Issue 29 / Dec 2012/Jan 2013

tune Back in Liverpool) and on the other hand
sounds more like the product of Midwest USA
via the English countryside. The five-piece have
nailed their image and target market, and are
moulded to within an inch of themselves; you
can imagine the memo about band uniform
reading something like, “pastels, linen and
light-coloured denim only. Waistcoats, braces
and flat caps optional.”
Then it’s BY THE SEA, who are probably the
most ‘now’ sounding band of the line-up, and
certainly the moodiest. While we fumble around
for words like ‘shoegaze’ and ‘dreamy’, they’ve
helpfully described themselves as ‘escape pop’ -
file them with Beach House. While some of their
subtlety is lost in the vast venue tonight, as
their growing popularity attests, they definitely
have something, and warrant checking out
somewhere intimate. It would probably help if
you were wearing something American Apparel
when you go.
And since the theme of the night has been
bucketloads of talent, not a lot of innovation,
THE TEA STREET BAND are the perfect headliners
for a room full of punters who are by now ready
to dance. Their explicit aim is to bring the sound
and spirit of acid house to those who weren’t
there the first time round and, going by the
fairly ecstatic response tonight, they’re filling a
gap in the market and then some.
A great idea, and yet more a great night out
(and we haven’t even mentioned the after party),
here’s hoping for a NXNW 2013.
Jennifer Perkin
COSMO JARVIS
Mad Dog Mcrea – The Robin Pierce Band
MelloMello
Things have definitely gone beyond control
for COSMO JARVIS after his biggest single, Gay
Pirates, went viral this time last year. Still just
23, the British singer has managed to keep
himself busy by pursuing a plethora of artistic
endeavours since he gave up on school when
he was only 16. It could have been so easy
for him to have settled for just producing and
directing videos or composing addictive songs
but instead he chose to do them all. It is that
hugely dynamic fusion that makes him the
complete artist, so hard to find these days.
Coming to Liverpool to promote his newest
album, Think Bigger, Jarvis manages to gather
quite a number of impatient, loyal fans at
MelloMello; a venue which despite battling
closure once again proves to be able to
generate the usual incredibly intimate and
warm atmosphere. The support is granted
by two folk bands that tend to transcend the
traditional aesthetics of the genre. Both MAD
DOG MCREA, a group that combine an unusual
rock sound with elements of gypsy jazz and
Celtic folk, and the acoustic trio that go by the
name of THE ROBIN PIERCE BAND, make wellcrafted
music, hence the splendid connection
they have with the audience.
For his third outing in Liverpool, Cosmo starts
off with a relatively controversial song, Sure As
Cosmo Jarvis (Daniel O’Toole)