Music > Live Reviews

Seaway

EPIC Studios

02/02/17

Canadian pop-punks Seaway steamed into Norwich last night, clearly delighted to be packing out venues on this, their debut headline tour of the UK. Just Birmingham and London to play now before they head back for a string of dates across the US in March and April. Support on this tour is provided by two exciting up and coming bands – The Gospel Youth from Brighton, and WSTR from Liverpool.

At Epic Studios tonight there is a bonus for early birds through the doors with an opening set from Ipswich band Pessimist. Playing only their third ever live set (they debuted here back in November when they opened for Roam), this four-piece are impressive by the quality of both their material and their stage performance. Perhaps having a front man who doubles up as a teacher during the day  promotes the right environment for preparation, content and presentation. Certainly from opening track Gatecrash, from their EP The Perfect Thing, they energise the room with a tight and cohesive sound. The twangy bass on Platform 2, and the neat guitar spins on Coffee are particularly impressive.

I had heard great things about The Gospel Youth, although failed to catch them when they supported Verses at The Waterfront eighteen months ago. Fronted by enigmatic vocalist Samuel Little their songs provide an alternative soundtrack to the bright lights and glamour so feted by the  Brighton in-crowd. The Gospel Youth paint a picture instead of rejection and isolation along the beach at night, drinking cider and keeping warm with bonfires by the bandstand. But, unlike the themes of alienation and despair in Townshend's Brighton opus Quadrophenia, The Gospel Youth provide a manifesto of hope and triumph in the face of adversity. Certainly tonight, Little's soaring vocals and heartfelt passion give songs like Kids, Wildfire and Hurricane a real edge. Watch these guys. They deserve to be huge.

Perhaps 2017 will be the year when new bands stop removing the vowels from their chosen monikers. It was clever to start with. Primal Scream did it first in 2000 with the album XTRMNTR, then SBTRKT got the ball rolling, seemingly unstoppably, nine years later. WSTR were by no means the last – they have been together now for almost two years, but the novelty is now beginning to wear thin.

That having been said, do not under-estimate this bunch of back-street lads from Liverpool. Debut album Red, Green or Inbetween arrives via a similar place to Little's The Gospel Youth, but spits back with a cutting mix of venom and irrepressible Scouse wit. The band arrives on stage to the strains of the Eastenders theme overlaid with ironic 'Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay – Ay,Ay's', but they then refuse to take any prisoners as they run through songs like Gobshite, Featherweight and Footprints, delivered with a genuine urgency and passion. Scrappy and raw, but with loads of attitude and stage presence, WSTR could well be the next big thing to come out of MRSYSD.

Tonight's headliners Seaway missed my radar when they visited Epic Studios two years ago as support to As It Is and This Wild Life. Their debut album Hoser had yielded a couple of great tracks in Shy Guys and Keep Your Stick On The Ice, both of which feature in tonight's set list. However, tonight's show is really still all about promoting 2015's follow up, Colour Blind.

They are exuberant, they play fast and free, and the songs have strong lyrics and melody, but something in presentation is still lacking for me. Tonight's young crowd will almost certainly disagree. Slam and Best Mistake got things off to a flying start and, from that point on, those closest to the stage were well up for everything - from arms aloft to circles, and later to stage diving and surfing. Those guys were clearly having the best time ever. And the band rose to return the enthusiasm in a performance delivered with genuine warmth and appreciation. EP tracks Your Best Friend and Alberta both earned crowd sing alongs, and Stubborn Love and Airhead were held back for a climactic finale.

Seaway still a way to go to achieve mainstream success in the UK, and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why. Perhaps the world's new found love for Canada following Trump's election success in the United States will be their catalyst. Those pictures of Justin Trudeau welcoming Syrian refugees melted hearts everywhere, and the knock-on bonhomie could be good for Canadian bands as well. After all, no one there is going to build a border wall to keep out Eskimos and polar bears. Maybe it is simply a case of needing to come back and build instead on the existing fanbase. But please don't leave it for so long next time.