morning Rain' - "we don't play this live much anymore" - from early last year, has a downbeat lyrical vibe, with Mitch providing a solid delivery. Another quite new ("we started playing this live just before lockdown") song 'New Town, Same Problem', makes you want to shout out the four title words each time even acoustically!, while the energetic 'Pyro' has a sit-down dance mood as he blasts it out with some fast guitar licks. IB
Whitburn, West Lothian pop-rock five-piece Mark Sharp & The Bicycle Thieves come to the festival via Mark's solo acoustic delivery. Opener 'Liquid Gold' from 2018 (also on 'MS&TBT’ EP) retains its country twang, with Mark's raw vocals commented by subtle guitar, likewise the easy 'Tippy Toes' still pulls effect in its basic form here without its synth adornment and harmonies. 'Amorous' is as seductive and heart-tugging as on record, as he keeps "falling, falling for you". A cover of Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing In The Dark' makes this another highlight set of the festival, and an artist worth checking out. IB
Sunday
London-based British/Spanish señorita Nadia Sheikh launches a solo set with ‘Toxic’, accompanied by just an acoustic guitar, she gives it her ‘all’ producing a fine rendition of her single from last year, elsewhere ‘The Wire’ sounds great with the right amount of emotion exhibited. Closing the set to this lunchtime treat is ‘Fire Away’ that’s about to be recorded and the next single release ("hint hint!" she says). It’s slower than the full band version, but still conveys the sentiment and catchy melody throughout. SW
Another solo set, this time from Asylums vocalist - and new father - Luke Branch. ‘I’ve Seen Your Face In A Music Magazine’ starts his set, the acoustic guitar slows the pace but with that you can hear Luke’s scathing lyrics poetically manifest. ‘Catalogue Kids’ from their forthcoming album ‘Genetic Cabaret’ sounds superb stripped back and loses none of that punch. 2018’s hit ‘Millennials’ holds up well as an acoustic version, as does latest single ‘Who Writes Tomorrow’s Headlines’ but with lots of emotion in the voice. Ending the set with probably my favourite Asylums track, ‘Joy In A Small Wage’, makes me a very happy bunny indeed. SW
Neon Waltz also pare down in numbers, to vocalist Jordan Shearer and a keyboard. His gorgeous silky, orchid pink shirt would have been worth a look alone even if he hadn't done a good set. Settling down with a bottle of Stella and a vape or two (three....) throughout, the short but enjoyable set takes in heartbreaker 'All In Good Time' from late last year, and which Jordan has said they had planned to record in a more more stripped back fashion; the lyrically adept 'The Stranger Things' (“Why should I want money growing old? / You leave this life /You leave it all”), albeit with a few fluffs, though the whistling and freestyling add a new dimension; the early 2016 number 'I Fell Asleep', here delivered with added poignancy as he takes to guitar for this, followed by the anthemic 'Dreamers'. But it is the version of 'David Lynch', from thr new "Supernumerary 2’ EP that is the standout today. LB
Two of Lona give a stripped down set with singer John Clancy and Sam Horvath here to entertain us. Starting with ‘Not Listening’, John's powerful vocals shine through alongside Sam's drum and backing tape, bringing a flavour of what’s to come. Using the livestreams as a gauge to try out new songs is brave and forward-thinking, with ‘Last Goodbye’ being a sentimental track that comes across well on the small screen. With a well choreographed friendly dog fight between Bella and Ringo, ending with the patch leads being ripped out and the song being redone, was fun to watch. Current single ‘Wonderland’ was the last song of the evening and brought home how good this band come over, whether it’s a proper gig or livestream, it’s certainly a ticket I’m going to be getting in the future. SW
Whitburn, West Lothian pop-rock five-piece Mark Sharp & The Bicycle Thieves come to the festival via Mark's solo acoustic delivery. Opener 'Liquid Gold' from 2018 (also on 'MS&TBT’ EP) retains its country twang, with Mark's raw vocals commented by subtle guitar, likewise the easy 'Tippy Toes' still pulls effect in its basic form here without its synth adornment and harmonies. 'Amorous' is as seductive and heart-tugging as on record, as he keeps "falling, falling for you". A cover of Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing In The Dark' makes this another highlight set of the festival, and an artist worth checking out. IB
The Rills
Mark Sharp
Sunday
London-based British/Spanish señorita Nadia Sheikh launches a solo set with ‘Toxic’, accompanied by just an acoustic guitar, she gives it her ‘all’ producing a fine rendition of her single from last year, elsewhere ‘The Wire’ sounds great with the right amount of emotion exhibited. Closing the set to this lunchtime treat is ‘Fire Away’ that’s about to be recorded and the next single release ("hint hint!" she says). It’s slower than the full band version, but still conveys the sentiment and catchy melody throughout. SW
Another solo set, this time from Asylums vocalist - and new father - Luke Branch. ‘I’ve Seen Your Face In A Music Magazine’ starts his set, the acoustic guitar slows the pace but with that you can hear Luke’s scathing lyrics poetically manifest. ‘Catalogue Kids’ from their forthcoming album ‘Genetic Cabaret’ sounds superb stripped back and loses none of that punch. 2018’s hit ‘Millennials’ holds up well as an acoustic version, as does latest single ‘Who Writes Tomorrow’s Headlines’ but with lots of emotion in the voice. Ending the set with probably my favourite Asylums track, ‘Joy In A Small Wage’, makes me a very happy bunny indeed. SW
Neon Waltz also pare down in numbers, to vocalist Jordan Shearer and a keyboard. His gorgeous silky, orchid pink shirt would have been worth a look alone even if he hadn't done a good set. Settling down with a bottle of Stella and a vape or two (three....) throughout, the short but enjoyable set takes in heartbreaker 'All In Good Time' from late last year, and which Jordan has said they had planned to record in a more more stripped back fashion; the lyrically adept 'The Stranger Things' (“Why should I want money growing old? / You leave this life /You leave it all”), albeit with a few fluffs, though the whistling and freestyling add a new dimension; the early 2016 number 'I Fell Asleep', here delivered with added poignancy as he takes to guitar for this, followed by the anthemic 'Dreamers'. But it is the version of 'David Lynch', from thr new "Supernumerary 2’ EP that is the standout today. LB
Two of Lona give a stripped down set with singer John Clancy and Sam Horvath here to entertain us. Starting with ‘Not Listening’, John's powerful vocals shine through alongside Sam's drum and backing tape, bringing a flavour of what’s to come. Using the livestreams as a gauge to try out new songs is brave and forward-thinking, with ‘Last Goodbye’ being a sentimental track that comes across well on the small screen. With a well choreographed friendly dog fight between Bella and Ringo, ending with the patch leads being ripped out and the song being redone, was fun to watch. Current single ‘Wonderland’ was the last song of the evening and brought home how good this band come over, whether it’s a proper gig or livestream, it’s certainly a ticket I’m going to be getting in the future. SW
Nadia Sheikh
Asylums
Neon Waltz
LONA
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