It was an addition to Spotify’s famed indie list that first brought Clean Cut Kid to my attention with ‘Emily’ and ‘Vitamin C’ finding their way into my daily mix over and over as I dipped in and out of their catalogue.
When I spotted Clean Cut Kid were bringing their glistening sound to the capital, I knew I’d have to be there for the headline show at the Mash House.*
With their new album ‘Painwave’ just shy of 24 hours old, the gig saw the brand show off their new ‘baby’ with beaming smiles and adoration.
Grooving into the night with a showcase of new album tracks and debut release hits including ‘I Don’t Like You But I Love You’ and ‘We Used To Be In Love’ starting the singalongs, it may have been impossible to stand still but it was easy to fall for their charm.
As frontman Mike Halls and Evelyn Halls (vocals, keys) would glance at each other between songs, the couple looked completely in love – not only with each other but with the night and their music. Their flawless harmonies were the perfect match and consistently strong in the live setting which amplified the band’s unique alt-indie sound. Alongside these alluring moments throughout the set, each track gave the band a chance to show off their vocal prowess and left space for both instruments and vocals to breathe, rather than the typical jangly textured indie sound.
With the broadest Liverpudlian accent, which still seems hard to believe comes from the same vocalist, Mike introduced a back-to-back section of slower releases with the simple: “It’s about to get emo” before playing tracks including poignant track ‘Brother of Mine’, with an impressive showcase of Mike’s instrumental talent in enviable solos while ‘Slow Progress’ and ‘Deafening’ flowed with swagger and old school vibes.
One thing that perhaps isn’t evident on first listen to the band’s music is the emotional side and vulnerability to their romantic releases. Encased in their dreamy pop sound, it’s only when listening and picking apart line-by-line that you realise they have a clever knack for bringing emotions to light, albeit those sad or happy, making them into catchy singles without losing their meaning.
Bringing the tempo back with grooving bass lines in and crowd favourite ‘Felt’, the Edinburgh crowd were fully encapsulated by the set. As soon as the guitar lines for ‘Vitamin C’ began, the anticipation was high and, as the band expected, the crowd were ‘pogo-ing’ up and down before the set closed on sing along hit ‘Emily’.
With the release of their new album, Clean Cut Kid continually prove they’ve managed to craft a distinct sound that sees them stand out from other bands in the genre bracket with ease. Although I only knew a few tracks before, the set flew by. Transitioning from groovy singles to those slow ’emo’ tracks, the new album sees them stronger than ever with a plethora of consistently unique and well-defined singles living up to the band’s name.
Seeing Clean Cut Kid live added a whole new level of appreciation for their music with a skillfully crafted set that was full of charm and flowing with talent.
*The reviewer of this post was gifted with a free ticket in exchange for a review. All opinions stated are the writer’s own.