Guest Post - Imogen Reed: Introducing Spector!

Imogen's first guest-post was so successful, we've invited her to do another! This time she's introducing Spector, a five-piece outfit from London. Enjoy! -G

-->

Spector: Sartorial Sounds

Combining elements of everything that was glorious about pop music from the seventies and eighties (and leaving out everything that was bad) Spector are a five piece indie band from London who have been causing a real stir on the music scene in the last few months. Hotly tipped by the NME and receiving rave reviews for their live performances and sartorial elegance they are tipped for great things this year.

Who Are They?

The band comprises Fred MacPherson on vocals, Christopher Burman on guitar, Thomas Shickle on bass, Jed Cullen on synth and guitar and finally Danny Blandy on drums. MacPherson is something of an indie stalwart (well, as much as you can be when you’re still so young and fresh faced) having been in two other bands - Les Incompetents and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man both kind of folky, punky, prog rocky outfits (yeah, nice mixture of styles there!). However, MacPherson left the latter along with Burman to form Spector in order to create something completely different.

What Do They Sound Like?

Spector - Never Fade Away

Completely different. Polished. Accomplished. Just a few of the words that spring to mind when hearing them for the first time. Considering they’ve only been together a short time, the sound they produce is nothing short of electric. MacPherson has such an assured and competent vocal – a rich, strong sound that really draws you in. That’s the sort of voice that can only improve over the coming years and it surely will (so long as he stays off the lemonade). As with any new bands comparisons have been drawn with all sorts of other acts – reviewers saying they sound like The Vaccines (MK II) or Franz Ferdinand (again MK II). There are elements of Roxy Music in there, for sure – a slight nod to Brian Ferry here and there in MacPherson’s treatment of the songs, the way he sings certain phrases.

Spector - Chevy Thunder

Chevy Thunder is a real energetic pop stomp, brilliant punchy vocals – powerful synth vibes and it straddles so many genres it’s untrue – hard to know even where to begin with what it alludes and pays homage to. It’s the sort of thing you could imagine picking you up when you felt really bad – a stomping song.

Sartorial Matters

But aside from the music (at the moment, they’re writing and recording a debut album for release later this year) one thing has to be said about their look. In a society that’s becoming more and more obsessed with looks rather than sounds, Spector look the part. Smart Smart Smart. Dressed in sharp suits for their video performances as seen here:

Spector - Grey Shirt and Tie

They’re sharp haircuts and edgy moves just look so good. MacPherson’s geeky glasses make him look like the musical equivalent of Harold Lloyd. They just seem so out of kilter with the rest of the musical world, but in a good way. Sometimes it’s good to be different from the crowd and these guys are. It’s nice to be reminded that it’s cool to dress smartly and look the part as well as sounding the part. You could imagine them in a cliff hanging tense situation in a black and white movie – some sort of bank heist or share dealing scene, in which they’ve got literally moments to save the financial world from collapse and they do it with seconds to spare. And then get the girl. Or something.

Can They Cut It Live?

Oh boy, they can cut it live:

It takes real talent and strength to be able to not only sound good in the studio but to be able to replicate that in front of a live audience. They manage it so well. It’s hard to find a critical angle on them – some bands you see and you think they’re just OK; the singer wasn’t that good– off key, shouted rather than sung or whatever. Here, you’ve got a singer who can definitely hold a tune, not a flat note in the performance – seems so assured on the stage and oozes confidence without being cocky or full of himself. It’s a rare thing, but one to enjoy. Hopefully Spector will keep up the good work with the coming of their debut studio album this year. In the meantime, seriously, do yourself a favour and check these guys out properly. They deserve your time, your ears and your downloading finger.

Weekly Jools Bit

I guess this is turning into a regular feature to the blog when Jools is on TV...I realise it must be quite annoying if you actually watch the show, but remember my opinions are exactly those and hopefully it will open you up to at least one new artist worth checking out every week!

Mumford & Sons undoubtedly stole the show tonight, I want to see them live so bad! Their passion and energy when they play is unmatched; it's just so raw and true.

Hole, frounted by Courtney Love looked more like an attention-seeking experiment in the vain of 'I used to date one of the World's most famous rockstars so someone get me a band'. The 'singing' fits the feel of the music but it certainly isn't note perfect...having said that the overall product was quite interesting and groovy.

