Live: Silverclub
By Samuel Ward
26th September
Deaf Institute
7/10
After a brief “hello and thanks for coming,” everyone in the room is immediately aboard the Silverclub train. It’s a train with zero stops and zero fucks given, and the small yet mighty audience instantly gets their groove on.
It’s easy to lose yourself, as animation resonates from the band who themselves weave in between an array of synths, drums, cowbells and laptops as each track seamlessly flies by. I’m already thinking these guys could easily slide themselves into a line-up of DJs.
The pace is frantic and relentless; at times it can feel a bit rushed, as if the band is desperate to reach something. But that doesn’t stop people losing their grip on the performance, which is now swollen with huge basslines and swings about like a rabid elephant hanging from a disco ball.
The synth lines and hi-ends get a bit murky at points, but this miraculously clears when the huge dancefloor smasher ‘Gravity’ hops into place. The neat production on the new EP makes itself known in the set’s spouts of ultra-fresh clarity and makes the impression that Silverclub’s future live shows could be sonically incredible.
As the set somehow continues to gain momentum, the band launches into the title track of their new EP Back to the Start. It’s glamorous and immersive with waves of piano keys flying out of the Deaf Institute’s surprisingly resilient sound system. To smooth it all off, the band throws themselves and the crowd into the instant live classic/acid house banger ‘Your Headphones’.
Already on a journey which started with acid house, bedroom mixing and guitar bands, it’s clear that the Silverclub locomotive is on track to reaching a new musical world that Manchester should itself aspire to be the home of.