So it’s kind of a bittersweet moment then; the last gig ever for Vera Lynch and it’s at Barfly Camden. The bar service and the lighting are basic, but at least the sound is good. I managed a very quick word with singer Guy Harries before Vera hit the stage for the last time and the inside track is that the split is just one of those things that happen in the music scene today. No-one fell out, no-one got killed and all of the band members looked like they were really enjoying their final gig. It’s always sad to see a good band split, but I’m sure we’ll see the various Veras cropping up in various guises before too long.
The final set was a compilation of favourites from the two Vera Lynch EPs, including the crowd-pleasers “Dog in the Club”, “Horror Doctor”, “Child of Jago” and “Stormy Weather”, which finishes perfectly with “The End of the World”, from the second EP; it’s a lovely note to bow out on. It’s wonderful to see the band giving all they’ve got to make it a memorable final gig and especially to see Guy terrifying the front row of the audience during “Horror Doctor”.
It may be a small ripple on a small pool, but I’ll miss Vera Lynch: I saw the band four times in just over a year; they were always entertaining and bloody nice people as well. There’s a big hole out there now waiting to be filled by a band that can distill evil cowboy punk with mutant funk and camp theatrics; any takers?
OK, I’ll admit it; the Riot Squad are big fans of Vera Lynch. We’ve seen them live a couple of times now and it’s quite an experience. So what happens when you strip away the stagecraft and theatrics? Well the second Vera Lynch EP, “The End of the World”, answers that question. The musicianship is superb throughout the five tracks as they bounce between musical styles from the mutant funk of the opening song “Child of Jago” with its wah-wah and clean, clipped guitar sounds to the sleazy camp metal of the closer, “Dog in the Club”.
“The End of the World” starts as a slow environmental ballad before a squalling guitar signals the apocalyptic final third of the song, neatly underlining the song’s lyrical message. “Stormy Weather” combines pumping melodic bass with clipped guitar chords on the off beat and over-driven guitar to back lyrical themes of extremes of nature; you even get a reggae breakdown towards the end. “Horror Doctor” is a psychobilly/Cramps-style piece which is already a live favourite. The band sounds perfectly at ease with the various genres featured across the five tracks of this EP and the instantaneous switches from one to another.
It’s easy to see why the Vera Lynch fanbase is growing; the live performances are riveting, but there are some good songs to back up the shows with thoughtful lyrics (“Child of Jago” made me hit the search button a few times) and interesting arrangements delivered with a theatricality that’s reminiscent of the late Alex Harvey (look him up kids) at his best. It’s a clever mixture of the thought-provoking and the unhinged and it’s great fun.
You can see them live at the EP launch on May 10 in Shoreditch.
“End of the World” is out now and available from Amazon, and ITunes.
229, The Venue? It’s easy to get to because it’s part of the International Students’ House complex just across the street from Great Portland Street tube station. Venue 2 is a basement room with a stage at one end and a bar on one side. The acoustics are reasonable so it’s not a bad place to watch up-and-coming bands. My mission tonight, if I choose to accept it, is to have a look at London alt-indie (let’s leave the description at that for the moment) band, Vera Lynch. In keeping with their highly eclectic sound, the band has a multinational line-up with members from the UK, USA, Hungary and the Far East. They are: Sándor Sztankovics (drums), Ted Barker (bass), Keisuke Nishikawa (guitar), Brian Pistolesi (guitar) and Guy Harries (vocals).
If you could splice the musical DNA of Dick Dale, Ennio Morricone and English ‘80s post-punk, you might come close to defining the Vera Lynch sound; you might even want to throw a bit of early Bowie and INXS in there. The band has an EP out at the moment, “Evil Cowboy Surfer Songs” (to be reviewed here soon), and you might expect to hear all four songs from the EP as part of a short live set, but it doesn’t work out that way because, well, this is Vera Lynch. In fact, only two songs from the EP, “Fire” and “”Evil Cowboy Surfer Song”, make the live set. The band opens with “Dog in the Club” and then “Lost Property”, “Horror Doctor”, “Child of Jago” and the anthemic closer, “The End of the World”, follow the two songs from the EP.
It’s quite a spectacle; the band look great and they play together as a very tight unit, moving through varying musical moods with style and panache and providing a bedrock for the lead vocals. Guy Harries is mesmeric and messianic, a twenty-first century Ian Curtis (but with a sense of rhythm) who transfixes the audience with his scary, stary-eyed delivery and a voice that might just have a hint of Freddie Mercury in there as well. Musically and visually, they are impossible to ignore and you really should make the effort to go out and see them.
If you want to see Vera Lynch live in the next few weeks, you can see them at The Dolphin in Hackney on Friday February 28 or Underbelly in Hoxton on Friday April 18.