Joanna Newsom sat alone with her harp and sang beautifully; her vocals were obscure and child-like but the one song she performed was really beautiful and perfectly suited as she accompanied herself with the wonderful instrument that is the harp.

Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo and her rhythmically-brilliant African band had something really great to offer, as did the foot-tapping retro-rock n roll from Ian Hunter and his Rant Band. A much more enjoyable show overall this week!

In other news, my John Mayer tickets arrived this week and I'm very excited for that show, where he is to be supported by the great Ellie Goulding at the end of the month. One more week of Uni and I'm done for the summer, the gig went really well this week and my personal band project auditioned a fantastic singer yesterday so hopefully I'll be able to share with you some of my own music soon. For now though, enjoy the weekend :)

Later with Jools Holland - This Week

Unfortunately I was really disappointed with Jools' show this week...The Gorillaz were the main act and were, to be honest, completely boring. The band create such a media hype whenever anything new is released but in my opinion they are overrated and were so uncomplicated it was just boring, not clever and effective as I would have hoped. In an interview, Damon Albarn said that The Gorillaz were spawned as a backlash from him watching an MTV music channel back in 1999 at there being nothing 'good' in the charts. So 11 years on, it's depressing to think that not much has changed...

Drive By Truckers were cool and groovy and reminded me of Bruce Springsteen, and there was also a drummer/singer with a DJ whos name I don't even care to mention it was that bad...his singing was just moany and wailing, and the drumming honestly sounded like an amateur child after a couple of lessons.

Fortunately the show was saved from complete disaster by Laura Marling, who just last week performed here in Southampton, UK. I hope the charts aren't sparking a full-on new-wave folk movement considering herself and Mumford & Sons creeping in of late because I'm enjoying the subtle fringes they currently occupy. I believe Marling is probably being replicated in clubs and universities up and down the Country, but there's definitely something about her which earnt her her record deal and I can see her being around for a couple of years.

I'm not in a bad mood, although this post does sound rather moany! Uni finishes next week, then I've a summer of gigs to look forward to. Have a good week all :)

All at Sea

Jools Holland has restored my faith in Popular Music. I think there must be some kind of criteria for performing on his show, something along the lines of 'no regurgitated junk'. But when I had almost lost faith in our current chart-ranking wannabes and the music movement of today, Jools came along with a cracking line-up on his weekly show; a show I've always dreamed of one day performing on.
Tonight's show featured such an eclectic mix of musicians, each with totally differing backgrounds and styles but each with the same levels of appreciation for one another's perception on music today. Paloma Faith for example, is a breath of fresh air for the female vocal market. She sounds like an American songstress, a showgirl from the 40s with an image to match, and even talked about regularly playing music through the decades at her shows, starting in the 1920s and working her way up. Her brand of motown-pop is catchy yet inspiring, displaying a great awareness of writing a modern song whilst capturing the sparkle of age-old magic. The riff-tastic Wolfmother also played, not a band I'm aware of much but certainly worthy of their spot on the show; they have a great sound with bags of energy and a greatly unique sounding front-man. But the real saviour tonight was living legend Seasick Steve. He manages to strip music down to its very core, the very genuine foundations on which popular music is built on, yet with all the passion and feeling of now. His simple soapbox songs are probably note-perfect to those he used to sing around the fire when travelling in his Gypsy caravan, of which he still lives in, and I love that this, let's face it, old man has been given this shot so late on in life. The very fact that he has sold so many records and is performing at all kinds of events, from Glastonbury Festival to Later... prove that there is hope for anyone with any dash of creativity and any glimmer of hope. I can only imagine the culture-shock he gets when thinking back to how different life used to be as he sips champagne at award ceremonies, but he tips his cap to anyone with a dream, living proof that you don't need to 'know the right people' or, more accurately, 'line the right people's pockets with Daddy's money' to get somewhere in this fickle business. As an aspiring musician still in education, I love what I do and know that one day I WILL make a living making music, whatever form that might take, but I also know that this is the hardest thing to get into and it's going to take nothing but hard graft, a topic all too familiar in Seasick Steve's songs. The man is fantastic, a real awe-inspiring performer with so much originality and awareness of timbre and texture in his delicate yet foot-stomping songs. If I had a hat likes yours Steve, I'd be tipping it.