Used Vinyl Club number six welcomes electronic pop for broken hearts, Getintothis’ Charlotte Hodge feels strangely uplifted.
With each Used Vinyl Club event comes something new, and gig number six featuring headliners Hallo…I Love You! and is no exception.
Fresh into the mix tonight is the wireless jukebox, whereby anyone with a smartphone can select a song and be DJ for the night. There’s loads of songs to choose from, including previous Used Vinyl Club releases from Puzzle, Elle S’applle and 28 Costumes, and judging by the crowd’s involvement, it’s a big hit.
But of course the main focus with U.V.C. is always the live bands – and first up tonight is The Swapsies, a brand new four piece playing their debut gig.
Full of fresh guitar sounds and lovely harmonies reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian‘s more upbeat moments, The Swapsies already have a strong, cohesive sound.
The Swapsies at Used Vinyl Club at Mello Mello
With band members exchanging instruments and taking it in turns on lead vocal duties they keep things interesting and, forgetting this is their first, pull off a great gig by anyone’s standards. The Swapsies are definitely one to look out for.
Next up are Mashemon, featuring former No drummer Andy Ferinough.
A departure from Used Vinyl Clubs‘s typically American or Scottish indie-rock influenced bookings, Mashemon‘s krautrock inspired sound is anchored by a driving distorted bass and augmented by audio visuals.
Although capably managing to bridge the gap between the organic indie of The Swapsies and Hallo…I Love You!‘s electronic-pop, Mashemon never quite manage to deliver the necessary hooks.
Just in case there was anybody in the packed-out Mello Mello audience here tonight who didn’t know who they were watching, Hallo…I Love You begin their set with their self-titled track (also the name of the album launched here tonight), which sees frontman Chris McIntosh and bass player Andy Donovan singing ‘hello I love you!‘ in perfect harmony, in a moment Andy Bell from Erasure would surely cherish (musically speaking).
Hallo… I Love You live at Mello Mello
Tonight sees Vasco De Gama‘s David Kelly on drums and he undoubtedly brings Hallo…I Love You! a power previously unheard in earlier live outings; beneath Rob Whiteley‘s keyboards and samples lies a rockier sound than that found in Hallo…’s recorded output but this only serves to give the ultra-catchy songs even more lift for the live performance.
Hallo…I Love You! deal in the kind of beat-driven pop songs previously perfected by The Postal Service and on the evidence of tonight’s performance, they are worthy successors.
Songs such as Stay The Night, Stay The Morning Too are indie-disco classics in waiting and the cinematic Walk Me To The Sea is a surefire soundtrack to broken hearts.
Both bring the house down at Mello Mello tonight & when Hallo…I Love You leave the stage, it’s to a crowd wanting more.
