Institute of Contemporary Arts

Youthmovies / Lovvers / House of Brothers

Date: 4 April 2008

Jahan Nazeer 

Having had snow and hail during the Easter break, it was a pleasant surprise to now be standing in the evening sunshine, without scarf, gloves etc. Had Spring arrived after all? One thing was for sure, the ICA's music schedule was straight back into full flow with a healthy line-up of new acts. Tonight, Youthmovies were passing through for the penultimate gig of their intensive tour around the country, supported by Lovvers and House of Brothers. Maybe it was just the shard of good weather, but spirits were high as I arrived and went to the bar area. After a brief catch-up with some of the ICA community, I went through to the main room where the first act of the evening had set up and were ready to go.

Nottingham's House of Brothers is a band that has more than one manifestation. With a separate live line-up, and separate recording group, the driving force behind it all is Andrew Jackson. He took to the stage alongside his live band and began. In keeping with the evening's weather, the vibes seemed nostalgically summery, with Andrew's acoustic guitar backdrops drawing in the growing crowd. Their sound had elements of folk, elements of indie, and pop, with a kind of late-nineties feel to it. Whilst so many bands aggressively persue the ‘next new thing', the House of Brothers set seemed far more traditional. No flashy costumes, dance routines or stage antics, Andrew Jackson's skills lying in his beautifully crafted songs and clear, sincere delivery. Gliding through a balmy set of sweet melodies and guitar twangs, they finished with House of Brothers' forthcoming single ‘Oh Please Let Me Sleep'. A very enjoyable set, their recordings are also pretty fantastic and you can download one for free from their Myspace page .

Second act for tonight, Lovvers are a Nottingham based punk band who have gathered mixed reports since they began last year. Taking to the stage with the main room now almost full, the quartet took their positions and exploded into their set. Raw, rough ‘n ready, Lovvers had immediate effect on proceedings. Loud, hard and fast, each song was an aggressive, distorted affair, hurtling at breakneck speed, with heavy guitar riffs and cerated vocals, lasting no longer than two minutes each but displaying a vicious energy each time round. Lovvers' lead singer hunching and lurching, seemingly out of control but highly watch able, he defied gravity for the majority of the set. I say majority because he did end up flat on the deck at one stage only for his lead guitarist to stagger over and throw a ‘friendly' kick at him. Unashamedly unpolished, they went down well with the crowd who either loved their energy and stage performance or at least appreciated their brevity. I personally thought they were great and well worth going to see live, they certainly brought their interpretation of anarchy to the ICA stage.

So, after a short break, the headline act were beginning to set up. Youthmovies are Al English, Graeme Murrey, Stephen Hammond and Sam Scott, a progressive pop band from Oxford. From the opening tune, I realised how much support Youthmovies had in the venue. Cheers, shouts, crowd participation were present throughout their thrilling set. Their music itself is difficult to describe, prog-rock breakdowns, heavy guitar riffs, trumpet parts, instrumental sections and accessable, clean vocals made up a set that was impossible to predict. Stopping, starting and changing, there was a certain drama to their performance that gave it an epic, exuberant feel without ever slipping into self indulgency. Long guitar medleys backed with pumping drums were followed by sensitive lyrics and pop melodies. Scheduled at the end of a busy tour, the boys showed no sign of fatigue and their stage performance was both lively and tight with projected visuals coming from Pillow. Thrilling the supportive crowd, even some technical issues could not take away from a super performance. Playing the full hour, this band certainly knew how to please their fans and left the stage amid cheers and applause. Definitely worth a look.

 

 

 

 

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