For a trio, a set and a performance I know little about, tonight kicks off – in super suave Stereo – with anything but assumptions.
For the rest of the crowd it seems that’s not the deal though.
If it isn’t for the warm welcome stretching out to give one big Glasgow kiss to the various support bands, it certainly is the immediate affiliation with Julian Corrie and his matching tie dye (‘Siamese’ – his words) twins as they slide fairly elegantly into track number one, full of airy synth and drooling vocals all held together by the beat beat steady beat of the drums, not out of place at a Hot Chip gig.
If Corrie’s voice seems oddly familiar to you, it could definitely be Death Cab for Cutie related and that’s not a bad thing either.
Perhaps due to my biased affiliation with a certain African- coated Auntie Flo, the original version of ‘Hey Sound!’ (Minus Auntie’s Caribbean house-heavy twist) really is the highlight of an otherwise memorable but not totally unforgettable 40 minute set.
The girl beside me, who clings at her pals arm and snaps her head up and down, feet back and forth, certainly agrees with me on this one.
With hunners of punch from Corrie’s melodic, guileless voice the room is politely shaken out of their content stupor as murmurs of life inch from the sidewalls and onto the dance floor.
In that particular moment the night goes from a 5/10 ‘not something to write home about’ to a number much closer to full marks, confirmed by the following track that erupts with the same infectious rhythm I was concerned (by making assumptions) they lacked.
‘Stop the Clocks’ vibrates in ripples across the room – developing in all the right ways with little regard for the groups previous ‘labels’ – dangerous not gentle, fiery not bland.
‘’Reset your watches and alarms’’, “elevate your hands and arms” – aye? Arite then.
Making rash statements about what to expect from tonight proves entirely useless and this becomes glaringly obvious by the sheer variety of musical talent and influence all chucked in a blender and pushed about – fused together softly but surely.
It’s safe to say be patient.
If you don’t know every song before you see MCat live, if you’re not bouncing off the walls in electronic mind fuzz after the first note, then all is not lost for a new musical acquaintance that will (even for a split second) set your ear buds alight.
There’s a little bit of noticeable self-assurance in there as well that sits much nicer in your head than a scrawny shy bunch wearing glasses and mumbling awkwardly into the microphone between tracks.
Where does Miaoux Miaoux or Julian Corrie come from though? Their signature sound could equally be stirred from the depths of Finnieston as the humdrum of Cape Town, a London muse café or the Sahara friggin’ desert.
It’s compelling though and Corrie knows that as the guitar and the drums take up the backdrop but he remains firmly centre-stage.
Liam Graham on bass and Liam Chapman on drums stand their own ground nonetheless and add the last pieces to the jigsaw so that it works, live.
They add the layers and Corrie is the nice juicy filling in the middle.
With the tracks from the new album venturing comfortably into new-age pop territory, it seems the Glasgow-based producer has his eyes on the prize – and the prize is to see you dance and dance until your feet hurt.
What does it sound like? Spacey, racey, indie pop topped with various continental input and to put it more simply – good mixing but.
Like Atom Tree and Jonnie Common before him, it doesn’t matter that that’s confusing.
Confusing combinations make great songs, so if you came away baffled it probably is a bit great.
Words: Martha Shardalow
Photos: Jayjay Robertson
Rave Child 