– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER –
Standing, as if to attention, the drummer lifted a clarinet to his mouth enchantingly joining forces with the trumpet of the co-lead singer, spiralling mournful notes around the fittingly haunting back room at The Castle, with its wooden-clad tremulous chandelier and high roof, which amputates and ghoulishly echoes the soundscape throughout the cramped room.
This opening song, which may be etched on the track list of their hopefully forthcoming debut album (exciting) or maybe a future EP, remains haunting at first. As the other co-lead singer, Declan Plydell-Pearce, who incidentally looks ridiculously like Iker Casillas, takes up vocal duties uses his striking falsetto to add to the tension of the already-crushing atmosphere, before Fun Adults’ hallmarks of rhythmic drums and howls eek out allowing the band for the first time to sway in an unknowing collective unison as the song drives to a successful conclusion.
The finger clicks of ‘Peek and Punch’ quickly dismiss any thought of the mournful mood continuing, before the picking of an acoustic guitar opens the song up for an entrancing chorus, where Declan soars “and as if by accident” over delightful yet hollow drums, with his voice somehow straddling a space between Anthony and The Johnsons and Hayden Thorpe from Wild Beasts. The song then becomes sparse with voice only accompanied by howls and clicking fingers, before a seemingly homemade hourglass shaped double-bass enlaces the song with a dark outer-face, before the chorus even more enchanting, this time, returns causing limbs to unknowingly bend in and out making this one of tonight’s many highlights.
The plucks of the acoustic guitar, this time played by the multi-talented bassist, and the rhythmically dashed drums continue their combative assault into the next song ‘Sap Solid’ with other co-lead singer, Dan Jacobs taking the haunches, after asking us to move forward, to pass the breach. Without the obstacle of trumpet or guitars, he infectiously moves around the stage turning his arms in rhythm, before coming even closer, standing in front of the microphone stand proving that music has the power to conquer things like personal space, as in any other situation, this closeness would be insufferable. His voice is just as incredible as Declan’s and when the bassist puts down the acoustic to take up his original instrument to add a more dance-infused element, he loses himself dancing as if possessed, before the song reaches its close.
‘For Water’, the band’s best song to date comes next. Here, the singer’s perform a perfect duet, Declan on verse, Dan on chorus, and the band seem incredibly tight-knit, moving in that unknowing collective unison as if they are unaware of how in touch with each other, they actually are. The chorus on this song is untouchable with its slinky, tropical nature backed by soukou-sounding guitars and is fused with the shaking of an Axatse, an African percussion instrument which is basically a more attractive and better sounding maraca, as the band show their wide-spread influence and depth.
This African theme continues into the last song, with the bassist striking a taped-up tom-tom which has a towel placed on the middle to produce a rustic, natural sound; fittingly the words in the chorus are “I’ll take my leave” and as the song closes, Dan enshrouds and muffles the microphone with his grey nike hoodie as if to announce ‘it is over, we have no more songs.’
Ever-since I saw Fun Adults play Beacons Festival this summer, the bug has been inside me eating-away, so much so that I attended tonight, despite having bought tickets for another show, and all I can say on that matter is, sorry Smoke Fairies, but tonight, I most definitely made the right choice.
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Hi all, my name is Paddy and I have a love for everything from African music to indie to house (basically anything other than heavy metal). Gigging and listening to albums are genuinely the things I most value and love doing.
