Tarocat
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Wed 28 Aug
Seattle surf-pop-punk group Tacocat return to these parts for a late-summer headline show. After forming in 2007, the four-piece have been growing in popularity ever since, and toured Europe in 2014 and ’16, the latter incorporating a date in Cardiff’s Moon Club.
Consisting of singer Emily Nokes, bassist Bree McKenna, Lelah Maupin on drums and guitarist Eric Randall, Tacocat’s fourth and newest album This Mess Is A Place encapsulates their noisy disposition in a perfectly suited backwards manner. The cover art gives the listener a preview of the vibrant sounds we’re set to hear, and just as you need to look closely at it to find the title, you need to listen attentively to Nokes’ lyrics to get what they’re all about. The vocalist stands out in forever-funky costumes that reflect the youthful, animated voice she projects into their songs. Seeing them live, you feel, would be something like witnessing disco fairies perform for you.
Although slamming the penuries of everyday life, for example in the lyrics to Hologram – “no paperwork, no jerks, no parking tickets, no beak to feed, no nine-to-five” – This Mess Is A Place continually reasserts a fun, slightly angry optimism about the state of the world.
Tickets: ÂŁ8.50. Info: 02920232199 / www.clwb.net (JG)