Guards – The Lexington, London 16/02/11

02 March 2011, 14:00 | Written by Lauren Down

(Live)

-
Click on any image to enlarge | All photographs by Paul Bridgewater

Hailing from California, the past week saw Guards first foray this side of the pond, with tonight’s line-up being just one of three before Sunday hit. The brainchild of Richie Follin, Guards first came to my attention in May last year as Cults’ woozy, 60s inspired aesthetic began reverberating amidst the summer haze. Of course Richie is one of Cults and the dishevelled romance of his individual oeuvre does not stray too far from that of his sibling’s. In fact, she is over here touring as well and found her self happily contributing to her brother’s band, but before we get to their performance it’s Young Buffalo’s turn on stage.

Young Buffalo

Having kicked off this evening with the blistering guitars and yet listless vocals of The History Of Apple Pie, Young Buffalo were a welcome second slot. The young Mississippi trio shuffle on stage with little pretence of grandeur and as their drummer kicks things off with a momentous, simple rhythm there is something really earnest in their honest, straight-up approach to indie-pop.

Their laid-back Americanisms are haunted by a certain, understated British twang. With the youthful energy of surf-pop contemporaries like GroupLove but with way less of the ‘pop’, the three-piece’s vocals howl in anthemic unison against the low bass thuds and impressive guitar strumming. Suffering from a lack of creative diversity, their set does lose me somewhat around the half-way mark but as the fast-paced, infectious melody of single ‘Catapilah’ twists around the boyish yelps the band prove their worth.

As the stage gradually fills with taxidermy birds, Richie Follin and co step up to the plate. Heavily laden with influences from the 60s, from psychedelica to dream-pop, Guards’ wistful romanticism is tinged with a haunting nostalgia that is refreshingly void of saccharine, twee inflections. Opening with gritty, reverb drenched guitars their vintage soundscape swells with soft yet forceful vocals and echoing electronica. A slow, swinging rhythm accompanies Follin’s rich American twang as the tambourine zils and symbols of ‘Crystal Truth’ shimmer on a wave of blue-lit smoke. Set highlight ‘Revolution Of One’ sees psychedelic, hazy guitars swirl around a cacophonous sonic array, as the blistering drums pound over tinkering chimes and fluttering bells.

Sultry, bluesy rhythms and classic Arcade Fire-esque ‘whoa-oh-ohs’ punctuate the closing number as Follin’s crisp, high vocals howl out amidst a hazy, analogue ambience. With this being their second London date ever on their first European excursion as a full band, I didn’t really know what to expect from a tonight’s live performance, but Guards did not disappoint.

Guards