9 December, The Cellar, Oxford
First gig as Sad Boys Club
Reviewed by Richard Brabin for
Little Indie
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Now, first bands on tend to come with a little leeway given
to them as they are often honing their trade, still in their infancy or,
in
Sad Boys Club’s case, actually playing their first ever show. It
is therefore anticipated that there will be bum notes, confused looks and a
slightly bedraggled live sound - despite their impressing Little Indie enough
to have been a
TrackOf The Day during the week. This nonchalant attitude to the North
London outfit's performance lasted about 27 seconds into their opening track
when it became quickly apparent that something rather special was happening on
stage and it was probably best we all stopped checking Twitter and gave it our
full attention.
Glossy and misty guitar textures immediately glide into focus as frontman Jacob
Wheldon’s succinct but dreamlike lyrics creates a Slowdive meets The Cure melee
of sumptuous tones and ethereal high end. With a wholesome and tactile wall of
noise coming from five performers, SBC treats its audience to a quite
breathtaking half an hour of immersive compositions, each one armed with not
only a gentle and sensitive consistency but also big, chunky choruses built to
hold their delicate work firmly in place.
Their debut single 'Know' is a highlight, simmering and shimmering throughout
its four minute existence into a climax of distorted reverb and vibrato with a
trademark and infectious hook which remains in the consciousness long after the
lads have dismounted from stage. If it’s anything to go by, this is only the
beginning for a group of musicians showing all the hallmarks of an exceptional
and highly authentic band.