Having previously shared a stage with Mac Demarco when he was in Makeout Videotape, Alex Calder is subject to endless comparisons with his former band mate. What he does share with him is an interest in classic song writing, even if it is filtered through his own weird sensibilities. His sound however is much stranger, often recalling Deerhunter at their most disorientated and fugue-like.

 

After the jangle-pop-by-numbers of Beachtape, I’m not expecting much of the next support band Lois. But the Macca, viola shaped bass and their frontman in a top music blog ‘Gorilla vs Bear’ t-shirt gives me a glimmer of hope. Luckily my doubts proved to be unfounded as soon as their lead singer opens his mouth and out comes an operatic and bombastic baritone reminiscent of those other purveyors of theatrical indie: Wild Beasts. The songs are built from sparse and clever riffs that has something of The Drums with added unexpected tempo changes keeping the dynamics of their stripped down sound varied and interesting.

 

Before Alex Calder gets underway, he introduces his bassist to the stage to play “a song called Blackbird” who proceeds to royally fluff the intro to The Beatles track. Its an indicator of what’s to come, this is a band that doesn’t take themselves to seriously and not afraid to make a bit of a jackass of themselves.

 

But when it comes to his own music, Calder takes it seriously enough. For much of the set he sings barely above speaking volume, his vocals just becoming another texture amongst his dreamscapes instead of being the focus. The song writing on display is impressive, ‘Location’ moves from a tightly wound riff before dissolving into unsettles and out-of-focus chords.

 

For a Sunday night, it’s a surprisingly vocal and rowdy crowd and after much insistence, they manage to get Calder and his crew back on stage for an encore. He asks if anyone knows the words to ‘Fool in the Rain’ by Led Zeppelin and one particularly sloshed punter responds in the affirmative, only to realise his mistake when Calder invites him on stage to sing it. Turns out he doesn’t know the words at all, and instead just barks ‘Alex Calder!’ into the microphone whilst the band repeat the Jimmy Page riff, Calder looking totally baffled and quietly amused.

 

After such a bizarre segment, the band seem a little more loosened up and relaxed. They proceed into some fully-fledged piss taking, with each instrument gives a half-arsed solo in mockery of groups that indulge in such contrivances. Calder’s drummer has a particular knack for comic timing. His solo consists of just a couple of hits with massive gaps of silence in between, before awkwardly going back into a straight beat.

 

It looks like its all over until they start up the classic surf rock instrumental ‘Pipeline’ by The Ventures, repeating the main refrain absurdum. Each time you think they’ve wrapped up, they launch into it again after a well-timed pause. It’s really very amusing, and feels like something out of an Andy Kaufman skit. The more the joke is drawn out, the funnier it seems to become.

 

There’s no doubt Calder is a proper musician. But he’s also aware there’s more you can do with a live show than simply play your songs. There’s a whole room of people to interact with, and if you take the opportunity to engage with them, its always going to be more fun for everyone involved.

Louis Ormesher