THE MYSTERINES | LIVE REVIEW
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Sat 29 Feb
The Mysterines are an act with a huge sound and a small yet devoted fanbase. I speak to one gentleman who’s flown from the USA with a plan to attend a different gig on every day of his UK journey, starting with this Liverpool band. The upstairs floor of Clwb Ifor Bach perfectly reflects the devotion on display, packing a sizeable capacity (and it pretty much is at capacity) while conveying a sense of intimacy and warmth. More than that, the quartet’s raucous yet melodic indie lends to an excited and energetic response from the crowd.
Cardiff band Telgate open the night’s proceedings. The room is still sparse at this point, save a few fans and early comers, which is a shame as their visceral retro rock matches the style of the headliners. Swaying from moments of blissful harmony and peace, to chaos and catharsis, people gradually file into the room to be struck by these vibrant locals. Tour support Drool offer more straightforward and affable indie, and if some songs have a tendency to blur into one, they execute hooks and melodies with the tautness and precision of a West End production. Their interactions with the now significantly larger crowd betray the presence of quite a few fans here.
The Mysterines command the now full room to maximum effect, their slick, attitude-ridden songs provoking a huge reaction. Moshpits break out to almost every song – even I cast aside my usual fear of them, jump in and embrace the liveliness. The band bring an almost theatrical sense of scale to their performance, Saturday night delight exuding from each musician onstage. With a 2019 EP and new single Who’s Ur Girl? to their name, they nevertheless play for around an hour with a wealth of currently-unreleased material featuring. This is an act whose live performance packs much promise and potential for the future.
words ALEX SWIFT
