Spectrals - Deaf Institute, Manchester, 6/6/2013

  by Dixie Ernill

published: 30 / 6 / 2013

intro

Dixie Ernill finds young Yorkshire-based indie rockers the Spectrals showing immense promise but lacking stage presence and energy compared to main act Frankie and The Heartstrings

Tonight I witnessed one of the most energetic performances by a front man I have ever been privileged to witness. Unfortunately it was not by Louis Jones of the Spectrals, but by Frankie Francis the lead singer of Sunderland indie chancers Frankie & The Heartstrings who they were supporting. Like a man possessed he was everywhere from the stage to the floor and even on top of the bar, and single-handedly transformed a set of 7/10 songs into shimmering aces. The Spectrals on the other hand were more measured in their approach. Between song banter was kept to the basics as the songs were delivered with the minimum of fuss. While Frankie... may take their inspiration from Orange Juice and Josef K, the Spectrals remain true to their Yorkshire roots and seem to draw upon Richard Hawley’s old style-crooning and the Arctic Monkeys' eye for detail, which is not a bad starting point. With a new LP, 'Sob Story', to promote the set is heavy on new material such as the excellent 'A Heartbeat Behind' and 'Milky Way'. There is also time for old favourites 'Get a Grip' and 'Confetti' to delight the more hardened fans. Indeed the general standard on paper (or in fact record) of the Spectrals songs is at least the equal of those of the headline band, but they just need to give them a little bit of welly to really bring them to life on stage. Still a band to keep an eye on, though.

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