LIVE: Gengahr - Hare and Hounds, Birmingham 12/10/2015

Rating:

The always excellent Hare and Hounds in the Kings Heath region of Birmingham has a well deserved reputation for showcasing shiny new bands, and it seems particularly tuned into those offering a more interesting and quirky edge.

Judging by their well received debut release, Gengahr certainly fit the bill and how they will transfer this psych pop with its beguiling vocals to the stage is of much interest to the moderate crowd this Monday night.

Support act Puma Rosa deliver an intriguing, dynamic 30 min set in which the multi disciplined musicians complement a compelling stage performance from Isobel Munoz Newsome. They are quickly followed by another memorable stage act, this time by Cash + David. The electro pop duo have been peaking the interest of the national music press for a couple of years and it’s easy to see why. Their melodies are instant, the voice and energy is absorbing, and this is a very clever opening hour to build to the main attraction.

The Gengahr live experience ranges from a blissful escapism that you would expect to hear based on their recorded efforts to date, to fuzzy guitar breaks that originate from the last time plaid shirts and long hair was abundant in the form of grunge.

It’s this explosion of sound that takes the set list to a new level and accompanying a dependable bass line this is controlled by the talented and captivating John Victor who’s work has more than a touch of Butler and Greenwood in both sound and vision. The compromise in taking this path is that on occasion the vocal that is such a feature on the album “A Dream Outside” is in danger of becoming distant and inconspicuous.

In fact singer Felix Bushe vocal works best live when he breaks out of falsetto mode and into what is a much more fitting, deeper and more rangy vocal, evident during crowd pleaser ‘Dizzy Ghosts’.

‘Where I lie’ is another example of the heavier rock sound that must litter their record collections and the crunching mid sections borrowed from thrilling Dinosaur Jnr or (early, early) Radiohead play book are prevalent. It’s during these moments that it feels the crowd warm up and start to let go.

After the storm comes calm in the form of ‘Bathed in Light’ and this is when Bushe owns the stage again with a dreamy delivery that is easy to get lost in.

‘She’s a Witch’ the track most recognisable to an audience, albeit reducing as last bus home time approaches, brings the gig to a close and encapsulates the methodology that seems to work best live for Gengahr, tight guitars and rhythm section surrounding a passionate and enthused lead singer.

Having arrived with thoughts of a blissed out, psychedelic MGMT alike performance and left with the pleasure of seeing a band able to distinguish between the two disciplines of recording and performing and doing the latter well, Gengahr should retain a loyal live following once the initial surprise gives way to a solid indie-rock show.