Library Voices – Live At Zigfrid Von Underbelly, London

Enthusiasm verging on the surreal

Bring in the noise, bring in the fun! The perfect prelude for a jam-packed weekend is presented by Symptomatic and provided by the intensely bubbly and enthusiastic Library Voices, on a balmy Friday night.

This seven-piece from Canada are so overly and overtly enthusiastic that it’s almost surreal, especially when in the midst of a London crowd, in Hoxton.

Nothing comes between this band and their crowd though – Library Voices don’t understand or allow personal space – they get in each other’s space and the audience’s, with total unapologetic elation and ear to ear Cheshire cat grins. These cats caught the cream.

From song one, the physicality is bubbling under, but only for a short while. The entire band rips and roars with their signature sound of multi-instrumental power pop. The mesh of great musicianship from all seven of them – guitars, bass, drums, keys, synth/effects, and sax and percussion, is scintillating and the excitement, animation, camaraderie is elevating. The audience dances, close, closer, closer to the stage and band – you can see them being bombarded by a barrage of sweat beads. They bloody love it. An audience, any audience, can be won over. They are like moths to a flame – to the incandescence of a fabulous band – if the band is terrific and feed what they have on stage to those viewing. They can’t fight it. And they dance.

From ‘Travellers Digest’ to ‘Kundera on the Dance Floor’, the experience is of a band with no boundaries. The influences are from pop to rock to grunge. The lead singer delivers high octane power pop and gravelly grunge-tinged vocals. The male harmonies are unique, and when touched with the sugary female backing from the keyboard player, are made all the sweeter. Then guitarist Carl Johnson announces “This song is about the impending end of our life. Fairy dust and all that shit,” and tears into ‘Party Like It’s 2012’ a song that typifies their distinct brand of apocalyptic young adult angst pop.

Mid set, the keys/synth player moves to the front and takes control of the lead mic – he’s obviously their Master of Ceremonies. He delivers to us wise adages and quirky analogies and insights, to quip, engage, and set the record straight on what the purpose of this whole endeavour is. And it is NOT to hide enveloped in the darkness at the back; it’s to be front and centre with him. The Underbelly is fantastic, he says, and to him has a Twin Peaks feel to it. The stage is plush with red velvet curtains and huge ornate Louis the XIV mirrors, interspersed with framed photos of rock, pop, psychedelic heroes – Frank Zappa, Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, and Captain Beefheart. It resembles a cool burlesque stage from The Crazy Horse or a man size Punch and Judy platform.

Again, a bit of contrast is brought to the set and performance tonight, and just when you think Library Voices couldn’t work out any harder or faster or one of them would suffer a fatality, during ‘Generation Handclap’ several of them start to climb stairway railings, scale rafters, hang from the ceiling, splay along the monitors, ascend the bass drum.

Canada has produced a string of great bands over the last decade – Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, The Dears – and immersed in their upbeat sound and performance, offbeat and clever lyrics and song titles, you can add Library Voices to the roll call of honour.

Words by Libby Moné
Photo by Alex Cairncross

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