The Spinto Band – The Borderline, London 25/09/08

01 October 2008, 12:30 | Written by Lauren Down

(Live)

After an energetic and quirky performance from support act The Melodica, The Melody and Me, the ho-down like dancing of the shoeless guitar player has the crowd set in motion. Charismatic indie pop follows as The Boy, The Girl and All The World deliver heart-rending melodies that only seem translatable live. From here on in the Borderline only gets better, nosier, hotter and busier: so much so that when The Spinto Band take to the stage there are people standing all the way up the stairs from the entrance.

After a somewhat eccentric introduction from what I can only assume was a close friend, The Spinto Band launch into a typically jaunty, infectious set. Being their first gig in the UK for over two years, the Delaware based 6 piece were bound to be a little nervous but after a slightly restrained opening they relaxed and got back to what they do best. And yes this means Kazoos at the ready!

Despite the release of their latest album Moonwink, The Spinto Band do not forget old favourites such as ‘Brown Boxes’ which brings the audience to a toe-tapping, head-bopping, dancing frenzy. While new songs such as ‘Summer Grof’ and ‘Pumpkins and Paisley’ happily ensure the audience that The Spinto Band did not just go away to develop a more mature sound that can be heard in ‘They All Laughed,’ but can still create the same great, yet underrated music that they always have.

Tonight, The Spinto Band jump and move like they are high on a sugar rush and the songs sounds pretty akin to that as the lads seem genuinely ecstatic to be back. New album opener ‘Later On’ manages to mix about 6 instruments together without things getting too complicated, as the rhythm boasts a military-esque drum beat over Nick Krill’s typically woozy vocals. However, the audiences’ biggest response is reserved for the bands most popular hit ‘Oh Mandy’ as the glowing vocals and effortlessly irresistible mandolin strings stands out against the more disposable, but fun tracks such as ‘Vivian, Don’t’.

For me the only downside of the evening is that The Spinto suffer from over familiarity, as three minute, goofy and cheery pop songs with a slice of the Beach Boys are pretty much the order of the day. However live, this really doesn’t seem to matter as The Spinto Band return triumphantly to the stage for an encore which includes an epically loud sing-a-long for song ‘Late.’