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Ladybug Transistor / Great Lakes / Gresham Flyers
London, Water Rats
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Article
written by Ged M
Jul 21, 2006.
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It’s always a bit galling to realise that London isn’t necessarily the centre of the musical universe. The Ladybugs have just stopped off on the way back to the US after performing in Sweden – not only do Scandinavians have better looks and a better standard of living but they seem to have better taste too. So we get one night only to refresh our love of bands who haven’t been here for about two and four years respectively.
The Ladybug Transistor live experience is totally changed from when the Essex Green played with Gary Olson. Now he only has San Fadyl from the old line up and is joined by Ben Crum (guitar, Great Lakes), Wyatt Cusick (bass, Aislers Set), Kyle Forester (keyboards, Great Lakes) and Mark Monnone (acoustic guitar, Lucksmiths). The only criticism of the show is that the soundman mixes it as if they’re a commonplace indie band: Gary Olson’s voice is too low in the mix when it should be upfront. Who’d be interested in the Walker Brothers if Scott’s voice was less audible than the strings? Eventually the soundman gets his shit together and the sound improves, Gary’s voice coming over rich and strong on ‘NY-San Anton’. The rest of the set has some of their finest moments, ‘Wooden Bars’ and the sumptuous pop whimsy of ‘Perfect for Shattering’ while the set closes with the changing time signatures and dazzling pop facets of ‘Meadowport Arch’. Whether as an outcome of Gary Olson’s writing or the changing personnel, the sound has changed subtly, less inspired by the great 60s conceptual pop records by Love and The Zombies, and acquiring more of an indie-psychedelic veneer (with traces of Galaxie 500). This version of the Ladybugs is a surprise, but a good one.
We’ve just seen two thirds of Great Lakes play as part of Ladybug Transistor so once the band clear six people’s instruments from the stage, Ben Crum and Kyle Forrester, joined by drummer Mike, play as a power trio. Apart from Kyle having to provide a comedy turn while Ben changes a string, they’re taciturn heads-down no-nonsense music-mongers. Their set draws from their two albums, plus cover versions and teasers from their forthcoming record, spanning country, rockabilly, soul, garage rock and 60s pop, and includes great old material like ‘Storming’ and ‘Sister City’, while they perform ‘Conquistadors’ in the style of Creedence Clearwater Revival. The range of material shows how their music, like that of the Ladybugs, has evolved towards the ideal of a Cosmic American Music, drawing on the swamps and shacks and less than scenic bits of the continent to create something with a lot more heart and soul that the music factory is currently churning out. It’s low key and too short but it hits the spot nicely, thanks.
The only member of the Gresham Flyers that I could identify with any confidence is Sharon Leach as she sticks to keyboards and vocals consistently. The other five names could almost be attached to anyone: is it Thom Allott who almost does a circuit of the stage, starting on the far left on guitar and playing at various times bass, synth and drums? They’re fairly twee C86 powerpop, owing quite a bit to bands like the Wedding Present, early James and Pulp, and full of whimsical songs like ‘Cat Hits Car’ and the whizzbang ‘Factory Records Museum’ in which Jon Waring dreams of a lottery funded museum where “we’d spend bank holidays visiting the shrine to Ian Curtis and reading up on Section 25”. Great, sugary pop fun.
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