Listening to some of the recent Pip Blom remixes on the journey up to Dundee, I have concerns. Could this herald something of a new direction from the Dutch indie heroes? Let’s see…
Arriving in Beat Generator’s impressive new live room, I am given further pause for thought, at the support act, Vanity Fairy. A Londoner named Daisy, she’s bantering with the crowd – congratulating the Scottish nation on the quality of its bridges, and experimenting with her Scottish accent with requests for local phrases. “Try ‘It’s a broad bricht moonlit nicht'” shouts one wag. “A broad brick… what does that mean?” “Dunno” replies the punter in a similarly thick south of England brogue.
It may be that Vanity Fairy has got lost on the way to the Fringe, ending up 60 miles north and a week early… or is she five decades late? Single ‘Top Of The Pops’ has received airplay on 6music, though that may say more about the station’s direction than offering any alternative credentials to this unashamedly pop act. This impression isn’t helped by the fact that the backing is all ‘on tape’ – apparently, and it must be said, expertly constructed by Daisy’s limelight-shunning brother in his London bedsit. Delivered by the visually striking singer – she’s clad in a gold sequinned cape – musically it’s… well, fairly solid disco pop with a strong vocal, but a suitable warm-up for the grinding indie guitars of Pip and pals?
Of course, ‘pop’ is often a pejorative term. They don’t come more ‘popular’ than Franz Ferdinand after all, and the three-piece open with recent-ish single, the Alex Kapranos duet ‘Is This Love?’ (Alex not present it must be said, his vocal line instead taken by guitarist (and frontwoman Pip’s brother Tender). It’s followed by ‘Not Tonight’, from the most recent album (apart from the remixes), ‘Bobbie’.
We’re then treated to ‘Keep It Together’ – an “older” tune, yes, dating all the way back to 2021’s sophomore long-player ‘Welcome Break’. It’s (indie) pop perfection, a delicate verse swelling to a massive chorus, vocals complementing each other above the wall of noise. A high bar for third song in, a track that may not be bettered tonight, but that’s fine, most bands won’t do so in their entire careers (Golden Earring possibly excepted).
Largely, however, any fears of their edge being lost somewhere in the past couple of years are quickly allayed. 2023’s ‘Bobbie’ is a synth-heavy release with producer David McCracken (not the former Dundee United player, I checked) sporting something of a commercial pedigree having worked with Jay-Z and Kanye West. Although if that was the plan then Pip and pals would probably be at Murrayfield tonight rather than in this more modest (albeit busy) Dundee venue.
So, overall, the edge is still there, the combination of catchy melodies and nicely-controlled noise spot on. The appearance of ‘School’ and ‘Babies Are A Lie’ early in the set means that despite almost all of ‘Bobbie’ featuring there’s plenty of (ahem) ‘deep cuts’ for the completists while newer tracks like ‘I Can Be Your Man’ stand out with wonky keys and full force guitar. While the newer material definitely has a poppier edge, live it’s edgier, the pop sheen sheared off by raw guitar work. Think Beedadoobee, with a slice of Client, the latter emphasised by the album’s electro beats and vocoder. ‘7 Weeks’, which crops up mid-set, is probably the one that set alarm bells ringing on the journey north, though live this turns out to be a bit of a red herring.
And despite the lack of a drummer, Tender augments the drum machine with frenzied electronic percussion – and like a full-functioning Bez, it’s taps aff quite early in the set as, similarly to Vanity Fairy beforehand, he attempts to blend in with the locals. Tender also deps for Personal Trainer’s Willem Smit, for ‘Kiss Me By The Candlelight’, the single split with the Franz-featuring opener.
The band lineup is, by the way, completed by Darek Mercks, who contributes driving bass, and who also tries out his Dundonian accent for one, incomprehensible, word.
Despite promises to head to the merch stall, an encore seems inevitable and yes, a throbbing bass intro heralds the trio back to launch into ‘Tiger’, and after delving back into their catalogue again for the chugging guitar and rhythm unit driven rush of ‘Daddy Issues’, the evening concludes with ‘Get Back’, its killer hook driving the most dancey tune of the night. Ok, it’s a bit disco. But we can forgive them that, can’t we?