Reading Indie Life feel like interlopers at this intimate gig full of the band’s family, friends and elements of the Gob Nation collective… but are blown away by the brilliance on display.
I have been to a lot of venues but never The George Tavern before. The current building was built in 1825; however an Inn of the same name was there for 500 years before that. It is referenced by Chaucer, Dickens and Samuel Pepys and in the shadow of Canary Wharf and just along from Tower Hamlets feels like something of a wonderful oddity.
Starter Car
Starter Car are all about thoughtful and melodic indie. Joe and Dougal remain from the original line-up, but the other members have recently changed. ‘Patience’ is a gorgeous slice of up-beat indie that Belle and Sebastian would be proud of. Elements of the set wouldn’t feel out of place on a Snow Patrol set list. At times it is beautifully quiet and introspective. At other points it is soaring and warming.
The songs currently available online to listen to are all very strong. This is very genuine songwriting, ‘Dog’ being a highlight. It deserves to be packing out venues bigger than 180 people very soon.
Garden Centre
Garden Centre are another part of the Gob Nation collective, a group of eight or so London bands who share homes, play live and record on each others albums and try and make being a musician in the modern age work as cheaply as possible on London prices. Ex-Vöid’s Owen Williams and Laurie Foster pull double duties in this band as well . Garden Centre have a very different vibe to Ex-Vöid, a kind of manic indie-pop artistic energy that stems from the singer and key song-writer Max Levy. Their music is shot through with humour and quirky observations and that carries through into the live show tonight.
They use the opportunity tonight to give a spin for several new songs. Max gives us a detailed breakdown of the rat stalking his home that provided inspiration for ‘Rat Outside.’ It is a fun and good-natured half hour with quality tracks like, ‘Hall of Fame’ and ‘Shock Site.’
All three performances tonight come with the message of just how hard it is to be a musician and make money right now but none make this as clear as Max Levy. He talks about how buying merchandise will help them be able to afford to record new music that they are ready to do. Both Gob Nation and Ex-Vöid have been featured in the Guardian but that hasn’t translated into being able to make a fulltime living from their art. Whilst it may be that the last 50 years was something of a cultural oddity in terms of the amount of artists being supported, it is heartbreaking to think that artists turning out high quality music are unable to sustain that. There is surely a reckoning coming between artists, streaming services, venues and the record companies to rebalance where the power lies.
Ex-Vöid
Tonight was very much the celebration that an album launch party should be. Ex-Vöid’s Lan McArdle reminds us to stick around as two of their friends are running karaoke afterwards, along with several DJs. Sadly, I have to dash off as there is a reduced train service to Reading but I am sure it was brilliant with all the singers hanging around tonight. Most definitely brilliant was this performance. Surrounded by friends and family there is a relaxed atmosphere and two days before Owen William’s birthday the rest of the band encourage all present to roast him, though few have the same zeal for it as the band’s drummer.
They kick straight off with ‘In Love Again,’ the perfect example of what the new album is all about. Melodic guitar with the two vocalists Owen and Lanny singing in symbiotic harmony. Straight after is ‘Churchyard’ from their first album, faster and more urgent but still sonically uplifting. ‘Nightmare’ sounds like a classic 90’s indie scene lighters in the air anthem, though the lyrics as in many of their tracks cut against the tone of the music.
Every song displays beautiful craftmanship. ‘Swansea’, ‘Pinhead’ and current single ‘Down the Drain’ are all deployed to great effect. ‘Down the Drain’ finishes the main set. Lanny takes a couple of steps away from the microphone before coming straight back and explaining how awkward they find the idea of encores. ‘Do you want some more songs?’ Hell yes we do, play all night, play cover versions… the old fashioned proverbial phone directory would sound incredible if these two sang it together. They do the fragile, quieter, thoughtful ‘Outline’ before finishing off with ‘No Other Way.’
An incredible performance from an incredible band. ‘In Love Again’ deserves to be high up on end of year album lists, hopefully between now and then they will start to find the audience their extreme quality deserves. For now, all present in this tiny pub venue know what an absolute treat they have been given by all three bands that will live long in the mind.
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