Tom Vek is probably a name that sounds familiar. Go back to nearly a decade ago when Indie was all the rage, ‘We Have Sounds’ (2005) was released and Tom Vek announced himself onto the music scene. I first picked up on him 5 years later when he released his second album ‘Leisure Seizure’. Fast forward to 2014 and he is now touring his third album ‘Luck’. Does his self-described “Beat Rock” stand the test of time in this ever evolving industry?

 

I arrived late to an almost empty Haunt (perhaps a victim of the tormenting weather) catching only the last couple of songs of the Leeds support act, Fun Adults. For that reason I can’t say too much about them; but they were better than alright, and a band at the beginning of a long road ahead of them.

 

With The Haunt nearing capacity Thomas Vernon-Kell, now 33 years old, enters the stage with the rest of the band in tow. Calm and completely casual as if he is walking into his living room, with an unassuming style, baby faced, and black rimmed glasses. You get the feeling Vek wants all your attention to be on the music and not him. Launching straight into ‘How Am I Meant To Know’ from the new album, this was a great song to get things going. Very atmospheric and slowly building up to a climax, then immediately into ‘Someone Loves You’ from his second album, which fitted perfectly with a booming deep baseline that would have got everyone bopping if it was a little later on in their set.

 

At times, the rambunctious audience of mostly grown up students, who would have been captured by his 2005 release, gave a great response to Veks easy-to-swallow indie rock. Whereas a small minority of others in the audience were enticed but not enthralled by their mix of punk with 80s synths, and could hardly muster a foot tap.

 

For a three piece, they created a remarkable sound which more often than not sounded as if it was straight off the album. They were musically very tight, interchanging between guitars, bass, synths, drum machines, and electric and acoustic drum kits. Which was then tied together with Tom’s brilliantly smooth and iconic sing-speak style of singing.

 

As a fan, but nowhere near his biggest, I did find it difficult to fully submit to the Tom Vek show. His set was jam-packed with newer material, playing his latest single ‘Pushing – Your Luck’ which he attempted to mix with Salt & Peppers ‘Push It’, as well as playing classic crowd pleasers ‘Aroused’ and ‘Nothing But Green Lights’ which were my stand out songs on the night.

 

Perhaps I’ve been a little harsh, as overall it was great live performance by an exceptionally talented performer, which I did enjoy from beginning to end. It does make you wonder what would have been if he had released ‘Leisure Seizure’ a little earlier, as it would have been a welcome relief from the constant barrage of groups jumping on the Indie bandwagon. Times have moved on and I feel he needs to switch up his ‘like nothing else, but sounds like everything’ music, to something as innovative as his first release was.

Iain Lauder