PEACH FUR / PSYSO | LIVE REVIEW

The Big Top, Cardiff, Wed 11 Sept

Touring across Europe, Austrian headliners Peach Fur’s Gold Coast regional styles – rock surf-drenched with reggae – have spread. Support act PsySo [pictured], from the Netherlands, spike those surfer roofs with hazy psychedelia. First up tonight, they set in place the same funky rhythm-guitar twanging that will proliferate across the evening.

With the main vocalist barefooted and stumbling on wah-wah pedals, PsySo are the antithesis of refrained in their performance: wails, chant-like vocals, interwoven multiple guitarists’ riffs creating a call-and-response reverb effect. What remains constant was their surging energy forming a connection with the audience – those of whom they interacted with while continuing to play offstage. Won’t Stop Me Now was introduced as a breezy number about trailing through dreams; the verses saw a style shift, lulling, fingerpicked and gliding. A semi-interlude section, with just guitar and harmonies, showcased their ability to also thrive when toning down.

Beginning with a rendition of Chic’s Good Times, Peach Fur slowly ease into their originals. A much slower start certainly made their twangy guitar apparent, but they drew this out with what they referred to as a “little bit of funkadelics” – jamming improvisations between songs, such as what sounded like scale-practising at the start of Watch The Days Go By. Vocals don’t arrive until a few songs in, but when they do they’re finely-tuned, ranging from raspy verses, hues-and-cries in choruses, to the occasional animalistic outburst in some of their bridges. A cover of The Beatles’ Don’t Let Me Down boasted main vocalist Denny’s anthem-like slant on the classic number. Alternating vocals and riffs between the main vocalist and bassist, the shuffling between roles came off as impressively effortless. Glimmer began with underwater-sounding guitar, reggae-infusion with staccato strums like choppy seas washed up on a shore of steady rhythm. Rough As Guts trailed back to plain indie-rock with bittersweet-meets-upbeat, gentler strums.

Peach Fur and PsySo’s performances were rousing in both spirit and style. Bringing surf to an enclosed space, while combining hook and groove, PsySo’s energy eagerly anticipates more releases while Peach Fur are already at their prime.

words MEGAN FROST