Crystal Teardrop - Night Owl, Birmingham, 10/3/2025

by Cherry Holiday

published: 8 / 7 / 2025

Crystal Teardrop - Night Owl, Birmingham, 10/3/2025

With Rob Hadley on photos, Cherry Holiday watches 60’s-influenced band The Crystal Teardrop play the launch gig for their outstanding debut album, ‘The Teardrop Is Forming’.

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The Crystal Teardrop celebrated the release of their debut album, ‘The Teardrop Is Forming’, at Live It Up club night at The Night Owl in Digbeth on Saturday, 10th May. They kick off with a bang (and I mean ‘kick!’) with ‘Running Out of Time’ from their debut 2024 EP. This is greeted by rapturous applause from the packed dancefloor. Although this riff-laden, Hammond-fueled fuzzfest instantly brings to mind 1960s garage rock and psychedelia, frontwoman Alex also brings a groovy, poppy edge all of her own. Think ‘66-68 Beatles meets the cooler side of The Bangles. After warming the crowd up with a familiar number, they dive into the new album with ‘Through With You’. It is a driving track which wouldn’t sound out of place on a ‘Nuggets’ or ‘Pebbles’ compilation, but has a fresh edge. The band is incredibly tight, featuring Alex on lead vocals and guitar, Leon on lead guitar, Stuart on organ, Ed on bass and Huw on drums. Next up, ‘Colours Changing’ is a trippy psychedelic number with luscious layered vocals and haunting guitar. It sounds great blasting out of the club’s sound system, but you could also imagine lying in a field, dreamily staring up at the sun. I had to blink twice as guitarist Leon is a dead ringer for Dave Davies of The Kinks, and although Dave’s fuzziness is often heard, Leon’s warm guitar tone is often akin to Love’s Johnny Echols. The new album material is well-received and the band carry on with ‘Borrowed Time’ and ‘Two Hearts’, ‘Into the Unknown', and ‘The Rain Parade’. The whole band channels the coolest elements of the '60s—visually and sonically—but with a modern edge. The crowd are fixated on frontwoman Alex and bass-player Ed. They both jump and writhe on stage, with Ed’s high kicks garnering encouragement from the audience. The Night Owl is the perfect venue for the band with its retro decor, groovy lighting and cool 1960s film footage playing in the background. The atmosphere is electric, with smiling faces and sharp threads throughout. Originally a B-side, ' Nine Times Nine’ is a fantastic track that fortunately has made it onto the album. Influences could include The Byrds, The Kinks, Love, The Beatles, and more, but it’s 100% The Crystal Teardrop, who bring their unique flavour, particularly with Alex’s vocals, which sound fresh and unusual, while the lyrics tap into the timeless struggle of trying to get out of a relationship we don’t want to be in. “Well, what I say and what I do won't always correspond, I’m not prepared to play a game I believe to be wrong. You and I can pretend that we’re living for today, But we are in danger of dreaming our lives away.” The crowd stomps along gleefully to the driving drumbeat and is whipped into a frenzy by the time they hear garage-rock stomper ‘Turn You Down’. With 'The Crystal Teardrop Is Forming', the band has proved they’re not just reviving a sound—they’re reimagining it for a new generation. Photos by Rob Hadley