I Was A King are a four-piece Norwegian garage pop combo – well, 50% are Norwegian, the others are members of Great Lakes! They have a Teenage Fan Club gloss that has been scuffed by My Bloody Valentine sandpaper. The smooth/rough combination is very appealing, even though the songs are often too short for the ideas inside.
On record – the excellent new ‘Diamond Times’ – Great Lakes are an ensemble of Athens alumni and the band’s newer Brooklyn neighbours. Live they’re pared down to a strong three piece. Once your typical American psychedelic-garage band in love/debt to the late 1960s, they’re far more influenced by The Band these days, with echoes of classic rock’n’roll, blues – on one track they’re a bit like Cream – and swamp rock showing through. They’re not prolific but the quality comes down the years, from ‘Stormin’’ on the self-titled debut album (2000) to ‘Farther’ on the new (third) record. If you want to criticise, you might say that they’re too modest about their songs than you or I would be if we could write tunes of this quality. It’s one of those sets that leaves you buzzing in an understated way. The only disappointing thing is some gobby squinty-eyed harpie who insists on everyone knowing mid-set that she likes the Kinks. Get back to flipping burgers!
The gig should have taken place in November so it’s nearly three months late but well worth the wait. Radio Dept are often called “shoegazing” and mentioned in the same breath as My Bloody Valentine but it would be equally fair to liken them to electronic pop and call them a shyer Pet Shop Boys or New Order. They make songs with two hearts, one electronic, one human, although the overwhelming feeling is of being wrapped in diaphanous sheets of reassuring melancholy. Their dreamy soundscapes are perfect soundtrack material, as Sofia Coppola demonstrated with her film ‘Marie Antoinette’; one of her choices, ‘I Don’t Like It Like This’, is one of tonight’s highlights, along with ‘Ewan’. Another standout is the closer ‘Why Won’t You Talk About It’ that is atypically full of Jesus and Mary Chain feedback goodness. Their bashful presence and lack of ‘strut’ means that it’s not very rock’n’roll – but we still like it a lot.
Review courtesy of Ged M.