Slow Club

By Charlotte Stones

Breaking out of the generic ‘Sheffield’ sound left behind by the Arctic Monkeys all those years ago, 2009 brought a new, exciting and very different sound onto the scene.

Slow Club’s refreshing cute-pop couldn’t be any less expected coming from the ‘steel city’ and yet they are such a delightful surprise. Two years on from their debut album ‘Yeah So’ the duo released follow-up album ‘Paradise’, and judging by the overwhelming size of the Birmingham crowd, their popularity is ever strong.

Naturally, some things have changed. Slow club appears to have become more of.. well.. a club, with the addition of a drummer and bass player, accompanying the folky sounds from founding members Rebecca and Charles.

In anticipation of an impressive and sparkling set, each and every crowd member seemed to be edging further and further towards the stage. No unnecessary pushing among the serene hipsters however. And yet, their appearance on stage had little effect on what you’d think was a crowd of their number 1 fans. Nonetheless, as the duo broke into set opener and new single ‘Where I’m Walking’ the crowd awaken and dance along to the drum heavy, rhythmical sound.

Throughout the set however, energy plummeted in the crowd, mainly due to the excess of boring and depressing ‘noise’ made by the band. It was in time, yes. It was rhythmical, yes. But Slow club’s new direction felt a little lost and unsure with the crowd. Gone was the immediate support for new material and listening fast became a chore. Don’t get me wrong, I will forever be intrigued by the noises of a boy/girl dream pop duo, but sadly Slow Club’s distinct fading stage presence was more than disappointing.

After a long and tedious evening of over emotional drivel, finally recognisable ‘old favourites’ made an overdue appearance. Finally. Set closer ‘Giving up on love’ was a most welcome reminder of Slow club’s talent. It almost even made you forget the rest of the set, in fact it was almost as if they actually wanted you to forget the rest of the set.

Nonetheless, being as hopeful as I’d like to believe, Slow club still don’t strike me as a ‘bad band’ to see live. This show was underwhelming, but that’s not to say that it was only a reflection of the shamefully high hopes the crowd had for this band, particularly on hearing their evidently talented songwriting ability on new release ‘Paradise’.