If recent announcements are anything to go by, it’s fair to say that these tiny island shores are in dire need of chirpy moments of forgetfulness. After all, even with tonight’s audience for the Lightning Seeds and Badly Drawn Boy in Cardiff ready to ride high on a 90s Britpop wave of nostalgia, this week’s government budget is a reminder that austerity is set to swing its knee into the nation’s proverbials once again. And for some, even here, bitter news is hard to swallow.

“Fuck the Tories!” bellows an audience member, from the back of the Tramshed. “I don’t like to get political at these sort of things, but yeah, fuck the fucking Tories,” replies Damon ‘Badly Drawn Boy’ Gough in the middle of his one-man, unpolished, busker-esque performance style set, seemingly going down well with the older audience.

Intermingled with songs and anecdotes about his life and career, the musician takes it all in his stride as he switches between harmonica, acoustic and electric guitar and piano. Working with just the bare bones, all the main tunes are covered despite false starts, coughs and mid-song commentary. “I love every one of you here tonight for supporting me and supporting music. This is my biggest hit to date, number nine in the charts… you should boo that!” he says, gearing up to play You Were Right. “Sorry, you may need to help with the whistling solo at the end.”

Concluding with Silent Sigh, the stage is then prepared for the Lightning Seeds, the spectacle alone being a positive assault on the senses. With screens displaying colourful graphics whilst warm lamps evoke an environment reminiscent of hygge, the audience gets what is likely expected – the antithesis of punk: inoffensive, pure melodic, feel-good pop-rock occasionally infused with psychedelia. Meanwhile, frontman Ian Broudie embodies the look of a Beatle from the Rubber Soul era, his commitment to the 60s Liverpudlian style both effective and unwavering.

Opening with the song Sunshine – from the Lightning Seeds’ new album See You In The Stars – followed by Change, the show is off to a fantastic start, hitting its pinnacle with what is perhaps a perfect example of the pure feelgood catchiness of pop-rock songwriting, Lucky You. However, like a child eating his favourite part of the birthday cake first, what came after wasn’t quite as piquant. Nevertheless, not a band to get dressed up for nothing, things picked up again with the reggae-like cover of The Turtles’ You Showed Me whilst the band got their second wind with Sugar Coated Iceberg and The Life Of Riley, the latter being a clear crowd favourite. 

Songs often embodying irrepressible happiness, however, do tend to sound the same after a while, their smooth, sweet molasses refined to the point of lacking the kind of grit needed to represent the wider spectrum of human emotion, especially in these difficult times. Still, the Lightning Seeds offer an imaginative reprieve, and tonight’s gig may be just what the doctor ordered.

The Lightning Seeds + Badly Drawn Boy, Tramshed, Cardiff, Fri 18 Nov

words OLIVER ROBERT MOORE-HOWELLS