Frankie & The Heartstrings + Summer Camp – Deaf Institute, Manchester 07/10/10

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Spectrals

It’s been a while, but it looks as though there could be something creeping back into the emerging ‘alternative’ British music scene, though it’s probably best to whisper it first: optimism. After years of regression in terms of sales, the line up of three of the country’s brightest new hopes suggests there may be a lot to look forward to in the future.

Slightly hampered by a wayward guitar lead and still adapting to a recent line-up change, Louis Jones’ Spectrals open proceedings, but don’t quite hit the heady heights that they’ve become accustomed to. Their Yorkshire take on surf rock never fails to make the heart swell and the addition of a keyboardist to the group shows ambition, even if it’s not yet quite fulfilled. Even on a relatively forlorn night, they’ve still consistently spellbinding which, as football fans will undoubtedly know, is the mark of true champions.

Summer Camp

Further up the bill, Summer Camp are a band who’ve already had more crammed into their first 12 months than most bands do in their entire career. After the initial period of mystery and hype has followed slow, steady building, and it’s pleasing to note that the duo finally sound like they might be able to live up to the potential that ‘Ghost Train’ so blatantly promised. With Jeremy Warmsley wrestling with a mountain of equipment and Elizabeth Sankley providing the windswept vocals, they seem at ease debuting new material to a backdrop of forgotten snapshots. Not quite chillwave, but almost indescribable as anything else, they’re loveable, undeniably talented and seemingly without peer.

Though on paper choosing a headliner might’ve seemed like a mere detail more than anything else, it’s clear as soon as Frankie & The Heartstrings take to the stage why they’re atop the listing. Whilst Jones trades in shy, self depreciating lyrics and neo-60’s jams and Summer Camp filter American Hipster culture through London cool, Frankie oozes pop star from every pore. Dressed like a topshop model he dominates the stage, a ball of energy in a trendy jumper.

Frankie & The Heartstrings

There’s something charming about their pure, unadulterated take on indie pop music, without the working class pretences of those that treaded similar water before them. His band’s work echoes both NME boom time bands and 50’s rock and roll, a mix that somehow manages to translate into an utterly electric live performance. At one point, he bravely tries to get the whole crowd clapping along and miraculously, in a venue more accustomed to hosting stoner rock bands and glo-fi laptop DJs, achieves his aim. With a record deal with Wichita tied up, record sales will inevitably come: for the moment, they already know how to put on a phenomenal show.

Photography credit: Dani Canto