The earlies live review
This review of The Earlies is from their gig in August 2007 at St Georges Church, Brighton. Written once again by Graham Pembrey, who attended this excellent concert with me but had the time to write a review whilst I skipped off to Venice.
Take a load of instruments – guitars, synths, a cello, a tuba, flutes – and stick them into a big melting pot. Throw in some American band members, and then some British ones. Spice the mixture with a bit of alt-country, a sprinkling of electronica, and a good dose of ‘adult pop’ (the sort pedalled by the likes of Grandaddy or Mercury Rev). Then stick a cherry on top. For your culinary efforts, you should be rewarded with something that tastes a bit like The Earlies. Yes, this band is an odd mixture. Stick them in a church, and things get even more interesting.
St Georges is a great venue, though it must be said, it feels odd (and somewhat blasphemous) sitting in the pews, watching a band rather than a priest, and grasping a cheap can of Grolsch in your hands rather than praying. Nonetheless, you can’t help but think old J.C. would enjoy a bit of The Earlies – in particular ‘The ground we walk on’, a gentle slowburner from their latest album ‘The Enemy Chorus’. It sounds so heavenly with the church’s acoustics that you almost expect angels to descend from the ceiling as they play it.
There’s so much going on onstage that you almost don’t know where to look. But although the band’s multi-instrumental approach clutters the stage slightly, it thankfully doesn’t have the same effect on their sound. Some have described The Earlies as being a bit prog-rock, but this misses the mark. Although the tunes are complex, they’re pop songs at heart, complete with Beach Boys style harmonies and big, ballsy brass parts that recall Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles. That’s not to say that they’re a 60s throwback, far from it; their bleepy-bleepy electronic beats, samples and synth parts place them firmly in the 21st Century.
Sadly, the fact that The Earlies don’t easily fit into any particular scene or genre will probably stop them from getting the sort of widespread attention that they deserve. But then you never know, they could get a lucky break. If J.C. was present tonight and liked their stuff, maybe he could put a good word in for them with the big man upstairs. And if that happens, who knows what glorious heights they could scale. Perhaps they’ll even do a church tour, culminating in a 5 night residency at St Paul’s and a one off gig at the Vatican. It could happen. In fact it should, they sound good in a church. Get praying.
Footage from the gig
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Now check out The Earlies official website, and their myspace for more.