City Calm DownLike their name suggests, Crepes are a light and curled treat filled with a mixture of sweet and savoury goodness. Their indie-pop grooves instantly make us happy and have us swaying along to their psychedelic melodies. They share some new songs with us from their upcoming album, including a charming anthem about being a dork in a ‘cool guy’ society.
City Calm Down make their return on the scene tonight and this time they’re charging full steam ahead. Lead singer Jack Bourke jokes that they’ve been “fluffing around for a few years” but also that in that time they’ve been hard at work on their debut album, In A Restless House – coming our way very soon.
Tonight’s special one-off headline show in their hometown is sold out and for damn good reason – we get to hear some of their new stuff! They launch with their lead single, Rabbit Run. Full of catchy guitar riffs and steady bass lines, it combines perfectly with Bourke’s deeply emotive baritone vocals. They shout out to those in the audience who recently helped them film the video for the song, where they had lots of fun running around a local shopping centre.
Their uplifting and charismatic post-punk, indie-electro sound falls somewhere between The Killers and White Lies with a nostalgic retro ‘80s vibe, a new song called Your Fix sitting right in this pocket of new wave with soaring bravado and dramatic build-up.
They play with a duo of live horns, saxophone and trumpet tonight, and perform some of their older tracks for the first time, including Pleasure & Consequence. The brass section enhances their commanding presence and adds a powerful depth to their distinctive sound.
Before they leave us with their last song, band member Sam Mullaly lets us know that tonight is also a celebration of Bourke’s birthday. On the count of three we all sing Happy Birthday to Bourke until he’s red in the face with a smile from ear to ear. In return, the band give us another stunning new track, Until I Get By, loaded with heavy electronic synths and driven at a momentous pace with explosive hooks.
It’s been worth waiting for the band’s first headline show in more than two years to preview their perfected sound – now we’re counting down the days until the album is finally released in September.
