Opening proceedings tonight The Ediots caress a gentle surfy vibe, teasing sunny snapshots as Eddie Stewart’s nonchalant lead vocal is punctuated by the occasional high whimper.
When they do up the tempo they go more tropical tinged classic rock than the garage you might expect; ‘Golden Girls’ continues along the same shinning surf lines with funk enthused rhythms, while letting the vocals become more prominent.
As the set continues the band hit more funk entrenched territories, allowing the building crowd to sway with an ease without going over the top with the bounce of the prominent bass in frequent jam-esque instrumental sections; it’s a solid opening slot from a band that seem to be getting back into the swing of things.
Shredd kick off their set with a heavy dose of eeriness and high pitched yelps, that soon pounds into a powerhouse garage metal sound, slamming down the accelerator without ever letting go.
Chris Harvie’s vocals act as focal point, but for the most are secondary to the drive of their unrelenting sound as they effortlessly switch from heavy riffs to Ty Seagall worthy garage rock sections all without giving a chance for a breath.
‘Hideout’, from debut EP Every Time We Meet I Want To Die, acts as a slight standout, possibly down to familiarity, but it seem to exists a thunderous experience in this setting delivering just the right balance to set things ready to explode.
And the crowd seem to react in a mass of movement down the front, not quite the chaos of their EP launch at The Old Hairdressers last month, that saw tonight’s headliners giving a reversed slot, but they set the bar pretty damn high as a support.
With a one, two and a pitter patter of instrumental HOME$LICE kick off their set, before a prominent vocal hits edgy post punk heights atop a shimmery sound that entangles itself with the audience with a dreamy ease, then deflects itself with machined percussion and continues on in effortless fashion.
Follow this with a glistening dream pop track, the five-piece hook you into a groove that is powered along by a vocal that gives all the mainstream-teasing enigma you could wish for.
These guys definitely have the potential to step between the gulf of guff in mainstream guitar bands, whether they have the knows to deliver something that can deliver on both critical and commercial levels remains to be seen; right now they have a healthy Glasgow crowd in the palms of their hands, nodding and swaying at the band’s will.
They have a forward-thinking festival crowd sing along in their arsenal if the right exposure came their way and shoegazy gloss that keeps an eclipsing glow about their sound beyond those emerging pop elements.
HOME$LICE aren’t quite there yet, but they’re on their way, tonight they have Glasgow convinced, what follows could well be anywhere; we’re excited to find out where.
Words: Iain Dawson
Rave Child 