CityLife

Hatcham Social + The Seal Cub Clubbing Club

FORTUNATELY for support act Seal Cub Clubbing Club, there are no militant vegetarians picketing the doors of infamous gig venue Night & Day.  Perhaps they don't like seals in the Northern Quarter.   

Or perhaps passers-by know not to take band names so literally.  Thom Yorke, after all, does not have a wireless transmitter strapped on to his torso (though we sometimes wish he did) and Seal Cub Clubbing Club are not a highly un-PC activity group but a five-piece group from the Wirral.

A 'difficult' band

It's no exaggeration to say that they're a 'difficult' band.  Seal Cub Clubbing Club have almost nothing in common with their radio-friendly Merseyside contemporaries The Coral and The Zutons, preferring instead to take inspiration from artists like seminal Manchester post-punks The Fall or Radiohead circa Kid A.

The lead singer stands side-on to the audience, breaking up the gig by reading extracts from a tattered book, while the guitarist faces the back wall and the keyboard player doubles up on an Apple Mac. 

Instrumental freak-out

They certainly can't be accused of putting style over substance.  When the time comes for the kind of instrumental freak-out that bands like Seal Cub Clubbing Club rarely fail to deliver, three of 'em hunch over a single keyboard and look more like they're trying to fix it than finish the song.

But despite their deliberate weirdness - did I mention that the singer raps? - they can't disguise a knack for the kind of catchy melodies that made similarly 'difficult' bands like McClusky unexpectedly popular.

Talking of 'popular', it's surprising that Night & Day isn't busier for much-hyped headline act Hatcham Social.  Having been salivated over by the music press since they formed back in 2006, I expected a larger crowd than the 30-odd present - and no doubt the band did too.

Perhaps that's why audience participation is so definitively not on tonight's menu.  The lead singer refrains from either introducing the band or thanking the audience when they leave, pausing only to spit on the floor and berate the soundman. 

Hipster reputation

Flanked by the bassist and keyboardist in matching plaid shirts, the lead singer's combover-and-chinos combo is resolutely anti-fashion - and stands in surprising contrast to Hatcham Social's hipster reputation.

They've had singles produced by The Horrors' Faris Badwan and The Charlatans' Tim Burgess, but are arguably a better band than both.

Secret weapon

Hatcham Social's indie pop harks back to Orange Juice and The Cure in equal measures, combining sunny melodies with a darker lyrical edge.  

Their secret weapon is the keyboard player, whose Yamaha switches between 'xylophone' and 'Hammond organ' to give the songs a depth that they would've lacked had Hatcham Social been simply a guitar band.

A far more interesting prospect

While their air of melancholy might appeal to the section of record-buyers that helped send White Lies' debut album to No. 1, Hatcham Social are a far more interesting prospect than the Joy Division-aping boys from Ealing. 

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